If you believe that public lands absolutely must remain in public hands, with public oversight;  if you care about  the wildlife of Protection Island and Dungeness National Wildlife Refuges please sign our petition! Congresswoman Emily Randall is proposing to hand over ownership of  our wildlife refuges on Protection Island and Dungeness Spit, to  the Jamestown S'klallam Tribe, privatizing our public lands, and removing the public's role of oversight and ability to comment.  A draft of the bill has already been released, and it does not include guaranteed protections for the sensitive birds, wildlife and habitats of Dungeness and Protection Island.   There is no reason to fracture the successful existing co-management agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe  with the cooperation from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.  The current co-management agreement is working!  Tribal indigenous knowledge has been used to improve habitat. All voices are heard, all experts can offer their services in saving  and protecting the highly sensitive nesting birds of Protection Island  and protecting the critical habitat for feeding seabirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors on Dungeness Spit. 

Thirty-five thousand nesting burrows forTufted Puffins, Rhinoceros Auklets and Pigeon Guillemots crowd the slopes and windward bluffs of Protection Island. These species of birds are in trouble in other areas, making Protection Island critically important for their future survival.

In comments to the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners, Tribal Chairman Ron Allen spoke of his frustration with U.S. Fish and Wildlife for not approving permits for his plans to expand the Tribe's aquaculture business.  Once the Tribe owns the land or it is put into Trusteeship with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the public will NOT have a say on the uses of these critical sensitive areas, including commercial aquaculture!  Human activities and disturbance could end the successful nesting for 70% of the seabirds in the Salish Sea, and limit use of Dungeness Spit during migration.

The story of Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge is one  of a hard-fought, grass-roots campaign, a community campaign of birders and conservationists across the country, initiated right here in Jefferson County by Audubon activist, Eleanor Stopps.  Honor that legacy,  and ensure that Protection Island and Dungeness NWR are always "FOR THE BIRDS"