Kelp Lines is a seasonal collaboration between Ocean Strategies, Washington Sea Grant and the Washington Seaweed Collaborative that serves up the latest on seaweed farming and restoration in Washington State.
Our curated content is categorized to help you zero in on the items most relevant to YOUR interests: Washington, Regional, National, Events, Resources, and Research. A few topics we delivered late last month:
- Move to designate bull kelp as Washington’s ‘State Marine Forest’ – Representative Greg Nance (23rd District) has introduced House Bill 1631, a symbolic but significant move to recognize the importance of bull kelp to Washington’s culture, commerce and ecology. Puget Sound Restoration Fund, which led the development of this bill in consultation with Seattle Aquarium, and diverse kelp constituents including Tribes, encourages entities to show their support via this sign-on letter.
- Washington Maritime Blue launches new effort to activate state seaweed industry – This 18-month program will identify seaweed stabilization and processing infrastructure needed to advance Washington’s seaweed industry, and also support the state’s current* seaweed farmers in establishing an organizational structure (such as a co-op). Contact Program Manager Willow Battista for more information. *While the new organization will have a mechanism for onboarding additional farmers in the future, the group is not taking new members at this time.
- Marine Vegetation Implementation Strategy development is underway! This Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead effort will describe priority strategies and approaches to protect and recover Puget Sound kelp and eelgrass, guide regional investments, and align recovery efforts. Sign up to learn more and get engaged.
