Vashon Science Archive
The data below represent a cumulative community effort launched at Vashon Nature Center’s first BioBlitz in 2012. Dig into our interactive summaries and use the exploration tools to learn more about island biodiversity.
These data also include a search of biodiversity records and information from previous conservation science studies on Vashon conducted by others. We thank the neighbors, staff, and volunteers who help collect this data. We hope that this information helps us to better understand our home ecosystems, see our islands from new perspectives, and become active participants in caring for nature.
Vashon Forage Fish Spawning Data
Forage fish are small fish like surf smelt and Pacific sand lance that lay their eggs along our sandy beaches. They are food for salmon, marine birds, seals, sea lions, harbor porpoises, and more. Do forage fish spawn on a beach near you? How are populations faring through time? Does shoreline restoration help boost populations of forage fish? Explore this storymap to find out.
Vashon Biodiversity Database
How many species of plants and wildlife have we collectively recorded on the islands so far? Find out! Search thumbnails of images to learn more about your wild island neighbors. This database combines community collected data from six 24-hour BioBlitz events with all species lists and individual records we could find for Vashon-Maury Island from 1890 to present day.
Fish Diversity in the Salish Sea
In partnership with Hakai Institute’s Integrated Coastal Observatory, we are using a noninvasive cutting-edge technology called environmental DNA to measure marine fish biodiversity throughout the Salish Sea by taking water samples! Vashon Nature Center is currently the southernmost point in this network and the only one in the United States. Learn more about eDNA and explore the fish biodiversity found throughout the Salish Sea in the interactive map provided by Hakai.
Wildlife Camera Network Data
In the summer of 2022 we placed wildlife cameras every square mile in a grid covering Vashon and Maury Islands. Toggle the drop-down menu at the top of the map to see which stations recorded the most species and those cameras that were most active. Click on a dot to view photo highlights from each station. You can also watch video highlights on our Vashon Nature Center Youtube channel.
Vashon Historic Kelp Map
We combined information from old navigational maps from 1912 with a series of interviews and meetings with long-time islanders to create a map of changing bull kelp forest distribution through time on Vashon and Maury Islands. Explore the map to see where Vashon’s natural bull kelp forests are today and in the past! Do you have any information on historic or current kelp distribution to add to these maps? We’d love to hear from you.
Stream Health Index
How healthy is your neighborhood stream? Visit the analysis tab and Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity results map in the Puget Sound Stream Benthos database and search for records for your favorite stream. In partnership with King County and other organizations throughout the state, Vashon Nature Center, along with students and adult volunteers, has contributed more than 10 years of data on stream invertebrate populations in island creeks. These invertebrates can tell us about the health of the stream and the impacts it is experiencing over time.
Want to dig deeper? Contact us at wonder@vashonnaturecenter.org to be sent a data request form for access to the raw data behind these summaries.