Next Steps to the San Juan Islands National Monument

President Obama established by executive order the San Juan Islands National Monument last March and this week activists on Lopez Island met Bureau of Land Management Interim Monument Manager Marcia deChandenedes (pronounced, she says, like the white wine we all enjoy.)

It’s good to see that the BLM is committed to keep up the momentum of the public push to establish the monument. Marcia’s job is to kick start the process of developing a management plan for the monument and, to that end, the BLM is hosting three island ‘listening’ sessions to gather the public’s vision of what the monument’s protection should accomplish.

There's also the opportunity to work out better coordination of state and federal resources for protection of lands and waters in the islands. 

The meetings will be held on:

Orcas Island - Thursday, September 26, 6-8pm
Senior Center, 62 Henry Road, Eastsound

San Juan Island - Friday, September 27, 10am-noon
Friday Harbor Grange, 152 N 1st Street

Lopez Island - Friday, September 27, 6-8pm
Woodmen Hall, 4102 Fisherman Bay Road

One good way of keeping abreast of monument news and the management plan developments is to check in with Islanders for the San Juan Islands National Monument.

--Mike Sato

When The People Lead, Leaders Will Follow

Mahatma Gandhi

“When the people lead, the leaders will follow.” Gandhi supposedly said that. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Senator Maria Cantwell and Representatives Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene sort of said that at Monday’s event in Anacortes to celebrate the San Juan Islands National Monument.

Skagit Valley Herald reporter Kate Martin wrote:

“We had a choice,” (Senator Cantwell) said. “Do we want to toss it up for the future to see what this land might become or do we want to say it’s so special that it will be preserved? The community was loud and clear. They wanted the latter.”

Cantwell said designations like the San Juan Islands National Monument don’t happen overnight.

Cynthia Dilling, who has lived on Lopez Island for more than 35 years, said the effort to protect lands in the San Juan archipelago began in earnest in 1989, when a hiker noticed trees on the backside of Chadwick Hill were marked for logging. Supporters spent a week gathering 600 signatures to stop the logging operation.

But the group was told it had to create a larger vision, which has now been included with the 450 acres on Chadwick Hill. Dilling said the group realized about four years ago that the rest of the BLM land did not have any protection at all. The effort to create a national monument here came from that moment, she said.

“It may have started in a living room on Lopez Island,” Cantwell said. “But it traveled all the way to the Oval Office.”

( San Juans celebrated as new national monument )

I think everyone involved in this process is happy with the way it turned out. I also think it’s obvious that the proposal to protect these lands drew widespread support and very little substantive opposition. If this was an easy one, why did it take such a long time?

And if an ‘easy one’ like this is hard to get done, is there any wonder why hard policy decisions never get made?

And what does this say about the “leadership” leaders are supposed to demonstrate?

Permanent protection of these San Juan Islands lands took a long time because of a failure in leadership. Legislation creating a San Juan Islands National Conservation Area was introduced by Congressman Rick Larsen but never moved through the House of Representatives because of the failure of leadership demonstrated by Washington’s 4th Legislative District Congressman Doc Hastings(R-Yakima) who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee thanks to Republican control of the House.

(Electoral sidenote: In 1992, Jay Inslee defeated Hastings for the open 4th Congressional District seat; in 1994, Hastings defeated Inslee, who then moved west of the mountains to represent the 1st Congressional District before being elected governor.)

People can lead as much as they want; leaders like Doc Hastings will not follow.  ( Rep. Doc Hastings disputes San Juans, other national monuments )

So leaders had to make sure that a presidential declaration as a national monument was OK with “the people” if Congressional legislation as a National Conservation Area was a dead end because of Doc Hastings.

“The people” said “yes,” it was— but by then the president was in re-election mode and not available to provide leadership. The big anxiety throughout the summer and fall was what would happen to the national monument proposal under the leadership of a Republican president.

So, when the people lead, leaders will follow? Sort of.

But think about all the other decisions that leaders make on behalf of “the people” based on the input and influence of lobbyists and campaign contributors. Thinking too hard about that might make us cynics.

I’m glad we have a San Juan Islands National Monument. Now the real work begins to engage with the Bureau of Land Management in the management of these lands.

I’m hoping “the people” step up for that. Our leaders will have gone back to doing what they were doing before.

--Mike Sato

Salazar Brings Gift of ‘Monument’ to San Juans

Outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will lead ceremonies in Anacortes Monday morning and on Lopez Island Monday afternoon celebrating establishment of the San Juan Islands National Monument. The public is invited to both events.

Event organizers learned over the weekend that the Secretary will be unveiling three monument possibilities at the Monday celebrations. The options include a Stonehenge model, an Easter Island model, and a Fremont Troll model.

“To say we were a bit surprised is to put it mildly,” said one Lopez Island organizer not authorized to speak for the group Islanders for a National Conservation Area Now Called a National Monument (INCANCANM). “We thought a National Monument was, well, not quite like ‘Washington Monument,’ if you know what I mean.”

Neither Salazar’s office nor the offices of Senators Murray and Cantwell or Representatives Larsen and DelBene indicated any preference for what kind of monument would be appropriate for the San Juan Islands.

“I think something that shows some personality, like the Easter Island heads or the Fremont Troll, would be my preference,” said a Salazar staff member not authorized to comment. “But the Secretary’s a short timer, you know. Maybe you ought to try calling Sally Jewell?”

The staff member gave complete assurance that a lengthy process will be forthcoming to receive every last public comment before any decision is made. “That’s the way they do it in the islands, I hear. Thank goodness we didn’t have to establish a monument along the Seattle waterfront.”

--Mike Sato

A True Legacy

Iceberg Point (Wikimedia)

On most days, real issues are painted in shades of gray and we need to tease out the surrounding facts and values in order to come to a clearer position. Some days, we’re blessed.

Today, President Obama will will designate the 1,000-plus acres in the San Juan Archipelago under the Bureau of Land Management as the San Juan Islands National Monument, the third in Washington state.

A lot of folks worked for a lot of years to bring the designation forward and, despite congressional barriers, have succeeded in establishing permanent protection via executive action.

There were never any serious objections to permanent protection of these lands. Some folks on principle didn’t want what they considered more federal government involvement, glossing over the fact that the lands were already under federal government administration. Some folks feared monument status would jeopardize the islands’ ambiance with more visitors, forgetting that innocence was lost many years ago with features in national and international publications and guide books.

A colleague said, “It’s great that he (the President) is doing this before something bad happened.” How often can we say that when talking about the issues we face in the Salish Sea?

Permanent protection of lands like the San Juan Islands National Monument is the true legacy we seek, a legacy in an every changing world rapidly shrinking in wildness. I won’t begrudge anyone’s efforts to push for a coal port or an oil pipeline or anyone’s belief that the few jobs that industrialization provides trumps the natural world— but I’ll fight those efforts and work to find other good jobs for folks because on a day like today, it’s clear that’s not the legacy I value.

I find it better to imagine the children of a future time visiting the lands of the San Juan Islands National Monument than standing in the shadows of a coal export facility.

Thank you, good citizens and President Obama, for establishing a true legacy.

(To add your name to say ‘Thank you’ in ads to run in local papers, send your name (and the name of your group or business you represent) to Islanders for the San Juan Islands National Monument.)

--Mike Sato

Governor Jay's Valentine's Day Note to President Barack

Back in December, Santa sent a message asking the President to give us a present by designating a National Monument in the San Juan Islands. Didn’t work then, so this Valentine’s Day, Governor Jay Inslee sent a message to the President with hopes that our wishes come true:


February 14, 2013

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to urge your support for the designation of a National Monument in Washington
State’s San Juan Islands. Such a designation enjoys overwhelming support from the local
community, and will afford important protections for these treasured natural resources.

While serving in the 112th Congress, I proudly co-sponsored legislation to permanently protect as
a National Conservation Area the lands in the San Juan Islands managed by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM). The approximately 1,000 acres of BLM lands in the islands provide
important recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat and spectacular scenery to the residents of
those islands and to thousands of visitors each year.

Secretary of the Interior Salazar has been very helpful to the locally-driven effort to protect these
lands including a significant investment of his time and talents in two meetings with the local
community. That community, with the backing of the San Juan County Council, Senators
Cantwell and Murray, Representatives Larsen and DelBene, former Governor Christine
Gregoire, and over 150 local businesses, continues to drive this effort to protect these lands as a
National Conservation Area or, if congressional gridlock has obstructed that path, as a National
Monument.

I strongly support the permanent protection of these lands and urge you to consider using your
authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate a National Monument in the San Juan
Islands before Secretary Salazar leaves office.

Protecting these lands and involving the community in their management will be a lasting tribute
to Secretary Salazar’s work and will help preserve what makes the San Juan Islands a spectacular
part of our great state.

Your very truly,

Jay Inslee
Governor

You, too, can send your love note asking President Obama to designate a National Monument in the San Juan Islands before Secretary Salazar leaves office. Do it here: http://www.sanjuanislandsnca.org/act

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

December 18, 2012

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
Contact: Asha Lela, Islanders for a San Juan Islands National Monument 360-468-2838

SANTA JOINS IN SUPPORT FOR SAN JUAN ISLANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT

(San Juan Islands, Washington)  Santa added his name to the list of supporters seeking a presidential proclamation to protect 1000 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands in Washington State’s San Juan Islands.

“We wrote to Santa asking his help in protecting these lands in perpetuity as a national monument,” said group leader Asha Lela of Islanders for the San Juan Islands National Conservation Area. Elected officials, hundreds of businesses, and thousands of individuals have asked the President to proclaim the BLM lands in the islands as the San Juan Islands National Monument.

Santa took time out of his busy schedule to reply to the group’s note:

“My elves aren’t equipped to handle national monuments. President Obama is the person for this. I sent him a note. Here’s a copy. Good luck!”

(Note attached.)

Check out updates on the campaign for the San Juan Islands National Monument here.

# # #

San Juan County Council Says “Yes!” To BLM Lands Protection

Watmough Bight (Susan Muckle)

The San Juan County Council voted unanimously this morning to send a letter to the Interior Department supporting permanent protection of Bureau of Land Management lands in the islands.
NEWS RELEASE:

Islanders Thank San Juan County Council For Unanimously Supporting Permanent Protection of Local BLM Lands

San Juan County islanders thanked its county council today for unanimously supporting permanent protection of local Bureau of Land Management federal properties in the islands. The county council voted to send a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the Washington congressional delegation expressing their support of either congressional action or presidential proclamation to achieve federal protection.

“We thank the council for its leadership and thank the many, many people who have expressed their support,” said Asha Lela, chair of the group Islanders for a San Juan Islands National Conservation Area. “We will continue to make sure that there is permanent protection for the BLM lands and that islanders are involved in the management of these lands.”

Asha Lela and other concerned citizens have been working for several years on federal legislation seeking permanent protection for the BLM lands in the San Juan Islands with a strong community voice in their management.

Congressional legislation to permanently protect the BLM lands as a National Conservation Area was introduced by Rep. Rick Larsen and Sen. Maria Cantwell but has been stalled in Congress.

Most recently, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and BLM officials have discussed permanent protection of the federal lands through presidential proclamation based on the congressional legislation and working with local elected officials and citizens.

For more information, contact Islanders For A San Juan Islands National Conservation Area, www.SanJuanIslandsNCA.org 

Community-led Protection of the San Juans

Patos Lighthouse on BLM land (PHOTO Tom Reeve)

Gandhi said: “When the people lead, the leaders will follow.”

We might have a good example this Saturday when Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Senator Maria Cantwell hold a public meeting to discuss the progress that has been made, and is ongoing, to conserve and protect the San Juan Islands. The meeting starts at 10:30 AM in the Anacortes Senior Center, 1701 22nd Street. RSVP required by 12 PM (PST) Feb. 17.

For the local community, this is a great chance to thank the Secretary and the Senator for their support of the community-led efforts and a time to re-iterate to them the importance of permanently protecting these cherished lands.

The local group spearheading the effort, Islanders for the National Conservation Area, writes:

“In the late 1980s a group of Lopez Island residents formed the Friends of Chadwick Hill to prevent the logging of a local landmark which ultimately led to the protection of Chadwick Hill and Watmough Bay. The effort also built a long and supportive relationship with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages about 1,000 acres spread across the San Juan Islands. BLM currently manages 450 acres of its lands in the San Juans as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. These lands are not currently threatened, but are not under permanent protection. A few other sites are co-managed with Washington State Parks, but the remaining acreage currently has no specific planning or protection.

“Some of those original members of Friends of Chadwick now form the core of the Islanders for the National Conservation Area, which is focused on having the BLM lands in our islands officially designated as Conservation Lands to ensure their permanent protection.

“Those efforts reached a major milestone in September when Representative Larsen and Senator Cantwell introduced bills in Congress to officially designate the BLM lands in the islands as the San Juan Islands National Conservation Area. That legislation requires the BLM to manage its lands for conservation and recreation and directs the BLM to work closely with the community to build a management plan for those lands. The legislation doesn’t call for any additional acquisition of land and explicitly limits its impact to land owned by the BLM, with no impact on surrounding private lands.

“Those bills are now awaiting action in Congress. While the supporters are pleased with our delegation’s support of the bills, getting the legislation passed into law will be challenging in the current congressional climate. Several supporters are planning a trip in March to the other Washington to meet with congressional staff and officials at the BLM to help move things forward on the Conservation Lands designation.

“For more information on the San Juan Islands National Conservation Area effort, including maps of the BLM lands and the text of the legislation, visit the web site  or send an email.

“For some activities happening on BLM lands in the San Juans visit: Iceberg Point Bird Survey; Indian Island Marine Observatory, Tides of March event March 15; Lopez Island Conservation Corp, Watmough work party February 23 ; Keepers of the Patos Light; Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society; Washington Water Trails, Blind Island work party May 5.”

If you can’t make the meeting, visit the San Juan Islands NCA web site  to learn more about how to support this community-driven effort.

--Mike Sato