Our Story
Shore Friendly was developed in 2015 to fund local programs that provide stewardship incentives to shoreline landowners in Puget Sound. The goals were to reduce shoreline armoring and restore shoreline habitat by engaging and inspiring private landowners and communities to change how they manage shorelines.
Shore Friendly Kitsap was piloted as one of the first local programs. It was a collaborative consortium of partners: Futurewise, Kitsap County, Washington Sea Grant, and Washington State University Extension. The novel program tested how various incentives could change landowners’ behavior towards their shorelines and result in more naturalized shoreline. Incentives included reimbursable mini-grants, project and permitting help, covering permit costs, and education and outreach from knowledgeable volunteers.
We have come a long way in the last seven years! A program that originally operated on short-term federal funding is now part of the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program’s (ESRP’s) investment plan, under the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Today, the Shore Friendly Kitsap program is managed solely by Kitsap County, helping private landowners in all of Kitsap County. We still maintain connections with our partners and have new partners like the Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group.
We are excited to keep on helping landowners and communities protect their investments and Puget Sound!
Meet The Team
We may be a small group, but we are mighty! We are shoreline stewards, environmental advocates, and sustainability gurus. Daily, we work hard to restore and protect our Puget Sound shoreline so that waterfront landowners and surrounding ecosystems thrive together in perpetuity.
Christina Kereki – Program Manager
Christina, a projects planner with Kitsap County, coordinates the Shore Friendly Kitsap program and other County nearshore projects. She has worked for Kitsap County’s Department of Community Development for over 13 years. Her interest in restoration and applied ecology began with a fervor for field biology (favorite projects: marbled murrelets, Vancouver Island water shrews). She has a B.S. in biology from the University of Victoria and a Master of Resource Management from Simon Fraser University. She loves to spend her free time backpacking in the Olympics with her family.
Amy Smalley – Program Specialist
Amy Smalley joins us from Washington State University Kitsap Extension, where she coordinated the Water Stewardship Programs. Amy is passionate about building human relationships with the natural world, helping people understand their connections with the environment, and how interwoven we are with these valuable ecosystems. Amy graduated from WWU Huxley College of the Environment on the Peninsulas in 2018 with a B.A. in Environmental Policy and a minor in Environmental Science. Amy enjoys spending her free time exploring local trails and hanging out with her family.
Kirvie Mesebeluu-Yobech – Advisory Team
Kirvie, the Environmental Programs Planning Supervisor with Kitsap County DCD, joined the Shore Friendly program in 2015 to focus on streamlining the permit process for shoreline restoration projects. She graduated from WWU Huxley College of the Environment on the Peninsulas in 2013 with a B.A. in Environmental Policy and Planning and more recently from UW Evans School of Public Policy and Governance with an Executive MPA degree. Kirvie enjoys crabbing, fishing, and boating in Puget Sound with her family during her free time.
What We Do
Shore Friendly Kitsap assists homeowners who are interested in voluntarily removing all or part of their old bulkhead. We provide technical support and resources to guide them throughout their restoration project. A few things we can provide include:
- Free site visits from Shore Friendly staff
- Free site assessments from a licensed coastal geologist to assess erosion risk on your shoreline property. Click HERE to sign up for future opportunities.
- Mini-grants for shoreline restoration work – including bulkhead removal or soft shore alternative projects
- Educational and outreach events
We want waterfront landowners that are a part of our program to make informed, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly decisions about shoreline management. We are here to help!
Want to learn more? Send us an email! Contact us HERE.
Partners and Funding
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement PC-O1J223-01 Contract #16-05251 through the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency or the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation of use.