Between 2000-03, over 1,700 acres of shellfish harvest area in Dungeness Bay were downgraded due to bacterial pollution.Commercial shellfish production became almost nonexistent. Today, thanks to a voluntary and community-driven effort to identify and correct sources of water pollution, the Bay has seen improvements and re-openings of shellfish harvest areas.
CREP has changed the landscape in Whatcom County” (Wayne Chaudiere, Whatcom Conservation District). Riparian buffers, such as the one shown in the photo, now span along 132 miles of stream in Whatcom County, forming a panorama of native tree and shrub forests that were just recently open fields or invasive plant species such as blackberry.
Success Story Snapshot: Tucannon River. Voluntary, watershed-based effort leads to increased salmon runs.
Over the past two years, Clallam Conservation District and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT) have teamed up to plant conifer trees along the Elwha River, each bringing different resources to the table.