Retired WWU professor gets wish, region gets new place name

Almost two decades ago, Bert Webber proposed a new name for the marine area consisting of Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia and the Strait of Juan de Fuca: "Salish Sea."

On Friday, Oct. 30, the retired professor of marine ecology at Western Washington University got his wish. The Washington Board of Geographic Names voted 5-1 to approve his idea. The board's counterpart in British Columbia, where much of those waters lie, also approved the new name.

Next month, the name will be considered by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which would need to approve the plan before the name could appear on U.S. maps.

For more information on the Salish Sea region, check out Stefan Freelan's Web site describing his Salish Sea watershed map.