Dr. Randell leads the Coastal Climate Resilience (CCR) research program at the Seattle Aquarium, leveraging small, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), equipped with cameras, sensors, and open-source AI tools, to conduct high‑resolution video and photo surveys of kelp forests and other benthic habitats in shallow coastal waters (5–40 m depth). The program’s goals are to expand benthic […]
Once a common sight along the Pacific Coast, sunflower sea stars have been pushed to the brink by sea star wasting disease – triggering cascading impacts on kelp forests as unchecked purple urchins move in. Dr. Jason Hodin of Friday Harbor Laboratories is leading groundbreaking research to understand what went wrong and how recovery might be possible. […]
Washington’s beautiful landscapes support a tremendous diversity of ecosystems including marine eelgrass beds, tidepools, salt marshes, lowland rainforests, montane coniferous forests, subalpine and alpine meadows and parklands, shrub steppe, grasslands, prairies, sand dunes, riparian areas, forested swamps, vernal pools, marshes, fens and bogs. These ecosystems in turn support thousands of species, some of which are unique to […]
Austin Greene, Ph.D., Lead scientist for Washington Department of Natural Resources, Aquatic Reserves Program April 30, 2026 7:00 pm, Lacey Community Center Austin Greene leads a team of scientists and technicians working to better understand the unique habitats on eight Aquatic Reserves in Washington and the impacts challenging the future of these ecosystems. In this […]
David Wilderman, Lead Scientist for WA Department of Natural Resources, Natural Areas Program May 14, 2026 at 7:00 pm., Lacey Community Center Take a tour of beautiful Natural Areas that showcase the extraordinary features these sites protect, then delve into some of the work being done to manage and restore these very special protected areas. […]
Tim Carpenter is currently the Director of Animal Operations at the Seattle Aquarium, and has been studying and caring for fish and invertebrates for over 35 years. He is a senior diver at the Aquarium, and a collection and research diver, both locally and in the tropics. During the last five years one of Tim’s […]
