February 16, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Five independent reviewers have found that NOAA Fisheries’ “Nearshore Calculator” is based on the best available science. Our scientists developed the tool to assess the value of salmon habitat in Puget Sound. The professional feedback indicates that the calculator can help accurately estimate the effects of development, and what it will take to offset that impact.
In one of the reviews, Steven J. Cooke of Carleton University praised the way the calculator was “thoughtfully developed drawing upon published literature, grey literature, and expert knowledge.”
NOAA Fisheries developed the calculator to help developers and other project proponents quantify the impact of their projects on the value of salmon habitat. Puget Sound’s nearshore habitat is especially important to juvenile Chinook salmon during their first few months in saltwater, before they leave for years in the open ocean. The larger the fish are when they set off, the better their odds of surviving and returning to their home rivers to spawn.
We published three biological opinions between 2020 to 2022 assessing the impacts of development projects such as bulkheads and piers on salmon habitat. They determined that further losses of nearshore habitat in Puget Sound were likely to jeopardize the existence of threatened Puget Sound Chinook salmon and endangered Southern Resident killer whales.
Following those opinions, the Army Corps of Engineers’ 2022 Salish Sea Nearshore Programmatic Biological Opinion required project proponents to offset the impacts of their projects on the habitat. The Nearshore Calculator provides a scientifically based means of valuing lost salmon habitat so developers know up-front how much they must offset.