The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently developing of a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for Protection Island and San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) that will guide Refuge management decisions for the next 15 years and beyond.

The service will hold two public open house meetings. The first open house will be in Friday Harbor on Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mullis Community Senior Center, 589 Nash Street.

The second open house will be in Port Townsend on Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Fort Warden State Park and Conference Center.

“Open houses provide an opportunity for people to meet NWR planners and learn about the CCP process,” said David Falzetti of the Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Port Angeles. “They are a critical tool to help planners identify public interests and concerns and to explore alternatives for establishing Refuge goals, objectives, and strategies.”

The 449-acre San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge encompasses more than 83 small islands, rocks, and reefs scattered throughout the San Juan Archipelago in the northwestern waters of Washington State. In 1976, all the NWR islands were designated wilderness under the Wilderness Act, except for Smith, Minor, and Turn Islands and a five-acre parcel on Matia Island. A wide diversity of marine and coastal species inhabit the remnant prairies, cliff faces, rocky shorelines and old growth forests on the dispersed lands of this NWR. Although largely closed to public access, the service manages wildlife-dependent public recreation on Matia and Turn Islands under an agreement with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.