A $50,000 matching gift has been provided by generous members for all donations received before December 31, 2017. Please double your impact with a gift today!
Dear Supporter,
Orcas are the icon of the Salish Sea and they are critically endangered. I remember when there were 98 Southern Resident orca whales in 1995. Now the population has dropped to 76.
Friends of the San Juans works to protect the orcas and we need your help.
Sometimes the whales’ needs are obvious, and easy to act upon, but many times they are below the surface of the water. Our orcas must consume thousands of salmon every year to survive; in turn salmon must eat thousands of forage fish; and forage fish need natural shorelines on which to lay their eggs.
Friends’ programs help citizens and decision makers better understand these connections with the natural world we all share.
Right now critical connections are threatened by unsustainable shoreline development, by marine shipping that decreases orcas’ ability to find food while also increasing the risk of an oil spill, and by pollution from microplastics and stormwater.
Click here to see how your support will help Friends of the San Juans work to protect this elaborate web of connections—our orcas and salmon, and in turn, our island community, economy, and way of life.
As Friends of the San Juans’ Executive Director, I have the honor of working with people in our local and global communities who are making a difference. This year almost 1,000 citizens took a stand against fossil fuel exports and supported climate change action at our events, 60 waterfront landowners signed up for site visits that will help them better understand how to steward their shorelines to support our important food webs, and 6 landowners partnered with Friends to restore 1,000 feet of shoreline habitat to support our forage fish, salmon, and orca. Help us continue this momentum.
Because you share our vision of a healthy, connected community—one in which humans, forage fish, salmon, and orcas all prosper together—please click here to make a special gift or renew your membership today. Thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Stephanie Buffum
(Photo above by Chris Teren)
