Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Marine Stewardship topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council authorizes pursuit of $150,000 Healthy Shorelines award for 'Mooring Matters' eelgrass protection project
Summary
The council approved a motion allowing Environmental Stewardship to pursue a one-time $150,000 Puget Sound Partnership Healthy Shorelines allotment to inventory mooring buoys, develop a tracking database, conduct outreach and engage tribes to protect eelgrass habitat.
San Juan County's Department of Environmental Stewardship will pursue a one-time, noncompetitive Puget Sound Partnership Healthy Shorelines grant worth $150,000 to implement 'Mooring Matters,' a project to protect eelgrass habitat by inventorying and assessing mooring buoys, building a tracking database and conducting community outreach and tribal engagement.
Katie Johnson, marine project coordinator and LIO coordinator, outlined three project components: an aerial- and GIS-based inventory to identify high-density mooring areas and potential proximity to critical habitat; a community outreach program focused on best practices and buoy upgrades; and tribal engagement with Coast Salish partners and the Department of Natural Resources. Johnson said fewer than one-third of the county’s estimated 2,000 mooring buoys are registered with DNR and that improper installations can scour the seabed, damaging eelgrass meadows.
Frances Robertson, who has been helping lead the effort, said partners including Friends of the San Juans and DNR have previously supported similar work and that Friends achieved roughly 80 buoy upgrades this year. The council discussed DNR’s enforcement and capacity limits and potential removal of derelict buoys as part of the project’s feasibility work.
Councilmember Paulson moved to authorize Environmental Stewardship to pursue the Healthy Shorelines funding; another councilmember seconded the motion. The council approved the motion by voice vote. Staff said the award would be used through June 30, 2027, and would be leveraged to attract additional funding and to pilot practices that could be applied elsewhere in Puget Sound.
