Aquatic Habitat

Critical Areas Regulations Monitoring

The monitoring and adaptive management program was developed to support implementation of Snohomish County’s Critical Area Regulations (CAR) in order to meet the requirements of the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA). The monitoring plan consists of three main components:

• Assessment of changes in land cover in Wetland and Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas (FWHCA) using primarily remote sensing methods.
• Assessment of physical, chemical, and biological conditions in small catchments developing under the new CAR relative to similar sites that are not developing.
• Assessment of changes in shoreline conditions along major rivers and lakes.

The plan includes an adaptive management framework to achieve the conservation goal of preventing a net loss of critical area functions and values. The monitoring results will evaluate whether modifications to CAR or other county programs are needed to prevent a net loss. Wetlands and FWHCA are the focus of the monitoring program. The approach and methods are documented in the Critical Area Monitoring and Adaptive Management Plan (PDF), set forth in September 2008.

The Critical Areas and Shorelines Monitoring Status Report (PDF), set forth March 2012, summarizes progress and results from 2007 through 2010 on Snohomish County’s critical area monitoring program. It also summarizes conclusions based on these results as well as recommendations related to future efforts for this program. For more information contact senior geographic information system (GIS) analyst Gi-Choul Ahn via email, or by calling 425-262-2590.

Habitat Evaluation & Monitoring

Snohomish County surface water management staff assess stream habitat conditions for four work areas: monitoring, special projects, support for salmon recovery, and capital improvement project feasibility. For more information contact Janell Majewski via email, or by calling 425-388-6641.

Native Plant Program

The Snohomish County Native Plant Program supports the surface water management mission by providing native plants and skilled plant installation for a variety of projects. For more information contact native plant steward Scott Moore via email, or by calling 425-388-6462.