Letter: Hard armoring is bad for island’s shorelines
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Editor,
I am concerned about the health of Island County’s shorelines. The county’s shorelines are crucial for Puget Sound’s health, providing habitat for important forage fish and rising sea levels threaten these vital areas.
About 25% of Island County shoreline is hard armored. Hard armoring techniques like bulkheads make erosion worse and remove natural barriers that protect against flooding.
The county’s shoreline policy is guided by Washington State Shoreline Management Act, which aims to balance property rights with shoreline protection. The county has regulations, but enforcement is inconsistent.
Many shoreline property owners install bulkheads to prevent erosion and protect their homes. These concerns are understandable, but hard armoring worsens long-term erosion, ultimately increasing flooding risks and reducing critical habitat for forage fish. Removing these structures is crucial for supporting our local ecosystems.
Education is an important step toward protecting these habitats. The Washington State Department of Ecology and local organizations like WEAN are already working to raise awareness. However, effective enforcement and change are not advancing.
Island residents have a strong tradition of grassroots action. By supporting shoreline restoration efforts, participating in public meetings, and learning about alternatives such as natural vegetation buffers and beach restoration, residents can help protect the ecosystems that make Whidbey Island unique.
Evelyn Klassen
Clinton
Editor,
It’s not the cow; it’s the how. I’m a local farmer who has been raising pasture based meats for the past 10 years. Well managed animal impact has contributed to building topsoil and creating a more diverse and productive landscape on our small farm. The sale of those animals for food has funded our planting over 200 trees and shrubs to further increase the resilience and productivity of the farm. Animals and grasslands have worked symbiotically to create the deepest topsoils (stored carbon) in the world. There were more large ruminants in North America 500 years ago than there are today.
The path forward isn’t without animals. The path forward is regeneratively managed animal agriculture on diverse forages nationwide (where appropriate) and especially in the historic prairie ecosystems. It’s the most scalable solution to erosion (currently over two tons top soil lost per acre per year on average) by keeping the soil covered year round. It can reverse desertification, sequester carbon year after year and provide a beautiful, natural life for our animal partners. Commodity grain farming, without cover cropping and animal impact, destroys topsoil, eliminates biodiversity, is responsible for the death and displacement of millions of animals and cripples farmers’ livelihoods and rural communities.
If you want to make the best choice for the planet (and your community) find your local regenerative farmers and pay them well.
Kevin Dunham
Langley
Editor,
I have lived in Coupeville for 70 years. I am a proud K-12 alumni of Coupeville Schools. I worked for the Coupeville Schools for 30 years, primarily as business manager. I have been very actively involved in the Coupeville community my entire life, including 20 years as mayor of the town.
I joined the school board five years ago, in part because my granddaughter, who we raised, was a student in the school, and in part because I was interested in supporting the school district.
Frankly, I was initially disappointed to learn that the financial management of the district was weak at that time, and there were a lot of opportunities for improvement throughout the district. The school board and administration has worked through many of the financial issues, although there is still more work to do.
We adopted a new Strategic Plan which has guided some of the administrative priorities. We are also working with the superintendent to support management and administrative changes … as we have faced some challenges in the last few years. I appreciate and support her efforts to improve Coupeville Schools.
I have read the survey conducted by the labor unions and appreciate the input they received from staff. I support their right to conduct a survey and am looking forward to learning more about their issues.
I am disappointed that the unions chose such a public method of expressing their concerns. Union leaders met with the superintendent, the board president Morgan (White) and me, the board vice president, to deliver the survey results and it was distributed to the staff and media on Friday.
The school board meets twice a month, once in workshop session and once is a formal meeting. There is opportunity for public input at these meetings, and I think that would have been a good time to bring issues to the board. It didn’t happen. In addition, all five of the board members are accessible to the staff and the community and will meet when asked.
There are also communication meetings with the administration and union, where these issues could also have been discussed.
Coupeville is a special community, and we work together, in good times and in bad, to support our folks. I would urge our staff and our community to work with us to strengthen our school community and to hold back on the reaction to the negativity expressed in the survey.
Let’s use our energy in a positive way! As your elected school board representative, you can reach me at nancyconard@aol.com.
Nancy Conard
Coupeville
Editor’s note: The survey wasn’t distributed to the media by the union, but the News-Times was able to obtain a copy from a source.
Editor,
To our county commissioners: I am concerned some of the slower speed limits recently posted on the island might prove more of a hazard than a safety. I have had two situations in one week that nearly caused accidents because someone impatiently following me (driving the speed limit) drove around a double yellow line to pass.
In the first incident on Bayview Road at night a driver roared around me, passing on a double yellow line as I was driving 30 mph as newly posted. In the second incident I was on Smuggler’s Cove Road near Eagle Bluff Road driving at the posted 40 mph. It was Monday morning and a pickup truck pulling a lawn-care trailer decided to go around me and would have hit an oncoming car had I not speeded up and allowed him room back behind me.
I do believe that slower speeds save lives. Bayview Road has so many blind curves and driveways that 30 mph might be safer. But it also might be so slow that too many people are in danger of speeding and creating even more danger.
Ann Linnea
Freeland
Editor,
My husband and I attended No Kings in Oak Harbor because we see our nation’s democracy threatened by its current president, cabinet and advisors. We do not want this city’s Navy force sent off to fight a war. Trump said that he never would start a war. This is his eighth military assault. That’s eight too many.
Recently. Trump declared 2,000 U.S. troops would be sent to Iran. Now it’s 50,000! For our Navy base here, the sailors and their families and loved ones, we pray that you do not go to war. The war in Iran is about oil, manipulating the markets and Netanyahu’s venomous hatred toward Muslims and his lifelong mission to destabilize the Middle East. Trump and Hegseth bombed the Iranian primary school full of girls. The United Nations’ High Commissioner on Human Rights, Volker Turk, declared that was a war crime. The Hague will take the case.
Netanyahu declared he won’t send his own troops on the ground into Iran. So why should U.S. troops go? No one from NATO or EU nations are going to send troops. Trump never informed our once-allies about this plan. We are left to deal with what he wrongly started. Will Trump send troops to Kharg Island to defend and protect oil? That will not be a two-to-three week action. Oak Harbor has too many great people in our Navy force. The last thing we want is seeing them sent to this eight irresponsible war. Trump also has the nuclear button.
Ardith Bell-Bshara
Oak Harbor
