Sandie O’Neill from NOAAA is giving a lunch keynote address on:

Regional Effort to Select Environmental Indicators for the Puget Sound. Where we’ve been, where we’re going, and South Sound involvement.

Notes from Sandie’s talk:

One of the uses of indicators is to keep policy makers up to speed on progress.

Must be science based, but also resonate with the public.

There can be a disconnect between science and policy. For example, Puget Sound Partnership wanted 10 or so indicators while science folks showed examples of 600 indicators being used in other areas.

Potential indicators for water quality could include oil spills or annual maximum daily flows.

Jeff Dickison asks the group what should be on the list for South Puget Sound. Here is the list (transcribed by John Konovsky):

• Variances to shoreline management plan
• Dissolved oxygen
• Land use/cover
• micro algea
• Nutrients
• Index of indicators to simply the presentation to public
• Forage fish, use more than herring
• Stormwater, effects on contaminants (complicated topic)
• Sediment
• “Nursery area”
• Forage fish spawning beds.
• Travel time of water downriver