The primary goal of the eastsound waterfront park restoration project is to remove known stressors to beach processes and habitat to improve feeding and rearing habitat for out-migrating juvenile…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $197,420 Cooperative Agreement under the Coastal Program (CFDA 15.630) to Friends of the San Juans, a non-profit organization located in Friday Harbor, Washington. The primary goal of this project is to restore the Eastsound Waterfront Park on Orcas Island to improve feeding and rearing habitat for out-migrating juvenile Chinook salmon, increase forage fish spawning habitat, and enhance prey for other protected marine species like bocaccio rockfish and marbled murrelet. Key activities include removing a derelict 60-ft concrete cistern and 20 cubic yards of rock armor from the intertidal beach, nourishing the beach with pea gravel and sand, and planting dune grass along 80 linear feet of the pocket beach. Additional upland habitat restoration and installation of an interpretive panel will also be completed to educate the public on the importance of the marine ecosystem. This project is expected to be completed by December 31, 2026.

The primary goal of the eastsound waterfront park restoration project is to remove known stressors to beach processes and habitat to improve feeding and rearing habitat for out-migrating juvenile chinook, increase potential spawning habitat for forage fish at a pocket beach, a priority shoreform in SAN juan county (SJC) and enhance prey for salmon, bocaccio rockfish and marbled murrelet seabirds. This project will benefit listed chinook salmon, pacific herring, bocaccio rockfish, and marbled murrelet. A secondary goal of the project is to provide a visible demonstration project and marine food web education at a popular public beach. The project site is located at the eastsound waterfront park on the north central portion of orcas island. The west side of the beach contains scattered armor rock and a derelict concrete cistern partially buried in the upper beach. The concrete cistern is 60 FT in length along the bank TOE and extends 12 FT landward across the beach and in the upper bank. On the far west side, the bank and beach are covered in angular boulders and cobble, with rock toppled from road protection, along another 50 linear feet of pocket beach. Partners will remove all of the 65 cubic yards of the derelict concrete structure and 20 cubic yards of rock armor rubble scattered on the intertidal beach. The project uncovers close to 3,000 square feet of intertidal and backshore habitat. The beach will be nourished with PEA gravel and sand and the backshore planted with dune grass along about 80 linear feet of pocket beach. To improve marine riparian benefits, project partner, the SAN juan county land bank will conduct extensive native planting in the adjacent upland of the restoration site. The restoration project will also improve the safety of this site for the recreating public. As this is a heavily visited public site, an interpretive panel will be installed to convey the important of beach and riparian habitat for people and nature.feasibility, preliminary design, and cultural resources survey work was completed in 2022 and 2023 with existing salmon recovery funding board and national fish and wildlife foundation restoration design funding. New funding from the washington state salmon recovery funding board has been secured (contracting completed in december 2023) to support permitting and project implementation, including armor removal, riparian enhancement, and an interpretive panel. Match funding is needed to fully fund the implementation of this priority shoreline habitat restoration project.