This study was initiated by the Shorelands and Coastal Zone Management Program of the Washington Department of Ecology in order to provide baseline data on relative sea-level change in Puget Sound. In this study six Puget Sound marshes were examined in order to determine the relative sea-level changes at each site during the past several thousand years. The salt marshes were also surveyed as potential sites for future sea-level changes. Predictions of accelerated sea-level rise due to global climate change are uncertain. An appropriate present-day response includes inventory and monitoring activities along coastlines and research into history of sea-level changes in the region.