WEBVTT 00:08.041 --> 00:15.315 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [narrator] The Pacific Northwest s Puget Sound. Its waters form the 00:15.315 --> 00:24.524 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% nation s second-largest estuary and comprise the southern half of the greater Salish Sea. 00:24.524 --> 00:28.294 align:left position:65% line:89% size:25% With more than 4 million people calling it home, 00:28.294 --> 00:35.935 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% the Puget Sound region is known for its natural wonders both above and below the surface. 00:35.935 --> 00:43.710 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% [brian] The real beauty of Puget Sound is what lies under the surface. 00:43.710 --> 00:50.683 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% [narrator] More than two dozen kelp species create an underwater haven for marine mammals, 00:50.683 --> 00:57.924 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% hundreds of fish species, and a diverse array of invertebrates and other organisms. 00:57.924 --> 01:05.732 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% [betsy] Puget Sound is a biodiversity hotspot. Kelp forests themselves 01:05.732 --> 01:14.574 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% are fueling, powering, supporting the marine ecosystem and the fisheries on which we depend. 01:14.574 --> 01:23.416 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% [brian] Everything eats kelp. It's in the shrimp and the clams and the salmon and the whales. 01:23.416 --> 01:28.288 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Kelp is the reason why estuaries are productive places. 01:28.288 --> 01:36.162 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% [brooke] They are these giant underwater forests that are just totally irreplaceable. 01:36.162 --> 01:41.167 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [narrator] Kelp forests have played an essential role in this ecosystem 01:41.167 --> 01:47.073 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% for many thousands of years. As early peoples migrated into the Americas, 01:47.073 --> 01:53.179 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% a lifeway of kelp beds supported them with food and safe passage on their journey. 01:53.179 --> 01:59.953 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% Their descendants - known as the Coast Salish - comprise a loose grouping of indigenous nations 01:59.953 --> 02:06.493 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% who still live here. Kelp plays a significant role in their shared cultures. 02:06.493 --> 02:08.394 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [leonard] 02:08.394 --> 02:13.366 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% It s also a very big indicator of the health of the sea and of our ancestral waters here. 02:13.366 --> 02:19.339 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [narrator] In recent years, Tribal citizens and Western scientists alike 02:19.339 --> 02:23.843 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% have observed that kelp is in serious decline in some areas. 02:23.843 --> 02:28.615 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% [tom] We've seen significant losses. The first maps that we had 02:28.615 --> 02:36.589 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% were done in the 1870s and there was kelp marked all over South Sound. It's gone. 02:36.589 --> 02:40.627 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% People are beginning to realize it matters. It makes a difference. 02:40.627 --> 02:48.601 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [casey] Kelp is very important to all marine species. It's also important to us as humans. 02:48.601 --> 02:52.272 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% We don't want to think about what happens if we lose it. If it disappears, 02:52.272 --> 02:55.441 align:left position:67.5% line:89% size:22.5% it's more than just the kelp that will disappear. 02:55.441 --> 03:03.082 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% [narrator] Resource managers, scientists, tribal citizens, and advocates across Puget Sound are 03:03.082 --> 03:09.956 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% working together to solve the mysteries of conserving and restoring kelp forests. 03:09.956 --> 03:16.529 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% What does this region s interconnected history with kelp reveal about its current health? And 03:16.529 --> 03:42.355 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% how will kelp persist in the future? [announcer] 03:42.355 --> 03:47.160 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% Major funding for this program was provided by the Batchelor Foundation, 03:47.160 --> 03:53.967 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% encouraging people to preserve and protect America s underwater resources. 03:53.967 --> 04:13.286 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% Additional funding was provided by the Parrot Family Endowment for Environmental Education. 04:13.286 --> 04:14.621 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 04:14.621 --> 04:19.325 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Puget Sound sits at the southern end of the Salish Sea, 04:19.325 --> 04:28.034 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% a complex of waterways spanning more than 270 miles across the US-Canadian border. Not far 04:28.034 --> 04:37.877 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% from the Pacific Ocean, along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, lies the remote San Juan Archipelago. 04:37.877 --> 04:41.881 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% Known for its local population of endangered Southern Resident killer 04:41.881 --> 05:00.867 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% whales, the islands are also home to the University of Washington s Friday Harbor Labs. 05:00.867 --> 05:01.868 align:left position:37.5% line:89% size:52.5% [brooke] 05:01.868 --> 05:03.469 align:left position:87.5% line:89% size:2.5% We could check around this bend. 05:03.469 --> 05:08.908 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% [narrator] It is here that post-doctoral researcher Brooke Weigel 05:08.908 --> 05:13.379 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% is working to uncover the keys to conserving and restoring kelp. 05:13.379 --> 05:17.317 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% [brooke] Some of the kelp are known as canopy-forming kelp 05:17.317 --> 05:21.321 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% because they grow from the bottom of the ocean all the way to the surface. 05:21.321 --> 05:27.794 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% I study the bull kelp. Its scientific name is Nereocystis luetkeana, and 05:27.794 --> 05:35.068 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% it anchors itself to the bottom of the ocean with a portion of the kelp called a holdfast. And it 05:35.068 --> 05:43.776 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% looks kind of like plant roots, but they're not roots because they don't take up any nutrients. 05:43.776 --> 05:49.148 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% [narrator] Although kelp are classified as algae and not plants, 05:49.148 --> 05:53.486 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% they are some of the most productive carbon-fixers on the planet. 05:53.486 --> 06:00.493 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% As primary producers, kelp remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis. 06:00.493 --> 06:05.732 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% [brooke] Kelp are extraordinarily productive. They fix 06:05.732 --> 06:11.437 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% an immense amount of carbon in coastal ecosystems. They also grow really fast. 06:11.437 --> 06:19.011 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [tom] Kelp makes food more rapidly than almost any other living organism. You see a kelp plant 06:19.011 --> 06:23.416 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% and the blade, and so forth, and it'll just kind of sit there and it looks like it's just sitting 06:23.416 --> 06:30.289 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% there. Actually, it's growing all the time and the growth takes place near the base of the blade. 06:30.289 --> 06:35.561 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% And when it grows, it extends the blade. And so the plant may not look any bigger, 06:35.561 --> 06:40.533 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% but it's just like this conveyor belt with the end of it falling off. If it didn't tatter, 06:40.533 --> 06:45.872 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% it would be four to six times longer. There s a four to six times turnover every year in that 06:45.872 --> 06:53.045 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% plant. So what you see is only a fourth or a sixth of what you get into the food web. 06:53.045 --> 06:55.081 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 06:55.081 --> 07:01.721 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% In recent years, researchers have begun to measure just how far kelp reaches into the ecosystem. 07:01.721 --> 07:07.560 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% [tom] And so things like fish and birds, crabs, amphipods, barnacles - all these things: 07:07.560 --> 07:15.401 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% you can measure how much kelp carbon have they consumed and are made of. And, it s amazing. 07:15.401 --> 07:20.907 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% Rockfish on the outer coast are half to three quarters kelp carbon. Crabs are like 25% kelp 07:20.907 --> 07:25.011 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% carbon. They don't eat the kelp, but they eat things that eat kelp that eat kelp. 07:25.011 --> 07:30.316 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% And so that kelp carbon goes up the food web and it ends up in all these different animals. 07:30.316 --> 07:34.921 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% [narrator] Kelp forests also create structured habitat, 07:34.921 --> 07:41.761 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% providing safe refuge and foraging opportunities for a diverse community of living organisms. 07:41.761 --> 07:45.965 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [tom] People have known for a very long time the importance of kelp 07:45.965 --> 07:49.635 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% as habitat. It wasn't academic science that figured this out. 07:49.635 --> 07:54.507 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% Native American people knew for a very long time. You want to go fishing? And the Samish Tribe, 07:54.507 --> 08:05.685 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% in particular - they know when you go fishing, go find a kelp bed. That's where the fish are. 08:05.685 --> 08:07.220 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 08:07.220 --> 08:11.724 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% The Samish Indian Nation is just one of many Coast Salish tribes 08:11.724 --> 08:15.161 align:left position:70% line:89% size:20% that understand the tremendous value of kelp, 08:15.161 --> 08:21.934 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% not just as a food source, but also as integral to their culture and definition of home. 08:21.934 --> 08:28.441 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% [todd] There's not sort of this separation of environment that I have from a Western 08:28.441 --> 08:33.813 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% perspective. And so for example, with the plight of our resident J pod Orcas, 08:33.813 --> 08:38.217 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% Samish people and other Coast Salish people view them as relatives. It s not about saving 08:38.217 --> 08:43.256 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% a charismatic megafauna - it's about: what would you do to save your grandparent or your child? 08:43.256 --> 08:47.627 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% And that lends a very different perspective than I think most Western scientists 08:47.627 --> 08:52.532 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% have thought about very much. And I know those types of things, working in tribal country, 08:52.532 --> 09:02.008 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% have really opened my eyes and put an additional layer of meaning on the work that I do. 09:02.008 --> 09:03.476 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 09:03.476 --> 09:07.246 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% In partnership with NOAA and the Northwest Straits Foundation, 09:07.246 --> 09:13.419 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% Todd Woodard and his team are digitizing kelp surveys into an on-going database 09:13.419 --> 09:18.391 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% to better understand the health of kelp in traditional Samish territory. 09:18.391 --> 09:24.697 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [casey] The Story Map titled Decade of Disappearance looks at two sets of 09:24.697 --> 09:32.605 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% imagery - one from 2006 and one from 2016 and it compares the bull kelp canopy within the San Juan 09:32.605 --> 09:37.810 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% islands. And then we've also done kayak surveys out in the islands and we've compared that to 09:37.810 --> 09:47.687 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% our data. And we are continuing to digitize new imaging to compare to that baseline 2006 data. 09:47.687 --> 09:49.689 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 09:49.689 --> 09:57.029 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% After digitizing these aerial surveys, the Samish team could see a clear and astonishing decline. 09:57.029 --> 10:03.235 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% [todd] And so we were noticing about a 30% decline overall, but there's some local places like the 10:03.235 --> 10:12.712 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% Northern Islands - Patos, Sutia, Matia - where we were seeing 75-80% loss in canopy coverage. 10:12.712 --> 10:20.119 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% [narrator] The team also worked with tribal elders to incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge, 10:20.119 --> 10:26.459 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% which includes the stories, traditions, and observations of indigenous peoples 10:26.459 --> 10:29.595 align:left position:82.5% line:89% size:7.5% over hundreds, or thousands, of years. 10:29.595 --> 10:33.499 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% [todd] Samish and other Coast Salish people have been stewards of this 10:33.499 --> 10:38.437 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% environment since time immemorial. And so it adds that depth that tells a much 10:38.437 --> 10:41.774 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% more complete story as to what's happening in the environment. 10:41.774 --> 10:46.612 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% [narrator] Oceanographer and Samish citizen, Toby McLeod 10:46.612 --> 10:53.619 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% sat down with tribal fishermen to deepen the baseline data with their traditional knowledge. 10:53.619 --> 10:58.290 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [toby] I went to my father's house, and my uncle happened to be there, 10:58.290 --> 11:03.729 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% who also fished with my dad. And I brought out this map that Casey had printed out 11:03.729 --> 11:09.735 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% of the San Juan Islands. And I just asked him: Where is there kelp now? Where was 11:09.735 --> 11:15.841 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% there kelp when you were fishing? And where did you hear of kelp existing historically? 11:15.841 --> 11:22.515 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [narrator] As Toby s father drew lines on the map to indicate kelp beds through the years, 11:22.515 --> 11:26.919 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% the two men provided more than 100 years of local fishing knowledge 11:26.919 --> 11:33.859 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% through their oral histories, which was then digitized into the team s Story Map. 11:33.859 --> 11:38.998 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% [toby] They had stories of fishing everywhere and they had stories that they'd been told by their 11:38.998 --> 11:45.071 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% grandparents of where they used to fish and how they used to fish. There was kelp out here that 11:45.071 --> 11:50.776 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% he could lay his net alongside and catch king salmon, and then he told me stories about kelp 11:50.776 --> 11:56.048 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% being so thick that his net wouldn't even touch the rocks if he laid it along the beach because 11:56.048 --> 12:05.357 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% of the density. Not so anymore, but pretty much everywhere in the islands, you could find it. 12:05.357 --> 12:07.359 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 12:07.359 --> 12:12.698 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% The Samish Department of Natural Resources is not alone in documenting an alarming decline of 12:12.698 --> 12:19.739 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% bull kelp canopy in the Salish Sea. Marine Ecologist Helen Berry and her colleagues 12:19.739 --> 12:25.411 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% recently completed a study focused on sites much farther South in Puget Sound 12:25.411 --> 12:29.281 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% in the traditional territory of the Squaxin Island Tribe. 12:29.281 --> 12:33.419 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [helen] These are really important areas to look at because they're the 12:33.419 --> 12:37.890 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% farthest away from the ocean and the most impacted by humans. So they're hundreds 12:37.890 --> 12:41.427 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% of miles away. They're at the very southern terminus of Puget Sound. 12:41.427 --> 12:46.532 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% [narrator] Helen and her team were able to create a baseline of kelp s presence 12:46.532 --> 12:51.470 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% over more than a century using the principles of historical ecology, 12:51.470 --> 12:57.843 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% which reaches back into the historical record to understand changes over time. 12:57.843 --> 13:04.450 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [helen] We first looked for historic records from the time of early European colonization, 13:04.450 --> 13:10.523 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% and that's from the mid-1870s because European settlement happened quite late here. If you look 13:10.523 --> 13:17.163 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% at any chart, you can see that the mapmakers have carefully delineated where the big kelp beds are. 13:17.163 --> 13:21.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And the reason they do that is because kelp grows in shallow areas 13:21.000 --> 13:26.372 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% and it attaches to rocks. And so if you're in a boat, you really want to stay away from the 13:26.372 --> 13:30.676 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% kelp beds because that way you're not going to end up on the rocks. So that was one of 13:30.676 --> 13:35.948 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% the most important historical uses of kelp, just for transportation, and it's one we've 13:35.948 --> 13:43.455 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% used in more recent years because it's an amazing record historically of where kelp has occurred. 13:43.455 --> 13:49.962 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% [narrator] Helen also utilized early topographic sheets completed by the U.S. Coast Survey 13:49.962 --> 13:58.370 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% in the late 1800s, a time when less than a thousand people inhabited South Puget Sound. 13:58.370 --> 14:04.443 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% Early farmers in the area also used kelp as a vital fertilizer. Her team 14:04.443 --> 14:09.882 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% combed the pages of an almanac identifying historic kelp harvesting locations. 14:09.882 --> 14:15.554 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% [helen] So we took all of those really diverse information sources. And then we used 14:15.554 --> 14:20.993 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% spatial geo-databases and GIS - geographic information systems - to combine all that 14:20.993 --> 14:26.832 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% data and analyze it as a single synoptic dataset. And what we found is in South Puget 14:26.832 --> 14:31.871 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% Sound - one of our areas of greatest concern - the current distribution of bull kelp is about 14:31.871 --> 14:38.244 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% 20% of what it was historically. So, there's been a big change here. 14:38.244 --> 14:44.683 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% [narrator] Despite an 80% decrease in the presence of bull kelp nearer the more populated regions of 14:44.683 --> 14:51.290 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% Puget Sound, additional studies found that kelp beds are not necessarily declining everywhere. 14:51.290 --> 14:56.695 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [helen] We did a similar study in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which is the entrance of the Salish 14:56.695 --> 15:02.601 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% Sea, and we found there that the populations are generally stable over the last hundred years. 15:02.601 --> 15:09.174 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% And so what this really teaches us is that the status of kelp over the last 150 years really 15:09.174 --> 15:16.649 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% varies based on where you are. It really matters where in the sound you're asking that question. 15:16.649 --> 15:23.088 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [narrator] One group that is working to support researchers like Helen Berry across the Salish Sea 15:23.088 --> 15:27.760 align:left position:72.5% line:89% size:17.5% is the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, or PSRF. 15:27.760 --> 15:33.165 align:left position:70% line:89% size:20% [betsy] Protecting, conserving, understanding, 15:33.165 --> 15:40.372 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% studying, restoring kelp forests is going to take a huge collective undertaking, just because 15:40.372 --> 15:48.247 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% kelp is such a diverse and varied and foundational part of the ecosystem. 15:48.247 --> 15:57.156 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% [narrator] In 2021, Betsy and the PSRF team organized the first-ever kelp expedition 15:57.156 --> 16:04.029 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% aimed at connecting stakeholders from across the region. The 8-day expedition 16:04.029 --> 16:09.635 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% included dive and survey locations ranging from the Strait of Juan de Fuca through the 16:09.635 --> 16:16.575 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% Seattle area and all the way down to the state capitol of Olympia at the head of Puget Sound. 16:16.575 --> 16:24.283 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% [betsy] The kelp expedition became a way to explore kelp forests together 16:24.283 --> 16:31.156 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% with lots of scientists who are carrying on incredible work and with tribes who have really 16:31.156 --> 16:40.332 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% important traditional ecological knowledge, so that we can benefit from this textured knowledge. 16:40.332 --> 16:47.573 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% [narrator] More than 40 organizations participated in the expedition, including federal and state 16:47.573 --> 16:56.749 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% agencies, university scientists, and local tribes. In all, 185 people from around the region 16:56.749 --> 17:03.722 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% actively worked together on the water to address the future of kelp in the local ecosystem. 17:03.722 --> 17:10.029 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% [betsy] The kelp expedition was embraced by all these different partners and individuals. 17:10.029 --> 17:15.667 align:left position:70% line:89% size:20% It was a really beautiful collective experience. 17:15.667 --> 17:22.207 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% [narrator] In addition to fostering collaboration and creating a network of monitoring sites around 17:22.207 --> 17:32.117 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% the Salish Sea, PSRF is actively working to solve the complex riddle of restoration. One of the 17:32.117 --> 17:38.857 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% stops on the kelp expedition was the Port Madison Indian Reservation in Suquamish. 17:38.857 --> 17:46.432 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% Here, PSRF has been working with the Suquamish tribe and with NOAA to rebuild a kelp forest 17:46.432 --> 17:51.403 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% where it existed historically. [betsy] The reason we got started 17:51.403 --> 17:57.409 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% with kelp in the first place is because tribal leaders told us that it was important 17:57.409 --> 18:05.617 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% because that is a beginning point for fisheries that tribes have depended on for such a long time. 18:05.617 --> 18:11.390 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% [leonard] Our ancestors and my elders and my dad all talked about the fact that there 18:11.390 --> 18:18.931 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% were thick kelp beds just off the water here in Doe-Keg-Wats, where they were active in fishing 18:18.931 --> 18:24.036 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% and clamming and spending a lot of their time out there. Those are now gone and restoring 18:24.036 --> 18:29.775 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% those is so important for what we call the near-shore environment of our ancestral waters. 18:29.775 --> 18:35.814 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [brian] This site here is one of what we call a historic area of presence. So there used to 18:35.814 --> 18:44.056 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% be a floating kelp bed there, a kelp canopy, and a lot of that loss has occurred relatively recently. 18:44.056 --> 18:48.594 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% Noticing that decline is a little bit different from understanding why 18:48.594 --> 18:55.968 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% it's happening and that's still something that eludes us right now. We can't go to the library 18:55.968 --> 19:03.575 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% and borrow a book about how to do this. We have to figure out for ourselves the best ways to do that 19:03.575 --> 19:07.079 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% and how to be effective at that takes trial and error. 19:07.079 --> 19:12.718 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% It takes experimentation, and that's the phase that we're in right now. 19:12.718 --> 19:20.859 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [betsy] It is hard and complicated to try to figure out how to restore kelp forests. You can't 19:20.859 --> 19:27.166 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% just produce and outplant kelp seed, which people know how to do. They do it all over the world for 19:27.166 --> 19:35.474 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% kelp farming purposes. What you have to do is not just get that kelp to grow in a single year, 19:35.474 --> 19:47.352 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% but you have to do it at a magnitude and at a scale that it will come back the following year. 19:47.352 --> 19:48.987 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 19:48.987 --> 19:53.091 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% Back in the San Juan Islands, Brooke Weigel is one of many researchers 19:53.091 --> 19:59.565 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% working to better understand the mysteries of how bull kelp reproduces year after year. 19:59.565 --> 20:04.770 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% [brooke] Kelp are experiencing many different stressors, but we actually know 20:04.770 --> 20:10.042 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% very little about how these different stressors affect their physiology, 20:10.042 --> 20:16.415 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% their growth, their survival and their reproduction across their life cycle. 20:16.415 --> 20:21.553 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% [narrator] Brooke begins by collecting the reproductive patches found on kelp 20:21.553 --> 20:27.492 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% blades and bringing them back to the lab at Friday Harbor. 20:27.492 --> 20:32.698 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% There, she is able to take a closer look at the reproductive cycle under a controlled 20:32.698 --> 20:39.805 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% range of temperatures. In this study, she s comparing kelp populations from cold water 20:39.805 --> 20:45.677 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% sites in the Strait of Juan de Fuca with warmer water sites near Squaxin Island. 20:45.677 --> 20:53.018 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [brooke] Under the microscope, I'm assessing at what temperature fertilization happens and 20:53.018 --> 20:57.322 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% you have reproductive success, because you need to have that completion of 20:57.322 --> 21:01.994 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% the life cycle in order for kelp to survive and persist year after year. 21:01.994 --> 21:04.696 align:left position:82.5% line:89% size:7.5% [narrator] Brooke s results suggest 21:04.696 --> 21:09.868 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% what is already being observed across the Puget Sound region: 21:09.868 --> 21:17.209 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% warmer-than-usual summer temperatures seem to be negatively impacting kelp s ability to reproduce. 21:17.209 --> 21:25.651 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [brooke] With warmer temperature, the kelp are growing faster, and then they reach a critical 21:25.651 --> 21:32.291 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% threshold at which their cellular processes start to decline and it's too stressful for them. 21:32.291 --> 21:34.059 align:left position:87.5% line:89% size:2.5% [brooke] Here s another good one. 21:34.059 --> 21:38.930 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% [narrator] Research such as Brooke s may have important implications for 21:38.930 --> 21:45.537 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% kelp enhancement projects like the Puget Sound Restoration Fund s site in Suquamish. 21:45.537 --> 21:50.909 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% [brooke] It's important to know which kelp population to select. 21:50.909 --> 21:55.547 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% If you're growing kelp and planting them into the ocean, you need to know something about how 21:55.547 --> 22:00.752 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% they might respond to these environmental stressors, like increasing temperatures, 22:00.752 --> 22:07.959 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% low nitrogen concentrations, increasing predation from things like crabs and urchins and other 22:07.959 --> 22:17.769 align:left position:87.5% line:83% size:2.5% factors that they're experiencing in their environment. 22:17.769 --> 22:18.970 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 22:18.970 --> 22:22.274 align:left position:65% line:89% size:25% While researchers and managers across Puget Sound 22:22.274 --> 22:29.047 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% work to hone our understanding of kelp s life cycle, there is still much to be revealed. 22:29.047 --> 22:37.089 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% [tom] We've started to see kelp disappear 50, 75, 100 years ago. 22:37.089 --> 22:41.960 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% It's not something that's all happened here in the last 10 years. So, there s some place in 22:41.960 --> 22:50.569 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% that circle that s broken and we don't know where that circle, it's broken. It s still a mystery. 22:50.569 --> 22:59.010 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% [betsy] There is work ahead, significant work ahead. So we need to grow the science 22:59.010 --> 23:02.314 align:left position:72.5% line:89% size:17.5% pretty significantly in order to be effective. 23:02.314 --> 23:07.085 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [todd] There's no question that Puget Sound is in trouble. There are some serious challenges 23:07.085 --> 23:12.758 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% ahead of us, not to mention climate change and sea level rise, but, you know, growth pressures 23:12.758 --> 23:20.332 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% and pollution all are having an effect despite how beautiful this area looks from the surface. 23:20.332 --> 23:22.267 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [narrator] 23:22.267 --> 23:29.007 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% As stakeholders work together to understand, conserve, and restore kelp in the Salish Sea, 23:29.007 --> 23:36.715 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% all agree that it is key to the region s abundant and diverse ecosystem. 23:36.715 --> 23:41.153 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% [tom] We wouldn't have had this conversation five years ago. We wouldn't have this conversation 23:41.153 --> 23:44.289 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% two years ago. Kelp is having its moment. And one of the 23:44.289 --> 23:48.827 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% moments it's having is this bringing together of all these disparate stakeholders, 23:48.827 --> 23:55.534 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% if you will. All these different people working together on this problem, which is really cool. 23:55.534 --> 23:59.404 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% [todd] The only way you can make real progress really on any environmental 23:59.404 --> 24:03.708 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% front is to have that network of partnerships and the tribes are a significant part of that. 24:03.708 --> 24:09.247 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% [helen] We're lucky enough now in Puget Sound to have what I would consider a really unique group 24:09.247 --> 24:14.052 align:left position:65% line:83% size:25% of people that are working together. So government scientists working with the tribes, working with 24:14.052 --> 24:29.134 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% local volunteers, working with academics, we do stand a chance of making a difference. 24:29.134 --> 24:30.936 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% [leonard] 24:30.936 --> 24:34.673 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% We have to think about what this impact will be on seven generations in the future. 24:34.673 --> 24:41.713 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% This is something that we may have a chance to preserve today for those future generations. So 24:41.713 --> 24:49.387 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% when they come in here to fish or swim or dig clams, or pull in our canoes, 24:49.387 --> 24:52.991 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% maybe they'll get their paddles caught up in some kelp beds. 24:52.991 --> 24:57.362 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% It's very, very important to us, culturally and economically and spiritually as well. 24:57.362 --> 25:02.834 align:left position:82.5% line:83% size:7.5% [toby] What we do to the environment we do to ourselves. And because 25:02.834 --> 25:09.574 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% kelp is such a fundamental part of the nearshore ecosystem, 25:09.574 --> 25:16.014 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% the way that we affect it dramatically affects us as people that live in this area. 25:16.014 --> 25:22.287 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% [helen] Kelp is an unsung hero of Puget Sound. So many people see the Orcas, 25:22.287 --> 25:26.525 align:left position:85% line:83% size:5% or they see the salmon, or they see the birds, or they see the forage fish. 25:26.525 --> 25:34.132 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% And to have those amazing resources and animals in our midst, we need to provide them with habitat 25:34.132 --> 25:38.132 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and we need to support the food web and kelp is critical to that.