Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe has conducted subsistence and commercial fishing along the northern shorelines of what is now Clallam County for millennia, and this treaty-protected right continues today. The Tribe has invested extensive time and resources to protect, restore and enhance shoreline function and nearshore ecosystems that support this traditional lifeway. Some of the successful efforts to improve shoreline and nearshore function include large estuary restoration projects (Jimmycomelately creek, Meadowbrook Creek, Dungeness River), native Olympia oyster restoration projects (Sequim Bay, Discovery Bay), shoreline armor and other shoreline development removal (Washington Harbor, Discovery Bay), failing septic system identification and correction to reduce fecal bacteria pollution (along the 3-Crabs area), and countless monitoring efforts throughout. The continuous increase in shoreline armoring partially negates these efforts by simplifying habitat, disrupting drift cells, coarsening spawning substrate and promoting accelerated armoring on neighboring parcels.

Sea level rise is a major concern for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Clallam County. Additionally, this shoreline has historically been extremely dynamic — often shifting dramatically over short time periods and the areas of active erosion are encroaching on private structures. The combination of a naturally dynamic shoreline, rising sea levels, and stronger storms have resulted in homes, septic systems, and wells being flooded on an annual basis – threatening the viability and integrity of coastal communities, impacting shoreline function and degrading water quality.

Flooding of the 3 Crabs community, Clallam County from December 2024 [John Gussman]