Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2026

The southern Salish Sea is rich with kelp, hosting a diversity of species that form magnificent forests along our shorelines. In and amongst these forests, you can find seals and sea lions, orcas, salmon, rockfish, forage fish, crabs, snails, nudibranchs, and countless other species. Since time immemorial, kelp forests in the Salish Sea have provided cultural, ecological, and economic value to human communities. But our kelp forests are declining, with some areas of Puget Sound experiencing near total losses. Thankfully, there are collaborative efforts underway to conserve and restore these vital ecosystems. In this talk, we’ll introduce you to Salish Sea kelp forests, the changes that we’re observing, the efforts underway to save and restore the forests, and how you can get involved.