October Features

Your Vote Protects Us All

WEAN partnered with Save Our Wild Salmon (wildsalmon.org) and other Washington State nonprofits to Get Out The Vote for salmon and the environment, including tabling at Wings Over Whidbey. Photo by Nia Martin.

So much of the natural world we work to protect is here because of our functional democracy—protected by people who voted, testified, and organized, and by courts that held elected leaders and public institutions accountable. Right now, one of the most powerful things we can do for the places and people we love is make sure our ballots count.

Read Executive Director Marnie Jackson's latest blog for important voting information and a breakdown of some highly consequential ballot initiatives.

Action Hour Podcast:

Safe and Humane Fireworks

with Jackie Lasater

Image of homes destroyed after consumer fireworks explosion in Greenbank, less than two weeks before Fourth of July. Photo from South Whidbey Record.

Season 2, Episode 2 features a conversation with Jackie Lasater, WEAN board member, Conservation Chair for Whidbey Audubon Society, and co-founder of Citizens for Safe and Humane Fireworks. Jackie came to environmental work by way of public education. In this conversation, Marnie and Jackie begin where so much of this work begins—with love of place. From there, they turn to the true cost of consumer fireworks in Island County and ask what it could look like to celebrate together without harming the people and beings we love. This November, voters in unincorporated Island County will weigh in on an advisory question asking whether the county should ban consumer fireworks.

Tune in on Spotify, Apple Music, iHeart Radio, Youtube, and Substack.

Updates From WEAN

Oak Harbor residents resoundingly objected to Ordinance 1999, which changed their rights to vote on disposal of public park lands. After an over two-year process, WEAN won the appeal on October 19th, 2026. Photo by Amanda Bullis.

A Win For WEAN

On October 19th, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division One, ruled in WEAN’s favor in Whidbey Environmental Action Network v. City of Oak Harbor, reversing the trial court’s dismissal of our lawsuit challenging Ordinance 1999, which stripped away a requirement that the public approve, by vote, any sale of developed park property. The City passed it after a developer proposed a four-story hotel whose parking lot would take over part of Hal Ramaley Memorial Park.

The Court held that Ordinance 1999 is a “nonproject action” under SEPA and rejected the City’s claim that the ordinance was a merely “procedural” change exempt from review.

Read Executive Director Marnie Jackson's full update on our lawsuit challenging Ordinance 1999.

Update: Coupeville School District

Last month, WEAN submitted comments to Coupeville School District outlining the environmental impacts of building the new elementary school, particularly on the Terry Road site. Earlier this month, Coupeville School District announced that the Terry Road site had been removed from consideration. We're grateful that the Coupeville School District listened to the concerns of our community and we look forward to seeing an updated existing site plan that preserves the ecological integrity of the onsite protected forest.

WEAN's Comments:

SMA Rulemaking & OH DEIS

Washington state's Department of Ecology is updating the rules that carry out the Shoreline Management Act (SMA). In our comments, WEAN is asking Ecology for the following: protect the areas where beaches and marshes will move as sea levels rise; set precautionary buffers for Island County’s eroding bluffs; require monitoring so “no net loss” of shoreline function is actually met; and make enforcement mandatory.

Read Program Director Dr. Autumn Maust's full comment letter to Ecology for the SMA rulemaking process. Craft and submit your comment by November 17. Need some guidance? Reference these key points.

The City of Oak Harbor has released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for its 2025–2045 Comprehensive Plan Update, which evaluates how and where the city will grow over the next 20 years. WEAN is advocating for walkable, affordable housing, planning through an environmental justice lens, and the protection of ecosystems.

Read Program Director Dr. Autumn Maust's full comment letter regarding Oak Harbor's DEIS draft on our blog.

Upcoming WEAN Events

WEAN's In Your Neighborhood:

Greenbank Farm - Nov. 12, 10am



Join WEAN for a walk and talk at Greenbank Farm. Explore the trails, meet fellow community members and environmental enthusiasts, and learn more about WEAN's history with this area. Well-behaved and socialized dogs are welcome to join, but owners are responsible for their dogs at all times during the event. Sign up here.

Save The Date:

Nandays - Dec. 10, 4pm

In honor of the late Nancy Nordhoff, Nandays were created to bring volunteers together with local Whidbey Island organizations that Nancy uplifted. WEAN's second Nanday is December 10 from 4pm - 6pm. More details to come; keep an eye on our Events Page and your inbox for further announcements.