Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently met with approximately 50 community members, including representatives of regional conservation groups, three tribes, San Juan County council members, city of Anacortes officials and representatives of state and congressional offices. Salazar requested the meeting to discuss the protection of the approximately 1,000 acres of BLM lands in the San Juan Islands. Those attending were overwhelmingly supportive of creating a National Conservation Area (NCA) for San Juan County Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.

The designation of a National Conservation Area would be a congressional act mandating that BLM conserve these existing federal lands in keeping with the wishes of the community. Representative Rick Larsen’s office has been driving the creation of this legislation, working with the community to ensure broad support.

During the meeting with Secretary Salazar, key points of discussion were the need for permanent protection of the lands and for the community involvement and support. He also expressed the need for collaboration with existing BLM partners such as the county, state and tribes as well as better coordination between the various federal agencies managing lands in the islands.

Karen Kelleher, Wenatchee Field Office Manager for the BLM, whose office oversees their land in the San Juan Islands, was tasked to assist with the NCA designation and coordination between the agencies.

The Seattle PI has written a blog post about the issue here.

The Islanders for a National Conservation Area are actively gathering letters of endorsement for a NCA. Representative Rick Larsen, representing the San Juan Islands in congress, is collecting support for the NCA as he prepares the legislation necessary for the designation. A letter of support from you will greatly help ensure success.

Information about the effort and how to send your own endorsement is available at www.sanjuanislandsnca.org.