San Juan Aquatic Reserve Site Proposal Application by Marine Resources Committee

San Juan Aquatic Reserve Site Proposal Application

Site Proponent

San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (lead)

135 Rhone St

Friday Harbor, WA 98250

(360) 370-7592

Primary contact: Mary Knackstedt, maryk@co.san-juan.wa.us

Other Proponents: San Juan County Land Bank, San Juan County Parks Department, San Juan Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery, NOAA, National Park Service, Washington State Parks, People for Puget Sound, University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs, Friends of the San Juans, The Nature Conservancy, and The Whale Museum.

General Site Information

A. Site location:

The proposed site is located in San Juan County situated in northern Puget Sound. The county is comprised of four large islands and over 172 smaller islands located in the northwest portion of Washington State and within the larger context of the San Juan Archipelago.

The proposed site includes two sections shown on the figure as Proposed West and Proposed Central (Figure 1). Proposed West encompasses about 150,923 acres and includes the southern portion of Lopez Island, the western and northeastern shorelines of San Juan Island, the entirety of Stuart and Waldron Islands, and the northwestern coastline of Orcas Island. Proposed Central encompasses about 12,464 acres and includes the northeastern portion of San Juan Island down to the northern border of Friday Harbor, the north and west coastlines of Shaw Island, and West Sound of Orcas Island (excluding Deer Harbor).

Figure 1. Proposed aquatic reserve site boundaries

B. Site Overview:

1. General site description

The site includes state-owned tidelands and bedlands, DNR-designated sensitive marine habitat (e.g., kelp, eelgrass, forage fish spawning habitat), and other protected areas in the region (Figure 1). These areas include marine preserves, bottomfish recovery areas, state-owned lands and parks, portions of the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the Sea Cucumber and Sea Urchin Commercial Harvest Exclusion Zones, the San Juan Island National Historical Park (English Camp and American Camp), San Juan County marine parks, The Nature Conservancy preserves, and six of the county’s priority watersheds as named in the San Juan County Watershed Management Action Plan. In addition, the proposed site is located within the larger context of the county’s Marine Stewardship Area (MSA). San Juan County designated the entire county as a voluntary MSA in 2004 and adopted a management plan for its protection in July 2007. The MSA Management Plan was developed by local and regional scientists, resource managers, and stakeholders to identify key marine resources, threats to ecosystem health, and strategies to address these threats.

The San Juan Islands contain a wide diversity of habitats and species, hosts scientific research, and serves as a vacation destination for domestic and international tourists. The proposed site includes habitats and species identified by the MSA Management Plan as biodiversity-related targets: rocky intertidal communities; rocky subtidal communities; nearshore sand, mud, and gravel communities; rockfish, lingcod, and greenling; seabirds; marine mammals; and Pacific salmon (Evans and Kennedy 2007). The targets align closely with DNR’s priority habitats and species listed in the Aquatic Reserve Guidance Document (Appendices C-F). (A more extensive list of habitats and species found in the region is included in Appendix A.)

Six of the priority watersheds identified in the San Juan County Watershed Management Action Plan are located in the proposed Aquatic Reserve site, including Friday Harbor (San Juan Island), Westcott/Garrison Bays (San Juan Island), Roche Harbor (San Juan Island), Mud/Hunter Bays and Lopez Sound (Lopez Island), West Sound (Orcas Island), and False Bay (San Juan Island) (San Juan County 2000) (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Priority Watersheds in San Juan County (San Juan County 2000)

The plan identified some unique characteristics of these six watersheds (Table X).

Table 1. Habitat and Species by Priority Watershed (San Juan County 2000)

Name	Watershed Acreage		Habitat/Species
Name	Upland Freshwater	Marine and Intertidal	Habitat/Species
Friday Harbor	398	35	11% of watershed is wetlands River otter habitat, eelgrass beds in southeast part of the harbor, Bald eagle nests
Westcott/Garrison Bays	106	153	Large kelp and eelgrass beds (critical habitat for herring) Primary shellfish harvest areas (mussels, clams, oysters) on the island
Roche Harbor	3.5	43	Kelp and eelgrass beds used by herring, migratory waterfowl and eagle habitat
Mud/Hunter Bays and Lopez Sound	161	470	Freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, mudflats, eelgrass beds Bald eagle, great blue heron, kingfisher, killdeer, migratory and wintering shorebirds and waterfowl, herring, crabs, hardshell clams, shrimp
West Sound	254	292	Eelgrass beds Critical habitat for Pacific herring, river otter, many migratory waterfowl species West side of West Sound – Bald eagle nesting area
False Bay	743	232	Tidal flats, eelgrass and kelp beds Many intertidal species normally found on the open coast (Giant Green Anemones, Gooseneck Barnacles, and California Mussels)

2. Boundaries description (include section, range and township, county)

Tables 2 and 3 display the specific boundaries of the proposed reserve site in San Juan County as shown in Figure 1.

Table 2. Boundary Description of West Area of Proposed Site (including portions of Lopez, San Juan, Stuart, Waldron, and Orcas Islands)

RANGE	TOWNSHIP	SECTION
1	34	4-9, 15-21
1	35	31,33
2	34	4-11, 13-16, 23-25
2	37	6-7, 9-10, 15-16, 18, 20-21, 29-31
3	34	1,3,4,10-12
3	35	30-34
3	36	1,4-7,12,17-20
3	37	1, 11-15, 23-24, 36
4	35	2-3, 11, 14, 23-25
4	36	1-2, 6, 11-16, 21-28, 34-36
4	37	20-22, 25-29, 33-36

Table 3. Boundary Description of Central Area of Proposed Site (including portions of San Juan, Shaw, and Orcas Islands)

RANGE	TOWNSHIP	SECTION
2	35	5
2	36	4-9, 16-22, 27-28, 30, 32
3	34	24
3	35	1-3, 11-12
3	36	1, 11-14, 19-20, 23-25, 27-29, 34

3. Current ownership of privately and publicly owned (other than DNR) aquatic lands adjacent to the proposed site.

Of San Juan County’s 375 miles of tidelands, about 78% are state-owned. In the reserve site, landowners and managers include the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, San Juan County Parks, State Parks, University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, San Juan County Land Bank, San Juan Preservation Trust, and the San Juan MRC (Table 4). Details and maps of these areas are located in Appendix B.

Table 4. Managers/Landowners in Proposed Site

Manager/Landowner	Site(s)	Details
Bureau of Land Management	Turn Point (Stuart Island); Point Colville, Watmough Bay, and Iceberg Point (south Lopez Island)	Public lands for recreation and education
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)	San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge	83 islands, rocks, and reefs; breeding and foraging habitat for marine mammals and birds; no harvest restrictions
National Park Service (NPS)	San Juan Island National Historical Park: English Camp and American Camp	English Camp (529 acres): located on Garrison Bay, 1400 feet of shoreline American Camp (1223 acres): situated between Griffin Bay and Haro Strait Recently released draft management plan for SAJH; preferred alternative would preserve the natural, historic, and cultural resources of both sites, and also introduce new facilities, trails, and educational programs for visitors (NPS 2008)
The Nature Conservancy	Goose, Deadman, Sentinel, and Yellow Islands	No regulatory authority, provides some shoreline/tideland protection
San Juan County Parks	San Juan County Park, Reuben Tarte Park, Eagle Cove	Public recreation sites
State Parks	Lime Kiln Point; Stuart, Posey, Jones, Turn Islands; Griffin Bay	Lime Kiln Point: 36 acres, land-based whale watching site, lighthouse used for interpretation and orca research Stuart Island: 85 acres, 33,030 feet of shoreline Posey Island: 1 acre, 1,000 feet of shoreline Jones Island: 188 acres, 25,000 feet of shoreline Turn Island: 35 acres, 16,000 feet of shoreline Griffin Bay: 15 acres, 340 feet of shoreline Except for Lime Kiln Point, all parks accessible only by boat
University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs	Owned: FHL, False Bay, Parks Bay, Parks Bay and Point George Leased: Garrison Bay, FHL at Point Caution, Goose Island, Deadman Island, Iceberg Point, Point Colville	Promotes and hosts scientific research
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)	Intertidal and subtidal areas of San Juan and Upright Channel and Haro Strait exclusion zones	Special management areas established by WDFW to prohibit non-tribal commercial fishing of sea urchins and sea cucumbers
UW FHL/WDFW	Yellow and Low Islands, Friday Harbor, Shaw Island, False Bay	Marine preserves established to help support scientific research and to preserve biodiversity; some harvest restrictions Yellow and Low Islands: 1.54 acres intertidal, 185.65 acres subtidal Friday Harbor: 0.70 acres intertidal, 424.83 acres subtidal; uplands owned by FHL Shaw Island: 0.54 acres intertidal, 453.31 acres subtidal False Bay: 225.19 acres intertidal, 80.53 acres subtidal
San Juan County Land Bank	San Juan Island – Edwards Point, Hunt, Deadman Bay Preserve, West Side Scenic Preserve, Third Lagoon Preserve Henry Island – Mosquito Pass Preserve Crane Island – Pole Pass Waldron Island – Point Disney Preserve Lopez Island – Johnson, Helwig, Cole, Watmough Bay Preserve Orcas Island – Clapp, Orcas Village Tidelands	Conservation easements and fee-simple acquisitions
San Juan Preservation Trust	San Juan Island – Pile Point Henry Island – Hull, Mosquito Pass Preserve Stuart Island – Skartvedt-Burget, Harmony Preserve Waldron Island – Cook Family, Point Hammond, Disney Mountain Preserve Lopez Island – Hoedemaker, Iceberg Peninsula, Watmough, Whale Rocks	Conservation easements and fee-simple acquisitions
San Juan County MRC	Bottomfish Recovery Zones: Bell Island, Charles Island, Pile Point, Lime Kiln Lighthouse, Kellett Bluff, Gull Rock, Bare Island	Established to help replenish depleted stocks; voluntary protection, on-the-water education used to inform the public. Seven of the eight zones are located within the proposed site.

4. Current county shoreline designation and description

Under the San Juan County Municipal Code 18.50.110, the areas seaward from the line of extreme low tide are designated shorelines of statewide significance, and therefore, their use and development is subject to compliance with the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan. The plan delineates three districts. District 1 includes San Juan, Henry, Spieden, Stuart, Johns, and several smaller islands. District 2 includes Orcas, Waldron, and smaller islands. District 3 encompasses Lopez, Shaw, and other smaller islands. The proposed reserve site includes sections of all three districts. Land use designations within the proposed site include Rural Residential, Rural Farm Forest, Natural, Conservancy, Agricultural, and Forest Resource. These designations are defined as follows (San Juan County 2002):

Rural Residential: generally applied to established residential subdivisions, allows for single-family residential uses with parcels generally two to five acres in size.
Rural Farm Forest: intended to provide “rural living opportunities [that] are compatible with small-scale farming and forestry activities” with parcels generally five to ten acres in size.
Natural: intended to “preserve indigenous plant and animal species and ecosystems in a natural state for the benefit of existing and future generations.” This designation also prohibits residential, commercial, and industrial uses that could degrade the natural environment, but allows activities that protect environment and provide educational opportunities.
Conservancy: intended to “protect, conserve, and manage existing natural conditions, resources, and valuable historic, scenic, educational, or scientific research areas for the benefit of existing and future generations without precluding compatible human uses.”
Agricultural: intended “to ensure the conservation of agricultural resource lands of long-term commercial significance for existing and future generations, and protect these lands from interference by adjacent uses which may affect the continued use of these lands for production of food and agricultural products.”
Forest Resource: intended to “protect and conserve forest lands of long-term commercial significance for sustainable forest productivity and provide for uses which are compatible with forestry activities while maintaining water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat.”

Table 5 displays the three districts’ shoreline designations. The official maps of the three districts are in Appendix C.

Table 5. Shoreline Designation by Island

	Rural Residential	Rural Farm Forest	Natural	Conservancy	Agricultural	Forest Resource
District 1
San Juan	X	X	X	X	X
Henry	X	X	X
Spieden				X
Stuart	X	X	X	X
Johns	X	X
Pearl	X
Satellite				X
Smaller Islands*			X
District 2
Orcas	X	X	X	X	X	X
Waldron	X	X	X	X
Skipjack			X
Jones			X
Crane	X		X
Smaller Islands*			X (Yellow, Low, Victim, Skull)	X (all others)
District 3
Shaw	X	X	X	X		X
Lopez	X	X	X	X	X	X
Blind			X
Smaller Islands*			X (all others)	X (Long and Charles)

*Smaller islands in District 1 include Cemetary, Ripple, Cactus, Sentinel, Flattop, Battleship, Barren, Goose, Posey, and O’Neal.

*Smaller islands in District 2 include Yellow, Low, Victim, Skull, Reef, McConnell, Coon, Cliff, Bell, Little Double, Big Double, and Picnic.

*Smaller islands in District 3 include Deadman, Buck, Mummy, Secar, Hall, Iceberg, Fortress, Boulder, Castle, Colville, Long, and Charles.