Floating

Finishing up

August 4, 2014 Comments (0) journal

Tacoma Shoreline Survey, Day 1

Starting the Tacoma Shoreline Survey today, with the first section beginning at Titlow Beach and going through the Tacoma Narrows to Salmon Beach this afternoon.

In addition to the actual counting, I’m planning on measuring the total amount of Tacoma waterfront that has been hardened and modified from its natural state by bulkheads and riprap. Much of this first section lies below the railroad tracks and the shoreline in these areas is a solid jumble of stone. I don’t expect to find much debris in these areas, as the tides scour the rocky walls twice a day, but it will be helpful to know just how much of what is here has been changed by development. (Hardened beaches, although less likely to contain litter, come with their own list of environmental impacts and represent a fundamental change in the shoreline’s ability to support aquatic life.)

It’s a bluebird day here again in the Pacific Northwest… time to get to it.