A barge arrived on Brown Island to unload heavy equipment, and the removal of a large rock bulkhead along three adjacent residential waterfront properties was finally underway.

“It all started a few years ago when I saw a newsletter from Friends of the San Juans on armoring and how it can degrade the beach, which was a huge shock to me.  That’s when we decided to see what we could do to improve our beach,” said Mariluz Villa, one of the participating property owners.

The armor removal project, coordinated by Friends of the San Juans, will unbury the upper beach, providing more usable space for property owners as well as the wildlife such as forage fish and juvenile salmon that depend on intact shoreline habitats.

“In San Juan County, there are hundreds of unnecessary structures like this one, placed in areas with low natural erosion rates.  Hard structures not only have direct habitat impacts but also interrupt or change the actual processes that are essential to maintaining our beaches” said Jim Johannessen, principal at Coastal Geologic Services and the restoration project designer.

Over the next week local contractor Carson Sprenger and his Orcas Island based team at Rain Shadow Consulting will remove 175 cubic yards of rock from the project site, working carefully to retain existing trees and shrubs.  Following bulkhead removal, the upper beach will be nourished with sand and small gravel.

Native plants including Dune Grass, Nootka rose, Oceanspray and Snowberry will be planted by Barry Bartmasser of Naturescapes Landscaping. Project funding was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Puget Sound Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, participating property owners and Friends members.

For more information, visit www.sanjuans.org or call 378-2319.