San Juan County / WRIA2 Lead Entity Program for Salmon Recovery Photo: Rick Gould Barbara Rosenkotter Lead Entity Coordinator 360-370-7593 BarbaraR@sanjuanco.com www.sjcmrc.org/projects/salmon-recovery.aspx
Why do we care about recovering salmon? Over 137 species & NW ecosystem depend on salmon Orcas and other marine mammals Eagles and other birds Bear and other terrestrial species Trees and upland ecosystems Humans - Tribal, commercial and recreational fisheries Next generation of salmon
Map:Skagit River System Cooperative Why salmon use the San Juans: - As juveniles going to sea - For feeding and growth - As returning adults
Why salmon use the San Juans healthy nearshore habitats, local beaches at historic levels - providing eelgrass meadows, kelp beds and tidal marshes 1/3 of the kelp in Puget Sound 178 miles of shoreline eelgrass along 20% of shoreline (140 miles) with significant meadows in bays over 408 miles of shoreline almost 20% of shoreline in Puget Sound (most of any US county) 68 documented surf smelt and sand lance spawning sites
90% decline in Puget Sound Chinook populations invoked listing via Endangered Species Act in 1999 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Puget Sound Chinook 30 20 10 0 Historic Current
Salmon Recovery Plan San Juan County Salmon Recovery Plan is a chapter in the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon Recovery Plan Developed locally Adopted by NOAA (Jan 2007) Implementation plan (3 year work plan) identifies projects and programs necessary to advance salmon recovery in SJC
Overarching Questions & Goals from salmon recovery plan Are we protecting the right places? Are we restoring enough habitats to achieve the recovery goals for salmon? How can we act in a manner that works for the needs of both fish and people?
Focus on Protection Protection is identified as key recovery strategy in San Juan County Protection is more cost effective More ecologically successful Already have high quality nearshore
Salmon Recovery Planning POPULATION SIZE DECLINE RECOVERY STABILIZATION YEARS
Local Recovery Plan Accomplishments Most major data gaps resolved Eelgrass, kelp, feeder bluffs and forage fish spawning beaches mapped Stream and nearshore salmon utilization and prey-use studies Data presented at Natural Resources Data Workshop in April 2011
Local Recovery Plan Accomplishments Pulling It All Together Project and formal Adaptive Management & Monitoring process with Puget Sound Partnership staff and NOAA s Recovery Implementation Technical Team (RITT) will lead to update of local recovery chapter Monitoring results will also link with the MSA Monitoring Plan
Part of the challenge is understanding how salmon use different habitats at different times in their life cycle.
Juvenile Wild Chinook salmon 1000 Juvenile Wild Chinook Salmon 100 fish/ha 10 1 barrier beach bluff backed beach pocket beach pocket estuary like rocky shoreline
Local Process Salmon Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Alan Chapman (Lummi Tribe) Ray Glaze (Northwest Marine Technology) Dr. Gene Helfman (Professor Emeritus, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia) Dr. Robert Naiman (Professor and UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Rivers School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences University of Washington) Dr. Judy Meyer (Research Professor Emeritus, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia) Kit Rawson (Tulalip Tribes) Chuck Schietinger (Chemistry/Physics Teacher, Spring Street School) Kimbal Sundberg (AK Fish & Game Habitat Biologist- retired) Bob Warinner (WDFW Watershed Steward for WRIA 2) The San Juan County Marine Resources Committee is the Citizens Advisory Group (CAG) Laura Arnold (San Juan-Citizen, planning) John Aschoff (Orcas-Citizen) Rene Beliveau (San Juan-Director, Community Development & Planning) Barbara Bentley (Orcas-Citizen, scientist) Gregg Dietzman (San Juan-Citizen, scientist) Michael Durland (Orcas-Citizen, business owner Boatworks) Johannes Krieger (San Juan-Town of Friday Harbor, business owner Crystal Seas Kayaking) David Lloyd (Waldron-Citizen, water taxi business) Barbara Marrett (San Juan Port of Friday Harbor) Kit Rawson (Tulalip Tribes) Steve Revella (San Juan Puget Sound Anglers) Ken Sebens (San Juan UW/Friday Harbor Labs) Jim Slocomb (San Juan Citizen, live aboard boater) Jonathan White (Orcas- Citizen, builder, boater) Tina Whitman (Orcas- Friends of the San Juans)
Smugglers Cove Road Beach Restoration Before After Pre project conditions- August 2010 Project Implementer: Friends of the San Juans
Point Lawrence Road / Cascade Creek Bridge After Before Project Implementer: San Juan County Public Works
Lead Entity Program Project Funding for the San Juans Grants SRFB since 2001 Grants Match Total $3.1 M $1.3 M $4.4 M CSF since 2007 $0.3 M $0.2 M $0.5 M PSAR since 2007 $2.7 M $1.3 M $4.0 M All amounts are rounded $6.1 M $2.8 M $8.9 M
Supporting Green Jobs and Local Economy since 2001 San Juan Salmon Recovery Multiplier ($70,000 = 1 job over 4 years) $8.9M ~ 127 jobs San Juan Economic Development Council Multiplier (for every dollar spent locally, 45 cents stays on the island) $8.9M ~ $4.0M spent in SJC
Value of Salmon Recovery Projects for San Juan County SJC Land Bank = $487,715 Watmough Bight Acquisition Deer Harbor Pool Removal President s Channel Shoreline Acquisition (to be funded in April) SJC Public Works = $758,273 Point Lawrence Road / Cascade Creek Bridge Deer Harbor Bridge ($2.2M funding via ACE GI hopefully by ~ 2018)
Value of Salmon Recovery Projects for San Juan County (continued) SJC Community Development & Planning = $1.3 M Salmon Recovery work is being used in CAO and SMP Updates Kelp, Eeelgrass, Feeder Bluffs, etc Mapping Products Total Value of Salmon Recovery Projects & Products = $2,560,176
Lead Entity Program Operational Funding LE Program was funded through 2011at full time position (including all expenses, i.e. county s indirect rate, salary, benefits, travel, IS and liability insurance charges, office supplies, etc ) Funding via SRFB & PSAR Capacity grant funds Current and future LE Program funding now supports part time position Cuts in state and federal SRFB and PSAR Capacity grant funds. Support for position is ~ 3 days/week through June 2013
Consequences of Losing Lead Entity Program Capacity grants predicted to continue to decline so LE position supported less than 3 days per week, then LE Program unable to be maintained with limited grant resources If LE Program discontinued, then salmon recovery project funding no longer allocated to the San Juans (loss of ~ $1M over next couple of years) Still have multiple federally listed species Puget Sound Chinook listed in 1999 Puget Sound Steelhead listed in 2006 LE Program provides buffer to County against legal risks (3 rd party lawsuits) Salmon recovery work still needs to be done with or without a Lead Entity Program
Questions? Barbara Rosenkotter Lead Entity Coordinator 360-370-7593 BarbaraR@sanjuanco.com www.sjcmrc.org/projects/salmon-recovery.aspx Photo: Ron Shirley