Twenty-eight creosote pilings were removed from the waters of Thatcher Bay on Blakely Island to improve water quality for fish and other marine organisms.

The Blakely piling removal was just one component of extensive habitat restoration efforts conducted in Thatcher Bay and on its beaches by Friends of the San Juans, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group and a private landowner.

While creosote-treated wood was commonly used in marine structures of the past, it is now known that creosote contains more than 50 carcinogens to humans and that it is also toxic to fish and other wildlife.

Since creosote pilings can continue to leach chemicals throughout their lifetimes, efforts are underway to remove unnecessary and unwanted creosote structures, including pilings and derelict docks.

“It is so exciting to see the vast improvements to the shoreline and waters of Thatcher Bay,” said Tina Whitman, Friends science director. “It will be really interesting to track the response of priority species such as eelgrass and forage fish, now that removal of the shoreline and in water modifications has been completed,”

If you have derelict creosote pilings, docks or other structures on your marine shoreline in San Juan County, you may be eligible for free removal through a partnership program of Friends and theDepartment of Natural Resources, funded by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board.

For more information, contact Friends, 378-2319, or DNR, 360-854-2808.