Project Period: 2012 - 2016
Background: Approximately 770 linear feet of hardshore armoring currently stretches along the southwest shoreline of Shannon Point in Anacortes WA. The large to medium sized boulders were originally placed along the shoreline to protect a railroad that has since been abandoned. The riprap is currently impeding the natural sediment transport processes and is causing the degradation of nearshore spawning habitat for two very important forage fish species, surf smelt and Pacific sand lance. Forage fish are important prey for salmon and many marine fishes, birds, and mammals.
Project Description: The Skagit County Marine Resources Committee partnered with the Northwest Straits Commission, Northwest Straits Foundation, the City of Anacortes, and Western Washington University to remove approximately 2,500 cubic yards of riprap along 770 linear feet of shoreline at Shannon Point in Anacortes. This project would restore approximately 15,250 square feet of beach/intertidal habitat for multiple sepces, improve feeder bluff functioning, restore forage fish spawning habitat, and increase resiliency of the shoreline to adapt to impacts of sea level rise. Trained volunteers conducted pre construction monitoring from 2015-2016. *Please Note: This project, including monitoring, has been put on hold indefinitely due to uncertainties regarding the City's trail design.
This poject was funded in part by the Puget Sound Partnership with federal funding originating from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Puget Sound Coastal Program; the Washington State Department of Natural Resourcs Aquatic Lands Restoration Program; and the Coastal Protection Fund.