Business · India Bureau
American man sole resident of wildlife refuge after failed island development
What was envisioned as a holiday community with 800 homes on Protection Island in Washington State became a protected wildlife habitat instead. A lone property owner who purchased land decades ago remains the island's only human inhabitant.
LSN India ·
Protection Island, a 400-acre expanse off the coast of Washington State, was once slated for major residential development. In the 1970s, when the island was planned as a holiday community that would accommodate approximately 800 homes, Marty Bluewater purchased a parcel of land there, anticipating the project's completion.
However, the development trajectory changed dramatically when conservationists mobilized to preserve the island's ecological significance. The island's coastal habitat supported important wildlife populations and breeding grounds, drawing attention from environmental protection advocates who successfully challenged the commercial development plans.
In 1982, the entire island was formally designated as a National Wildlife Refuge, effectively halting the planned construction. Rather than being removed, Bluewater was permitted to remain on his property, grandfathered under the refuge designation.
Decades later, Bluewater stands as the sole permanent human resident of Protection Island. His presence on the refuge represents a unique arrangement between conservation goals and individual property rights, a legacy of the island's transition from commercial ambitions to ecological preservation.