Introduction

The northern Puget Sound of Washington State includes the 172 islands of the San Juan Island archipelago and stretches from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Strait of Georgia and the Canadian border to the top of Mount Baker. Northern Puget Sound is a productive estuary with extensive tidal flats, deep-water fjords, clear water and glacial rivers, and diverse fish and wildlife habitat. The Northern Puget Sound Ecological Characterization (NPSEC) allows the user to explore this unique ecosystem and geographic area as it contains descriptive narrative and a geographic information system (GIS) database for the region that focuses on addressing the coastal research, management, and educational needs of the community. This characterization synthesizes biological, physical, and human-use information with an emphasis on fisheries issues.

Northern Puget Sound Project Area (click image for detailed view)

Characterization Highlights:
• Virtual 3-D Tours of the northern Puget Sound
• Species Gallery
• Images and GIS data sets for hundreds of mammals, reptiles, birds, and invertebrates
• Interactive Atlas
• Virtual map with descriptive information for various geographical features
• In-depth information on two species of concern: salmon and rockfish

The Northwest Indian College (NWIC) long-term programs for research, monitoring, and education present unique opportunities to gather and share knowledge. In partnership with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center, this characterization helps define and present the current state of knowledge about northern Puget Sound.

The Northwest Indian College will use the NPSEC to inform research studies, environmental monitoring, and education programs and to serve as an information hub. Northwest Indian College will update and maintain the NPSEC as a digital, "living" document so that it continues to be a useful compilation of the state of knowledge about the Northern Sound's biological resources, physical environment, and human dimensions. This characterization was developed initially through a cooperative partnership between the NWIC, National Indian Center for Marine and Environmental Research (NICMERE) and the NOAA Coastal Services Center.

NWIC and the NOAA Coastal Services Center make no express or implied warranties with respect to the accuracy of the information presented or its suitability for education, research, monitoring, or resource management purposes, or other applications. This disclaimer applies to all data, models, modeling results, text, bibliographic annotations, maps, other content, software, and tools provided herein. We shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the information and data described and/or contained herein. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty.