By Heather Spaulding
A decade ago, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating approximately 1,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands throughout San Juan County as a National Monument. March 25, staff, advisory members, volunteers, and the general public celebrated the occasion.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here. It’s truly a dream job,” Brie Chartier, San Juan Islands National Monument Manager addressed the crowd. “It’s really cool to be here today, to hear the origin stories and community passion behind it. Thank you for bringing me in and adopting me.”
Asha Lena, a Lopez outdoors enthusiast, was one of the instigators of the National Monument.
“We began working with the Bureau of Land Management because they had just implemented a critical areas plan,” Lena explained. Ken Salazar was Secretary of the Department of the Interior at the time. In order to capture his interest in his busy schedule, the group flew him over the islands. Just that areal view, Lena said, made Salazar realize the importance of the county.
After many meetings with legislators, Salazar, and others, she received a cryptic phone call from the White House asking her to come to Washington D.C., however, they were unable to tell her why. The signing itself was a secret, Lena said, not realizing what was happening, she told them to call her back when they could tell her why they wanted her in D.C. After the call, she suddenly realized it might have to do with the monument, she hopped on a flight and found her self face to face with the president.
“I immediately felt like he was my brother,” Lena said with a smile.
Lauren Pidot, another early player in the monument designation, also spoke.
“Thank you for your patience. It isn’t always easy working with the government,” she said, noting that the resource master plan for the monument took eight years to complete. “We made sure everything that needed to be considered was considered, it was a marathon, not a sprint.”
The RMP is groundbreaking, she continued, for its collaboration with the tribes.
Sam Barr, a member of the Samish Nation and works for the Stillaguamish Tribe as their Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, grew up on Lopez and sits on the tribal committee for the Monument Advisory Committee. Barr gave an opening prayer before speaking.
Barr explained to the group that there are many indigenous peoples who come to the islands.
“We follow the salt water, we follow the fish, we follow the camas,” Barr said. “One of the things the tribes are excited about is being able to have a presence here again. It’s really healing. We are grateful the community is supportive… We are excited to come back and tell our story. It’s a long story, a beautiful story, and one that is not going to end any time soon.”
To learn more about the National Monument, and the RMP, visit tinyurl.com/JSJ-SJI.
