Explore San Juan Islands National Monument, Washington

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San Juan Islands National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the Puget Sound area in the state of Washington. The monument protects archaeological sites of the Coast Salish people, lighthouses and relics of early European American settlers in the Pacific Northwest, and biodiversity of the island life in the region. The monument was created from existing federal land by President Barack Obama on March 25, 2013 under the Antiquities Act. In his proclamation, the President stated that, "The protection of these lands in the San Juan Islands will maintain their historical and cultural significance and enhance their unique and varied natural and scientific resources, for the benefit of all Americans." The national monument consists of approximately 75 separate sites totaling roughly 1,000 acres (4 km2) in area. Situated in the northern reaches of Washington State's Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands are a uniquely beautiful archipelago of over 450 islands, rocks, and pinnacles. Drawing visitors from around the world, this is a landscape of unmatched contrasts, where forests seem to spring from gray rock and distant, snow-capped peaks provide the backdrop for sandy beaches. The San Juan Islands National Monument is both a trove of scientific and historic treasures and a classroom for generations of Americans. The new National Monument contains a wide array of habitats, with woodlands, grasslands, and wetlands intermixed with rocky balds, bluffs, inter-tidal areas, and sandy beaches. In an area with limited fresh water, two wetlands within the new National Monument are one of the more significant freshwater habitats located on public land in the San Juan Islands. This diversity of habitats is critical to supporting an equally varied collection of wildlife, including black-tail deer, river otter, mink, and an array of birdlife such as the threatened marbled murrelet and the recently reintroduced western bluebird. The island marble butterfly, once thought to be extinct, is found only here. Marine mammals, including orcas, seals, and porpoises, attract a regular stream of wildlife watchers. They are managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Landscape Conservation System.

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