The goal of the Blakely Island Forage Fish Habitat Restoration Project is to restore documented surf smelt spawning habitat and improve nearshore habitat for salmon and salmon prey by removing a historic log handling and beach access facility, associated armoring, fill and beach debris and restoring intertidal, backshore and marine riparian conditions. In the northern portion of Thatcher Bay, Blakely Island, a historic log handling and beach access structure is negatively impacting surf smelt spawning habitat, backshore, beach, intertidal habitats and coastal processes important to salmon and salmon prey. This location has been identified as a high priority for salmon recovery efforts in San Juan County; there is documented forage fish spawning (WDFW 2004, FSJ 2004), high juvenile Chinook presence probability, and high juvenile sand lance presence probability (Beamer et al. in prep). The project site is the sole access point for stewardship-focused forest practices on roughly 2,000 acres of forestlands. The project will maximize habitat restoration while supporting the minimal access necessary to ensure forest activities can continue and help maintain the island’s healthy watershed. Restoration activities include removing the current structure, as well as associated beach debris, re-grading the upper beach and backshore and replanting vegetation. The project improves backshore, intertidal and subtidal conditions for forage fish spawn, juvenile Chinook, eelgrass and juvenile forage fish at a priority salmon recovery site. 955 cubic yards of concrete, rock and fill was removed from the intertidal area at thatcher bay and the existing barge landing access was rebuilt in a smaller footprint, uncovering 5,000 square feet of intertidal habitat at a documented surf smelt spawning site.