Guest Opinion: Friends of the SJ’s Shoal Bay Project a Success

Shoal Bay Lagoon (on Lopez Island) before the restoration

By Tina Whitman for the Friends of the San Juans

Until last year, summer fish kills were common in the channel behind a derelict tide gate in Shoal Bay on Lopez Island.  Water trapped behind a defunct tidegate led to lethal temperature and oxygen conditions for the trapped fish.  Last fall, this unnecessary and unpermitted shoreline structure was removed in a habitat improvement project completed by Friends of the San Juans, landowners Nick and Sara Jones and Coastal Geological Services.

Coastal wetlands, like the Shoal Bay Lagoon, provide marine animals important habitat for resting, feeding and refuge from predators.  The beaches at the project site, a privately owned commercial shellfish farm, also support spawning surf smelt, herring, eelgrass and out-migrating juvenile salmon.  Monitoring results show that the restoration project has greatly improved both fish passage and water quality conditions, primary objectives of the project.

The Shoal Bay channel from the south, one year later

“Where fish used to get trapped in channel scour holes on either side of the structure at mid level tides, fish are now traveling in and out of the lagoon at minus tides.  Water temperature sensors have recorded a drop in summer temperatures within the lagoon of nearly 5 degrees Fahrenheit.  No fish kills were observed in the summer of 2010 as they had been in previous years.  “ stated FRIENDS Science Director Tina Whitman.

An unanticipated outcome of the project included improved shellfish growing conditions.

“This past year we have seen an astounding increase in both the number and species diversity of fish in the lagoon. This spring entire schools of juvenile pink salmon regularly prowled the lagoon on incoming tides.  In six years of shell fish operations we have never seen this before.  During the summer we saw large numbers of Ling cod, Tom cod and other species we have never observed in the lagoon.  As a working shellfish farm, we have found Friends to be highly respectful of our property and the needs of our business,”  stated property owner Nick Jones.

The previous landowner installed this bridge/tide gate virtually overnight without any environmental review or permit.  Undoing the damage of this unpermitted structure took three days of excavator work, and three years to plan, fund, engineer, permit, implement, and monitor.

“The price tag to remove and restore this illegal structure was $125,000 over the three year project.  Some of the benefits associated with this project include increased species diversity, new information to inform researchers, policy-makers and other land owners, and a framework for ongoing cooperative models in our community.  We were delighted to be engaged in a truly collaborative process that improved the health of the bay for fish, wildlife and shellfish growers.” noted Stephanie Buffum Field, Executive Director at FRIENDS.

Funding for the project was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Community Salmon Fund, the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Washington State Department of Ecology.  Friends wishes to thank all of the project funders and participants, including Wyllie-Echeverria Fisheries, Coastal Geologic Services, Drayton Archaeological Research, San Juan County Beach Watchers, the Buffum Brothers and Lopez Sand and Gravel, project neighbors, and especially private landowners Nick and Sara Jones, who have enthusiastically supported the project’s marine habitat objectives and provided access for pre and post project research efforts.

With nearly 4,000 modifications on the shorelines of San Juan County, many outdated or unnecessary structures remain that are negatively impacting habitat.   Friends continues to work with interested private landowners to clean up our beaches and restore habitat at priority sites for fish and people. For more information please contact Friends of the San Juans at 378-2319.