Restoration of beach habitat that supports spawning forage fish and the many significant marine species that rely on forage fish as key prey (salmon, seabirds, marine mammals and rockfish) is the goal of the county-wide shoreline modification inventory project which starts collecting field data this week.

Major habitat modifications will be mapped for all of San Juan County’s 400-plus miles of shoreline. Results will be used to identify potential restoration sites and interested landowners to participate in voluntary habitat improvement projects. Friends of the San Juans is coordinating the project, which was funded as the top priority project in the 2008 local salmon recovery grant process.

Field surveys will be conducted this spring and summer, and local Friends of the San Juans and Beach Watcher volunteers will be essential to the project’s success, providing hundreds of hours of field assistance.

“Like the successful forage fish project a few years back, which used over 100 volunteers in our work to document 12 miles of surf smelt and Pacific sand lance spawning beaches in the county, trained volunteers allow us to accomplish large mapping projects in a cost-effective way,” project manager Tina Whitman said.

In addition, Friends of the San Juans 2009 Science Intern, University of Washington undergraduate student Tiffany Stephens, will assist with field surveys, aerial photo interpretation and mapping elements of the project.

“We have assembled a great team,” Stephanie Buffum, Executive Director at Friends of the San Juans, said. “We are fortunate to be in a community with so many skilled community members committed to marine ecosystem recovery.”