skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

WA Kelp Decline Bad News Culturally, Environmentally for Northwest

play audio
Play

Monday, March 21, 2022   

Kelp forests in Puget Sound play an integral role environmentally and culturally, but they're in steep decline.

There are more than 20 species of kelp in the region that are a vital source of food and habitat for marine animals. They also are important to indigenous people of the region.

Todd Woodard - natural resources director for the Samish Indian Nation - said tribal members have used kelp fronds as wraps to cook salmon, and kelp bulbs to carry oil for heat and light and as rattles for young children.

"It's a critical part of cultural identity to the Coast Salish people here," said Woodard. "It's a critical part of the sense of place that indigenous populations have, and indigenous people both on the first nations and the tribe side are working very hard to try and figure out what's happening and what can be done to mitigate for it."

Last summer, Puget Sound Restoration Fund brought together 200 people for an eight-day scientific exploration of kelp. It's part of an effort to implement the 2020 Puget Sound Kelp Conservation and Recovery Plan.

The team is releasing videos of its expedition to raise awareness about kelp's decline.

Betsy Peabody is executive director of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. She said kelp is vital to the food web, which means they support iconic Northwest species such as salmon and orca.

Peabody noted that humans rely on Puget Sound's food web as well, and so the decline of kelp forests has a direct impact on people.

"We're just wanting to work with others to really connect those dots," said Peabody, "in the way that we need to in order to support the conservation and restoration at a scale that can help protect these essential, iconic marine systems."

Peabody said warming temperatures are putting pressure on kelp. But the species also plays an essential role capturing climate-warming sources of carbon.

"Underwater kelp forests provide some of the same CO2 sequestration that terrestrial forests provide," said Peabody.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.




get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021