Our Top 10 Science Posts from 2017

Need a break from the festivities and preparation for the new year? Enjoy a sample of our Top 10 science blog post from 2017. Take a front row seat of The Nature Conservancyโ€™s conservation work through the words of our science and conservation staff.

Sea stars on the Northwest Coast of Washington. Photo by Nancy Sefton.

No. 1: How Can Trees Help the Seas?

Our approach to forest management can have implications for our oceans. With their potential to either release or absorb CO2, there is a growing focus on managing forests to enhance their capacity to capture and store it. Thus, healthy forests can take in carbon that the oceans would otherwise absorb.


No. 2: Celebrating Washingtonโ€™s Seascapes: What Lies Beneath?

Letโ€™s break the surface this summer. From waterโ€™s edge to thousands of feet below, Washingtonโ€™s seascapes are replete with weird, fascinating animals and plants, currents and geology that create one of the most productive ocean systems on earth


No. 3: The Flood Risks We Face

Throughout Washington, rain often brings risk: Flood-prone communities routinely face threats to homes and infrastructure. Weโ€™re working with communities to prepare and plan for flood threats. One important first step is defining the risk to flood-prone communities


No. 4: Learn How We Are Mapping Sea Level Rise

When scientists and agencies produce sea level rise projections due to a changing climate, maps can show where water will flood inland as seas rise. These maps create better understanding of how higher waters will impact coastlines, communities and the environment.


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No. 5: The Sands of Time Carry Away my Childhood Beach

Coastal habitats in Washington are not only beautiful places we enjoy visiting, but they also serve as the first line of defense for coastal communities threatened by storms and rising seas. If we think ahead, we can benefit from these ecosystems and preserve our special shorelines.   


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No. 6: Woody Debris is a Salmonโ€™s Jam

In salmon-bearing streams, installation of log jams โ€” a buildup of wood debris creating deep pools  โ€” has become a priority method to recover salmon habitat and reset geomorphological processes that suffer from the legacy effects of a centuryโ€™s worth of logging. 


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No. 7: Two-minute Takeaway: What is a Raingarden?

Beyond fresh vegetables and cheerful blooms, your garden can be a key contributor to environmental health. By planting native grasses and other local flora within a shallow depression, you enlist your gardenโ€™s deep roots to naturally filter pollutants


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No. 8: Traditional Medicine and Natureโ€™s Effects Helped on My Journey with MS

Seventeen years ago, when my doctor prescribed a little nature, he couldnโ€™t fully understand how my sense of wonder and awe, a feeling of mystery and a perception of my smallness would help guide me on my journey with MS.


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No. 9: Two-minute Takeaway: What is a Floodplain?

You may not think about floodplains all that much. But they are all around us, quietly at work, providing rich soil for our farms, habitat for our salmon and beautiful backdrops for our lives.


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No. 10: Nature Doesnโ€™t Express Values; Only Humans Do

Anthropologists have long understood that those who experience environments differently will develop varying philosophical, spiritual and moral views about nature โ€” and that these views, in turn, shape visions of how resources should be managed.