HIGHWATER MARKS
news & updates
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Congratulations to Ela and Linnea who graduated from high school TODAY! We’re so grateful for the work they’ve done in our community over the years and can’t wait to see what they do next! |
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Following Waste in the San Juans
Based on research done by Linnea Morris and Ela Angevine, written by Ela Angevine
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Are you curious where our San Juan County garbage ends up? So were Ela and Linnea, two of the students we’ve mentored from Spring Street International School the past 4 years. They conducted in-depth research over the entire school year as part of their Environmental Systems class. This article chronicles their waste and recycling journey on the three biggest of the San Juan Islands. Get ready to be informed and inspired to get involved in waste issues and solutions in the islands! If you have any questions after reading it and want to learn more, join us at a community conversation via Zoom with Ela and Linnea on July 1st (details below). |
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Explosive Development Drives Interest in County’s Comp Plan Update by Brent Lyles, Executive Director
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Judging by construction permits and real estate transactions, the pressure and speed of development in San Juan County has never been greater. Fortunately, the County’s Comprehensive Plan, or Comp Plan, can be a key tool for managing growth and protecting our County’s rural character. Right now, citizen interest is growing in how this tool can best ensure that sensible, science-based planning and environmental stewardship manage growth and development in our County. |
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Lower Granite Dam, by Kaia Olson |
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Words from the Next Generation: Dammed to Extinction, by Kaia Olson
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For Orca Action Month, look at the connection between the orca, the salmon, and the lower Snake River dams. By threatening salmon populations, the four dams present a cultural, ecological, and even economic crisis to the entire Pacific Northwest region. These dams must be addressed, and the clock is ticking. |
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Friends of Friends: Susan and David Dehlendorf
Susan and David Dehlendorf have been members for nearly 20 years. Susan served on Friends' Board, guiding our policy work to put research in the hands of decision-makers. Susan and David remain committed to Friends as members and vocal advocates to protect these island shorelines for future generations.
Our family has been in love with the San Juan Islands for many decades. Having the chance to live here and participate in Friends’ stewardship work is a very great privilege. – David and Susan
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Origin Stories: October, 1983 Newsletter |
Learn about the Home Rule Charter Pros and Cons and what it meant for the County’s growth back in 1983. Plus read details about the proposed development near Lime Kiln Point State Park that had the most elaborate land-use hearing held to that date.
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Tell Insurance Companies: Stop Providing Coverage for Canada's Trans Mountain Pipeline |
The Trans Mountain (TMX) pipeline goes from Alberta, Canada, to Burnaby, B.C. where oil tankers are loaded with diluted bitumen for transport through the Salish Sea and the Southern Resident killer whales’ critical habitat. The pipeline expansion project is proceeding without the free, prior, and informed consent of First Nations and Tribes whose unceded territories and Tribal Treaty Rights are impacted by the pipeline and the oil tanker traffic. The project is a global climate catastrophe, violates Indigenous rights, and harms the entire Salish Sea marine ecosystem. You can help stop TMX by convincing insurance companies to stop providing coverage for TMX. Learn more at our event next week too (see below)! |
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Credit: San Juan Islanders for Safe Shipping |
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Pledge for a Plastic Free July®
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Join Friends, Transition San Juan Island, Plastic Free Salish Sea, and millions of other people world-wide in reducing your plastic waste next month! Plastic Free July® is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. Are you a business, individual or organization that would like to be part of this international effort to refuse single-use plastics? Email Katie, Friends' Community Engagement Director, and pledge to take part and/or tag your waste reduction actions on social media in July with #sjcplasticfreejuly to help inspire others.
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Your Free Shoreline Technical Site Visit is Waiting! |
Learn more about how your shoreline property can help save salmon and orca. Contact Tina Whitman, Friends' Science Director, to schedule a free, no-strings-attached technical site visit.
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Comments and Cocktails: Take Action to Support Southern Resident Killer Whales, Jun. 17 at 4:30 p.m., Register Here - Gather virtually with Friends (bring your favorite cocktail or mocktail if you’d like) and you’ll learn about how to email and call insurance companies to tell them to protect Southern Resident killer whales’ critical habitat from increased oil tanker traffic noise and disturbance, and from the increased risk of ship strikes and oil spills that Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project would bring.
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Following Waste in the San Juans: A Community Conversation, a discussion with Ela Angevine and Linnea Morris, recent graduates of Spring Street International School, Jul. 1, 6:30 p.m., Register Here – Join us to further explore the waste reduction and disposal topics explored in Ela and Linnea’s research spotlighted in this newsletter’s feature article.
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A Vacation Rental Forum, Jun. 9 (recorded), 17 & 24, 7 – 9 p.m., hosted by the San Juan Islands Community Network – A collaborative working discussion on vacation rentals in the San Juan Islands.
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It’s Orca Action Month – join in on the educational and celebratory events this month that raise awareness of the threats facing our Southern Resident killer whales and provide insights on how we can protect them and help with their recovery.
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Ensure. Bestow. Resonate. |
You have the power to ensure the future of the islands, at no cost today: the evergreens, the seclusion, and all that lives within the shimmering Salish Sea. Your legacy will be natural shorelines and healthy seas for future generations—they will experience the same sense of awe that resonates in our hearts today.
Ensure—our critical work continues in perpetuity.
Bestow—a gift to Friends in your will.
Resonate—feel the power of nature.
Email or call Michel at 360-298-8410 to discuss your plans.
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What We're Reading & Watching |
Explore the natural history of the Southern Resident killer whales and the unique challenges for survival with one of our favorite environmental journalists in the Pacific Northwest, Lynda V. Mapes.
This video was produced by Faith Jayaram, a Student from Spring Street International School, after working with Friends during the Immersive Education Program last winter. Faith says "I created this video with the hope of identifying some of the species beach-goers may see, highlighting the diversity of our intertidal zone, and raising awareness of how to protect them.”
This recently released report is the first comprehensive, scientific overview of the health of the Salish Sea since the 1994 Shared Waters Report. It synthesizes information on past, current, and emerging stressors within the Salish Sea estuarine ecosystem.
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Friends of the San Juans respectfully honors the fact that this beautiful place we strive to protect and restore with our mission-centered work is comprised of the ancestral lands, waters, and natural resources of the Coast Salish peoples. These Tribes have cared for and stewarded the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea since time immemorial — and continue to do so — and we honor their inherent, aboriginal, and treaty rights that have been passed down from generation to generation. |
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Friends of the San Juans | www.sanjuans.org |
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