San Juan Islands National Monument group ‘fulfilled its purpose’
The San Juan Islands National Monument Advisory Council has been dissolved, a casualty of President Donald Trump’s Feb. 19 Executive Order 14217 eliminating federal advisory committees deemed, in the words of an Interior Department spokesperson, “to have fulfilled their intended purposes.”
The National Monument was created in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama to bring some 1,000 acres of noncontiguous Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in the San Juan Islands under one conservation and land management plan. The National Monument does not include San Juan Island National Historical Park, which is part of the National Park Service. However, BLM and the National Park Service both are agencies within the Interior Department.
It was not immediately clear if or how the termination of the 12-member advisory council may affect the implementation of the resource management plan the advisory council developed with tribal and local governments, other agencies and the public. Parts of the plan have been implemented, including the transfer of two lighthouses from the U.S. Coast Guard to BLM, National Monument Manager Brie Chartier said.
The National Monument is within the historical territory of several Treaty Tribes. An Interior Department spokesperson told Salish Current in an email that the termination of the advisory council would not affect government-to-government consultation regarding conservation and land management within the national monument.
“The Department of the Interior is taking steps to streamline federal operations and ensure government resources are used efficiently and effectively,” the spokesperson wrote. “These actions reflect our commitment to reducing redundancies while continuing to advance science-based decision-making, public engagement and responsible stewardship of public lands.”
The spokesperson said the Interior Department “appreciates the contributions of all advisory committee members and stakeholders who have provided valuable insights and expertise. We will continue working closely with state, local, tribal and private sector partners to advance our shared conservation and land management goals.”
In the resource management plan, approved in January 2023:
- The Coast Guard will transfer 189 acres of its lands — including Cattle Point Light, Turn Point Light and Patos Island Light Station — to BLM. Cattle Point Light has not been transferred, Chartier said.
- BLM will work with tribal nations, other agencies and the public to restore native plant populations, enhance the extent of grasslands and shrublands and enhance habitat for wildlife species that are federally listed as endangered, threatened or are candidates for listing.
- BLM will consult with tribal nations, tribal historic preservation officers and the Washington State Historic Preservation Office to identify and protect cultural resources — including sacred sites, burial sites and cultural objects and landscapes — and will maintain and improve access to those lands for the exercise of treaty rights and traditional cultural practices.
- BLM will work with its partners to restore, rehabilitate and maintain existing structures — as well as Coast Salish cultural resources — at Cattle Point, Turn Point and Patos Island and build new structures to support education and interpretation.
- Recreational access to 29 acres of small islands and 10 acres of rocks is prohibited because of their sensitive cultural and ecological resources.
- Camping is allowed at designated sites on Blind, Posey and Patos islands; dispersed camping elsewhere within the national monument is prohibited.
- The use of firearms and bows within the national monument is prohibited, except as associated with lawful hunting practices.
- Use of motorized vehicles and bicycles is prohibited on designated roads.
- Launching and landing of drones for scientific or commercial use requires a permit from BLM.
Tribal consultation
Several tribal nations ceded lands in Western Washington, including the San Juan Islands, to the U.S. in the Treaty of Point Elliott of January 1855. In exchange for the land, the U.S. promised certain remuneration and services such as education and health care. The tribal nations reserved land for themselves and their descendants and reserved the right to harvest fish and other resources throughout their usual and accustomed territories.
Treaties are recognized by the U.S. Constitution as the supreme law of the land. Treaties between the U.S. and the tribal nations that share geography with Washington state established a government-to-government relationship between sovereigns.
Shirley Williams is a cultural educator and citizen of the Lummi Nation who served on the national monument advisory council. She said dissolving the advisory council runs contrary to Executive Order 13175, signed by President Bill Clinton in 2000, requiring federal agencies to consult with tribal officials when developing policies that affect tribal communities.
“As Indigenous people, we have been under this threat since the beginning of the Doctrine of Discovery, and we may be meek in these efforts and not hold acquired power, but we are going to continue to do what we need to do to protect our inherent rights, the gifts that the Creator gave to us,” she said.
It was not known whether local tribal governments would challenge the decision. Samish Indian Nation Chairman Tom Wooten said that this is just another dismantling of many by the Trump administration.
“I’m not shocked by this at all,“ Wooten said. “It’s just more of the same.” He said he looks forward to the restoration of policies and programs that will come when Trump leaves office. “This will all go away” he said, “and we will get back to some sense of normality. We’ll get through this.”
Jay Julius is a fisherman, a former Lummi Nation chairman and a descendant of treaty signers. He doubted disbanding the advisory council would weaken the Indigenous voice on issues affecting ancestral sites and cultural resources within the National Monument.
“With any new administration, whether it’s Democrat or Republican, change is always inevitable,” he said. “When things are stirred up and change happens in what we perceive as the opposite direction, then, yeah, it’s definitely a concern. You wonder how it’s going to have an impact and what it’s going to impact. But I’m confident in Lummi’s leadership. We always fight the fight and put our people first, and we’ll get through it.”
The National Monument encountered roadblocks during the first Trump administration. The advisory council was blocked from meeting in 2017 by order of the Interior Department “and continued to be unable to meet for nearly three years because of delays in the appointment of new members,” according to Islanders for the San Juan Islands National Monument, which lobbied for the national monument’s creation.
The advisory council resumed meeting in 2020 and completed the resource management plan in 2023. New appointments to the advisory council were made in October 2024, but the group was not able to meet before being dissolved.
Islanders for the San Juan Islands National Monument sent an email encouraging the public to stay engaged and involved: work with local BLM staff in their efforts to manage these lands and contact members of Congress about the importance of continued protection, conservation and restoration of lands in the National Monument.
— By Richard Arlin Walker
Also read in Salish Current:
• “San Juan Islands National Monument prepares for next phase,” Sept. 10, 2024
• “San Juan Monument advisory group dissolved by BLM,” Dec. 12, 2023
• “Management plan in place as San Juan Islands monument turns 10,” March 15, 2023
• “San Juan Islands National Monument: where’s the plan?” Sept. 9, 2022
• “Vulnerable lands — and creatures — of San Juan Islands National Monument await management details,” Dec. 4, 2020