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Science Seminars

King County, Washington

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The Science Section sponsors semiannual, half day Science Seminars in which visiting lecturers and King County staff present recent findings from their environmental monitoring programs. The Science Seminar provides an opportunity for sharing information between staff and with the public, and also allows staff to gain public speaking experience in front of professional peers. Science Seminars are open to all interested environmental science professionals and the public. For more information about Science Seminars, please contact Kate O’Laughlin or Jim Simmonds.

After each seminar, the presentation materials are made available below, typically as PDF files viewable in Adobe Acrobat. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat you can download a free copy.

All Seminars & Presentations

Session I: Climate Change Impacts and Freshwater Habitat
Moderator: Kollin Higgins
Habitat conditions in the lower Snoqualmie, Tolt, and Raging rivers
Josh Kubo
PDF
The Beaver Working Group: Purpose, progress, products, and potential projects
Jen Vanderhoof and Bailey Keeler
PDF
Juvenile Chinook use of non-natal tributaries in the lower Green River
Chris Gregersen
PDF
Impacts of rainfall projections designing king county stormwater facilities
Jeff Burkey
PDF
Using new regional climate model simulations to quantify changes in flooding in King County rivers
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
Session II: Water Quality and Restoration
Moderator: Stephanie Jaeger
Feed the beach! Restoring and protecting marine shoreline habitat on Vashon Island
Greg Rabourn
PDF
Freshwater harmful algal blooms: What are they, are they getting worse, and what can we do?
Chris Knutson
PDF
Long-term trends in nutrient concentrations in Puget Sound
Ben Larson
PDF
Phytoplankton monitoring in Central Puget Sound: Do we see any trends?
Gabriela Hannach
PDF
Spatial comparison of PBTs in marine fish and invertebrates from King County waters
Rory O’Rourke
PDF
Closing Remarks
Dave White
Introduction
Dave White
Session I: Water Quality Monitoring
Moderator: Deb Bouchard
Monitoring Water Quality in Center Puget Sound During the West Point Treatment Plant Restoration - What Impacts Can We Assess
Stephanie Jaeger
PDF
Water Quality Status and Trends in Bear Creek
Tim Clark
PDF
Stormwater Action Monitoring: 2015 Puget Lowland Ecoregion Stream Status and Trends Study Findings
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
Stormwater Retrofits for Treating Highway Runoff - Echo Lake
Carly Greyell
PDF
Stormwater Retrofits for Treating Highway Runoff - Federal Way
Kate Macneale
PDF
Session II: Biology and Habitat
Moderator: Jill Bower
If You Build It, They Will Come: Biological Colonization at the Brightwater Marine Outfall
Kim Stark
PDF
Outfall Construction: Disturbance and Recolonization of the Marine Benthic Community
Wendy Eash-Loucks
PDF
Marine Shoreline Development from 2005 to 2015 - Do We See No Net Loss of Intertidal Habitat in King County?
Alexis Henry
PDF
Non-lethal Beaver Management Techniques at Big Spring Creek Restoration Site
Ben Dittbrenner
PDF
Effects of Small Barriers on the Distribution of the Sculpins in Puget Sound Lowland Streams
Dan Lantz
PDF
Closing Remarks
Dave White
Introduction
Dave White
Session I: Fish and Habitat
Moderator: Scott Stolnack
Fish use of oxbow habitats in the Lower Snoqualmie Valley
Kollin Higgins
PDF
Juvenile Chinook habitat use in the Bear Creek Watershed
Josh Kubo
PDF
Rainbow Bend: Evidence that removing a levee and restoring the floodplain can replace a flood-prone mobile-home park with a refuge for salmon
Josh Latterell
PDF
Kokanee fry abundance monitoring informs supplementation adaptive management
Jim Bower
PDF
The effects of added large wood on the physical habitat and thermal conditions in the Upper Raging River
Kate Macneale
PDF
PCBs in fish ‒ method changes, challenges, and what it means for trends and management
Richard Jack
PDF
Session II: Climate Change
Moderator: Jamie Stroble
Overview of King County’s 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan and progress to date
Matt Kuharic
PDF
Energy usage by King County and within King County: status and trends
David Broustis
PDF
Projected climate change impacts on rainfall patterns in King County
Guillaume Mauger
PDF
Developing a strategy for addressing sea level rise in King County
Jim Simmonds
PDF
Closing Remarks
Dave White
Welcome
Dave White
Session 1: Water Quality Assessment
Moderator: Dean Wilson
The CSO water quality assessment and monitoring study
Dean Wilson
Current conditions and trends in Elliott Bay water and sediment quality
Wendy Eash-Loucks
PDF
Current conditions and trends in Lake Union water and sediment quality
Tim Clark
PDF
King County surface waters: contaminants of emerging concern survey
Richard Jack
PDF
Overview of King County’s CSO long-term control plan
John Phillips
PDF
Session 2: Water Quality Monitoring
Moderator: Jenée Colton
Canine and qPCR microbial source tracking in Juanita and Thornton creeks
Andrew Miller
PDF
Locating human sewage sources in a small urban stream using temperature/conductivity dataloggers
Jonathan Frodge
PDF
How dry (and warm) I am. Summer 2015 King County drought status reporting
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
Is it elk, deer, cattle, human or what? Source tracking in Boise Creek's stormwater system
Jeanne Dorn
PDF
Lake Sammamish water quality response to land use change
Debra Bouchard
PDF
Closing Remarks
Dave White
Welcome
Kate O’Laughlin and Jim Simmonds
Marine
Moderator: Deb Lester
Zooplankton monitoring in Puget Sound
Julie Keister
PDF
Going with the flow: assessing phytoplankton diversity with the FlowCAM
Amelia Kolb
PDF
Marine moorings in Elliott Bay: What you didn’t know you were missing
Wendy Eash-Loucks
PDF
Brightwater eelgrass restoration: the grass really is greener on the underside
Kim Stark
PDF
The WRIA 9 marine shoreline monitoring and compliance pilot project
Kollin Higgins
PDF
Future Planning
Moderator: Gino Lucchetti
Climate change and population growth impacts on stormwater management needs
Jeff Burkey
PDF
100-year approach for building stormwater facilities to restore stream flows and water quality
Olivia Wright
PDF
Channel evolution and habitat formation following the removal of the Rainbow Bend levee on the Cedar River
Josh Latterell
PDF
Duwamish Blueprint: Salmon habitat restoration in the Duwamish Transition Zone through 2025
Elissa Ostergaard
PDF
Using B-IBI to identify Puget Sound watersheds for restoration and protection
Chris Gregersen
PDF
Closing Remarks
Kate O’Laughlin and Jim Simmonds
Lower Duwamish Waterway Source Control Projects
Jim Simmonds
Lower Duwamish Waterway Source Control Activities – 2010-2013 Dedicated Studies
Jeff Stern
PDF
Spatial and Temporal Differences in Atmospheric Deposition of Contaminants in the Green River Watershed
Jenée Colton
PDF
Surface Water Contaminants in the Green River and Major Tributaries
Deb Lester
PDF
Contaminants in Green River Basin Sediments
Carly Greyell
PDF
Sampling Suspended Solids in the Green River and Major Tributaries
Debra Williston
PDF
Sanitary vs. Stormwater Evaluations in the Brandon CSO Basin – A Pilot Study
Dean Wilson
PDF
Source Tracing – Lower Duwamish Waterway
Beth Schmoyer, City of Seattle
PDF
Additional Source Control Related Studies
Debra Williston
PDF
Cross Watershed Projects
Jen Vanderhoof
Restoring Natural Processes in an Urban Watershed: Lessons from the Rainbow Bend Levee Removal Project
John Bethel
PDF
Determining the Source: Generating a Comprehensive Approach for Remediating Microbial Pollution in Rural Drainages
Ray Timm
PDF
Green River System-Wide Improvement Framework (SWIF)
Jennifer Knauer
PDF
Thermal Conditions for Lake Sammamish Kokanee - Historical and future projections
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
King County’s Microbial Source Tracking (MST)
Sally Abella, Moderator
Illicit Stormwater Connections Video
Microbial Source Tracking Pilot Projects, 2011-12
Deb Bouchard and Dean Wilson
PDF
Slides
Investigating sources of bacterial contamination in Boise Creek
Ray Timm
PDF
Slides
Finding & Fixing Illicit Connections in White Center Pre-2009 to post-2012
Jeanne Dorn
PDF
Slides
Bacteria Investigations in Thornton Creek
Jon Frodge, City of Seattle
PDF
Slides
Trace Organics in MST using Micro Extraction with LVI GC/MS
Mike Muramoto and Felix Zboralski
PDF
Slides
Habitat and Fish
Kollin Higgins, Moderator
Assessing King County’s development in FEMA Floodplains for compliance with the Endangered Species Act
Gino Lucchetti
PDF
Slides
Channel and Habitat Monitoring in the Countyline Reach of the Lower White River
Sarah McCarthy and Terry Butler
PDF
Slides
Stormwater Retrofit Analysis and Recommendations for Juanita Creek Basin
Jeff Burkey
PDF
Slides
Effects of watering, mulch, and fabric on tree survival: Results from controlled experiments at King County Restoration Sites
Josh Latterell
PDF
Slides
Puget Sound EPA Benthos Grant: Comparison of Sampling Methods and Updated Taxa Attributes
Deb Lester and Jo Wilhelm
PDF
Slides
Rehab: Regional examination of harmful algal blooms, a thirty lake study
Beth Cullen
PDF
Habitat protection in the Snoqualmie watershed: Status, trends and food for thought
Janne Kaje
PDF
How low will they go? Trends in summer low flows in King County rivers and streams
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
Native oyster rebuilding
Betsy Peabody
PDF
Evaluating the ecological performance of nearshore fish habitat enhancements at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, WA
Sarah Heerhartz
PDF
Clues emerge in search to find cause of prespawn mortality in local coho
Jenée Colton
PDF
Rethinking rivers: (re)integrating channels and floodplains in fluvial ecosystems
Ray Timm
PDF
Determining feasibility of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) control
Shaun O’Neil and Tiffany McClaskey
PDF
Long-term monitoring in lakes and streams
Deb Bouchard
A salmon-based classification for agricultural waterways
Gino Lucchetti
Puget Sound Stormwater Monitoring Work Group Update
Jim Simmonds
PDF
Preliminary Results of NPDES Stormwater Permit Monitoring
Dean Wilson
PDF
A Fecal Pollution and Correction Program in Kitsap County
Mindy Fohn
PDF
Theo Foss Waterway Source Control Strategy
Dana de Leon
PDF
Storm Drain and Combined Sewer Overflow Source Evaluations in the Duwamish Waterway Drainage Basin
Debra Williston and Beth Schmoyer
PDF
Monitoring Salmon Recovery in WRIA 8
Scott Stolnack
PDF
Status of King County Streams
Deb Lester
PDF
Framework and Status of Regulatory Effectiveness Monitoring
Gino Lucchetti
PDF
Development of a Monitoring Framework for the River and Floodplain Management Section
Sarah McCarthy
PDF
An Overview of the CIP Monitoring and Maintenance Program’s Approach to Monitoring – Past and Present
Dan Eastman
PDF
Current efforts to restore kokanee salmon in the Lake Sammamish Basin.
Hans Berge
PDF
Developing a multi-scale, spatially explicit estimator of the impacts of land cover change on aquatic resources.
Ray Timm
PDF
Developing the historical context for understanding present day land use-water quality relationships.
Julia Michalak
PDF
Role of large wood in modified rivers.
Dr. Josh Latterell
PDF
Urbanization, Terrestrial Vegetation Structure and the Carbon Cycle: Results from the Seattle Region
Dr. Lucy Hutyra.
Only the cover page of Dr. Hutyra's talk is presented here. Because the data that is the subject of her talk is currently in review, her presentation is not yet available to the public.
PDF
Alexandrium catenella cyst distribution in Puget Sound with a focus on Quartermaster Harbor.
Dr. Cheryl Greengrove
PDF
Continuous water quality monitoring in Puget Sound: methods and results.
Bob Kruger
PDF
Combined sewer overflow treatment technology evaluation
Bob Bucher
PDF
Development of the South Puget Sound hydrodynamic model and application to deriving residence times for inlets.
Skip Albertson
PDF
Implementing an ambient phytoplankton monitoring program in Puget Sound Central Basin.
Dr. Gabriela Hannach
PDF
PugetSoundStreamBenthos.org: An interagency resource for managing benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring data in the Puget Sound Region
Doug Henderson
PDF
Phosphorus legislation - Where the rubber meets the road
Beth Cullen
PDF
PSP toxics loading overview
Randy Shuman
PDF
Public lands and climate change: Carbon sequestration for soil health and land reclamation
Bob Fuerstenberg
PDF
What is up (and down) with King County river flows?
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
Long-Term Beaver Lake monitoring
Sally Abella
PDF
Asking the right questions and getting meaningful answers: A monitoring framework for Chinook salmon recovery in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish watershed
Scott Stolnack
PDF
An evaluation of restoration effectiveness on the Snoqualmie and Tolt Rivers
Josh Latterell
PDF
Clean-up alternatives for the Lower Duwamish Waterway
Deb Williston
PDF
Duwamish Diagonal: A comparison of different remediation options
Jenee Colton
PDF
Biodiversity Planning in King County: The LAB Project
Jennifer Vanderhoof and Bob Fuerstenberg
PDF
Using Monitoring for Reducing Uncertainty in WRIA Decision Making
Josh Latterell
PDF
Hydrilla Eradication at Pipe and Lucerne Lakes: Success at Last?
Beth Cullen
PDF
Cedar River Landslide: A Sockeye Response
Ray Timm
PDF
Greater Lake Washington Human Health Risk Assessment
Richard Jack
PDF
What If We Built an Environmental Indicator and Nobody Came?
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
Preliminary Effects of Increased Flooding Due to Placement of Large Woody Debris
Jeff Burkey
PDF
In Situ Water Quality Monitoring During Sediment Remediation Construction Activities at the Denny Way CSO
Scott Mickelson
PDF
Stream Sediments Monitoring Program
Dean Wilson
PDF
Metals Matrix Metadata Mistakes Modify Monitoring Management
Jon Frodge
PDF
Vashon-Maury Island Bird Study: What We've Learned
Jennifer Vanderhoof
PDF
Water Resource Monitoring on Vashon-Maury Island
Eric Ferguson
PDF
Integrated Surface Water - Groundwater Model for Vashon-Maury Island
Kyle Comanor
PDF
Ellisport Culvert Replacement: Success or Failure?
Doug Navetski
PDF
Open Space and Habitat Preservation on Vashon-Maury Island
Ted Sullivan
PDF
Implementation of Routine Cyanobacteria Toxicity Monitoring in Lakes Sammamish, Washington, and Union
Deb Bouchard and Gabriela Hannach
PDF
Eelgrass Monitoring and Restoration Plan for the Brightwater Marine Outfall
Kim Stark
PDF
A Caged Relocation Experiment to Investigate Freshwater Mussel Mortality in Bear Creek
Arden Thomas
PDF
Pre-Spawn Mortality of Coho Salmon in Restored Urban Streams
Sarah McCarthy
PDF
New Techniques for Quantifying Patch Dynamics in Rivers to Support Baseline Monitoring
Josh Latterell
PDF
Lower Snoqualmie and Skykomish Rivers Flood Insurance Study
Jeanne Stypula.
z
PDF
The Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Hydrologic Index Development
Curtis DeGasperi
PDF
Low Flow Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Investigations in Bear and Newaukum Creeks
Richard Jack
PDF
Peak Rainfall Events: Projected Impacts of Climate Change and Implications for River Flows in the Pacific Northwest
Rick Palmer, UW
PDF
Cedar River Flows and Flow Management Issues
Jeff Burkey
PDF
Introduction to Issues and Policy Thinking
Steve Foley
PDF
Stream Geomorphic and Water Quality Response to Landscape Changes
Ray Timm
PDF
Monitoring Biological Responses to Development
Jo Wilhelm
PDF
Hydrological Analysis of Adair Creek
Kyle Comanor
PDF
Development Impacts on Groundwater
Ken Johnson
PDF
King County’s Scientific Framework for Shorelines
Sally Abella and Jill Moe
PDF
King County’s Marine Shoreline Habitat Conditions: the results of several recent reports
Kollin Higgins
PDF
Determining Clearing Flexibility for Rural Lands with No Critical Areas Under Rural Stewardship Planning
Jennifer Vanderhoof
PDF
Use of BAS in Setting Land-Use Regulations
Gino Lucchetti
PDF
Bioremediation: Recycling Our Street Waste
Doug Navetski
PDF
WRIA 9 Adaptive Management: An Evolving Plan
Gordon Thomson
PDF
Using Habitat Models to Support Salmon Conservation Decisions in the Cedar-Sammamish Watershed
Brian Murray
PDF
Monitoring of the May Canyon Stream Restoration Project
Dan Eastman
PDF
Floodplain Acquisition Partnerships Yield Multiple Benefits
Nancy Faegenburg
PDF
Groundwater in the East King County Groundwater Management Area
Sevin Bilir
PDF
Chinook Juvenile Migration in the Duwamish River
Tom Nelson
PDF
Addressing Dredge Residuals at the Diagonal/Duwamish Sediment Cleanup
Jeff Stern
PDF
PCBs in Fish and Invertebrate Tissues in the Lower Duwamish Waterway
Debra Williston
PDF
3-D Water Quality Modeling in the Duwamish River
Bruce Nairn
PDF
Overview of Global Climate Change Impacts on the Pacific North
Amy Snover
PDF
Climate Change Impacts on Snowpack and Water Supply in the Puget Sound Region
Matthew Wiley
PDF
Climate Change Impacts on Salmon Recovery in King County
Bob Fuerstenberg
PDF
Long-Term Temperature Trends in King County Streams, Rivers, and Lakes
Jonathan Frodge
PDF
Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise Impacts on Puget Sound
Angela Grout
PDF
WRIA 7 Salmon Conservation Plan
James Schroeder
PDF
Nearshore Fish Surveys
Kollin Higgins
PDF
Results of a Pilot Survey of Freshwater Mussels in Bear, Stossel and Covington Creeks
Bob Brenner
PDF
Ecological Lands Guidance Manual and Surveys
Jennifer Vanderhoof
PDF
Normative Flow Small Streams Analysis
Jan Cassin
PDF
Vashon Steady-State Groundwater Model
Ken Johnson
PDF
Integrated Water Resources Modeling System
Tom Georgianna
PDF
Hydrologic Information Center Database and Website
Dan Smith
PDF
Overview of 2004 Streams and Large Lakes Water Quality Monitoring
Debra Brouchard
PDF
Baseline Stream Monitoring at the Brightwater Treatment Plant Site
Jeff Burkey
PDF
Mapping the Geology of the Greater Seattle Area: Infiltration, Peat Bogs, and Volcanic Ash
Kathy Troost, UW
PDF
An overview of the geology and geomorphology of the Snoqualmie watershed
John Bethel
PDF
Development of 3-D hydrodynamic and water quality models for Lake Sammamish
Curtis Degasperi
PDF
Bioaccumulation of persistent bioaccumulative compounds in Lake Washington fishes
Jen McIntyre, UW
PDF
A sediment triad evaluation for Lakes Sammamish, Washington, and Union
Kari Moshenberg
PDF
The relationship between limnological parameters and seasonal fish distribution and implications for trophic interactions in Lake Sammamish, Washington
Hans Berge
PDF
Development of a fish index for King County lowland streams
Deanna Matzen
PDF
Instrumentation and methods for collecting conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data
Bob Kruger
PDF
Analysis of conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data in Puget Sound
Angela Grout
PDF
Challenges and Effectiveness of I/I Reduction on Private Property and in Component Agency Systems for 10 Pilot Projects - King County, WA
Erica Herrin and Zhong Ji or Bruce Crawford
PDF
Physical oceanography and plume dilution at West Point
Bruce Nairn
PDF
Results of the Sammamish River valley groundwater investigation
Eric Ferguson
PDF
The Here and Now of real-time gauging
Bob Keating
PDF
Results of a baseline stream macroinvertebrate sampling program in WRIAs 8 and 9
Doug Henderson
PDF
SRF Board activities
Kristi Silver
PDF
Effects of Urban Hydrology on Amphibian Decline in King County
Klaus Richter
PDF
Mercer Island streamwater monitoring
Liz Ritzenthaler
PDF
Water and Sediment Quality in the Sammamish River
Jenée Colton
PDF
Long-term monitoring results of sediment chemistry in 27 local streams
Jon Shields
PDF
Chemical removal efficiencies for different tertiary treatment technologies: results of pilot studies at the West Point Treatment Plant
Bob Bucher
PDF
Results of the 10-year monitoring program of the sediment cap in Elliott Bay at Piers 52/53
Pat Romberg
PDF
The relationship between temperature and dissolved oxygen on salmond distribution in Lake Sammamish
Hans Berge
PDF
Biological Implications of Pesticides in Small Urban Streams
Dean Wilson
PDF
Des Moines Creek – A Holistic Approach to Watershed Restoration
Zahid Khan
PDF
The Salmon Watcher Program: Volunteer Monitoring for Fish Presence and Distribution
Jen Vanderhoof
PDF
Purple Martins in King County and Beyond: Results of Grass-Rooted Recovery Efforts
Kevin Li
PDF
Method Comparisons between EPA- Method 1682, IMS and PCR for isolating and detecting Salmonella species from various biosolids
Eyob Mazengia
PDF
Better Living Through Databases
Daniel P. Smith
PDF
King County Environmental Laboratory Mercury Analysis Capabilities: Featuring the Mercury Meal
Erika Salnick
PDF
Hydrodynamic affects on the spatial and temporal bloom of phytoplankton in Lake Washington, Washington
Kevin Schock
PDF
High Profile Monitoring: The RUSS Buoy Program
Rob Blomquist
PDF
I/I Modeling Using Multiple Hydrograph Components
Mark Lampard
PDF