GARDINER — No decisions were made, but a few opinions were aired at an open house meeting introducing the idea of an aquatic reserve around Protection Island.
About 50 people crammed into the Gardiner Community Center on Wednesday night to listen to state Department of Natural Resources employees explain some of the details of a reserve that would expand protection boundaries around the 400-acre island, which is at the mouth of Discovery Bay, from the west end of Port Townsend down to the Gardiner area.
Already protected
The island already is federally protected.
The Department of the Interior has established the island as a protected national wildlife refuge.
It restricts boats from approaching the island and has a 2,000 foot air buffer in place to avoid disturbing the sensitive wildlife.
“We already have a 200-yard buffer around the island where boats aren’t allowed,” said Wayne King, a Gardiner resident and Jefferson County Public Utility Commissioner.
“My question is, if it ain’t broken, what are we protecting?” he asked to scattered applause.
Kyle Murphy, DNR spokesman, said that the reserve would protect important native ecosystems around the island, which is a nesting ground for several rare species of birds and home for harbor seals, elephant seals and other marine wildlife.
“This is one of DNR’s tools to protect the lands,” Murphy said.
“Right now, the meeting is to determine what are the appropriate uses of the area and what are the values of this community.”
Several people voiced concern over possibly losing access to the water included in the proposed reserve area.
King said if that if the state agency wanted to protect water areas heavily used by birds, it should expand the reserve north, rather than south toward Gardiner.
“You’re going the wrong way,” King said.
“Anyone who goes fishing here can tell you where the birds are, and it isn’t in this area to the south.”
Protect animals
Cyrilla Cook, with People For Puget Sound, said her group nominated the area for a reserve to help protect and study the animals in the area.
She also said she believes there is wildlife south of the island.
“We nominated it because the island is a national refuge, but the waters around it are not,” she said.
“We want to develop a management plan with you to plan for the future.”
Rhinocrus aucklets, tufted puffins, black oystercatchers, pigeon guillemots, harbor seals and discovery herring are all rare species located on or around the island.
State reserve
Murphy said the state department had no interest in restricting access, but does want to establish the area as a reserve
“This will not be an area where fishing will be off limits,” he said. “We don’t regulate fishing, and we don’t regulate boating.
“We won’t restrict people’s access to the site. Use of the site is supported.”
Details of what would be done to manage such a reserve are currently not set in stone.
Murphy said the process is still at least one year away from being finalized.
Some examples of what the department has done in other reserves are replacing creosote and other treated wood from marinas, minimizing shading of habitat in the designs of new docks, limiting new docks, increasing outreach and education on preservation practices and conducting research in the area and encouraging sustainable public recreational activities within reserves.
Water management
The state is researching the possible management of the waters.
A proposal will be submitted to the state commissioner of public lands sometime later in the year.
At that time, the commissioner will decide if the state will proceed with establishing a refuge, and if so, what type of protection efforts would be implemented.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
