San Juan Initiative Partners

The San Juan Initiative is a project of the San Juan County Council, Puget Sound Parternship, and Surfrider Foundation and was created in January 2007. To ensure a community-based process, the County Council appointed 22-person board of local citizens, high-level staff from agencies and representatives from tribes with management authority in the San Juan Islands. The Policy Group is responsible for ensuring that the goals of the project are met, that local concerns are addressed and that the solutions generated work locally and inform regional concerns. The Policy Group has appointed two sub-committees to assist them in their work.

Funding partners include:
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Bullitt Foundation and the Community Salmon Fund.

Policy Group for the San Juan Initiative

• Jonathan White, Citizen Co-Chair
• Kevin Ranker, County Council Co-Chair
• Tom Cowan, Retired County Council Member and Retired Director of NWSC
• Sam Buck, Realtor, Caldwell Banker
• Patty Miller, East Sound Planning Review Committee
• Peter Kilpatrick, Owner, Ravenhill Construction
• Lincoln Bormann, Director, Land Bank
• Lynn Bahrych, Board Member Washington Environmental Council
• Nick Jones, Fisherman and Farmer
• Steve Simpson, Retired Director Port of Friday Harbor
• Lisa Byers, Director OPAL Community Land Trust
• Ron Zee, Manager, Conservation District
• Kit Rawson, Chair, Marine Resources Committee

Agencies Involved with Local Leaders

• WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Director Dr.Jeff Koenings
  • Bridget Moran
• Dept. of Ecology, Director Jay Manning
  • Jeff Bash
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Colonel Michael McCormick
  • Bernie Hargrave
• US Fish and Wildlife, Manager Ken Berg
  • Jody Bush
• The Nature Conservancy, David Weekes
  • Fayette Krause
• Trust for Public Lands, Roger Hoesterey
  • Peter Dykstra
• WA Dept. of Natural Resources, Commissioner Doug Sutherland
  • Rich Doenges
• Swinomish Tribal Community, Chairman Brian Cladoosby
  • Larry Wasserman
• NOAA Fisheries, Regional Administrator, Bob Lohn
  • Elizabeth Babcock
• San Juan Island National Historical Park, Superintendent, Peter Dederich

Technical Advisory Committee

• Lincoln Bormann, Land Bank, SJI Policy Group
• Shireene Hale, Senior Planner
• Jon Shannon, Director Publics
• Ron Henrickson, Director CDPD
• Mary Knackstadt, MRC Coordinator
• Barbara Rosenkotter, Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery
• Debby Clausen, SJPT
• Stephanie Buffum Field, Friends of the San Juans

Science Advisory Committee

• Jim Johannessen, Coastal Geologic Services
• Jen Burke, Technical Coordinator UW/Nearshore Science Team
• Kurt Fresh, NOAA
• Megan Dethier, Nearshore ecologist, Friday Harbor Labs, UW
• Joe Gaydos, Sea Doc Society
• Tina Whitman, nearshore scientist, Friends of the San Juans