FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 03, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Katie Love, 564.250.0925, [email protected].
OLYMPIA – Today, the Puget Sound Partnership released its biennial State of the Sound report. The report provides a clear and candid assessment of the Puget Sound’s health, progress towards recovery, and the challenges that remain. It serves as both a guide for action and an accountability tool, helping decision-makers track progress on the 2022-2026 Action Agenda and invest where it is needed the most.
Hundreds of federal, state, local, Tribal, and nonprofit entities are collaborating in a model system of ecosystem restoration - and it’s working. Together, we are restoring salmon runs, creating healthy habitat, building resilience, and fulfilling the promises of Tribal treaty rights. We celebrated that summer chum in the Hood Canal and the Strait of Juan de Fuca are nearing recovery targets and are witnessing that when we invest in recovery, we see results.
“The message of the 2025 State of the Sound is clear,” says Larry Epstein, deputy director of the Puget Sound Partnership. “We have a strong foundation for restoring Puget Sound to a thriving ecosystem. Science-driven investments are delivering progress and measurable results for the ecosystem and the people who make Puget Sound their home.”
However, the data in the State of the Sound tells us that there is more work to do. While some programs are meeting their goals, the Puget Sound Vital Signs and indicators point to others that need significant further investments. For example, Southern Resident Orca populations continue to decline, Chinook and Coho salmon runs remain near historic lows, and low summer flows are blocking salmon migration.
“To continue seeing positive results, we must do even more to protect and restore habitat in the Puget Sound,” said Dennis McLerran, Chair of the Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council. “Much of the Puget Sound’s historic and critically important habitats have already been lost, and forests, riparian areas, wetlands, and the nearshore continue to be converted despite environmental regulations. To make progress, decision-makers across Puget Sound must invest in more capacity for programs and partners to protect habitat and restore habitat to functional conditions.”
The State of the Sound describes work across the Puget Sound in 10 groupings:
- Foundations of Puget Sound recovery
- Preventing land conversion
- Protecting and restoring habitat
- Enhancing fish passage
- Preventing and removing invasive species
- Preventing and cleaning up toxic chemical pollution
- Managing polluted runoff and wastewater
- Reducing vessel impacts and oil spills
- Fostering human wellbeing
- Adapting to climate change
Each section includes key messages, programs, progress, and barriers. They also highlight accomplishments and connect to the Puget Sound recovery plan, the Action Agenda, and the Vital Signs.
The report also includes a consistent message from the Leadership Council, Science Panel, and Deputy Director: restoring Puget Sound is a multi-generational responsibility. Years of collective effort grounded in science have led to measurable progress, but mounting pressures of climate change and growing population size are challenging, especially as federal funding cuts threaten continued progress.
“Sustained investments in Puget Sound restoration are essential for restoring salmon runs, reopening shellfish beds, and upholding Tribal treaty rights,” says Epstein. “Puget Sound restoration programs are crucial for sustaining the economic vitality of the region, keeping our waters safe for swimming, supporting recreation, and protecting our treasured natural beauty and way of life.
“The Puget Sound – its beauty, people, and culture – is something we can all stand behind.”
To download the report, visit https://stateofthesound.wa.gov/.
About the State of the Sound
The biennial State of the Sound report helps our partners and decision makers better
understand:
- How well the recovery effort is going
- Ecosystem health and progress toward Puget Sound recovery goals
- The role each partner can play in achieving Puget Sound recovery.
It also responds specifically to state statue (RCW 90.71.370(3)). This report reflects the work accomplished by hundreds of groups throughout the Puget Sound region, including governments, Tribes, nonprofits, communities, scientists, and businesses.
About the Puget Sound Partnership
The Puget Sound Partnership is the state agency formed to lead the region’s collective effort to restore and protect Puget Sound. Working with hundreds of government agencies, Tribes, scientists, businesses, and nonprofits, the Partnership mobilizes partner action around a common agenda, advances Sound investments, and tracks progress to optimize recovery.
For more information, go to www.psp.wa.gov
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