A Place in the Islands

Extracted text (beginning)

A Place 
in the Islands
       
      
S

A Place in the Islands
was originally published in by the San Juan Preservation Trust.   
Because the American San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands are both part of a larger ecoregion, 
islanders on both sides of the border share the special opportunities and obligations of island living. 
In this neighborly spirit (neighbourly, if you are north of the border), 
the 2nd edition of “A Place in the Islands” was conceived. This new edition 
is a joint project of the Islands Trust and the Islands Trust Fund of British Columbia, Canada 
and the San Juan Preservation Trust of Washington State, United States of America.
map legend
   
  
    , 
     
    
  .   
  
    
    
,  
 .
 

A Place in the Islands
       –       – 
     
Life in the Salish Sea islands has its charms and special
challenges, and the more you know before you start 
to make your dream come true, the happier you will 
be with the results of your efforts.
As an island landowner, you will make many decisions
about how you use, enjoy, and care for your property. 
You will make important long-range decisions about 
building or remodeling your home, and about other major
alterations to your property such as adding outbuildings,
putting in a new driveway, or digging a pond.
You will make many smaller decisions as you manage your
land.  Should the meadow be mowed? How about putting
in some rhododendrons? Should we take down that old
snag tree on the shoreline...?
As you and your neighbors carry out your plans, the look
of the landscape will change. Between 
and the
population of the Puget Sound-Georgia Basin region has
more than doubled and it is forecast to double again 
by 
.  This rate of population growth puts tremendous
pressure on the natural world that surrounds us. Since
most of the land in the islands is privately owned, you 
and other owners will be the ones to shape the future 
of your community. The cumulative changes made by island
landowners will affect a wide network: other islanders, 
the wildlife that lives here, and generations of islanders 
to come. Because island environments are small, isolated
and fragile, the effects of changes to the landscape can 
be greatly magnified. 
This book offers some ways of looking at your land to see
how it contributes in its particular way to the integrity 
of the islands as a whole. It will identify important natural,
historic, and scenic features to keep in mind as you make
your plans, and will offer some approaches to building
homes and other structures that are especially suited 
to an island setting.  
Information in these pages comes from local citizen c

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