Volunteers and staff from across the Northwest Straits Initiative gathered at the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research reserve on September 16th for the Northwest Straits Initiative Collaborative Conservation Workshop. This was the first in-person celebration held in over two years, and it delivered!

Over 50 participants from MRCs, the NW Straits Commission, and NW Straits Foundation shared project ideas and discussed collaborative opportunities to preserve our marine habitats. 

A huge thank you to Ann Larson from Senator Patty Murray’s office and Senator Liz Lovelett for sharing their thoughts and support at the event, and Rosie Cayou James for providing a wonderful welcome and top-notch salmon barbecue! Attendees walked away feeling inspired to build on their ongoing collaborative relationships. 
 

Click here for a slide show from our big tent event.

The Wooden Boat Festival returned in-person this year, and as hundreds of wooden boats and thousands of visitors headed to Port Townsend, Jefferson MRC spent the three days providing outreach to visitors on their work and monitoring their voluntary no-anchor zone in the bay that protects eelgrass beds below. 

Volunteers were happy to see that 100% of boaters anchored outside the no-anchor zone during the Festival, preventing damage to the eelgrass from dragging anchors. 

Learn more about the Jefferson MRC’s voluntary no-anchor zones here. 

In addition to Jefferson MRC joining the Wooden Boat Festival, other MRCs hosted or participated in late summer festivals and beach cleanup events around the region:

Island MRC volunteers continued their work at the Cornet Bay restoration site, where they finished spreading an enormous pile of mulch to help smother weeds and provide a moisture barrier for the plants and trees. Congratulations on the team effort to get the whole site mulched! 

More layers of mulch will be added over time to ensure that there is a thick layer to prevent further weeds moving into the site. Click here to learn more about the Cornet Bay restoration effort.  

Many thanks and farewell to departing Island MRC members Gwendolyn Hannam and Hannah Liss! We appreciate all of the time and expertise that you both contributed during your time with the MRC.