Together with their monitoring partners, the Partnership is building the data needed to track and report on 70 Puget Sound Vital Sign indicators. Nine of the indicators are associated with annual or long-term ecosystem recovery targets.

Each indicator is evaluated for progress (change relative to a point back in time) and the subset of indicators with a set target are evaluated for target status (whether or not they are meeting their targets). A table of all Vital Sign indicators, along with their progress and status, can be downloaded via the Download Indicators link.

Many indicators are not trending in any direction. For some indicators in this category, we need to see more progress toward recovery; others are in good condition. Many indicators show localized declines even if we don’t see a trend at the regional scale. Local recovery efforts are particularly important to support in order to prevent declines from getting worse. We see progress in indicators where decision makers and land managers have direct influence on outcomes, for example, restoring estuaries and floodplains. We see the least progress or declines in indicators affected by multiple factors and large-scale forces, and where we rely on decisions made nationally or even globally to create positive change.