Education

At the same time that we celebrate the home of Dungeness Crab, there are serious problems in the watershed of the Dungeness river and other areas, that threaten one of the traditional sources of seafood for the community. A portion of the festival’s proceeds will be distributed to watershed education in the Dungeness River and Bay habitats and toward other environmental issues that effect local aquiculture and agriculture.

The North Olympic Peninsula is quite literally an outdoor paradise, with the rugged Olympic Mountains and forests to the south, and the picturesque coastline along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the south. Sequim Bay, Dungeness Bay, and numerous other sites up and down the coast are home to the world famous Dungeness Crab, as well as clams, oysters, several species of salmon, and more.

However, this paradise has it's problems. Contamination periodically shuts down shellfish harvesting in coastal waters. Overfishing and damage to spawning habitat have significantly reduced the once amazing salmon runs of the Olympic Peninsula.

Come visit the Environmental Pavilion to learn about the many efforts that are underway locally to restore salmon runs, improve water quality, save endangered species, and improve our local crab and shellfish fisheries. Non-profit and governmental leaders in these efforts will be happy to share what they're doing, as well as help you to understand what you can do personally to make our paradise even better than it now is!

• Sequim Elk Habitat Committee
• The Dungeness River Audubon Center
• Olympic Park Institute
• Department of Fish and Wildlife