Community members will have the opportunity Monday to view and comment on a map that pictorially shows in which county basins anadromous and resident salmonid fish can be found.

A public hearing will be held Monday at 10:30 a.m. in Coupeville during a regular meeting of the Board of Island County Commissioners to discuss passing a resolution that will designate the map as the official document to be used by the county to set priorities for habitat enhancement and to also be used to update the county’s critical areas regulations.

County basins where anadromous fish — species that move back and forth between fresh and salt water — and resident salmonid species — similar fish that live and die solely in fresh water for lack of access to salt water – have already been identified.

“The areas are established in the Salmon Recovery Plan,” said Jeff Tate, Island County Planning and Community Development assistant director. “We are bringing this resolution to the board for the purposes of creating a link between the Salmon Recovery Plan and the Critical Areas Ordinance. As part of the recovery plan, we’re going to be pursuing restoration projects over the years.”

Resident salmonids have been found at Dugualla on North Whidbey, and North Bluff on Central Whidbey. Anadromous salmon have been found in Maxwelton and Glendale creeks in South Whidbey, and on Camano Island residents have been found at Chapman and anadromous salmon at Triangle.

While the Salmon Recovery Plan and the Critical Areas Ordinance are both county policy documents, they do not have a direct legal link to each other, Tate added.

“Later on this year we will be updating the fish and wildlife portion of the Critical Areas Ordinance,” he said. “This resolution will ensure that our fish and wildlife update is supportive of salmon recovery objectives outlined in the recovery plan. It’s not a whole lot more than a formality.”

Tate will explain the map and its functions at the Monday hearing, as well as delve into the resolution’s nuances.

“This map isn’t trumping something else or boxing us into anything. It’s just saying that this is what we know right now, and in terms of regulation, this it how it applies,” he said. As time progresses, the map could be modified as a result of different regulations.

The resolution also helps county staff justify their presence to landowners when they are working in the field.

“A county commissioner-endorsed map like this serves as a nice tool for the staff,” Tate said. “A landowner may question them and say, ‘How do you know there are fish here? Are you just making a subjective call?’ We don’t ever like to be in that position.”