When it comes to understanding the health of Puget Sound and its watersheds, Washington State University Extension Beach Watchers are among the leaders. For the past 20 years these dedicated volunteers have worked to improve watershed health of western Washington’s most precious and fragile resource – Puget Sound. In recognition of this outstanding public engagement program the Universities Council on Water Resources has chosen to recognize it with a “Public Service and Education” award at its annual conference in July, 2010. WSU Beach Watchers are nearly 1,000 trained community members working in eight counties of northern Puget Sound. Receiving more than 100 hours of science-based training from top scientists and experts, organized by WSU Extension, they come into service ready for action as educators, scientists, and community leaders. They become the eyes and ears and mouths of Puget Sound. WSU Beach Watchers educate and engage the public, especially shoreline and bluff residents, about how to improve water quality and aquatic ecosystems. They do this working hand in hand with many partners from local, county, state, federal, and private entities, all aimed at changing human behavior towards respecting water and natural systems that make up home in the Puget Sound basin. WSU Island County Beach Watchers monitoring with NOAA for juvenile Chinook salmon use of pocket estuaries.   WSU Beach Watchers implement ecosystem-based and pragmatic local solutions to water resource problems. Here are a few examples: Protected nearshore and freshwater habitat by collecting data about algae blooms, invasive species, noxious weeds, water chemistry, shorebird, and marine mammal health. Mapped miles of Puget Sound shoreline for toxic creosote debris, subsequently removed by WA Department of Natural Resource crews. Taught thousands of children about marine life in classrooms and on beaches. Reduced unintended by-catch of species through a recreational crabber education program. Protected human health by collecting shellfish and water samples at public beaches for testing by accredited labs. Educated over 4,500 shoreline property owners about critical eelgrass habitat used by salmon, and engaged 1,000 in baseline surveys of their own beach property. WSU Beach Watchers participating in microplastics survey, South Beach, San Juan Island, WA.

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/ 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 Charlotte Clausing: 360-392-4319 cclausing@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
	The Project Land Grant Universities, Water Research Institutes and EPA Region 10 have formed a partnership to provide research and education to communities about protecting or restoring the quality of water resources. This partnership is being supported in part by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Our Goal and Approach The goal of this Project is to provide leadership for water resources research, education and outreach to help people, industry and governments to prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems. The approach to achieving this goal is for the Partners to develop a coordinated regional water quality effort based on, and strengthening, individual state programs. Our Strengths The Project promotes regional collaboration by acknowledging existing programs and successful efforts; assessing program gaps; identifying potential issues for cross-agency and private sector collaboration, and developing a clearinghouse of expertise and programs. In addition, the Project establishes or enhances partnerships with federal, state and local environmental and water resource management agencies, such as by placing a University Liaison within the offices of EPA Region 10.
	WSU Beach Watcher volunteers are currently in Island, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan, Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Whatcom counties. The program does not have a dedicated funding source and the grants that have sustained the program will expire by the end of 2010. Further funding is needed to continue this program in the current counties and to expand the program to all 12 Puget Sound counties. More information can be found at http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu. The 2009 WSU San Juan County Beach Watcher Class at Lime Kiln State Park.
	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 National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 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
	This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2008-51130-04734.

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HOME | About | Calendar | Contacts | Links | PNW Water Updates | Sitemap NIFA National Water Quality Program This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2008-51130-04734. all external sites will open in a new browser window page last modified on April 15, 2010