New San Juan Islands National Monument

Some historic conservation news related to the greater Puget Sound watershed yesterday. President Obama formally announced the establishment of the San Juan Islands National Monument. This creates additional protection for almost 1000 acres of undeveloped federal land in the San Juan archipelago.

View from the San Juan Islands. Photo: Bureau of Land Management

"These islands form an unmatched landscape of contrasts," reads the proclamation. The president further calls the San Juans "a refuge of scientific and historic treasures and a classroom for generations of Americans." (Read the full proclamation.)

Here is a detailed map of federally managed lands in the San Juans. You might also be interested in an article in EoPS about relic gardens on some of these small, protected islands: http://www.eopugetsound.org/articles/relic-gardens-camas-san-juan-islands.