Squaxin Island Tribe will help save kelp

OLYMPIA — The Washington Department of Natural Resources and the Squaxin Island Tribe have announced a partnership to conserve the Squaxin Island Kelp Bed, the last major kelp bed in South Puget Sound.

DNR and the Squaxin Island Tribe will work to surround the kelp bed with a priority habitat zone, co-develop ways to improve the kelp bed’s health through stressor mitigation, and investigate future restoration work alongside other partners such as the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, according to a news release.

Since 2013, DNR and Squaxin Island staff have seen a 97 percent decline in the kelp bed, which holds both ecological and cultural significance.

“We recognize how important it is to protect this critical resource,” Squaxin Island Tribe Chairman Kris Peters said in a statement. “Squaxins can’t do it alone; it takes us all coming together as partners. That is why this local inter-governmental agreement is so important and monumental.”

The Squaxin Island Kelp Bed is the first habitat DNR is prioritizing in its statewide Kelp Forest and Eelgrass Meadow Health and Conservation Plan, which state legislation directed DNR to hatch in response to the loss of kelp and eelgrass on the Washington coastline.

The plan’s goal is to conserve and restore at least 10,000 acres of kelp forest and eelgrass meadow habitat by 2040.

Restoration efforts will initially focus on three pilot sub-basins: South Puget Sound, the Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and Grays Harbor. As DNR works toward its 10,000-acre goal, it intends to explore conservation and recovery in all sub-basins, according to its website.

“Squaxin people have been stewarding these waters and lands for thousands of years,” Peters said. “Kelp beds have also been stewarding these waters for thousands of years, providing nourishment and a critical ecosystem for the many plants, animals, and fish of the Salish Sea.”