Friends of the San Juans

One of the three program areas driving the mission of Friends is Thriving Communities which exemplifies our values of giving back, supporting, and protecting our communities. For those of you who have met Michel, our Director of Philanthropy, you know that she has a personal and professional zeal for thriving communities and socializing. As Michel ... read more

These are changing times as directives unfold with caution and deliberation. What we can be certain of is that the sun will rise and set, the tides will rise and recede. Our staff is truly humbled by the opportunity we have to work from home and participate in new ways to communicate, monitor, and survey ... read more

Help make the San Juan Islands “Plastic Free by the Sea”! This year’s Great Islands Clean-up is on Saturday, April 18, 2020. Join the county-wide greening event and collect litter from public beaches and roadways. There will be litter clean-up events happening on Orcas, San Juan, Lopez and Shaw Islands this year. Stay tuned for ... read more

Executive Director Stephanie Buffum has submitted her letter of resignation and retired as of March 1, 2020. Under Stephanie’s 19 years of leadership, Friends has become central to the protection of what is loved by many about the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea, including the health of marine ecosystems, fragile shorelines, forest and ... read more

As of summer 2019, there are currently over 1,000 permitted vacation rentals in San Juan County, WA. Currently there is no limit on the number of vacation rentals in the county, and permits convey with the sale of a property. Unlike official businesses like bed and breakfasts, hotels and resorts, licensing constraints are minimal for ... read more

Winter is here and the Italian Arum invaders are coming. We need your help to get rid of this invasive plant on Lopez Island!  Starting as early as December, Arum sent up single leaves. Take a look at the first two photos to see what you should be looking for. You may find just one, which indicates that it is a ... read more

Do you know what a tardigrade is? If not, it’s time to find out! It could soon become Washington State’s official micro-animal thanks to a partnership between students at Friday Harbor High School, Riverday School in Spokane, Jefferson Middle School in Olympia, along with Lynn Bahrych from the San Juan Islands Conservation District, and Katie ... read more

We walked into 2020 with some great accomplishments. Thank you for joining with us to protect and restore the San Juan Islands and Salish Sea in 2019! Here’s what we achieved together recently: Forage fish spawn on 3 new restored beaches on Shaw Island! Three recently completed beach restoration efforts with private landowners along Blind Bay ... read more

Do you have a digital camera or camera phone? If so, you can help local and regional researchers capture this year’s king tides! Join Friends and King Tide volunteers from your community and across the globe to document the year’s highest tides by taking photos of your favorite local shorelines. A “king tide” is the highest predicted high tide of the year ... read more

Victory in the Salish Sea! Xylene will NOT be manufactured and exported from the Anacortes refinery! An additional 120 tank vessel transits will NOT impact Southern Resident orcas, our economy, our marine ecosystem, and shoreline communities with increased vessel noise and the increased risk of accidents and spills. [NOTE: not just oil spills – xylene spills ... read more