BUILDING FIRE-RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

We are helping to empower people in communities to take action to prepare, reduce risk, share lessons learned and be resilient living in a fire environment. 

Ten communities across the state have been taking actions that are reducing their wildfire risk and sharing those lessons learned with each other.

FIGHTING FIRE
WITH SCIENCE

The Nature Conservancy is thinning trees on parts of our Central Cascade properties to create a more historic and variable forest structure that will make forests and communities resilient to fire. 

INVESTING IN YOUR NEIGHBORS

Small-scale, sustainable businesses can infuse new life into communities, providing jobs and keeping local money local. That’s the premise for Washington Coast Works. The project represents a new way of thinking about conservation economics: a triple bottom line that values economics, ecology and people.

A WATERSHED MOMENT

As one of America’s largest estuaries, Puget Sound is of national and tribal treaty significance.  Recovery efforts are starting to yield results, but damage still outpaces recovery.

President Obama and Congress acknowledged this year that recovery in Puget Sound is still possible and provided funding commensurate with that awarded to other estuary programs, such as Chesapeake Bay or the Great Lakes.

TURNING BACK THE TIDE

Tidal marsh habitat near Fir Island is a quarter of what it was historically. This summer, an old dike was removed, allowing tides to flood in — and 131 acres became a new tidal marsh. By spring, tens of thousands of tiny Chinook salmon will find a safe haven.

At the same time, the future of farming is preserved.

FISHING FOR GEAR

We are addressing the issue of derelict fishing gear along Washington’s coast. In partnership with the Quinault Indian Nation, we have removed hundreds of pots, lines and buoys from the coast this year.

The proper disposal of gear before it becomes derelict can help prevent the impacts on the marine ecosystem. A derelict crab pot can still trap more than 100 crabs.  

BUILDING A BETTER TRAP

Most commercial lingcod fishermen use trawl nets to capture lingcod along the coast. The main problem with this method is that trawl nets can capture unintended species of fish while scraping the sea floor at the same time.

The Nature Conservancy has teamed up with the University of Washington and lingcod fishermen in Ilwaco to invent a new fishing pot that protects habitat and sea creatures. 

SAFETY ON THE SEA

With new oil-terminal developments, vessel traffic in the Salish Sea will increase. There is a growing call for changes and coordination to ensure communities’ livelihoods are protected from oil spills. We've been deep in the holds learning about vessel-traffic safety and sharing our knowledge with the Makah tribe.

Communities across the state and around the world are already living with subtle and dramatic impacts of climate change. With so much in peril, we can’t afford to wait.

Two-thirds of Washington state residents support climate action at the state level.

A SEA CHANGE IN THINKING

The natural systems at risk from climate change can provide our greatest protection. When floodplains are healthy and rivers have room to roam, we see a dramatic reduction in the threat of floods resulting from the severe rain events that have grown in frequency in recent years. We presented what we've learned — pivotal information for restoration planning.

WHEN FIRE COMES CLOSE

Summers in Washington are getting hotter and dryer, which means greater risk of wildfire in our iconic forests. We’re bringing residents, landowners, firefighters and forest ecologists together to reduce risk before, during and after a fire. In September, when fire came too close in one community, such planning paid off.

Investments made in bringing nature back into our cities will benefit both the people living here, and the future resilience of the region.

Children do not necessarily need “wild nature” to reap the benefits of contact with the natural world.

ROLLING BACK PAVEMENT

Reclaiming even small patches of pavement and restoring nature’s filtering systems can have a significant effect in mitigating stormwater pollution, while at the same time reenergizing urban neighborhoods. Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood has reclaimed a derelict, crumbling parking lot and gained a multi-use green habitat.

A RUNOFF SUCCESS

The Perrinville Creek basin, located in Snohomish County,  packs a punch. As rainfall runs over the paved surfaces and rooftops, its 1,200 acres of "uplands" drain polluted stormwater into the creek and eventually into Puget Sound. Nine out of 10 homeowners expressed willingness to install a rain garden in their neighborhood right-of-ways — and even on their own properties. 

IN 2016:

1,621 ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS

472 NEW VOLUNTEERS

19
Restoration work parties

29
Outreach events

4,200
Total volunteer hours
 

On our preserves, volunteers removed: 

• Invasive Scotch broom
• English ivy
• Damaged and hazardous fencing
• Illegally dumped trash

SOCIAL MEDIA

Engaging with nature
by engaging through media

113,000 Followers in 2016

This video is our gift to you. Thanks for everything you do to support our work.