WA State Floating Kelp Inventory Time Series

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages state owned aquatic lands. DNR's Nearshore Habitat Program inventories and monitors floating kelp beds as part of its program to track nearshore habitat health. These data describe the extent of floating kelp beds (Nereocystis leutkeana & Macrocystis pyrifera) in Washington State. Monitoring along the Outer Coast and within the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been ongoing since 1989, except for a gap in 1993. The program expanded in 2010 with the addition of Smith Island, and again in 2011 to fully include three DNR Aquatic Reserves: Smith & Minor Islands, Cherry Point, and Cypress Island. The dominant surface canopy-forming species present and mapped in the study area are Nereocystis leutkeana (bull kelp) and Macrocystis pyrifera (giant kelp).