HIGHWATER MARKS
news & updates
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Its time again for Coffee & Cocktails with Friends - Q&A with Staff at the Virtual County Fair |
We are all ready for some new connections and opportunities. Through the Virtual Fair, you have an opportunity to connect with Friends staff, ask questions, and hear the passion that drives our mission.
Join us on the virtual couch for Q&A sessions with Friends Staff: Jess, Tina, and Brent; our student mentees: Ela and Linnea; plus a special appearance by Craig Canine from the San Juan Preservation Trust! It’s a unique chance to ask what you want to know about our work, get to know us better, and find out how your donation made an impact.
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Survey volunteers on Lopez Island |
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Results from three years of forage fish surveys!
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Friends recently wrapped up the third year of a project to document forage fish spawning habitats in San Juan County. Pacific sand lance and surf smelt are a critical part of marine food webs. Identifying where they spawn helps efforts to protect and restore their important beach habitats. We are excited to share the results from this important community science project!
We led three seasons of field surveys, with samples collected on ten islands. The results are dramatic: we documented thirteen new sand lance spawning sites and eight new surf smelt spawning sites. This more than doubles the number of known sand lance spawning beaches in San Juan County! We’d like to give a huge thank you to the community members and local students who provided over 800 volunteer hours of field survey support. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting project.
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Friends of Friends: Lesley Liddle
Lesley has lived on Orcas since 1977. She is engaged in and supports the work Friends has accomplished since 1979. She’s seen many changes in our islands over the years and takes action to protect their rural character. We are grateful to have the loyalty of longtime members like Lesley!
“Friends of the San Juans is the courageous charity whose sole purpose is to protect what we love, and why we came to live here - they protect our beloved islands from rapacious over-development, and seek to restore the delicate balance between the wildlife, the forests, the people, and the Salish Sea - so it is with gratitude that I support them.” – Lesley Liddle
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Thank you for speaking up! Awesome news from Whatcom County!
On Tuesday, July 27, Whatcom County Council voted to prohibit new fossil fuel refineries and trans-shipment facilities at Xwe'chi'eXen, Cherry Point; thus preventing associated increases in vessel traffic and impacts to Southern Resident killer whales. The Whatcom County code amendments also require stricter environmental review for modifications to existing fossil fuel facilities. Thank you to everyone who spoke up in support of this regulation and a huge THANK YOU to the Whatcom County Council for voting YES!
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Philanthropy is a strategic act of optimism, by Michel Vekved, Director of Philanthropy
The challenges are many, but investing in Friends’ science-based, strategic solutions, offers hope for the future of our Islands.
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Honoring our Friend, by Shannon Davis, Grants Manager
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One month ago, my friend Caroline Gibson, lost her battle with cancer. Caroline was a champion for the Salish Sea, a partner with us at Friends of the San Juans, and a truly warm, welcoming, and fun person. In her work for the Northwest Straits Initiative and its Marine Resource Committees, she excelled at bringing people together to conduct research, educate the community, and take direct action to improve habitat.
I am sharing this with you all, so you are aware of a wonderful opportunity to honor Caroline’s incredible life and accomplishments while also helping support young marine conservationists. The Northwest Straits Foundation started the Caroline Gibson Scholarship in Marine Studies to support the next generation of marine conservation leaders through their applied studies in sustaining a vibrant and healthy Salish Sea. Join us in helping grow this fund. Thank you.
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San Juan Island voices needed for the Vacation Rental Working Group. |
If you live on San Juan Island and have opinions about the County's proposed 30% increase in vacation rental permits on San Juan Island, the Vacation Rental Working Group wants to hear from you! Contact Brent Lyles for more information.
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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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Save the date for our annual meeting! Shorelines, Orca, and Community: An Autumn Trilogy with Special Guest Lynda Mapes. Join us for this afternoon of testimonials and meaningful community engagement on Oct. 9. More details to come.
Join in the Transition San Juan Island Resiliency Fair on Sunday, Aug. 22, 1 – 4 p.m. at Sweet Earth Farm. Connect with your community and learn about the sustainability initiatives Transition San Juan Island is championing and how you can get involved. Email Bill for directions, more information, and to RSVP.
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Origin Stories: March 1984 Newsletter |
Learn about the final decision Limekiln Village (hint – it was good news for the environment!), get community member views on tourism at the time, read the special article “Friday Harbor: Coping with Change,” by Nancy Prindle, and more! |
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What We're Reading & Watching |
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While it might be tough to read about, the latest update on climate science from the United Nations provides critical information for us all. At Friends, we are deeply committed to climate change solutions – this report is an important reminder and warning as to why we support bold actions at personal, local, and global scales.
WATCH: Learn about San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan from our Executive Director, Brent Lyles in this series of videos by the San Juan Islands Community Network.
In the first video Brent explains how the Comp Plan works and why it came into being. In the second video, he explains how you can get your voice heard in the current Comp Plan update, which will guide how our community will look in the future.
This is an ongoing project of a present day look at historic Coast Salish locations throughout the San Juan Islands and Strait of Georgia by the Samish Indian Nation.
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When water supply was last studied in the County in 2002, Lopez Island aquifers logged some of the highest recharge rates. Will this be true now? A new study next year will provide important data for managing supply as well as planning for the future as the population continues to grow.
In the late nineteenth century, as humans came to realize that our rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving other animal species to extinction, a movement to protect and conserve them was born. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the movement's history: from early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today's global effort to defend life on a larger scale.
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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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Or text to donate at 360-317-2610. |
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Friends of the San Juans | www.sanjuans.org |
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