Marine Water
The salt water surrounding Vashon ties us to our island heritage and to marine wildlife that roams throughout the entire Salish Sea and the Pacific Ocean from California to Alaska.
We live in an incredibly diverse region. Over half our marine species are endemic (found nowhere else) to this swath of the Pacific. Vashon Nature Center scientists and volunteers are key players in many regional research projects to document marine biodiversity—from kelp to fish to plankton—using everything from kayak and snorkel surveys to sifting DNA from water samples.
Featured Projects
Kelp: Over the last century, 90% of the bull kelp beds in South and Central Puget Sound have disappeared. VNC is part of the statewide kelp initiative—a group of over 20 organizations in academia, government, tribes, and nonprofits, working together to document remaining kelp beds and better understand their ecological role and the environmental impacts they are experiencing. We welcome volunteers each summer to help us with kayak and snorkel surveys in the three remaining kelp beds on Vashon.
Singer, Vashon’s Gray Whale: In April 2024, a male gray whale beached on the east side of Vashon. NOAA issued the Vashon Nature Center a permit to recover the whale’s skeleton and rebuild it for educational display. We have recovered, cleaned, cataloged, and 3D-scanned each bone with the help of over 200 community members who made this project possible. For the past eight months, island artists, metal workers, and engineers have merged scientific accuracy and artistic impression to create a one-of-a-kind sculpture for display at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Maury Island Aquatic Reserve: The 5,530-acre Maury Island Aquatic Reserve is owned and managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Reserves program. Designated in 2004, it is one of eight aquatic reserves in Washington state. The reserve encompasses marine waters from Point Robinson southwest into and around Quartermaster Harbor all the way to the southern tip of Vashon at Neill Point. VNC coordinates a Citizen Stewardship Committee to provide locally based input for reserve management. We also run a variety of community science projects within the reserve and share the results for use in managing this essential resource. We welcome you to become a steward of this amazing place. Contact us for more info: wonder@vashonnaturecenter.org.
Our Fantastic Partners
We thank the following partners and supporters for helping us with our marine programs including: NOAA, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Puyallup Tribe Fisheries, Muckleshoot Tribe Fisheries, University of Washington WetLab, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, Rose Foundation, King County, Seattle University, Hakai Institute, Statewide Kelp Initiative, Northwest Straits Commission.
Special partners for the gray whale project include: King County, NOAA, The Russell Family Foundation, Vashon Schools Foundation, PIE, Cascadia Research, Sawbones, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, whale ambassador volunteers, Cetacea, Metal Creature, Ela Lamblin, Vashon Adventures, World Vets, Vashon Center for the Arts, Island Lumber, and private donors.