HomeMy WebLinkAbout080726 email - Thank you once again for your careful consideration of Protection IslandALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
August 7, 2026
The Honorable Jefferson County Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette
The Honorable Jefferson County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour
The Honorable Jefferson County Commissioner Greg Brotherton
Dear Jefferson County Commissioners,
Thank you for declining, at this time, to send a letter of support for the Jamestown S’Klallam Land Transfer Act of 2026. I appreciate your careful attention to this matter and urge
you to continue withholding support until the legal and conservation implications of transferring Protection Island have been fully examined.
As you know, Protection Island became a public wildlife refuge because countless citizens and organizations worked for decades to protect it. Ornithologists, artists, authors, activists,
environmentalists, families, local residents, and supporters from across the region joined with organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, Audubon chapters, garden clubs, and other
conservation and outdoor groups to acquire private lots and donate them to the federal government for the benefit of all citizens, including tribal members. That history matters. Before
any transfer is considered, the County and the public deserve a clear explanation of how the donated lands, deed restrictions, reversion clauses, and other legal obligations would be
honored. Washington’s natural resources are also shared and co-managed by multiple treaty tribes. Given that broader public and intertribal context, it is reasonable to ask why Protection
Island should be placed under the sole ownership of one tribe, and why land donated for a specific wildlife refuge purpose should be removed from the federal refuge system without a
far more transparent review.
Protection Island is part of the Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Dungeness, San Juan Islands, Protection Island, Flattery Rocks, Quillayute Needles,
and Copalis National Wildlife Refuges. Together, these refuges provide critical habitat for nesting seabirds and marine mammals. Many of us have written to Representative Emily Randall
to express specific concerns about Protection Island, yet the response we received focused on Dungeness Spit and did not address Protection Island at all. That absence only deepens
the need for caution. If elected officials and the citizens have not yet received a clear, island-specific explanation for the transfer, then the proposal is not ready for endorsement.
Thank you again for the time and attention you have already given to this issue. Your decision matters because this proposal could set an important precedent for future transfer requests
affecting wildlife refuges in Washington state. Wildlife refuges are not interchangeable with other federal lands: they exist for specific conservation purposes, and in this case, much
of the land was privately purchased and donated with the expectation that it would remain protected for the ecological health of Western Washington and held in trust for all. For these
reasons, we respectfully ask that you continue to withhold support for the Jamestown S’Klallam Land Transfer Act.
Sincerely,
Donna Armstrong & Laura Walker
(& on behalf of Eleanor Stopps’ Family)