By Russel Barsh

Director of Kwiaht

Every summer, visitors flock to the south shores of San Juan Island to photograph foxes, take selfies at the Cattle Point lighthouse and wander South Beach. Few are aware that the scenic landscape is a rare and fragile sand dune ecosystem with a number of wildflowers and butterflies that they are unlikely to see anywhere else in western Washington. Or that the photogenic foxes, brought to the island a century ago by fur farms, play a complex and as-yet poorly understood role in both changing and maintaining the landscape.

The dunes were historically stabilized by a unique plant community characterized by deep tap roots stitched together by rhizomes, forming a well-anchored perennial vegetative mat. The most conspicuous partner in this community is Seas

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