A new tool allows people to peel away pages of the history of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood Canal.
Developed for salmon recovery efforts by the Point No Point Treaty Council, it provides access to changes in many shorelines and estuaries on the North Olympic and the Kitsap peninsulas.
Old and new shoreline maps are available within a report at the treaty council’s Web site, www.pnptc.org.
The treaty council is a natural resources management agency for the Jamestown S’Klallam and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes.
Native American tribes throughout the reason treasure salmon for cultural and economic stability, said Steve Todd, habitat biologist for the treaty council who helped gather the data.
“The information is essential in helping us manage, restore and protect salmon habitats,” he said.
Included in the report are 250 marshes, streams and estuaries where young salmon eat, hide from predators and prepare to migrate to the Pacific Ocean.
Todd and his colleagues determined how each site had changed by comparing United States Coast and Geodetic Survey topographic maps from the mid- to late 1800s to current coastal maps and aerial photos.
