Donna Armstrong, Eleanor Stopps granddaughter sent this to me for publication.
Protection Island is more than a place on a map. It is an island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that provides nesting habitat for tufted puffins, rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, and many other species. After failed farming and development attempts, parcels were purchased for the purpose of creating a public wildlife refuge. In 1974, Eleanor Stopps (my grandmother) and Fayette Krause of The Nature Conservancy helped create the 48-acre Zella Schultz Washington Seabird Sanctuary.
Over the next decade, Eleanor, Lorna Smith, and many individuals and organizations volunteered to acquire private lots. One example was the “Adopt a Seabird” campaign, which raised $50,000 to purchase 23 lots. I was eight years old when I adopted a seabird.
Now, U.S House of Representative Emily Randall will be sponsoring the Jamestown S’Klallam Land Transfer Act of 2026, which proposes transferring ownership of Protection Island and Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuges into trust through the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.
Eleanor, Lorna, and many others worked tirelessly for years with elected officials and public agencies. In 1982, Congress established Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge, with conservation purposes that included protecting wildlife, scientific research, education, and interpretation.
Since then, Protection Island has been stewarded through collaboration among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, conservation organizations, scientists, and the public. In August 2024, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe joined this framework through a co-stewardship agreement, creating opportunities to include Tribal knowledge and perspectives. When environmental challenges arise, this model brings Tribal partners, public agencies, scientists, and managers together for solutions.
Representative Randall’s proposal would repeal the 1982 law and remove Protection Island from national refuge status and the protection that provides. I am firmly against taking this action and I am sure my granddmother would have been also. Protection Island exists today because Eleanor, Fayette, Lorna, and many others gave their time, resources, and determination to establish it from private land. That history is part of public trust, future generations can believe in a democracy that can still work for them.
To learn more, visit the protect refuges website https://protectrefuges.org and People for Protection Island & Dungeness NWR on Facebook People For Protection Island & Dungeness NWR | Facebook
Editor’s Note: Eleanor Stopps was named Citizen of the Century by Jefferson County for her efforts.
Filed under: Environmental Activism, environmental education, Environmental Protection, Jefferson County, Protection Island, Straits of Juan de Fuca |
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