To the editor:

I am among the shoreline property owners who strongly support improved shoreline and near-shore habitat protection.

I am concerned that the continued degradation of the shore and marine environments is robbing me, my children, my grandchildren and all those living on the island of a healthy environment as well as the pleasures our beaches provide. We are also having an adverse effect on plants and animals who share space with us.

I have visited my family’s shoreline property regularly since the late 1940s and have lived on the property for the last 15 years. As an avid snorkeler, I have seen with my own eyes the continued degradation of our near-shore environment. Water clarity has diminished radically, marine plants and animals I used to see regularly are no longer present, and our beaches are cluttered with trash.

The pressures on our marine environment have increased as our population has increased. I support the city of Bainbridge Island’s efforts to improve environmental protection and urge them to keep their focus on the common good.

DALLAS YOUNG

Bainbridge Island