2019

This is a continuation of a 2017 CREOi-funded project. Around the world, amphibians are threatened by disease, habitat loss, climate change, and other ecological changes and disturbances. In western Washington, lowland river floodplains have the potential to support large populations of native amphibians, but floodplain ecosystems have also been substantially altered by agricultural land use, the introduction of invasive species… Read Project SummaryAssessing impacts of wetland restoration and hydrological management on amphibians

Cryptic and difficult to find, but once discovered the Olympic mudminnow is both colorful and full of charisma. This is a continuation of 2017 and 2018 CREOi-funded projects. Olympic mudminnow (Novumbra hubbsi), Washington State’s only endemic freshwater fish, is a small-bodied species (maximum total length of 90 mm) found exclusively in low-elevation wetlands and slow-moving waters. Its geographic range, limited… Read Project SummaryOlympic Mudminnow Information System: Supporting public awareness and conservation of Washington State’s only endemic species

Since 2005, Stillwaters Environmental Center near Kingston, WA has been documenting ecological conditions in the 30+ acre Carpenter Creek estuary and salt marsh. With the recent replacement of a second undersized culvert with a bridge, natural tidal flow has been reestablished in the marsh. Our monitoring and research program addresses the complexities of a marsh ecosystem and its recovery. Our… Read Project SummaryRecovery of a tidal salt marsh on the Kitsap Peninsula

This study was conducted on the land of the Makah people with approval by the Makah Tribal Council (MOA 2019-01). The goal of this project was to document the diet of an aquatic mammal predator, the river otter (Lontra canadensis), in coastal estuaries of the Makah Reservation in Northwest Washington. We sought to understand the potential role of these predators… Read Project SummaryInvestigating the impacts of a native mammal predator on key native and invasive species in marine and estuarine ecosystems of Northwest Washington