Mackaye Harbor Shoreline Restoration Completed

By early October 2022, the shoreline around the Mackaye Harbor boat launch on Lopez Island looked very different to a few short weeks before. The project saw large boulders, rock, and other debris removed and the newly uncovered beach nourished with a mixture of sand and gravel. This restoration effort was to restore the beach to support a healthy spawning habitat for surf smelt and sand lance - two key feeder fish for endangered Chinook salmon. The last part of the project is to design and install interpretive signage to share the stories of Mackaye Harbor for the historical fishing industry, the importance of the bay for regional Coast Salish tribes that have used the islands since time immemorial, and also about the connections of the marine ecosystem to the shoreline here.

Check out the before and after photos below for the extent of the change.