Getting to yes- armor removal with private landowners
Presentation Abstract
San Juan County’s 400+ miles of marine shoreline provide forage fish spawning sites, eelgrass meadows and kelp beds as well as feeding, refuge and migration corridors for rockfish, salmon, seabirds and orca. The health of these marine habitats is critical to the recovery of the Salish Sea. Unfortunately, nearshore ecosystems throughout the region are suffering from ongoing and cumulative impacts of shoreline development. Armoring buries forage fish spawning habitat and disrupts geologic processes. Shoreline vegetation removal and improperly managed runoff directly contribute to loss of ecosystem health, bluff failure and increased demand for new armoring.
In San Juan County, armoring is present on 22.5% of all non-bedrock shores. Since 2010 at least 8 new bulkheads have been constructed here in situations where no structure was at risk (e.g. non-exempt), and 3 of these are located on documented forage fish spawning beaches. Development pressures and rising seas are expected to increase demand for hard armor.
Friends of the San Juans has worked for the past 15 years to prioritize beach and bluff restoration projects, develop relationships with public and private shoreline property owners, and develop, implement and monitor habitat improvement projects. Over this time, many lessons have been learned about engaging landowners in the protection and restoration of coastal processes, habitats and species. This poster will use a case study approach for the Brown Island Feeder Bluff Restoration (armor removal) Project to highlight some of the successful tools FRIENDS is applying to landowner engagement efforts, including new informational graphics and short videos that share the human perspective of physical and biological restoration efforts.
Session Title
General Habitat Topics
Conference Track
Habitat
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Shore protection--Washington (State)--San Juan County; Shorelines--Washington (State)--San Juan County; Coastal zone management--Washington (State)--San Juan County
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); San Juan County (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Getting to yes- armor removal with private landowners
2016SSEC
San Juan County’s 400+ miles of marine shoreline provide forage fish spawning sites, eelgrass meadows and kelp beds as well as feeding, refuge and migration corridors for rockfish, salmon, seabirds and orca. The health of these marine habitats is critical to the recovery of the Salish Sea. Unfortunately, nearshore ecosystems throughout the region are suffering from ongoing and cumulative impacts of shoreline development. Armoring buries forage fish spawning habitat and disrupts geologic processes. Shoreline vegetation removal and improperly managed runoff directly contribute to loss of ecosystem health, bluff failure and increased demand for new armoring.
In San Juan County, armoring is present on 22.5% of all non-bedrock shores. Since 2010 at least 8 new bulkheads have been constructed here in situations where no structure was at risk (e.g. non-exempt), and 3 of these are located on documented forage fish spawning beaches. Development pressures and rising seas are expected to increase demand for hard armor.
Friends of the San Juans has worked for the past 15 years to prioritize beach and bluff restoration projects, develop relationships with public and private shoreline property owners, and develop, implement and monitor habitat improvement projects. Over this time, many lessons have been learned about engaging landowners in the protection and restoration of coastal processes, habitats and species. This poster will use a case study approach for the Brown Island Feeder Bluff Restoration (armor removal) Project to highlight some of the successful tools FRIENDS is applying to landowner engagement efforts, including new informational graphics and short videos that share the human perspective of physical and biological restoration efforts.
