Ocean/Envir 260 Lecture #3: History, Political Geography

Puget Sound Ecosystem Definition of “ecosystem”: An ecological community together with its physical environment, functioning as a unit. Human concept, for management and understanding Multiple scales: wetland, river, etc.

Puget Sound Ecosystem For this class, PS ecosystem = PS Basin Not just marine areas

Puget Sound Ecosystem Not including Canada Strictly for management purposes Not including Fraser R. basin Different terrain, climate Boundaries of Salish Sea ecosystem Even that excludes largest river system

Fraser River Largest contributor of: Salmon Freshwater Sediments Especially important influence on San Juan Islands Lecture #9 Comparative river flows, Fig 3-8, Sound Science

Terrestrial ecosystems Nature Conservancy ecoregions Puget/Willamette/ Georgia “Trough” N, S Cascades Coastal mountains

Puget Sound Ecosystem “Not only are ecosystems more complex than we think, they are more complex than we can think.” --Jack Ward Thomas, architect of Northwest Forest Plan

Geologic foundation “Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” --Historian/Philosopher Will Durant

Mountains South Cascades North Cascades Olympics 67 – 58 million years ago Like Aleutian Islands North Cascades 50 – 58 million years ago Small tectonic plate, followed by San Juans, Vancouver Island Olympics 24 million years ago Scraped from top of plate, wedged between others

Plate Tectonics Small plates caught between Pacific, N Am Active earthquake zone Great thrust quakes along continental shelf Downgoing slab explains PS depth; deep quakes Shallow quakes along crustal faults

Glaciers Repeated events Young landscape, evolved with human presence Past 2 million years Last ~12K years ago 3K’ thick at Seattle 1 mile at Bellingham Young landscape, evolved with human presence

Glaciers Dominant factor in soils Dense “till” predominates in lowlands Organic soils crucial for hydrology Nutrient poor Importance of salmon, alder S Sound prairies unique

Climate Pacific gyre Key results: Mild, wet winters Dry summer Characteristic forests Importance of snow pack River flows Water supply Dominant air circulation patterns; Fig 3-2, Sound Science

Native peoples Coast Salish Common culture “Salish Sea”: Modern, recently adopted term “Whulj”: “The saltwater we know” Major language groups align with some modern “tribal” designations Map of Salish peoples

Native peoples “Tribes” was Euro- American construct Villages based on family, resources Organized into “tribes” for treaties “Usual and accustomed” fishing grounds

Native peoples Cultures based on salmon NW native population: Large, dependable source of protein NW native population: 1770: 100K, 1870: 10K Note treatment in readings Walkinshaw: “Pageant of discovery and…settlement” Native American fishing weir

Landscape change 1850: 1900: Forest to water’s edge Complex estuaries and floodplains Beaver trapping already affected 1900: Riversides, shorelines cleared Floodplains diked, drained Cities, harbor development Lower Skagit Valley and Delta—most major changes by 1900

20th Century Industrial, urban, suburban, rural development Salmon losses Permanent loss of forest Fragmentation, alteration of what remains

Landscape change “No plausible scenario” where change in next 50 years could equal last 150 Detailed Willamette study Same result certain here From Willamette River Basin Planning Atlas, Hulse, Gregory and Baker (2002)

Federal lands 40% of PS basin Much now protected for old growth National parks, forests, recreation areas, wildlife refuges Much now protected for old growth Foundation for regional conservation

Watersheds Each with unique challenges Isolate effects of development on river systems e.g., Seattle => minimal effect on Skagit Not counting dams…

Watersheds Land use key to ecological health More, lectures #6, 13 Counties are key decision-makers County, watershed boundaries differ Political, management challenges Almost all major watersheds cross multiple jurisdictions

Recap Ecosystem boundary partly arbitrary Geology and climate at the foundation Enormous change since 1850 Government boundaries complicate management