Help us meet our $40,000 fundraising match! Support the Southern Resident Orcas by donating today!

The heartbreaking struggle and loss of two Southern Resident orcas this summer opened people’s eyes.

What can we do to help protect and recover the Southern Resident orcas? There are many actions to be taken to ensure these whales have healthy and quiet waters that are abundant with salmon. You can help implement some of these actions today by supporting Friends of the San Juans.

Southern Residents orcas must consume thousands of Chinook salmon every year to survive; in turn salmon must eat thousands of forage fish; and forage fish need natural shorelines and healthy nearshore habitat on which to lay their eggs.

For almost 40 years, Friends of the San Juans has protected and restored shorelines for salmon and forage fish, supporting our orcas, communities, economy, and quality of life.

With your donation, Friends will continue to:

  • Protect and restore forage fish spawning beaches, eelgrass meadows, and feeder bluffs to improve the health of the Southern Resident’s food web.
  • Provide data and build coalitions to support the Southern Resident orcas through vessel noise reductions, increased prey availability, shipping safety and oil spill prevention at local, regional, and international forums.
  • Engage citizens and decision-makers in actions to protect the orcas, salmon, forage fish, and natural shorelines. Visit sanjuans.org/action-center for more information.

If you share our vision of a healthy, connected community—one in which humans, forage fish, salmon, and orcas all prosper together—please click here and join us by donating today!

All gifts received by December 31 will be matched up to $40,000. Please double your impact with a gift today!

Click here to learn more about Friends’ programs and how we work to protect what we all love about the San Juan Islands.

Photo above by Chris Teren.

Each year I make a generous gift to the Friends of the San Juans because it’s the one organization where I can actually follow the money from my checkbook to observable measurable outcomes. Will you join me in making a gift to support one of the most beautiful, precious, fragile monuments to nature on earth?

George Lawson

members, Lopez Island