Island County Marine Resources Committee

Island County Shoreline Island County MRC has more than 212 miles of shoreline along Whidbey and Camano islands. Nearly 80,000 people call Island County home, with Oak Harbor the largest city at just over 20,000 residents. Oak Harbor is also the location of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, which contributes strongly to the culture and economy of northern Whidbey Island. More than 50,000 residents live in unincorporated Island County and the county maintains a strong rural/agricultural base. Island County’s marine environment has rich eelgrass beds that support juvenile salmon, Dungeness crab, seabirds and other species. Admiralty Inlet, on Whidbey’s west side, is the entrance to central Puget Sound, a bottleneck for ship traffic, and a testing ground for potential tidal energy projects. Many of the treaty tribes have Usual and Accustomed fishing areas in Island County.

Island MRC has a strong focus on science, education and stewardship. Island County is the birthplace of the Beach Watchers and Shore Stewards programs, and the MRC has developed innovative methods for reaching new audiences with stewardship messages. The MRC worked strategically over the past several years to install educational signage in locations throughout the county—with 12 new signs added in 2008. Also in 2008, Island County Shore Stewards added their 500th member; the Shore Stewards program continues to make measurable improvements in the knowledge, behaviors, and actions of people and communities that live along the shore.

The MRC has made a major commitment to shoreline restoration, partnering with Washington State Parks and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to restore Cornet Bay in Deception Pass State Park. A major new effort of the MRC to design and fund a citizen science eelgrass mapping project in partnership with WSU Beach Watchers and the Washington Department of Natural Resources also started in 2008. Using portable video mapping equipment, volunteers collected eelgrass presence/absence data in Holmes Harbor and Cornet Bay to establish baselines.

The MRC's 13 members represent a cross-section of interests including recreational and commercial fishing, agriculture, boating, aquaculture, science, the environment, local government, higher education, and Island County's substantial Navy presence.

The MRCs stated purpose is to: “contribute to the protection of the local and Northwest Straits marine environments through education, research and voluntary action. In so doing the MRC recommends remedial actions to local authorities and builds community awareness of the issues and support for the remedies.”