Your Voice Is Needed For Our Shorelines
Speak Up For Island County’s Beaches This Tuesday, September 15
Island County will hold a hearing on its updated Shoreline Master Program at 10am on September 15, and one quiet change poses a real risk: The county dropped a long-standing rule that required real, measured evidence of erosion—a "trend analysis of prior rates of erosion"—before permitting armoring of the shoreline. That rule matters because bulkheads starve beaches of sand, bury forage-fish spawning habitat, and stop beaches from migrating landward as seas rise. Without a basis in science, hard armoring can be approved based on subjective standards. If you share our concerns, please tell the Board of Island County Commissioners: reinstate the trend-analysis requirement in the SMP.
Take Action
Show up and speak aloud at the hearing (online or in Coupeville), or email commentbocc@islandcountywa.gov with your perspective.
Links
- Board meeting agenda with Zoom information
- WEAN’s September 10 letter
- County staff presentation and draft ordinance
SMA Rulemaking Underway: Speak Up For Washington’s Shorelines
The Shoreline Management Act regulations shape how Washington’s coastal protections are implemented and enforced and will have ripples of impact for decades to come. WEAN has been engaged in this process for over a year in a consortium of aligned nonprofits from around the sound and the update is nearing completion. Watch for WEAN’s analysis of the draft rules in the weeks to come.
Take Action
- Join One Or More Upcoming Rulemaking Hearings:
- Oct. 15, 2026, 5 p.m. — Public hearing, Lacey, WA
- Oct. 19, 2026, 5 p.m. — Public hearing, Anacortes, WA
- Oct. 28, 2026, 5 p.m. — Public hearing, Yakima, WA
- Oct. 29, 2026, 5 p.m. — Public hearing, Spokane, WA
- Nov. 3, 2026, 5 p.m. — Public hearing, Des Moines, WA
- Join Finding Your Civic Voice: This free workshop, co-hosted by WEAN, Audubon Washington, and Washington Conservation Action, will support community members to understand the SMA rulemaking process and key issues at stake, then craft an impactful message to share with decision makers during this update. Save the Date: Thursday, October 8, 12pm to 1:30 pm. Registration will open soon!
- Check Out Our Shorelines StoryMap: Learn more about threats to shoreline habitat, the science behind armoring and habitat loss, and the environmental, social, and policy landscape in which these regulatory processes are taking place.
Review the StoryMap here and let us know what questions come up for you! Mail to:
ed@whidbeyenvironment.org
