Name: WA State Floating Kelp Inventory - Time Series
Display Field: svy_yr
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon
Description: These data describe the extent of floating kelp beds (Nereocystis luetkeana and Macrocystis pyrifera) of Washington State between 1989 and 2024. Monitoring along the Outer Coast and within the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been ongoing since 1989, except for a gap in 1993. The program expanded in 2010 with the addition of Smith Island, and again in 2011 to include all three DNR Aquatic Reserves: Smith & Minor Islands, Cherry Point, and Cypress Island. Data are derived from photo interpretation of low tide aerial photography in the late summer, the season of maximum extent. Polygons represent bed extent or planimeter, which include the kelp canopy floating on the surface and small gaps between plants (25 meter threshold for delineating discrete beds). In 1989, species were not distinguished. Species identification was partially implemented in 1990 and fully implemented in 1991. These data are part of a long term monitoring effort that surveys the kelp canopies annually.
Copyright Text: This dataset is primarily funded and managed by Washington State Department of Natural Resources, through the Nearshore Habitat Program. Other supporters and collaborators include: NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington State Department of Transportation, Washington State Department of Ecology's Coastal Zone Management Act, and Washington State Coastal Protection Fund.