The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) retained Ridolfi Inc.'s services to conduct post-restoration monitoring activities at several habitat restoration sites on Commencement Bay, in Tacoma, Washington. NOAA is the lead agency of the Commencement Bay Natural Resources Trustees (the Trustees) and is responsible for managing the restoration projects of the Commencement Bay Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration program.
The Trustees consist of NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The Trustees prepared a Restoration Monitoring Plan for Commencement Bay. The Trustees' planning document identified several objectives of the monitoring program:
Ridolfi personnel, with support from Adolfson Associates, Inc. (Adolfson) and volunteers from Citizens for a Healthy Bay (CHB), collected most of the monitoring data for the first five years. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Ridolfi staff monitored fish; Adolfson and Ridolfi staff collected marsh and riparian vegetation data, and bird observations. NOAA and Adolfson personnel collected invertebrate data. CHB volunteers gathered photo-point documentation and performed data entry. Ridolfi performed physical site surveys, handled data management, and produced monitoring reports.