Data are collected and made publicly available by government agencies. Each data source and agency have their own protocols and methodologies for data collection and reporting, and these methodologies may be changed or updated over time. We will report changes as we learn of them, as such changes may bias trends reported here.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Economics: National Ocean Watch; Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFIN); Washington State Department of Revenue (WADOR); US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The annual value of timber is derived from the Washington State Department of Revenue (WADOR) forest excise tax distributions. The 5 percent WADOR tax is assessed on the stumpage value at the time of harvest, and captures activity on state, federal, and private lands. The value of agricultural products is reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) census of agriculture every five years. Figure 2 provides a trend between the 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022 data. The agricultural census reports the market value of agricultural products sold which includes crops (including nursery and greenhouse crops) and livestock, poultry, and their products.

The geographical scope of the Puget Sound Partnership includes all counties adjoining the Puget Sound basin. The outer coast of the state is not included. To restrict annual timber and agricultural value estimates appropriately, WADNR forest practice and WSDA agricultural land use maps were intersected with county and Puget Sound Partnership boundaries. The percentage of timber or agricultural land use that fell within the Puget Sound Area was used to draw a proportion of total county sales.

The value of fishing and aquaculture products is provided through Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFIN). PacFIN data reported here is the “ex-vessel” value received by fisherman for fish and shellfish caught in the Puget Sound catch areas, and landed in Puget Sound counties. Because of sensitivity in data reporting, fish and shellfish value includes both tribal and non-tribal fishing activity. Aquaculture value consists of farmed shellfish, while fishing value includes wild caught shellfish including crab and shrimp, as well as finfish.

Coastal recreation and tourism is made up of many sectors including boat dealers, restaurants, hotels and lodging, marinas, RV parks and campsites, water tours, sporting goods, recreational services, zoos, and aquaria. Many of these subsectors provide services whose production value cannot be measured as precisely at the local level as a single commodity like timber or fish.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure of all goods and services associated within an industry, was estimated for coastal tourism at the zip code level by NOAA Office for Coastal Management’s Economics: National Ocean Watch program (ENOW) using ratios of state level sector GDP, state level sector wages, and zip code level sector wages.

Recreation and tourism GDP in Jefferson and Clallam counties accounted for over $186 million ($2021) on average annually from 2005 to 2021. However, those counties are not included in the recreation figure here because their recreational activity cannot be accurately divided between the Puget Sound and Pacific coast. Additionally, GDP in Thurston County is not estimated by ENOW because the portion of coastal tourism and recreation that can be attributed to the Puget Sound versus the professional and political activity at the state’s capital is unclear. For these reasons, recreation and tourism estimates above should be considered conservative.

The Puget Sound region includes the following counties: Clallam County, Island County, Jefferson County, King County, Kitsap County, Lewis County, Mason County, Pierce County, San Juan County, Skagit County, Snohomish County, Thurston County, and Whatcom County. Since only a small portion of Lewis County is within the Puget Sound watershed, Lewis County is only included in the timber industry data.