Griffin Bay Shoreline Habitat Protection

The San Juan Preservation Trust is seeking funds to implement permanent protection of over 1,600 linear feet of priority shoreline habitat, including 800 feet of pocket beaches along San Juan Islands Griffin Bay. A conservation easement with a single landowner will ensure habitats and processes remain intact at multiple pocket beaches located on adjacent tax parcels identified as Tier 1 and Tier 2 protection priorities under PIAT 2. Project site visits and landowner meetings have been completed and a draft conversation easement is in progress. A purchase and sale agreement is expected to be signed by all parties later this spring. A draft appraisal will be completed this winter/spring. SRFB funds will support completion of the project, including a final real estate appraisal and final recording of permanent protection. The multiple adjacent pocket beaches at the proposed permanent protection site includes extensive potential forage fish spawning habitat with both Pacific sand lance and surf smelt spawning sites documented nearby. While no site-specific data exists for rearing fish, the multiple pocket beaches were mapped as high for presence probability of rearing sand lance and smelt and medium presence probability for herring and chinook (Beamer and Fresh 2012).

Goals were not met-- see final report.