A healthy, enduring marine ecosystem in Snohomish County which contributes to the overall health of Puget Sound and which is shared and protected by all.

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About us

The Snohomish Marine Resources Committee (MRC) was established in 1999 as a citizens advisory group to County Government. The MRC is a service of Snohomish County Surface Water Management, a division of Snohomish County Conservation and Natural Resources. Surface Water Management provides staff support and funding to the MRC. The Northwest Straits Initiative also provides funding to the MRC.  The MRC’s 13 members are appointed by Snohomish County Council and include scientists, staff from local and tribal governments, and individuals representing recreational, economic, and environmental interests. The MRC uses science-based information to develop and implement projects and help shape local and regional marine conservation policy. 

Snohomish County is one of seven counties with a Marine Resources Committee within the regional Northwest Straits Initiative. It is the most urbanized of the seven participating counties with a population of over 822,000 (2019). More people live in Snohomish County than the other six MRC counties combined. Its 130 miles of shoreline are largely developed, including the Port of Everett, Naval Station Everett, the Everett Marina, and BNSF railway situated along the shoreline from Everett south to the King County border. North of Everett the shoreline consists primarily of residential development within the Tulalip Indian Reservation, Port Susan, and south Skagit Bay.

The County's marine environment boasts an extraordinary number of outstanding recreational water activities including sailing, fishing, and diving. Snohomish County waters also support economically and ecologically valuable Dungeness crab and salmon populations, as well as productive estuarine habitat. The Tulalip and Stillaguamish Tribes also have Usual and Accustomed fishing grounds within County waters.