Jefferson County commissioners want more information on land transfer

Published 1:30 am Saturday, June 13, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County commissioners have postponed deciding on sending any letters of support regarding a proposed land transfer to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.

During a nearly five-hour meeting Monday, commissioners had five workshops, one of which was regarding the federal Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Land Transfer Act of 2026. The act seeks to return ancestral lands to tribal custody, transferring the Protection Island and Dungeness National Wildlife refuges into trust for the tribe.

The commissioners have been asked to send a letter of support to U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, D-Port Orchard, and U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Edmonds, and Patty Murray, D-Seattle.

During their meeting May 26, commissioners delayed approving a letter that would support the federal legislation. Instead, they decided to amend the draft to address lingering community concerns regarding the lands’ future environmental protections.

The purpose of Monday’s workshop was to hear from constituents who have expressed concerns about the land transfer.

Before the commissioners send any sort of letter regarding the legislation, a conversation needs to be had where Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal members explain the proposal to the county, Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour said.

“This is important, and whether or not we’re going to support this or not support it, having more conversations will basically bolster either option that we choose to walk down,” Commissioner Greg Brotherton said. “I look forward to hearing more, and I think having a conversation with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe as well as Fish and Wildlife would only inform the process.”

One comment about Protection Island which was stated by several people during the workshop was that the land was put together in trust by the people to protect it and that the land needs to stay in that trust. Others mentioned concerns that, if Protection Island is transferred to the tribe, the general public will no longer have a voice regarding what happens with the land.

“I think it’s incumbent upon all of us in the room who are concerned about this to figure out the best actions we can take to affect this decision,” Eisenhour said. “And we need to decide … if we want to send a letter, what that letter wants to say.”

The conversation ended Monday with Brotherton stating the commissioners will try to get representatives from the tribe to attend the next workshop on the topic.

Another discussion Monday involved funding recommendations for 2026 Conservation Futures.

Ron Rempel, the chair of the Public Health and Conservation Futures fund Citizen Oversight Committee, presented information about two projects which are recommended for funding.

The first is the acquisition of 42 acres in East Dabob Bay by Northwest Watershed Institute. The funding request was for $395,000 to go toward the total project cost of $1.749 million.

“The Dabob project is a project in an area that currently has recreational use on it, but private recreation, and I term recreation very broadly here,” Rempel said. “It’s kind of how many trails can I sit out here on different spots used for the family compound to down to the water fishing, harvesting shellfish. But to do that, they required them to put in a fairly steep road. They’ve had trailers out there with unpermitted septic systems and a slide that potentially goes down to the shoreline.”

The Northwest Watershed Institute is acquiring the land to get the infrastructure out, fix the road issues and allow the state Department of Fish and Wildlife access for shellfish management.

The second project is a partnership between the county Environmental Health Department and Peninsula Trails Coalition to link a right-of-way easement west of the Eaglemount/state Highway 20 intersection to the Olympic Discovery Trail. The funding request was for $43,312.50 to go toward the total project cost of $86,225.

This project would preserve the land while connecting it to the Olympic Discovery Trail. That would allow for better forest management on that property, Rempel said.

Commissioners also heard a presentation on the upcoming All-County Preparedness Day. The event is planned for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 27 at Finnriver Farm & Cidery, 124 Center Road in Chimacum.

In addition to information booths, the day will include field exhibits, a wildfire preparedness workshop, a presentation from “resilience guru” Robin Greenfield, a disaster scenario and a tug-of-war game with a $1,000 grand prize.

For more information, go to theproductionalliance.org/preparednessday.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.