Beach Strategies for Nearshore Restoration and Protection in Puget Sound

This multi-phase project aims to develop science-based strategies to guide future protection and restoration efforts on Puget Sound beaches. In Phase 1, completed in 2017, data were assessed and compiled, data gaps were filled, and an integrated geodatabase was established. In Phase 2 (completed 2020), the best available data generated in Phase 1 was organized and analyzed to provide nearshore recovery practitioners with a suite of tools to guide their decision making. In Phase 3 (completed in 2023), a suite of geospatial tools were developed to support future updates of the Beach Strategies Geodatabase, providing a consistent framework for incorporating new shore conditions (armor, forage fish spawning) data and assigning new restoration and protection priority actions.

Prior to the initiation of the Beach Strategies project, existing strategies were found to be insufficient; the spatial resolution was coarse, there were many gaps and errors, and they did not adequately reflect the new challenges faced by local governments and restoration groups. The outputs of the Beach Strategies project included data sets of higher spatial resolution and accuracy that will enable improved tracking of Puget Sound Vital Signs (shoreline armor and armored feeder bluffs) and more effective strategy development and implementation. The strategies that emerge from this project will guide improved protection of nearshore ecosystems, more informed choices about where and how to restore and conserve beaches, and more scientific approaches to monitoring shoreline conditions and vital signs.

The objectives of the early tasks in Phase 2 entailed providing a conceptual foundation for the development of updated Beach Strategies, GIS queries, and data outputs. Phase 2 builds on Phase 1 data to create tools for prioritizing the protection and restoration of Puget Sound beaches and bluffs, developing metrics to address sediment supply processes, forage fish spawning support, and pocket beaches.

We hope that together these new products will better enable partners to effectively collaborate, make more informed decisions, and ultimately achieve more nearshore restoration and conservation of Puget Sound beach systems.

Link to new Beach Strategies Hub Site: https://beach-strategies-wdfw-hub.hub.arcgis.com/

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