Science

Nearshore Assessments

Eelgrass Health

Habitat Protection

Shoreline Restoration

At Risk Species

Invasive Species

science

Washington State’s Puget Sound region is recognized as a significant hotspot for biological diversity in the United States. Puget Sound’s marine waters are home to more than 220 species of fish, 26 different kinds of marine mammals, 100 species of seabirds and thousands of marine invertebrate species.

Nearly 7 million people live near the waters of Puget Sound and Canada’s Georgia Strait. Consequently, marshes and mudflats are being paved, natural shorelines replaced by bulkheads, and native fish harvested to the brink of extinction. Shellfish, seabirds, invertebrates, native plants and seagrasses are experiencing unprecedented declines, and populations of salmon, herring, cod and rockfish are disappearing from some areas.

Perhaps the most alarming statistic of all: the Southern resident population of orca (killer whales) is now considered to be one of the most contaminated cetaceans in the world and has been listed as a federally endangered species. Biologists, conservationists and citizens agree that Puget Sound waters are experiencing an unprecedented health crisis.

The San Juan Islands Provide Critical Shoreline Habitat

San Juan County is located at the confluence of three major water bodies, Puget Sound, Georgia Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca; making its nearshore marine habitats vital to regional marine species. At low tide, San Juan County contains no less than 743 islands, reefs, and rocks. At high tide, the number of island masses is reduced to 428. The land area of the county occupies approximately 175 square miles with about 400 miles of shoreline abutting 600 square miles of the Sound and Straits. Although the population is growing rapidly, San Juan County still offers healthy and intact nearshore habitat for critical marine species, many of which are endangered or at risk.

The listing of many Puget Sound salmon stocks as threatened raised awareness regarding the importance of forage fish and nearshore marine habitats for salmon recovery. Forage fish are important prey for over 100 species including salmon, bottomfish, seabirds, marine mammals and squids. Numerous listed and at risk species depend on forage fish in San Juan County including Marbled Murrelets, Chinook salmon, Chum salmon, stellar sea lions, harbor porpoise, Orca whales and multiple rockfish species. Key forage fish species in Puget Sound include Pacific herring, surf smelt and Pacific sand lance; Pacific herring are also considered to be at risk species in the region. Because forage fish spawn on beaches or in the nearshore marine environment they are vulnerable to impacts from shoreline development.

Protection of Nearshore Resources is important for Salmon and Orca Recovery

San Juan County shorelines provide forage fish spawning sites, extensive eelgrass meadows and kelp beds and offer feeding, refuge and migration corridors for salmon and orca. Protection of these nearshore habitats has been identified as the most important salmon recovery strategy for the San Juan Archipelago at both the local and regional scale.

In recent decades, San Juan County’s population has grown by over 40% resulting in significant adverse impacts to sensitive nearshore ecosystems, rural landscapes, fresh water resources and wildlife in the area. Primary threats to nearshore habitats include activities such as home and dock construction, shoreline armoring, vegetation removal, sedimentation, failing septic systems and improperly designed moorings in eelgrass beds. As the majority of shoreline development activity in San Juan County (SJC) occurs through incremental single-family residential development and individual shoreline alterations, the magnitude of impacts may become evident only cumulatively. Protection and restoration of the region’s critical resources requires involvement from all citizens and strong science-based regulatory protection by local, state and federal governments.