The Journal of the San Juan Islands | SanJuanJournal.com
LOCAL
Wednesday, December 11, 2013 — 3
Friends leads restoration of Blakely surf smelt beach Forage fish spawning beach revived with removal of rock, fill, equipment Friends of the San Juans recently spearheaded the restoration of a documented surf smelt spawning beach along Blakely Island’s Thatcher Bay. Surf smelt are a food source for larger fish, seabirds and mammals. Loss of forage fish can lead to less salmon, seabirds and whales, decreasing wildlife viewing and fishing opportunities for all. “Forage fish are known to lay their eggs on only 10 miles of beaches in San Juan County," said Friends Science Director Tina Whitman. "Protecting and restoring this critical habitat is crucial for the health of the marine environment and efforts to recover Puget Sound Chinook salmon.” The project uncovered 5,300 square feet of habitat that had been buried under rock and fill for more than 60 years, and then replenished it with a combination of pea gravel and sand. This sandy “fish mix” is where surf smelt spawn along the uppermost portions of the beach. Beginning in 2008, Friends' science director and geologists and engineers from Coastal Geologic Services and the Conservation District worked with the private landowner to develop a plan that would enhance spawning habitat while still meeting access needs on this non-ferry serviced
Contributed photo / FSJI
Contributed photo / FSJI
Before: A log-handling tressle and 110 dump truck loads of rock and fill are earmarked for removal from a Blakely Island beach.
After: 5,300 square feet of inter-tidal beach and habitat beckon forage fish, at a known surf smelt spawning site.
island. As a result, an old log handling facility and 110 dump truck loads of concrete, metal, rock and fill were removed from the shoreline. In addition, an access road and barge landing site were redesigned and their footprint greatly reduced. Blakely Island-based Blue Dog Construction performed the work. The project received funding from the private
landowner and a Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant. Friends will monitor the newly restored beach for surf smelt spawning activity.
Power Administration and to fund “significant construction projects,” including replacing aging cables. Work on communications infrastructure already being planned is in the budget, but no additional expenditures are planned in response to the board’s
the current moratorium on new fiber connections.
News briefs
CenturyLink will give credit to customers impacted by the November communications outage, according to Tim Grigar, vice president and general Manager of the telecom company’s Western Washington region. Customers should receive credit for the 10-day outage either on their bill in December or in January, depending on billing cycles, Grigar noted in a Dec. 6 press release. “… I want to let you know we understand the frustration you experienced during the interruption of service due to the underwater fiber optic cable cut,” Grigar said. “... CenturyLink is committed to our San Juan County customers and the community.” On Nov. 5, communications, including telephone, Internet and 911 services, disappeared for many people, businesses and government agencies in the wake of a failure in a underwater fiber-optic cable connecting Lopez and San Juan islands. The break in the cable, located at a depth of 280 feet in San Juan Channel, was repaired roughly 10 days after the outage began. CenturyLink, Orcas Power & Light Cooperative and local independent telecom providers teamed up to reroute much of the traffic on CenturyLink’s system while the repair was under way. Meanwhile, the outage and
its impact in the San Juans, and CenturyLink’s response, remains under investigation by the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission. The commission met Monday in Friday Harbor.
OPALCO power rates to rise, 6%
On Nov. 21, the Orcas Power & Light Cooperative Board of Directors approved a 6-percent hike in electricity rates to balance the local power co-op’s $31 million qwe 2014 operating budget. a The d board also greenlighted “capital credits” zxc totaling $707,381 to be distributed to 4,192 co-op members enrolled in 1988. In a press release announcing the budget, OPALCO said the rate increase is necessary to meet a nine percent rate increase by the Bonneville
®
DAN LEVIN ORIGINAL DESIGN ©
CenturyLink to credit customers
directive to “accelerate” broadband capacity and lift
A Night Before Christmas San Juan Singers Holiday Concert Sat & Sun, December 14 & 15 • San Juan Community Theatre
PLAN YOUR
NEXT
HOLIDAY 222 PARTY WITH 888
downriggers Hand signed
over 45 years
“Voyager’s Anchor”© Dan & Diane Levin Originals 50 First Street • PO Box 1309 Friday Harbor, WA 98250
360-378-2051
www.heartoftheislands.com
Enjoy Foods of the World
WE CAN BOOK YOUR NEXT TO-DO AT BRICKWORKS OR YOUR OFFICE OR HOME
378-2700
Without Costly Airfare Your Next ‘Special’ Itinerary Wed Dec 18 • Berlin
Book Now for Holiday Parties Christmas Day New Years Eve
378-6330 Dinner Served Wed-Sat • 5-9
Pacific Northwest Cuisine with a Mediterranean Flair 120 Nichols St CohoRestaurant.com