November 2020

Announcements

Natural Resources Values Survey

Please take this survey to let Island County ecosystem recovery partners know what is most important to YOU!!! This survey aims to capture Island County residents’ values and experiences with the natural environment. We are looking to gain a better understanding of what matters to local residents so that we can better focus our efforts and direct funding to the highest restoration and protection priorities in Island County. La encuesta está disponible en Español también.

Accepting Nominations for 2021 Volunteer of the Year!

Do you know someone whose volunteer efforts contribute to the protection and/or restoration of the marine waters and coastal resources of Island County? Highlight their service by nominating them for the 2021 Jan Holmes Island County Coastal Volunteer of the Year Award!

This award is open to any volunteer, regardless of membership to any one organization or institution, participating in or supporting science and outreach efforts that protect or restore the coastal resources of Island County.

Nominate a volunteer here! Nominations must be received by 4:30pm on Thursday, December 31.

Restoration at Seahorse Siesta

Right now, an old barge and bulkhead that extend 98 feet onto the beach and stretch 136 feet alongshore are being removed from the base of a feeder bluff at Seahorse Siesta in Langley. This will open up more nearshore habitat, especially for forage fish (a critical bottleneck in the food web) to spawn.

This project is a wonderful example of our committees working with local community members and partners to do meaningful work. Outreach through the Shore Friendly program and our partners at the Northwest Straits Foundation helped identify and fund feasibility for this project. SRTCC recommended the project for design and construction funding. ILIO maintained connection and support for the project with elected officials, and the MRC is conducting pre- and post-restoration monitoring. This is an excellent reminder that when communities come together, amazing things can happen!

Restoration at Seahorse Siesta. Photo credit: Lisa Kaufman

Programmatic Updates

Island Local Integrating Organization (ILIO)

The next ILIO Technical Committee meeting will be held Tuesday, November 10 from 1-3pm via Zoom.

Oregon State University is currently scheduling and conducting interviews with LIO Coordinators and members from all 10 LIOs. Interviews relate to the ongoing Human Wellbeing Project (2017-present). Many LIO Coordinators and members have already participated in this study (2018 interviews) and/or have heard of it through the Puget Sound Partnership or LIO Coordinators. Dr. David Trimbach is still looking for members to participate in this study, which will involve a 30-minute interview (via Zoom) with a member of the research team. All information collected will be anonymized and remain confidential. Your participation will help the team better understand our multi-year collaboration, human wellbeing integration, and overall lessons learned. If you are interested in participating in interviews, please contact Dr. David Trimbach to schedule your interview at 253-254-6398 or david.trimbach@oregonstate.edu.

The Habitat Strategic Initiative Advisory Team’s Shared Investment Pilot Reflections document that summarizes the benefits, challenges, and lessons learned from the FFY2020 HSI pilot funding process is available for review.

Be sure to check ILIO's website for upcoming meeting agendas and minutes.

Marine Resources Committee (MRC)

The next MRC meeting will be held Tuesday, December 1 from 3-5pm via Zoom.

The MRC’s 2020 annual report is now available! Read about the work the MRC has done this year to monitor, restore, and educate about the local marine environment in the full report or this two-page summary.

The MRC was pleased to welcome Congressman Rick Larsen to two nearshore restoration sites, where the MRC has partnered with the Northwest Straits Foundation and local community members to improve nearshore habitat, coastal processes, and beach access. Congressman Larsen visited Seahorse Siesta, where a barge and bulkhead are being removed this month at the toe of a feeder bluff, which will restore sediment transport processes and important forage fish spawning habitat. He also visited Sunlight Shores, where a bulkhead made of creosote-treated wood, rock, and debris was removed in 2018, improving the upland to nearshore connectivity, and allowing for greater beach access.

Congressman Rick Larsen visits Sunlight Shores. From left to right: Vivian Stembridge, Congressman Larsen, Lucas Hart, Lisa Kaufman, Anna Toledo. Photo credit: Lance Porter.

The Board of County Commissioners passed resolution C-80-20, proclaiming October 17, 2020 Orca Recovery Day in Island County. Thank you to all our partners and community members who participated in Orca Recovery activities throughout the month of October!

Be sure to check MRC's website for upcoming meeting agendas and minutes.

Salmon Recovery

The next Salmon Recovery Technical and Citizen Committee (SRTCC) meeting will be held Wednesday, November 18 from 3-5pm via Zoom.

SRTCC is currently looking at past and recently completed projects to assess lessons learned and how to use those lessons moving forward.

The 2021 Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant season begins in January. In preparation, SRTCC is developing calendars and working with the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office to set up site “visit” dates. Site visits this year will likely be virtual as opposed to in-person, as they have been historically – another form of adaptive management!

Be sure to check out the Salmon Recovery website for upcoming meeting agendas and minutes.

Resources and Interesting Reads

Local News The 2021 edition of Hiking Close to Home book release party will take place on Saturday, November 7 from 1-3pm at Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship. Get a copy and have it signed by authors Maribeth Crandell and Jack Hartt, drink some cider, and take a tour (all while social distancing).

Whidbey Island Conservation District's annual native bare root plant sale has begun! You can order plants until Wednesday, December 30, but stock is going fast! Plant pickup will be in late February at Greenbank Farm.

Learn

University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences is hosting a webinar series called Cultivating Inclusive Conservation Practices. It will run from 10-11am every Friday until December 4th. The topics all address diversity, equity, and inclusion in conservation practices. You can watch live on their YouTube channel, and recordings will also be posted there.

Western Washington University's (WWU) Huxley College of the Environment and the WWU Alumni Association are sponsoring a speaker series to help people better appreciate and understand how toxicology is important to them, their families, their friends, and their communities. The next one, Microplastic Pollution: Structural Pollutant Meets Endocrine Disrupting Contaminant, will be held Thursday, November 19 from 11am-12pm.

The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group will be hosting three virtual lectures related to climate resilience over the next six months. The first event, From Cliffs to Coast: Stories of Building Climate Resilience, is scheduled for Thursday, December 3 from 6-7:30pm.

The Washington State Department of Commerce and state agency partners at the Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Ecology are hosting an 11-week webinar series on monitoring and adaptive management of critical areas and shorelines. Starting in January 2021, the series will feature expert guest speakers, opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, tools, and resources to develop and enhance critical areas and shorelines monitoring and adaptive management. Registration information and details will be posted here.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Washington recently posted a new blog and video on the Washington Coastal Resilience Project. The video discusses a community-led soft shoreline armoring project in Chinook, WA. You can also visit the Coastal Hazards Resiliency website to watch and learn more. 

Exciting news: "A new FEMA flood policy released late last month...is drawing praise from environmentalists because it will promote mitigation projects that provide environmental benefits in addition to flood protection." Read the article here.

The Elwha dams are gone and Chinook are surging back, but why are so few reaching the upper river? Read the Seattle Times article here.

Two Chinook salmon on the Elwha River protect their nest, called a redd, during spawning season. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

Tools

Check out this Shoreline Monitoring Database, which allows for data from different academic research groups, agencies and citizen science groups, and from different monitoring sites and projects, to come together to inform the effectiveness of shoreline restoration as well as explore status and trends. Learn more here!

Act!

The Science Panel of the Puget Sound Partnership invites you to review the draft Science Work Plan for 2020-2024. Implementing it will generate research, evaluation, and analysis that the Puget Sound recovery community will use to improve decision-making and accelerate recovery across Puget Sound for the benefit of the people and communities in the region and the ecosystems on which they depend. Click here for an overview of the process and plan summary.

There is an opportunity to review the Toxics in Fish (TIF) Implementation Strategies (IS) products (narrative, results chains, etc.) until Friday, November 6. Feedback will be used by the TIF Core Team to adjust and improve IS content based on external input. Strategies for Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) is expected for public release by the end of 2020. Visit here for the public review draft, executive summary, and public comment form.

Thank you to the amazing volunteers who worked in the mud to remove 300 square feet of invasive English cordgrass, or Spartina angelica, from Freeland County Park in October!

Upcoming Events

Thank you for your interest in Island County Natural Resources.

For more information, contact Ann Prusha: a.prusha@islandcountywa.gov or 360-678-2347.

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