Judd Cove Preserve Shoreline Restoration Project

Project Purpose
East Sound features multiple pocket beaches and associated eelgrass beds and has long been known as rearing habitat for sand lance, smelt, herring and Chinook salmon. The Land Bank’s Judd Cove Preserve protects some of this habitat, but current conditions still reflect uses prior to Land Bank ownership. Although the Land Bank removed the former log pier in 2008, two features continue to limit the preserve’s ecological potential. The first is a shoreline hardened by rock during prior development and on-beach rock and fill that remains from the head of the pier. A large concrete structure associated with the pier occupied the inter-tidal area until it was removed by the Friends of the San Juans roughly two years ago. The second is the poor condition of a small stream that flows through the preserve. Previous owners diverted it to a roadside ditch, through an undersized culvert and onto a steep, eroding hillside where it flows through a wetland and into an underground drain system.

These previous site disturbances largely eliminated native vegetation from the shoreline and isolated the beach and the nearshore environment from the stream and wetland complex that once occupied the lower areas of the property. Subsequent grading and fill as well as installation of the drainage system largely eliminated the lower wetlands and all surface flow to the cove except during extreme runoff events.

Project Overview
Land Bank staff proposed the Judd Cove Shoreline Restoration Project several years ago as an opportunity to enable shoreline habitat to evolve as sea levels rise in the region by removing beach rock, shoreline armor rock and fill. In 2021, the Land Bank sought and received a Salmon Recovery Grant for just over $100,000. After several years of planning and permitting, a public bid process resulted in a construction contract totaling just over $31,000. The project is scheduled to begin in early September and will require closure of the shoreline portion of the preserve for up to one week.

Project Details
The contractor will remove rock, concrete and other debris while minimizing other disturbance. Construction impacts will be minimized by completing work during low tide when work areas are drier. Up to two trees must be removed to enable removal of the rock wall. The resulting logs will be placed above the shoreline as habitat features. A cultural resources consultant will observe all grading work, and at least one tree stump may need to remain in place to protect cultural resources.

Contractor will place approximately 203 cubic yards of soil and rock from the bank, rockery, and/or beach in the non-functioning ditch located along the south side of the access road. Approximately 37 cubic yards of boulders removed from the beach will be stockpiled near the preserve entrance for a future stream restoration project. An estimated two cubic yards of concrete and other excavated debris will be taken to an approved landfill. Following removal of the rock and debris from the beach, the contractor will place approximately 40 cubic yards of clean, coarse sand and gravel mix (aka Forage Fish Enhancement Sediment) in a 6 to 9-inch layer on the upper beach area at a slope matching the surrounding grades. The contractor will then spread any surplus soil and rock on site in approved upland areas and blend the work area with surrounding grades, place the two logs, replant salvaged shrubs, and spread 10 cubic yards of mulch to support future plantings. The Land Bank will apply weed free straw and grass seed to all disturbed areas and will install native bare root trees and shrubs this winter.

The construction plans are available at this link. Judd Cove Preserve Shoreline Restoration Design For additional information, please contact Preserve Steward Peter Guillozet at 360-298-0052 or peterg@sjclandbank.org.