Salmon in river

FOCUS AREA

Estuaries

A bird wading on the shore of an estuary

Overview

Key Pressures and Risks

An 1884 inventory of tidal wetlands estimated that there were over 2,600 acres of tidal marsh, tide channels, and salt ponds in the estuary. The estuary has been significantly filled and altered since European settlement, resulting in significant loss of intact nearshore habitat, tidal wetlands and channels, and salt marsh.

Shipping containers in a port

Industrialization in Commencement Bay resulted in the filling of a vast area of tideflats and the channelization of the meandering streams and rivers that flowed into the bay.

Smokestack

Historically, waterways in the estuary have received releases of hazardous substances from various industries, including shipbuilding, oil refining, and chemical manufacturing plants.

Dam with water spilling over

The estuary has been affected by marine levees, floodgates, tide gates, armoring and other shoreline alterations.

Climate Change

The EPA states that the largest impacts on estuaries from climate change are rising sea levels, altered rain patterns, drought, and ocean acidification.

  • As a result of rising sea level, estuarine shorelines will move and inundate lowlands, displace wetlands, and alter the tidal range in rivers and bays.
  • Increased instances of storm surges will similarly result in more areas subject to periodic inundation, greater stormwater runoff, erosion, and sedimentation.
  • This alteration of the nutrient load, pollution, and sediment load may threaten the functionality of estuarine ecosystems.

Estuaries Goal

The overall goal for estuaries is to support the restoration of estuarine and shoreline habitat to enhance functional and sustainable ecosystems.


The Strategy includes a 50-year goal to protect 32,000 acres of floodplain habitat, including estuary and nearshore habitat, from development and a 10-year goal to restore 153 acres of nearshore habitat.

The main nearshore goal in the Strategy is to restore and/or maintain ecological connectivity and geomorphic function of the nearshore, from 200 feet on the landward side to 100 feet below mean lower low water (MLLW).

Fisherman with nets along the shore
Shoreline with logs and a pier

The Shoreline Restoration Plan includes goals to restore estuarine wetlands and to restore and protect the salt marsh habitat.

Equity

Pierce County’s Sustainability 2030 plan calls for action to increase partnering with local Tribes and others to identify innovative ways to sequester carbon in estuaries and the nearshore environment.

The County plans to provide engagement on this project through a process that has a focus on equity and prioritizes underrepresented communities.

Estuary Successes in the Watershed

Several estuary restoration and cleanup projects have been completed in recent years, contributing to progress toward estuary goals.

This 6.7-acre site near Commencement Bay has been restored to a functioning estuarine marsh featuring intertidal channels and forested upland.

The Port of Tacoma has restored two sites off Clear Creek, which is tidally influenced. The two sites total 57 acres.

In 2006, the City of Tacoma cleaned up the Thea Foss Waterway by removing or capping contaminated sediments.

Priority Actions for The Estuary

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