Quartermaster Harbor’s Large Watershed Influences the Web of Life Within Its Marine Waters

Since time immemorial this protected harbor between Vashon and Maury has nourished a flourishing ecosystem benefiting both people and wildlife. Sandy beaches and beds of eelgrass and kelp have provided habitat for shellfish, fish, seals, river otters, and birds, creating a broad food web. Native People, the sHebabS, lived in multiple villages around its shoreline, and when a team of UW archaeologists excavated a site at Jensen Point in 1996, they were surprised to find that the people were eating far more herring than salmon! Thousands of Western Grebes and other waterbirds have overwintered in the harbor, utilizing these forage fish as well as other food sources.

Quartermaster Harbor is very much influenced by its watershed. This is the upland area that drains into the Harbor. The watershed for Quartermaster Harbor, as shown on the map, is nearly half the size of Vashon-Maury Island! It includes the largest stream, Judd Creek, plus dozens of smaller creeks. Rain falling on land in the watershed partly soaks into the ground and replenishes aquifers, but much of it trickles into streams and down slopes to enter the Harbor. As water crosses the land, it picks up nitrogen from livestock or pets, herbicides and pesticides from yards, plastics from waste, and chemicals from garages or industries. A chemical from tires, 6PPD, washes from roads and can kill salmon. Excess nitrogen and warming waters from climate change stimulate larger plankton blooms. As these die, their decomposition depletes oxygen in the water, harming or killing other life. The Harbor’s plankton species are also changing. New species are showing up and old ones are disappearing as water conditions change. Some are toxic to shellfish, some to fish, and/or some to people.

Pollutants entering Quartermaster and climate change cause problems for eelgrass. Warming air temperatures have raised water temperatures even in oceans and especially in shallow bays and estuaries. The most shallow part of Quartermaster is its inner Harbor, so perhaps warming water is one stressor that has led to loss of nearly all of its eelgrass beds. Eelgrass may also suffer stress due to the shade from excessive plankton blooms, or water cloudiness due to various disturbances.

Eelgrass is a valuable home to crabs, snails, nudibranchs, and forage fish such as herring. Herring runs have been declining for decades, and in 2016 the official return was measured as zero. Returns have been very low or zero since. Perhaps they were stressed by warmer water, contaminants, and the decline of eelgrass, used by herring as shelter and as substrate for their eggs.

Western Grebes, which wintered on the Harbor in great rafts of thousands in the past, have ceased to visit the Harbor since the early part of this century. Was the decline of the herring part of the reason? Many Western Grebes that formerly overwintered in Puget Sound have shifted to the California coast where new populations of spawning anchovies have appeared.

Sunflower Stars have disappeared from Quartermaster Harbor as they have elsewhere in Puget Sound.

We can all help improve water quality for our watersheds.

Reduce contaminants

  1. Stop using pesticides and herbicides.
  2. Use only natural fertilizers.
  3. Reduce impervious surfaces to reduce runoff.
  4. Replace lawns with native plants.
  5. Dispose of hazardous materials and plastics properly.
  6. Regularly service your septic system.
  7. Reduce use of plastics.
  8. Join a beach, stream, or wetland cleanup.

Reduce acidity & warming

  1. Avoid using fossil fuels.
  2. Vote, write legislators, support renewable energy groups.
Quartermaster Harbor Bibliography

Bergstein, A. 2020. King County scientists see large scale algal bloom, known to be harmful to fish, in central Puget Sound. King County, WA.
https://kingcounty.gov/depts/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2020/June/26-algal-bloom.aspx

Bergstein, A. 2021. Researchers identify shellfish-killing phytoplankton behind massive summer die-offs in Puget Sound. Olympic Peninsula Environmental News.
https://olyopen.com/2021/06/18/researchers-identify-shellfish-killing-phytoplankton-behind-massive-summer-die-offs-in-puget-sound-knkx/

Courage, K. 2020. Prairies of the Sea. Smithsonian.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/seagrass-ocean-secret-weapon-climate-change-180976235/

Davidow, J. 2019. Something is wrong in the Bering Sea. University of Washington, Seattle, WA. https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/warming-leads-to-massive-loss-of-wildlife-in-bering-sea/

Dunagan, C. 2018. Studies show challenges for eelgrass restoration. US EPA, Seattle, WA.
https://www.eopugetsound.org/magazine/is/eelgrass-planting

Dunagan, C. 2023. Warm ocean waters work their way into Puget Sound. University of Washington, Puget Sound Institute, Seattle, WA.

EPA. 2012. Survey of moorage buoys systems for potential impacts to aquatic reserve habitat. EPA Region 10 Dive Unit. (WDNR required documentation of the sea floor in two areas – Dockton and Burton Cove regarding anecdotal reports of debris in the vicinity of existing, unauthorized mooring buoys. WDNR has also evaluated 30 years’ worth of WDFW herring spawn surveys that illustrate a substantial decline in eelgrass and other aquatic vegetation)
https://archive.epa.gov/region10/diving/web/pdf/mauryislandbenthicsurveyjune2012%20.pdf

Francis, T. and D. Lowry. 2018. Assessment and management of Pacific herring in the Salish Sea: Conserving and recovering a culturally significant and ecologically critical component of the food web.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343614941_Assessment_and_Management_of_Pacific_Herring_in_the_Salish_Sea_Conserving_and_Recovering_a_Culturally_Significant_and_Ecologically_Critical_Component_of_the_Food_Web

Greengrove, C. No date. Estuarine Field Studies: Quartermaster Harbor. University of Washington-Tacoma, WA. (Sampling included: temperature, salinity, density, oxygen, fluorescence/chlorophyll, transmissivity, nutrients, phytoplankton, zooplankton, sediments, and microplastics)
http://courses.washington.edu/uwtoce12/webg2/introduction.html

Greengrove, C. 2018. Comparison of Alexandrium spp. Surface Sediment Cyst Maps from Quartermaster Harbor in 2007 and 2017. Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference. University of Washington-Tacoma, WA.
(Describes the occurrence of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium spp. and associated summer shellfish bed closures. Alexandrium spp. overwinters as cysts in the sediment and germinates into swimming vegetative cells during the summer when conditions are right)

Horner, R.A. 2011. Spatial distribution of benthic cysts of Alexandrian catenella in surface sediments of Puget Sound, Washington, USA. ScienceDirect. (Alexandrium catenella cyst distribution and abundance in the surface sediments were mapped for the first time in 2005. (Cyst density varied from 0 to >12,000 cysts cm−3 surface sediment, with Quartermaster Harbor having the highest concentration of cysts)

King County. 1998. Scoping Document for Improvements at Portage. King County Dept of Natural Resources Water and Land Division. (Concerns the new culvert system at Portage to control potential flooding issues on adjacent property). Not found online

King County. 2012. Initial Assessment of Nutrient Loadings to Quartermaster Harbor. King County, WA.
(Provides the initial assessment for the foundation of more focused investigations of nutrient sources to the harbor, particularly nitrogen, and initial loading estimates for the development of a water quality model of the harbor)
https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2010/kcr2119.pdf

King County. 2012. Quartermaster Harbor Benthic Flux Study. King County, WA.
(Documents the results of an in situ study of nutrient fluxes from the sediments in Quartermaster Harbor)
https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2012/kcr2320.pdf

King County. 2012. Quartermaster Harbor Nearshore Freshwater Inflows Assessment.
http://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2012/kcr2319.pdf
(Identifies small previously unmonitored streams and pipes discharging to Quartermaster Harbor that might have relatively high nitrate concentrations)

King County. 2014. Quartermaster Harbor Nitrogen Management Study: Final Study Report. King County, WA.
(Summarizes the work conducted as part of the Quartermaster Harbor Nitrogen Management Study and provides an overview of study findings)
https://kingcounty.gov/services/environment/watersheds/central-puget-sound/vashon-maury-island/quartermaster-nitrogen-study/QMH-documents.aspx

King County. 2014. Quartermaster Harbor Marine Water Quality Data Report: 2007-2011.King County, WA.
(Describes and presents results from marine water quality monitoring activities conducted in Quartermaster Harbor as part of the University of Washington-Tacoma’s and King County’s marine monitoring programs)
https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2014/kcr2529.pdf

Mapes, L. 2021. Washington State seeks tighter wastewater rules for Puget Sound, but sewage plant operators push back. Seattle Times.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/washington-state-seeks-tighter-regulations-of-wastewater-in-puget-sound-but-sewage-plant-operators-push-back/

Moulton, M. and B. Miller. 1987. Final Report. Characterization of Puget Sound Marine Fishes: Survey of Available Data. University of Washington School of Fisheries, Fisheries Research Institute, Seattle, WA.

Muckleshoot Indian Tribe et al. 2009. Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Dalco Passage Oil Spill on October 13, 2004. Prepared by the Dalco Pass Oil Spill Natural Resource Trustees (Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Washington Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and US Fish & Wildlife).

National Library of Medicine. 2006. Biomarkers signal contaminant effects on the organs of English sole (Parophrys vetulus) from Puget Sound. 2006. National Library of Medicine. (Quartermaster Harbor was used as a reference area for this study)

NOAA. 2017. Sound Toxins: An early warning program for harmful algal blooms in Puget Sound. NOAA Fisheries, Seattle, WA.
https://soundtoxins.org/papers/SoundToxins%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Perla, B. and M. Metler. 2013. Maury Island Aquatic Reserve Shoreline Armoring Removal Monitoring Pre-Restoration Baseline, 2016-2018. Vashon Nature Center, Vashon, WA.

Piatt, J.F. et al. 2020. Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific heat wave of 2014-2016. PLOS ONE, San Francisco, CA.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226087

PSEMP. 2010. Changes in density indices of Western grebes seen during PSAMP Aerial Surveys. Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife, Olympia, WA.

PSEMP and WA DNR. 2020. Eelgrass abundance and depth distribution in King County. Final Report to King County DNR. IAA 93-097520. Nearshore Habitat Program, Aquatic Resources Division, WA Dept of Natural Resources and Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program, Olympia, WA.
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/aqr_nrsh_king_county_2020.pdf

Puget Sound Institute. 2021. Puget Sound Meets 2020 Bulkhead Removal Goal: New Indicators Will Chart the Future. Puget Sound Institute, University of Washington, Tacoma, WA.

Seattle PI. 2012. Marine Birds. Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. https://www.eopugetsound.org/node/21241

Our Troubled Sound: Area’s Defining Waterway is a Cesspool of Pollution. A Special PI Report. Published November 18-22, 2002. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 24 pages. Not found online. (A comprehensive overview of factors contributing to the precipitous decline of the health of Puget Sound)

Stein, J.K. and L.S. Phillips. 2002. Vashon Island Archaeology. University of WA, Burke Museum. p. 59. (Discusses the significance of herring to native elders and reasons why forage fish have disappeared from Quartermaster)

Sullaway, G. 2018. Climate change and ocean acidification may affect herring development. Encyclopedia of Puget Sound.
https://www.eopugetsound.org/articles/climate-change-and-ocean-acidification-may-affect-herring-development

Toft, J.D. et al. 2023. Coastal Landforms and Fetch Influence Shoreline Restoration Effectiveness. Frontiers in Marine Science.

WA Dept. of Ecology. 2013. Hydrodynamic Model Report: Quartermaster Harbor Nitrogen Management Study. WA Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA.
https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/1303026.pdf

WA DNR. 2009. Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Abundance and Depth Distribution at Two Environmental Aquatic Reserves: Maury Island and Fidalgo Bay). WA Dept of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.

WA DNR. 2014. Maury Island Aquatic Reserve Plan. WA State Dept of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/aqr_rsve_mry_mgmt_plan102904.pdf

WA DNR. 2018. Forage Fish Beach Spawning Monitoring in the Aquatic Reserves, 2016-2018 Monitoring Report. DNR Aquatic Reserves Program, Olympia, WA.
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/aqr_resv_fb_mi_nr_2018_forage_fish_monitoring.pdf

WA DFW. No Date. WA Dept Fish & Wildlife Contribution to the 2019 Meeting of the Technical Sub-committee (TSC) of the Canada-U.W. Groundfish Committee: Reporting for the period from May 2018-April 2019. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA.

WA DFW. 2020 Herring Biomass Summary- A Banner Year for Puget Sound!!
WA State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA.
(All areas showed improvement except for Quartermaster Harbor and Wollochett)
https://wa-bc.fisheries.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WDFW-herring-update-5.22.2020.pdf

USGS. 2014.Quantifying Benthic Nitrogen Fluxes in Puget Sound, Washington—A Review of Available Data. USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5033. (QH sampled December 1-2, 2010 at five sites, measured once). https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2014/5033/pdf/sir20145033.pdf