SJC Ag Summit: Skill-building for growers, chasing water

||| BY MATTHEW GILBERT, OP-ED JOURNALIST |||

In an era of $7 lattes, entrée-priced “dinner snacks,” and other assaults on the ethic of local affordability and community identity, it was refreshing to be reminded at the 11th annual San Juan Islands Agricultural Summit that there is a thriving network of homegrown farmers and eco-entrepreneurs focused on stewardship and sustainability. This year’s theme was the “Changing Tides of Island Agriculture.”

Nearly 200 folks from throughout the county gathered on San Juan to learn about growing practices, food packaging, pest control, collaboration, building a business, and, not surprisingly, stress management. Many of the presenters hailed from off-island. The keynote speaker was Katie Penke from Alluvial Farms, located in the Nooksack River watershed northwest of Bellingham. Other organizations included the Puget Sound Food Hub, WSU, the Snohomish Conversation District, Skagit Woolen Works, the Northwest Agricultural Business Center, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – Washington Water Science Center.

The latter featured a much-anticipated presentation titled “Aquifer Recharge and Water-Budget Components of San Juan County.” In short, what is the county’s “water balance” and, ideally, where is it headed? The project was undertaken in cooperation with the county’s Department of Health and Community Services at a cost of approximately $142,000 ($50,000 of which was provided by USGS).

USGS hydrologists Wendy Welch and Elise Wright quickly summarized the challenges faced by the county in capturing and preserving freshwater resources:

• the “rain shadow effect”
• steep terrain and complex bedrock geology
• small watershed catchment areas
• an extensive shoreline that makes wells vulnerable to saltwater intrusion
• growing summer demand

Annual precipitation varies widely from 19 inches in southern Lopez to 45 inches on Mt. Constitution. The USGS estimates that future amounts will remain similar to historical levels but that the seasonality and intensity of rainfall will change: wetter winters but warmer, drier, and longer summers. As a result, “There is an ongoing need for an accounting of water budget components and water use estimates.”

Wright characterized the report as “an essential first step in characterizing groundwater availability for the county” that updates recharge estimates from a 2002 report; it is not a deeper analysis based on such metrics as well log data – well water representing about one-third of all water use in the county and an important barometer of trends. Seasonal recharge “rates” have apparently changed little over the last 40 years, and according to the 2017 report, “Working Toward Climate Resilience in SJI – 2022” by a consortium of local individuals and groups, the amount of rainfall being recharged ranges from 5% to 9% depending on the island. Trends in the volume of use remain a mystery, however. (Current per capita water use is approximately 65 gallons a day.) The key question for county residents is the extent to which water availability is – or becoming – a constraint to residential growth, peak season visitor traffic, and agricultural capacity.

More data will be included pending “peer-reviewed analysis” when the final report is released at the end of the year (go here for the project web page), but it will likely leave some considerable information gaps. How does the county plan to fill those gaps?

Growing Our-Your Own
According to last year’s impressively compiled report, “San Juan County: Community Food Assessment”: 

• The average size of commercial farms in the county has decreased from 132 acres to 58
  acres over the past 50 years.
• At the same time, the number of farms has increased from 155 to 316.
• In 2017, average gross sales per farm was $13,305.
• Local food production in the islands provides less than 5% of our food supply.

The rural character (so far!) of the islands and relatively long growing season has inspired an increasing number of people to start their own fruit and vegetable gardens. For those on Orcas who don’t have the space or time to do so but would like to grow some of their own food, there is Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture (OCPA), a recently expanded network of small, volunteer-driven farms, each with a land host and experienced anchor farmers. The four farms in the network are located near Doe Bay, close to the ferry, at Turtleback Inn, and just past Island Hardware. In addition to collectively growing and harvesting, there is a strong focus on education, e.g., learning about soil health and crop rotation. Volunteers are accepted throughout the season, but especially now as the season begins. For more information, go to the OCPA website.