This Beautiful Place is Even More Special Today

Dianna Down and Sydney Exton with commemorative paddle – Photo by Nancy Way, The Watership Company, West Beach Creek project contractor

A renewed marine legacy-in-the-making for all of Orcas Island was celebrated on Thursday, June 18, at the site of a recently completed restoration project on West Beach Creek, just above where it empties into President Channel. Members of the Trudy Erwin family, representatives of the Northwest Straits Foundation and project partners gathered to commemorate removal of a fish passage barrier at the mouth of West Beach Creek and restoration of important habitat for salmon, forage fish, aquatic and marine species within the property area.

“This beautiful place is even more special today because of the success of this project,” remarked Ken Carrasco, member of the Northwest Straits Foundation Board of Directors, retired fisheries biologist and Orcas Island property owner. “Our strength comes from combining the generosity of private landowners – like Trudy Erwin’s family, with the expertise of local people and the investment of public resources. None of us can do this alone, but look what we accomplished together.”

Trudy Erwin, long-time Orcas island potter, was inspired to restore fish passage and improve habitat on her shoreline property, where West Beach Creek flows into President Channel. When she passed in 2013 at age 90, her daughters – Dianna Down and Sydney Exton, were committed to bringing Erwin’s wishes to fruition in partnership with the Northwest Straits Foundation, who coordinated the restoration project team. Other San Juan County partners include Rainshadow Consulting, Friends of the San Juans, and Washington Department of Natural Resources Aquatics Lands Restoration Program Puget Sound Corps.

Northwest Straits Foundation Board Member Ken Carrasco and Interim Executive Director Joan Drinkwin present  Dianna Down and Sydney Exton with commemorative paddle – Photo by Nancy Way, The Watership Company, West Beach Creek project contractor

“We are so grateful to Trudy Erwin’s family – Dianna and Sydney, for their leadership and willingness to partner with us on a project that will benefit, in perpetuity, the local community and entire Puget Sound region,” said Northwest Straits Foundation Interim Executive Director Joan Drinkwin, who also thanked neighbors, project partners and funders.

“This project is helping to restore our heritage,” said Rick Hughes, San Juan County Commissioner. “Speaking as a fourth generation islander, we used to have 27 fishing lodges on this island. Now there are none. Successful projects like these show how it’s possible to rebuild our economic and environmental heritage.” Hughes added that San Juan County Public Works is set to move forward with a culvert improvement project to remove a second fish passage barrier upstream, scheduled to be completed by 2016.

“Projects like these that prioritize science-based restoration and local stewardship with private landowners and organizations like the Northwest Straits Foundation are so important to Puget Sound and salmon recovery,” said Byron Rot, Salmon Recovery Coordinator for San Juan County (WRIA 2), speaking on behalf of the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, one of the project’s major funders.

West Beach Creek is one of the few perennial streams in the San Juan Islands without a natural fish passage barrier, and so it was historically accessible to sea-going fish. The fish passage barrier that was removed was formed by a combination driveway embankment and dam on private property which created a pond on the upstream side.

The project removed the culverts and dam, replacing them with a 16-foot diameter culvert. The new passage allows fish to pass upstream and downstream, and accommodates high tides and future sea level rise. The creek’s natural water and sediment flow processes have been restored along this reach.

“Exciting news,” added Drinkwin. “Just last week, biologists walking the stream reported seeing a four-inch long salmonid about 100 feet upstream. This bodes well for the positive outcomes of this project. We look forward to seeing what continued monitoring reveals.”

Carrasco and Drinkwin presented Dianna Down and Sydney Exton with an inscribed paddle carved by Swinomish carver Kevin Paul. “Everyone did a beautiful job and we’re thrilled with the improvements,” said Dianna Down, “This is Mom’s legacy and we’re caretakers of her vision. She lived her life believing we should do what we can to care for the natural world, to use only what we need, and pass on a love of beauty and nature to the next generation. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it a wonderful success.”

About the Northwest Straits Foundation
The Northwest Straits Foundation is the non-profit partner of the Northwest Straits Initiative, a collaborative model for marine conservation with a vision of diverse communities working together to restore a thriving marine ecosystem in the Northwest Straits of the Salish Sea. The Foundation works in partnership with the Northwest Straits Commission and seven local Marine Resources Committees (MRCs) of the Northwest Straits whose members represent the diverse stakeholders of their communities, and who identify and implement local marine conservation and restoration projects in their communities. Northwest Straits Foundation works with the MRCS to develop projects and attain funding support, as well as implement regional restoration and education programs, including its internationally-recognized Derelict Gear Removal Program. See www.nwstraitsfoundation.org for more information.

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