The area along the west side of San Juan Island that is being considered as a seasonal sanctuary for the Southern Resident Killer Whales is located in the Salish Sea, an extensive inland water area that extends from the Strait of Georgia in Canada to the southern reaches of Puget Sound.
Although many of us who live in this region tend to regard all of the Washington portion of these waters to be part of Puget Sound, this is a misconception – the water around the San Juan Islands comes directly from the ocean, and is not part of Puget Sound at all.
These map sections, produced and shared by Stefan Freelan (“The Salish Sea Map, Stefan Freelan, WWU, 2009″) show that the San Juan Basin (above the Strait of Juan de Fuca) is in an area of wide, deep, quickly flushing channels. Puget Sound, on the other hand, is composed of comparatively narrow, meandering waterways.
Because fresh ocean water moves quickly through Haro Strait (the channel along the west side of San Juan Island), it is relatively free of pollution. The Washington State Department of Ecology found that “The San Juan basin marine waters are typically of high water quality. These marine waters are rated class AA(WAC,1992)“
The Department of Ecology paper goes on to state ” EPA assessed the potential for toxics-related problems in 12 marine areas in the San Juans by reviewing information on sources, sediment contamination, and toxicity indices … except for West sound, Orcas Island, all sites were ranked as having a low potential for toxics problems.” In other words, not only is the water clean, it is unlikely that there is even potential for this to change in the future.
The marine life in the San Juan Island basin is rich and varied, and I discovered that there is a sanctuary set aside to protect some underwater invertebrates that overlaps the proposed orca No-Go zone at the southern end. In this flourishing environment, the orcas are often seen swimming past Pile Point, Kanaka Bay, False Bay, and farther south before turning and heading back north again.
The National Marine Fisheries folks seem to have chosen very wisely when they selected this healthy, vibrant, and flourishing area as a seasonal refuge for the whales. A nice place to call home.