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1. Why are shoreline permits required?

The short answer is that the State of Washington requires all cities and counties with shorelines to regulate the shoreline, through the Shoreline Management Act.
But why did the state adopt the Shoreline Management Act? It was written in 1971 in response to a citizens’ initiative petition and was adopted through a citizen referendum by a two-to-one margin. The purpose was to benefit the public interest by protecting shorelines, since they are a limited resource. The Act recognizes that it requires planning to balance protecting the public interest on one hand and private property rights on the other hand. Planning ahead means that you cannot let everyone do whatever they want, you have to think about the consequences. Requiring a permit means there is review of the action before it happens and that conditions can be placed to prevent or make up for impacts caused by the project.

2. If it is a State permit, why don’t I get a permit from the State?

Local governments are in charge of shoreline planning, under state guidance each county and city with shorelines has adopted a Shoreline Master Program containing the local rules for shorelines. Each Shoreline Master Program was reviewed and approved by the Washington State Department of Ecology before it took effect. So the State provides the guidance, and cities and counties administer the permits.

3. Why shouldn’t I cut down the tules in front of my lot?

The bulrush and cattails that grow around the edge of the lake provide the best protection from erosion, with no cost to you! The plant stems absorb the wave energy and prevent your lot from washing away. When a stable site is disturbed by removing the vegetation, likely there will be erosion problems.

4. I have erosion on my lot, so I’ll just build a bulkhead, right?

Probably not. Building a bulkhead requires permits from the City, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, and the Corps of Engineers. You need to prove to all of those agencies that a bulkhead is the only method that will prevent erosion. Here is the reason bulkheads are regulated so heavily: A bulkhead (defined as a vertical wall in contact with the water) completely changes the character of the water’s edge. Instead of the natural condition of sloping very gradually into the lake, a bulkhead makes a sudden dropoff. Believe it or not, there are many important biological processes that happen in the shallow water right at the edge of the lake. Tiny fish live there, safe from larger fish, insects and smaller creatures that feed the fish and birds that live in and around the lake live there, plants along the shoreline drop leaves and insects into the water that provides food, submerged vegetation that grows in the shallow water provides refuge habitat for small fish….all of that changes if you have a bathtub edge instead of a gradual edge. In addition, a typical yard has lawn up to the bulkhead. Lawn fertilizers wash into the lake, adding nutrients that increase algae blooms. Also, any hard surface, including bulkheads and rocks, is undermined by wave action, stirring up sediment to make the lake murkier and eventually leading to the failure of the bulkhead.
If you have erosion on your lot, the best way to prevent it is to re-establish appropriate vegetation: bulrushes in the water, and woody shrubs along the water’s edge. Even better is to leave the natural shoreline vegetation intact if you are lucky enough to have it.

5. It’s a big lake. What I do on my lot doesn’t matter.

What if everyone thought that way? Everyone needs to take responsibility, because the lake belongs to us all. Most people who live on lakefront lots do so because they like the lake and the way it is. They like to watch the birds, they like to fish, they like the view across the lake. If people do not step up and take care of these resources, they will disappear, little by little.