The Puget Sound Partnership has released it’s “2013 State of the Sound” report. The whole report can be found here. The chart shown here is on Page 70. Obviously, when you cut to just the indicators, things are not doing well.
https://app.box.com/s/dnxic5bo3fdllzuxgx9c
Yes, that’s a real URL .
I’ll just net this out for you. Some summary data from the report. By the way, the 2012 report appears to no longer be available on their web site.. It would be nice to have the comparison information.
PROGRESS TOWARDS 2020
KEY POINTS FROM THE REPORT
- The Puget Sound Vital Signs are used to track progress in restoring the health of Puget Sound.
- Few Vital Signs are showing progress and in some cases have even lost ground, such as Southern Resident Killer Whales.
- The Shellfish Beds and Estuary Restoration Vital Signs continue to make progress.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- The Sound Behavior Index is included for the first time; results set a baseline reference against which to compare future years.
- The technical workgroups under the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) delivered monitoring program inventories and gaps to guide monitoring priorities.
- The Puget Sound Marine Waters reports were released twice since 2011 and provide an overview of marine water quality, water conditions, and biota in Puget Sound.
CHALLENGES
- Many of the Vital Signs, by nature, are expected to change only slowly. More sensitive and targeted indicators are needed to better assess the effectiveness of actions.
- Tracking short- and long-term results requires resources; PSEMP is developing a funding strategy to support ongoing and new monitoring.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:
KEY POINTS
- The Performance Management Program provides the necessary course corrections as we follow the map set by the Action Agenda.
- One year into the 2012 Action Agenda, 68 percent of Near Term Actions are on plan or complete. The remainder are either off plan, under serious constraints and might not be accomplished, not started, or unreported.
- Strategic Initiatives — our most critical and complex actions — have been a successful tool in focusing partner collaboration in Puget Sound.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- The Leadership Council is becoming more focused on implementing Near Term Actions.
- The Leadership Council conducts regularly scheduled Report Card forums. These forums address meaningful and effective problem solving and sharing of best practices.
- 89 percent of the Near Term Actions under the Shellfish Strategic Initiative are underway, and 2,888 net acres of shellfish beds have been re-opened from 2007 to 2013.
CHALLENGES
- How do we know if our actions have made a difference? So many variables can affect this complex ecosystem that it is hard to say that one particular action is making a difference in the health of Puget Sound.
- Barriers to implementation include: limited funding and staff resources, insufficient effectiveness data, public misperception of the severity of the problem, regulatory loopholes and permit barriers, impacts from changing climate, and the unpopularity of tough decisions.