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Citizen Science Monitoring

Monitoring &
Citizen Science

Restoration monitoring is a term used for keeping a watchful eye on restored shorelines throughout the Salish Sea to monitor how they are performing in their intended purpose of improving and restoring natural functions of the nearshore ecosystem.

We do this by surveying physical and biological indicators of restored, natural, and armored shorelines for comparison. This information is used to inform shoreline land management, restoration best practices, outreach and education for landowners and more.

Citizen science volunteers play a critical role in this effort assisting and leading surveys, having contributed over 10,000 hours of service expanding our capacity to survey shorelines throughout the Salish Sea.

The physical and biological indicators we’re looking for

and what they can tell us

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Forage Fish Spawning

which beaches are providing habitat for surf smelt and Pacific sand lance to lay and hatch their eggs.

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Fish Use

do migrating juvenile salmon and other nearshore fish species prefer natural shorelines over modified shorelines.
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Insects

how are restoration actions effecting the availability of insects falling onto the water’s surface from riparian vegetation, an important component of diet for migrating juvenile salmon
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Logs

do restored beaches provide more wordy debris than armored beaches, bringing natural stability to shorelines while providing shelter for invertebrates and foraging habitat for shorebirds.
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Wrack

is beach wrack more abundant on restored and natural shorelines providing food and shelter for invertebrates and foraging habitat for shorebirds.
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Beach Profile

do restored beaches maintain similar physical structures to natural beaches. The slope of a beach can effect algae and invertebrates presence, and sediment composition needed for successful forage fish spawning.