FIDALGO BAY DAY!

Skagit MRC's 13th annual Fidalgo Bay Day event was held Saturday, August 27, 2016 at the Samish Indian Nation's beautiful Fidalgo Bay Resort in Anacortes.

For the fourth year in a row, Skagit MRC collaborated with Friends of Skagit Beaches to combine Fidalgo Bay Day and National Estuaries Day into a shared event with both indoor and outdoor activities. 

Over 300 visitors came to learn about the marine ecosystem and the plants and animals that live there.  Many left feeling inspired to share what they've learned with others and to help protect the waters of Fidalgo Bay and the larger Puget Sound. 

Some of the event highlights included our popular beach seining demonstration with live marine critters to see and touch (thanks to Jason Morgan and Dan Penttila for leading this activity), lots of fun games and prizes, kid friendly craft tables, and interactive educational exhibits hosted by several local agencies and organizations. 

We are extremely grateful to Pete Haase for chairing this year's event (he did an amazing job), and the 50 volunteers who contributed many long hours to make this event a huge success. We couldn't have done it without all of you!  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!

A big Thank You to the 22 participating organizations who hosted informative educational displays and fun activities for the kids including: Coastal Volunteer Partnership, Deception Pass Park Foundation, Fidalgo Bay Aquatic Reserve Citizen Stewardship Committee, Friends of Skagit Beaches Trail Tales, Northwest Straits Commission, Northwest Straits Foundation, Orca Network, Pacific Biodiversity Institute, Harbor Porpoise Project, Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, RE-Sources, Salish Sea Biological, Samish Indian Nation, Skagit Conservation District, Skagit Conservation Education Alliance, Skagit County Marine Resources Committee, Skagit County Public Works Clean Water program, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, Skagit Land Trust, Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Reserves, and Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehab Center.

We would also like to give a special Thank You to the following partners and local businesses who generously contributed to this year's event:  The Samish Indian Nation for allowing us to use their beautiful facility and for providing a wonderful opening ceremony and Rosie Cayou-James and family for offering the traditional Samish no-host BBQ salmon lunch; Adrift Restaurant, Johnny Picassos, and Mary Anne's Kitchen for providing tasty complimentary seafood chowders; Taylor Shellfish for providing scrumptious oysters and clams; Gere-A-Deli for providing amazing brownies; and the Anacortes Boys and Girls Club for letting us borrow their popcorn machine.

Fidalgo Bay Day is sponsored by the Skagit County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) and the Northwest Straits Initiative and is funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency through the Puget Sound Partnership.

For more information about past Fidalgo Bay Day events click here

If you would like to stay informed on the goings-on of the Northwest Straits Commission, the seven Marine Resources Committees, and our projects around the region, please sign up here for our electronic newsletter or visit the Northwest Straits Commission's website:  www.nwstraits.org.