1.1 Assessment Need |
The Bainbridge Island nearshore ecosystem is characterized by a wide range of conditions, ranging from fairly unmodified stretches of natural shoreline to private residences with associated armoring structures to highly developed industrial areas. Of 2,262 shoreline parcels on Bainbridge Island, over 82% have been developed, with single-family residential use representing the vast majority of these cases (Williams et al. 2003). According to the Bainbridge Island Nearshore Structure Inventory (Best 2003), approximately 49% of the Bainbridge Island shoreline has some type of armoring.
The City of Bainbridge Island is currently required to develop mechanisms to protect and restore nearshore habitat, as well as support reasonable and appropriate shoreline uses. However, detailed information is currently lacking on Bainbridge Island’s nearshore habitat characteristics and the associated ecological impacts of land-use development and modifications on these habitats. Specific questions include the following:
- What and where are the nearshore habitat characteristics of Bainbridge Island?
- What and where are the physical processes that drive the nearshore environment of Bainbridge Island?
- What and where are the human stressors in the nearshore environment of Bainbridge Island?
- What is the current quantity and quality of nearshore habitat on Bainbridge Island?
- What high-quality habitat remains to be protected?
- What damaged habitat is most suitable for recovery?
- What damaged habitat is the most difficult to recover?
- What nearshore habitats on Bainbridge Island are essential to salmonids?
- What effects do typical shoreline modifications have on nearshore habitat (especially salmonid habitat)?
- What habitats (or habitat conditions) should be prioritized for protection and restoration?
As with most areas in Puget Sound, the lack of good information on Bainbridge Island shoreline conditions (historic and current) provides a poor basis for making management decisions and inhibits a strategic approach to prioritizing and protecting these habitats. Recent reports have concluded that anthropogenic influences are responsible for habitat loss and species declines in nearshore Puget Sound ecosystems (Williams et al. 2001; PSWQAT 2002). However, the Puget Sound nearshore ecosystem is highly complex and unpredictable. Baseline studies and monitoring programs are limited and, in general, have been inadequate in providing the level of scientific information necessary for informed resource management decisions (Williams et al. 2001). Historic maps of the region, originally surveyed in the 1800s, have only recently been located, digitally scanned, distributed, and interpreted to assess change (Puget Sound River History Project 2003).
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