Puget Sound
Key Takeaways
Declining salmon runs severely impact treaty rights and tribal cultures. The Puget Sound Partnership works with tribes to achieve shared salmon recovery goals.
Funding is insufficient to achieve salmon recovery targets and balance the needs of more than 4 million Puget Sound residents.
Climate change impacts salmon throughout their lives. Warming water, altered streamflows, and rising sea levels affect salmon spawning, migration, and growth in Puget Sound. Climate change effects and mitigation are critical uncertainties that warrant additional research.
About the Region
Among the largest estuaries in the United States, Puget Sound encompasses mountains, farmlands, cities, rivers, forests, and wetlands. It is home to chum, pink, sockeye, coho, and Chinook salmon, and steelhead and bull trout. All 59 populations of Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout are listed under the Endangered Species Act, as are endangered Southern Resident orcas that rely on salmon, especially Chinook, for food.
Western Washington tribes have been connected intimately to Puget Sound since time immemorial and are leaders in salmon recovery. The Puget Sound Partnership leads regional restoration and protection efforts. The Leadership Council, the Partnership’s governing body, serves as the regional salmon recovery organization.
Salmon Recovery Stories
Enter “Salmon Stories” using the button below to explore story maps from tribes, salmon recovery groups, and agencies.
