Our Work
The San Juan Islands: Precious. Finite. Worth protecting.
Friends of the San Juans protects and restores the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea for people and nature — since 1979. We restore habitat, protect water, forest, farmland and endangered species, while building thriving communities in the San Juan Islands through education, science, advocacy, and citizen engagement.
Healthy
Seas
Natural
Shorelines
Thriving on
the Land
Friends of the San Juans respectfully acknowledges and honors the fact that this beautiful place we call home is comprised of the ancestral lands, waters, and natural resources of the Coast Salish peoples. The Coast Salish peoples 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.
Our Impact
500
hours were spent by trained citizen scientists to survey local beaches for forage fish eggs in 2018-19.
Together with Friends staff, nearly 500 samples were collected from 175 beaches on 9 islands; documenting 11 new Pacific sand lance spawning beaches and 4 new surf smelt spawning sites. That’s good news for the local food chain!
350
linear feet of beach was restored on Shaw Island by removing rock, concrete, and creosote wood debris in 2019.
Forage fish are already spawning eggs on these newly restored beaches!
-120
additional tanker and barge transits per year, which would have transported petrochemicals through the Salish Sea, if Friends had not legally intervened.
Friends and five co-appellants reached an agreement with an Anacortes refinery in 2019 that cancelled plans to manufacture and export xylene.
The Latest
Tell Insurance Companies: Stop Providing Coverage for Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline by Friends of the San Juans
Read our June Highwater Marks E-Newsletter by Friends of the San Juans
Explosive Development Drives Interest in County’s Comp Plan Update by Friends of the San Juans
Protect What You Love: Green Boating in the San Juan Islands by Friends of the San Juans
www.sanjuanjournal.com
by R. Brent Lyles, Executive Director, Friends of the San Juans.
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Friends of the San Juans receives $5,000 grant from Keta Legacy Foundation | Islands' Weekly
www.islandsweekly.com
Submitted by Grit City Strategy and Communications.“I want the beach to be able to be here for my grandchildren… for my nieces, nephews, and godchildren. That’s when we made the decision to contact Friends of the San Juans.”
Mariluz Villa, participating shoreline restoration project property owner
Photos by: Mark Gardner (SRKW Action Center), Mark Gardner (Thriving on the Land)