The Port Townsend Marine Science Center is working together with the Fort Worden Public Development Authority and Washington State Parks to come up with a long-term vision for the rehabilitation of marine facilities at Fort Worden.

These facilities include the boat launch, pier, aquarium and museum located at the beach at Fort Worden.

Washington State Parks has received funding to replace the boat launch and pier, said Michael Hankinson, a planner with State Parks. The Marine Science Center is planning to update their facilities at the same time, to create a unified waterfront area and expand their marine education programs.

State Parks will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. on April 18 at the Fort Worden Commons to hear input on the possible rehabilitation designs of that area.

“We are going to present potential pathways we could take to make an investment in that area, so that there is still water access and so that the layout is more logical than it is today,” Hankinson said.

Included in the designs are possible placements of a new pier, the possibility of a new science center building that will hold both the museum and aquarium (instead of the two separate buildings that exist now) and methods for long term solutions to the climate changes that will affect that area.

“We have natural systems to adapt to, such as sea levels rising, bluffs sloughing off into the water, a change in chemistry and biology,” said Janine Boire, executive director of the Marine Science Center.

The pier is at least 75 years old, she said. Meanwhile, lateral drift of sand has made the boat launch difficult to use.

“The pier is structurally sound, but needs repairing at the least,” she said. “There are loose pilings, which are creosote. As temperatures rise more creosote goes into the water.”

Being a center of marine education, Boire said they are prioritizing sustainable solutions in the planning of the rehabilitation.

Reducing their overwater footprint and the amount of creosote in the water are two top concerns for the Marine Science Center.

But they are also hoping to expand their educational programs, to include both the natural outdoor scenery of the beach, and their aquarium and museum. To do this, the center will have to work with State Parks and the PDA to create a space that has adequate parking and a placement of their building that will be sustainable even with sea levels rising.

“I envision people arriving to a wonderful external and internal set of exhibits, that help tell the long story,” Boire said. “Not just the story of the last 100 years, but going back 10,000 or 100,000 years of what the biology was really like back throughout the years.”

This includes partnering with the Jamestown S’Klallam to add to the history of that area, as well as showing how climate change could affect marine life in the future.

“We want to embody the mission of inspiring conservation of the Salish Sea and giving people hope, and ways that we can all participate together,” Boire said.

Building one unified space for the aquarium and museum will be clearer for visitors and reduce operation cost, Boire said. It would mean that the whole facility could be open year round. Currently, the aquarium closes to the public in the winter season.

Ideally, the entire project will be complete in five years, Boire said. But it will take working together to make it happen. While State Parks is funding the pier and boat launch replacement, the Marine Science Center will be starting a capital campaign in the future to fund their renovation.

“We genuinely want people’s input,” Boire said. “It’s not easy because you get all these different perspectives, communicating between what the coastal geologists think is best, and the opinions of the average person who enjoys having the aquarium out on the dock. There’s not one option that will make everybody happy… But we also want to have a building that sets an example for what is possible.”