Port Access Route Study, outreach processes: Chance or design, the choice is ours (British Columbia, Washington)

Interviewing the participants and reviewing the processes involved in the Port Access Route Study has been an enlightening process. It has served to enrich my knowledge and understanding of the complexities of working collaboratively in bi-lateral consultations with American and Canadian governments, and with stakeholders throughout the Pacific Northwest marine community.; The Port Access Route Study reviewed vessel traffic routing measures in the contiguous waters of Juan de Fuca Strait and the San Juan Islands, as well as the American waterways within the Puget Sound area. The contiguous waterways are managed under the Canadian and United States Joint Cooperative Vessel Traffic Management Agreement for the Strait of Juan de Fuca.; This project examines the processes of rule making and stakeholder outreach used by the American and Canadian Authorities in the development of new vessel routing and traffic management measures in the contiguous waterways of Haro Strait and Boundary Pass portion of the Juan de Fuca Port Access Route Study. The waterways are contiguous, where the medium line delineates the U.S. Canadian border. By choosing the Haro Strait and Boundary Pass areas, I was able to narrow the study to a manageable size in an area with which I was familiar. This afforded me the opportunity to focus my analysis on the consultation efforts used by American and Canadian authorities in the Haro Strait and Boundary Pass areas.