Program areas at NSEA
Habitat restoration: nsea's Salmon recovery focused habitat restoration projects have a strong foundation in scientific methodology and are planned and implemented with many public, private, tribal, and business partners. For the year ended december 31, 2023, nsea completed several new projects including nine large woody debris projects and the removal of five fish passage barriers which improved access to 2.4 miles of upstream habitat. Nsea also improved streambank riparian through the removal of invasive vegetation and the planting of over 33,545 native trees and shrubs. In addition to new restoration projects, 79 past sites were monitored and maintained.
Stewardship: nsea is a community-based organization and strives to engage community members in Salmon recovery. Volunteers support many different programs throughout the year and help a small core staff accomplish far more than would otherwise be possible. Community volunteers are central to the mission of involving the community in Salmon recovery. In 2023, 4,533 hours were donated by 1,511 community volunteers to restore about 21.75 acres of riparian habitat. Interns and students from western Washington university, bellingham technical college, whatcom community college, and northwest indian college provide critical support to nseas programs including education, monitoring, and stewardship. In 2023, 45 dedicated interns supported nseas programs while gaining valuable job skills. Summer and fall of 2023 brough increased opportunities for nsea staff and interns to do outreach: nseas summer river stewards program led guided river walks along the Nooksack river and hosted outreach events. During the fall, we hosted ten Salmon sighting events along several creeks, engaging over 500 people. These events provided an opportunity for 2992 community members to learn about Salmon, Salmon habitat, and how we, as individuals and as a community, can support Salmon recovery.
Education: nsea provides science education opportunities for community members of all ages. During 2023 nsea was able to slowly increase education, outreach and stewardship programming while continuing to operate safely under pandemic health guidelines. Nsea staff worked to educate and engage more than 1,811 fourth grade students throughout whatcom county in the students for Salmon program. This flagship program, started in 2000, provides each class with a classroom presentation and, in 2023, facilitated 80 field trips to study stream ecology. Additionally, nsea instructors lead classes through stewardship activities which often include restoration projects. Nsea partnered with several other local nonprofit organizations to lead 121 educators in teacher training through the ten-hour clime time program. Camp keystone celebrated its third year in 2023 with 126 camp participants over ten weeks of summer camp.