During the late spring and summer, researchers for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary take to the water to explore the uncharted depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Scientists also survey wildlife by airplane and onshore throughout the year.

“Research plays a key role in the decisions we make,” said Bob Steelquist, Sanctuary education and outreach coordinator. “Before we can make decisions about managing the Sanctuary, we need to know what is there.”

Research covers everything from mammals that live in the sea, plants that grow on the ocean floor or along the beaches to seabirds who also call the Sanctuary their home.

“We have never had a huge research budget, but we form partnerships and supplement previous efforts to learn more about the Sanctuary,” said Ed Bowlby, Sanctuary research coordinator.

Some of the most common partnerships occur between the Sanctuary and U.S. Geological Survey, Washington state Departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, Olympic National Park, Cascadia Research, other National Ocean Atmospheric Association organizations, Makah, Quileute, Hoh and Quinault tribes and universities throughout the Northwest.

The estimated research budget this year is $336,000, which includes a large habitat mapping effort and staff salaries.

Bowlby said most of the non-salary budget is used to pay for ship time for the six full-time equivalent researchers

Limited funding makes scheduling and planning very important, Bowlby said.

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This is the second installment in a two-part series that began Sunday. The rest of the story appears in the Monday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.