PORT TOWNSEND — A public meeting will be held next month by the state Department of Natural Resources on the draft Protection Island Aquatic Reserve Management Plan.
The meeting will be at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St., from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6.
The meeting will start with two presentations — one about the DNR aquatics program and the other about the proposed aquatic reserve.
This will be followed by individual “listening posts” where the public can ask about the plan and offer input.
Protection Island is a federal wildlife refuge located near the mouth of Discovery Bay.
About 70 percent of the seabird population of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca nest on the island, which includes one of the largest nesting colonies of rhinoceros auklets in the world and the largest nesting colony of glaucous-winged gulls in Washington.
The island contains one of the last two nesting colonies of tufted puffins in the Puget Sound area.
About 1,000 harbor seals depend on the island for a pupping and rest area.
The 400-acre island is already protected by federal restrictions that keep boats from approaching the island closer than 200 yards.
There is a 2,000-foot air buffer in place to avoid disturbing the sensitive wildlife.
Protection boundaries around the island would be extended from the west end of Port Townsend down to the Gardiner area, but DNR officials said these will not increase boating restrictions or limit fishing.
“The reserve designation would not grant DNR new authority,” the state agency said.
“DNR does not have authority to manage recreational fishing, hunting, crabbing, shell fishing or boating.
“This would not change if the state-owned aquatic lands in that area were designated as an aquatic reserve.”
The draft management plan was created “to identify the natural resources, habitats, and species within the proposed reserve and the proposed uses, future threats and management actions that will be carried out by DNR to protect these resources,” according to a DNR statement.
The plan’s “preferred alternative” includes more active habitat management on the island, including removal of deer to enhance seabird nesting habitat.
In addition to the meeting, comments on the draft Protection Island plan can be submitted by e-mail by no later than Oct. 15 to sepacenter@dnr.wa.gov or to P.O. Box 47015, Olympia, WA 98504-7015.
A copy of the plan can be accessed at http://bit.ly/as9qkr.Prot
