science work plan

NEW! SCIENCE WORK PLAN FOR 2025-2029

On behalf of the Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel, the Partnership is excited to announce the adoption of Priority Science to Support Puget Sound Recovery: A Science Work Plan for 2025-2029 (SWP for 2025-2029).

The Science Work Plan for 2025-2029 identifies 18 priority Science Work Actions and six broader recommendations to improve ongoing science. These priorities and recommendations describe the needed research, monitoring, evaluation and the broader improvements to the science to recovery, protect, and improve the resilience of the Puget Sound ecosystem.

The Panel and Partnership anticipate funding projects related to the 18 priority Science Work Actions through the Puget Sound Scientific Research solicitation. The solicitation expects to award ~$1.5million and will be released later this winter. The solicitation is one of three solicitations run by the Science and Evaluation team.

For more information please contact:
Scott Redman

Science and Evaluation Director

360.791.2879 | Scott.Redman@psp.wa.gov

Or
Katherine Wyatt
Assistant Science Director
360.918.1098 | katherine.wyatt@psp.wa.gov

The Science Work Plan for 2025-2029

Priority Science to Support Puget Sound Recovery: A Science Work Plan for 2025-2029 (SWP for 2025-2029). describes the research, monitoring, and coordination needed to recover, protect, and improve the health and resilience of the Puget Sound ecosystem. The Puget Sound Partnership’s Science Panel (Panel) acknowledges that bold science and inclusive information sharing, along with bold implementation of protection and recovery actions are required to accomplish the region’s six recovery goals: a healthy human population, vibrant quality of life, thriving species and food web, protected and restored habitat, abundant water quantity, and healthy water quality. These goals underscore the inextricable links that exist between environmental quality, animal health, and human health and wellbeing.

The Science Work Actions and the broader recommendations aim to improve the ongoing science that supports and facilitates Puget Sound recovery. They identify important initiatives that will sustain and enhance the research, modeling, and monitoring programs that deliver needed information to achieve PSP’s recovery goals. The Panel encourages the Puget Sound Partnership (“Partnership”) to continue to strengthen its role as a backbone organization through advancing evidence-based recovery efforts and supporting the expansion of a strong and extensive recovery network. This includes facilitating the tracking of Vital Signs and indicators, utilizing the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP), employing the Action Agenda and Implementation Strategies, and evaluating the effectiveness of recovery and protection actions to improve future management. The Panel appreciates that there are hundreds of organizations work on Puget Sound recovery in one way or another and the public has a high interest in Puget Sound recovery. The Panel encourages the broader recovery community to consider these Science Work Actions and broader recommendations to prioritize investments in recovery science and management.

Priority Science work actions

The 18 Priority Science Work Actions identified in the Science Work Plan for 2024-2029 highlight areas of particular importance for future science and monitoring. These priority actions address the Panel’s objectives to add value by filling gaps, aid science innovation, support continuity, link socio-ecological resilience, enable transformative and effective large-scale actions, and address inequities to achieve greater environmental justice in recovery efforts. Each science work action was derived from an existing need expressed by recovery partners or the Panel.

climate chage impacts

monitoring climate impacts

1. Monitor the distribution of impacts of ocean and terrestrial climate change and variability on Puget Sound infrastructure, Tribal lifeways, ecosystems, native and invasive species, pathogens, human health, and quality of life. (Climate M1/M5) Climate impacts research.

climate impacts research

2. What are the impacts and management implications of projected future climate conditions and climate variability on floodplains, watersheds, and shorelines? (Climate R1).

3. How will climate change affect salmon survival at specific life stages, directly or through indirect effects to habitat and prey? (Climate R2).

4. How will future climate and ocean conditions and variability affect fisheries and the viability and harvestability of shellfish? (Climate R4).

5. What are the impacts of a changing climate on disease and toxic contaminants on salmon, forage fish, marine mammals, and marine vegetation, and people? (Pollution R15).

6. What is the abundance, distribution, and trend in forage fish population and what factors affect this? (Species R05/Species R06) Climate change tools.

climate change tools

7. Develop and apply tools to provide information and warnings about potential harm to resources, environmental, animal, and human health from extreme natural events. Assess responses to events and compile lessons learned. (Other TC1).

Pollution and toxicology

Pollution and toxicology

8. Evaluate, identify, prioritize, and monitor chemicals, pollutants, and pathogens with impacts to marine and freshwater organisms. This includes toxicity testing, biomonitoring, and other types of monitoring for exposures and disease outcomes, chemicals of emerging concerns, and areas requiring cleanup or isolation. (Pollution M1).

9. How can new approaches improve our understanding of the impacts of exposure to toxic chemicals including emerging contaminants, and pathogens on human health and wellbeing? (Human R10/Human R11).

10. What are sources, loading, transport, fate, and effects of toxic and potentially toxic substances in Puget Sound? (Pollution R02, Pollution R03, Pollution R10)

Land use and ecosystem management

land use change

11. Identify and assess drivers of land use trends and decisions (e.g. climate change, migration, urbanization, development) that are impacting the Puget Sound social-ecological system. How can impacts be mitigated through planning, incentives, or regulations? (Human R13/Climate R7).

12. Monitor habitat and landscape changes resulting from development and other stressors. Assess compliance of current regulations, enforcement, and incentives and support net ecological gain monitoring. (Habitat M1).

Socio-ecological ecosystem management

13. How can ecosystem management efforts be designed to better reflect understandings and desires of people's preferences, values, and behaviors? (Human R01).

14. What are the connections between human wellbeing, cultural practices, local foods, and ecosystem management? How does pollution, including emerging chemicals and biotoxins, and climate change affect these connections? (Human R05/Pollution R18).

15. What opportunities are there to improve the effectiveness and equity of pollution control and cleanup programs through applying social science approaches (including public finance, benefit- cost analysis, motivation of behaviors, including incentives, and program evaluation)? (Pollution
R09).

Effectiveness

Effectiveness

16. Assess the effectiveness of efforts to mitigate climate impacts. (Climate M2).

17. Assess effectiveness of best management practices and of state, regional, and local programs to prevent, treat, mitigate, or clean up air, water, soil, sediment (including isolation), and noise pollution. (Pollution M2).

18. Develop a social-sciences and epidemiologic informed monitoring and evaluation plan to help track effectiveness of programs on human health. (Habitat M2).

Broader Recommendations to improve ongoing science

In addition to specific Science Work Actions, the Panel also identified cross-cutting broader recommendations that support the development, efficacy, and implementation, of science. There are six broader recommendations, which are described in depth in the main text and summarized by their titles here:
A. Collaborate with Tribal Nations and Native communities to support Puget Sound ecosystem recovery.

B. Consider equity in scientific efforts that focus on the recovery of Puget Sound.

C. Expand research on the linkages between social, ecological, human and animal health.

D. Ensure decision makers have access to decision-critical science by supporting a strengthened, sustained science-policy interface.

E. Expand Assessment Activities.

F. Improve our understanding of local climate impacts, management, and interacti

Read more about the science work plan here

Priority Science to Support Puget Sound Recovery: A Science Work Plan for 2025-2029 (SWP for 2025-2029).

Last updated: 01/24/25

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