A Geomorphic Classification of Puget Sound Nearshore Landforms Prepared in support of the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership

Acknowledgments T he Nearshore Science Team (NST) of the Puget Sound Nearshore Project recognized in early discussions the need for a geomorphic framework to guide shoreline restoration planning. These individuals clarified the rationale and the purpose for this document and provided valuable comments on early drafts of the report. This project also benefitted greatly from the input of Washington. This document may be freely copied and distributed without charge. Executive Summary T he shoreline of Puget Sound includes more than 3,000 kilometers of beaches and bluffs, estuaries and lagoons, river deltas and rocky coastlines. Each of these shoreline types is shaped by different geomorphic processes and each gives rise to a different suite of nearshore ecosystems and ecological functions. Within each of these coastal settings, the environmental stressors and the resource management challenges will be different. Strategic regional approaches to environmental protection and restoration will only be successful to the extent that they accurately incorporate this fundamental variability in the geomorphic landscape. The Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP) has adopted a process-based approach to restoring and preserving nearshore ecosystems, recognizing that (1) the need for ecological restoration most often results where natural processes have been disrupted and (2) efforts to restore ecosystems without addressing impairments to these underlying processes are unlikely to succeed. Spatially explicit approaches to restoration will require understanding which processes operate at a particular place and what the context of that place is within a complex geologic landscape. Regulation of shoreline activities also benefits from the consideration of geomorphic context. Washington's new shoreline guidelines (WAC 173-26) require cities and counties to update their local Shoreline Master Programs over the next several years with a goal of achieving nonet loss of ecological functions. Accurately characterizing the ecological functions associated with a particular site or shoreline reach will be important in developing meaningful regulations. Doing this will benefit from developing assessment methods and management approaches appropriate to specific coastal environments. This report proposes a conceptual classification of Puget Sound nearshore landforms that is hierarchical, that reflects the primary role of geomorphic processes in shaping the landscape and that is relevant to the unique setting of Puget Sound. The report outlines a systematic framework that describes the geomorphic variability of the Puget Sound shoreline and that can guide strategies for assessing, managing or restoring nearshore environments. This framework is based on the concept that ecosystems are shaped by …