The WSU Island County Beach Watchers Program has expanded into a northwest regional program involving Jefferson, Clallam, Snohomish, Skagit, San Juan, and Whatcom counties. Jefferson County is incorporating the Beach Watchers program into its long-standing Water Watchers program to join the other counties in a unified effort. Beach Watcher volunteers attend over 100 hours of classroom and field training in a wide range of topics including forestry, coastal geology, natural processes, watersheds, septic systems, toxics, marine biology, beach monitoring, marine estuaries, fish, and shellfish. Volunteers then share their knowledge with the public and spend at least 100 hours in community outreach, education, and science-based programs. Over 400 Beach Watchers and Water Watchers have been trained in Island and Jefferson counties to date and this number will expand rapidly with the expansion into additional counties. Hugh Shipman, Ecology, leading a Beach Watcher field trip. Photo courtesy of Pat Pearson, Jefferson County Extension. Beach Watchers come from all walks of life and bring a rich cross-section of backgrounds, experiences, service, and talents. All county Beach Watcher programs follow the identical Beach Watcher model and have consistent training materials, but each county develops its unique projects and volunteer involvement dependent on community needs, interests, partners, and opportunities. Beach Watchers are dedicated to protecting and preserving the fragile environment of Puget Sound through research, education, public awareness, and example. Water/Beach Watchers assembling 300 rain barrels for sale for community water conservation. Photo courtesy of Pat Pearson, Jefferson County Extension.

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Quality Coordination Project Partners Land Grant Universities Alaska Cooperative Extension Service Contact Fred Sorensen: 907-786-6311 http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/index.html University Publications: http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/ Idaho University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025 http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html University Publications: http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html Oregon Oregon State University Extension Service Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316 http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ University Publications: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ Washington Washington State University WSU Extension Contact Bob Simmons: 360-427-9670 ext. 690 http://wawater.wsu.edu/ University Publications: http://pubs.wsu.edu/ Northwest Indian College Contact Michael Cochrane: 360-392-4299 mcochrane@nwic.edu or http://www.nwic.edu/ Water Resource Research Institutes Water and Environmental Research Center (Alaska) http://www.uaf.edu/water/ Idaho Water Resources Research Institute http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/ Institute for Water and Watersheds (Oregon) http://water.oregonstate.edu/ State of Washington Water Research Center http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/ Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Region 10 The Pacific Northwest http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/ Office of Research and Development, Corvallis Laboratory http://www.epa.gov/wed/ For more information contact Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or seago.jan@epa.gov
	After assessing the success of the Island County Beach Watchers, a special appropriation was secured at the federal level for the Beach Watcher expansion by Washington Senator Murray and Congressman Larson. Funding partners include EPA, Coastal Zone Management Grants, WSU Water Quality funds, and Lighthouse Environmental. Beach Watchers Make a Difference IN the Community Publicize environmental information and speak to community service groups Recruit property owners to join Shore Stewards Serve on citizen committees Promote a stewardship ethic among the public Lead interpretive tours Create educational activities at festivals ON the Land Develop protocols to measure/record scientific data about beaches, estuaries, streams Assist in the preparation of marine specimens for study and display Encourage composting, water conservation, recycling, and waste reduction Maintain newsletters and web sites Publish environmental guides and training manuals IN the Classroom Participate in school science days and teach sustainable land use Publish teachers’ handbook on how to conduct successful beach field trips Organize annual, one-day community universities on the environment Develop community education programs ON the Beach Monitor the biological health of beaches Collect shoreline and coastal data and assist agencies as needed Survey shorelines for artificial hardening (bulkheading) Promote beach etiquette to protect fragile beach plants and animals ON the Water Evaluate water quality Monitor marine estuaries streams and watersheds Remove invasive weeds from estuaries Help with salmon reintroduction, habitat/shellfish restoration
	National Water Quality Program Areas The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight themes of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension System. Animal Waste Management Drinking Water and Human Health Environmental Restoration Nutrient and Pesticide Management Pollution Assessment and Prevention Watershed Management Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management Water Policy and Economics
	CSREES is the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service, a sub-agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, and is the federal partner in this water quality program.

Download the informational PDF flyer here

HOME | About | Calendar | Contacts | Links | PNW Water Updates | Sitemap CSREES National Water Quality Program The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Partners in this Regional Program are also equal opportunity providers and employers. all external sites will open in a new browser window page last modified on August 27, 2006