Collected web maps, story maps and downloads produced by the Nearshore Habitat Program - a program within the Aquatic Resources Division of the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

This dataset summarizes floating kelp (Bull Kelp and Giant kelp) occurrence using data from the ShoreZone Inventory. Kelp is a type of brown algae with recognized ecological value and management protections. It is classified as being patchy (less than 50%) or continuous (greater than 50%) along each unit of shoreline (an area with similar physical characteristics). The ShoreZone Inventory includes all saltwater shorelines statewide. It was completed between 1994 and 2000 using aerial videography collected at low tide. The complete ShoreZone Inventory can be found under Download Data.

Kelp is a type of brown algae with recognized ecological value and management protections. This dataset summarizes kelp occurrence of all kelp species using data from the ShoreZone Inventory. Kelp is classified as being patchy (less than 50%) or continuous (greater than 50%) along each unit of shoreline (an area with similar physical characteristics). The ShoreZone Inventory includes all saltwater shorelines statewide. It was completed between 1994 and 2000 using aerial videography collected at low tide. The complete ShoreZone Inventory can be found under Download Data.

Kelp is a type of brown algae with recognized ecological value and management protections. This dataset summarizes occurrence of non-floating kelp (stalked or prostrate) species using data from the ShoreZone Inventory. It is classified as being patchy (less than 50%) or continuous (greater than 50%) along each unit of shoreline (an area with similar physical characteristics). The ShoreZone Inventory includes all saltwater shorelines statewide. It was completed between 1994 and 2000 using aerial videography collected at low tide. For more information on the inventory, see http://www.dnr.wa.gov/programs-and-services/aquatics/aquatic-science/nearshore-habitat-inventory

This dataset mapped 8 types of intertidal and shallow subtidal vegetation along saltwater shorelines in Skagit County and part of Island County in 1996 using an airborne multispectral scanner.  This is one element of a larger dataset that includes substrate type, wave & current energy, water regime and tidal datum lines as well as an ArcGIS layer file.  The complete dataset (all layers) can be accessed under "Download Data".

This feature layer presents the extent of floating kelp beds (Nereocystis luetkeana and Macrocystis pyrifera) along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and outer coast of Washington State summarized over the 1989-2021 monitoring period and three Aquatic Reserves over the 2010-2021 period.This summary layer, as well as the underlying annual surveys, are also available as a download. 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). The entire data set is comprised of the following components: yearly inventories (feature classes) from 1989 through 2021, excluding 1993 (kelpYYYY), a combined inventory from all years (kelp1989_2021), a spatial index delineating the geographic extent of monitoring sub-areas (map_index) and tabular data describing kelp characteristics for each year that link to the spatial index (summary_kelps_stats). It was necessary to generalize the polygons in kelp1989_2021 in order to produce a dataset that did not exceed the maximum number of vertices allowed for the feature class. Users who wish to use the most precise inventory estimates should use the tabular summary tables which summarize area by map_index. The tabular estimates are more precise because they are based on the source imagery, while the area estimates in the feature classes reflect subsequent processing.

This image service shows historical floating kelp locations along the Washington Coast and Puget Sound.  It combines nine map sheets that were originally published in 1912.  They summarize field surveys from 1911-1912.  The Puget Sound surveys were conducted by Rigg.  The maps were scanned and georeferenced, and the image service is hosted by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.