Puget Sound Partnership

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Species, Food Webs and Biodiversity Topic Forum

The species/biodiversity topic forum is guided by a series of science and policy questions (below). The Partnership will also host a public workshop on May 1 (see meeting details below).

Species, Food Web and Biodiversity Topic Forum

 May 1 - Everett

Lead:

Laura Blackmore - Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc., Laila Parker (assisting) - Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc.

Core Team Members:

Wayne Palsson, Joe Gaydos, Mary Mahaffy, Ken Currens, Si Simenstad, Lynne Barre

Science Questions Framing Topic Forum Discussions

Status of species, biodiversity, and food web function in Puget Sound

  • Summarizing/synthesizing key findings from previous efforts, and updating as appropriate, what is the current status of the species, food webs, and biodiversity functions in Puget Sound?
  • What are the threats to species, food webs and biodiversity functions in the Puget Sound region?
  • How does current status compare to a ‘healthy’ or reference condition for species, food webs or biodiversity functions in the Puget Sound region?

Management approaches addressing species, biodiversity and food web functions

  • From an empirical perspective, what do we know about the effectiveness and certainty of management approaches aimed at addressing threats to key species, food webs and biodiversity functions?

Policy Questions Framing Topic Forum Discussions

Policy approaches to address biodiversity in Puget Sound: What is currently being done?

  • What are the policy approaches that are being used to address biodiversity in the Puget Sound region?

Needs assessment and actions: What are the gaps?

  • Using the results from the three previous science and policy discussions, what needs to be done to address the documented threats to species, food webs, and biodiversity practices in the Puget Sound region?
  • What criteria should be considered for prioritizing actions to address species, food webs and biodiversity?
  • How will we know we are making progress on species, food webs and biodiversity?