Over the last two years, the San Juan Initiative hosted 18 public workshops and worked with scientists and resource managers to develop new ideas for protecting our shorelines in a way that respects the concerns of property owners. In December, the County Council unanimously endorsed our approach to tailor environmental protection and property owner assistance to the sensitivity of the shoreline. This is a departure from past efforts where all shorelines were treated the same.

We are proposing better access to information and technical assistance for people who want to build or maintain views and access to the beach, and we’re working to increase certainty in the building and buying process. We are also recommending regulatory changes to be considered in this summer’s update of the Critical Areas Ordinance, which governs activities in wetlands and shorelines.

Recent surveys show that many shoreline property owners have done an outstanding job of stewarding their shoreline resources, from which we all benefit. However, our regulations are not well defined when it comes to protecting trees and vegetation along the shore, which has led to significant and ecologically detrimental clearing on some properties. This inconsistency, both in regulation and in practice, demonstrates a need for a common-sense regulatory approach to protection, while also allowing property owners to thin for views and maintain access to the beach.

If we want to maintain a vibrant shoreline, we’ll need a new approach to the placement of concrete bulkheads, rock retaining walls and other shore stabilization structures, especially when they’re placed on sensitive beaches and bluffs. These structures can bury forage fish habitat, impound sediment needed to maintain beaches and eelgrass beds, and reduce shoreline vegetation, all of which are critical to a healthy marine system. When a home, septic system or road is threatened by erosion from tide or waves, a bulkhead may be necessary. But few of our current bulkheads meet this standard.

Because more than two-thirds of our shoreline is rocky, beaches are an uncommon and important resource. The San Juan Initiative recommends allowing bulkheads on beaches only where a main structure, septic, driveway or road is threatened. If an existing bulkhead needs replacement, we recommend the same standard – unless it’s protecting a threatened structure, it will not be allowed. There are other options to consider, such as soft-shore armoring or requiring that new and replaced bulkheads be constructed above high tide, which reduces the disruption of shoreline processes.

The Initiative is wrestling with these tricky and sensitive questions, while also recognizing the rights of property owners. We want to hear your ideas before we finalize our recommendations to the County Council in June. Please join us at one of the following workshops:

For general public and shoreline property owners: San Juan Island: Wednesday, May 6, Roche Harbor Pavilion. Lopez Island: Thursday, May 7, Lopez Islander. Orcas Island: Tuesday, May 12, Orcas Senior Center.

By Jonathan White co-chair of the San Juan Initiative.