Stuart Island (Washington)

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Stuart Island is a located in the San Juan Islands of Washington state, USA. The 7.462 km² (2.881 sq mi) island is home to two distinct communities of full and part-time residents, a one-room schoolhouse, and two airstrips. A heavily-used marine state park is located near the center of the island, and the roadless park divides the island in two, such that residents living on one side of the park must walk through it, or take a boat, to get to the other side of the island. The 2000 census reported a population of 47 permanent residents.

The northwest tip of the island, Turn Point, has a lighthouse to guide shipping in the busy waters of Boundary Pass to the island's north.

The lighthouse and nearby Lovers Leap (locally Suicide Cliff) are popular hiking destinations accessible by county road. Sheltered anchorages for boaters can be found in Reid Harbor and Prevost Harbor, with public state park facilities in each.

There are no stores or other public commercial establishments on the island, aside from the locally famous Treasure Chest. This is a wooden box, stocked by a local family with printed T-shirts and other souvenir items; each shirt comes with an envelope through which visitors are expected to return payment by mail, based on an honor system.

Stuart Island is also home to a renewable energy effort called the Stuart Island Energy Initiative. This initiative has designed a complete system that begins with photovoltaic cells that feed electrolysers, which in turn allow hydrogen to be stored for later use by fuel cells to supply electricity. (www.siei.org)

[edit] References

• Stuart Island: Blocks 4007 thru 4009 and 4011 thru 4014, Census Tract 9603, San Juan County, Washington United States Census Bureau