San Juan
The San Juan action area contains 428 separate islands, with 408 miles of marine shoreline. Located at the crossroads where Georgia Strait, Puget Sound, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca meet, the islands have a diverse population of flora and fauna. There are no major rivers on the islands, but 20 to 30 inches of annual rainfall is enough to feed several small creeks year-round. The Fraser River in British Columbia and the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains influence climate and water temperature around the islands. A popular summer destination, the islands double in population in the summer, and overall population growth is high (13.1 percent between 2000 and 2009).
The islands contain many protected areas, including Moran State Park and San Juan Historical National Park. Yellow Island has an intact prairie ecosystem. Residents are very involved in island stewardship. The San Juan Marine Resources Committee developed the San Juan County Marine Stewardship Area Plan over the course of three years, culminating with its adoption by the County Council in 2007. All of Puget Sound’s 22 migrating populations of Chinook salmon stop in the San Juan action area on their way to and from the ocean, and other species populate the island waters as well. The county has over 186 acres of tidal wetlands, eelgrass meadows, tidal flats, and kelp beds, and 80 miles of beaches where forage fish can spawn. One third of all the kelp in Puget Sound is contained in this action area, as well as 74 percent of the shallow dominant rocky reef habitat. The geology is unlike any other portion of the Sound.
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