Friends of the San Juans

Help make the San Juan Islands “Plastic Free by the Sea”! This year’s Great Islands Clean-up is on Saturday, April 20, 2019. 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. Litter picker-uppers will ... read more

The Trump administration is attempting to discreetly eliminate Clean Water Act protections for waters across the United States through a proposed rulemaking that would critically endanger historically-protected rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands. This proposed rulemaking by the United States EPA and Army Corps of Engineers is a massive attack on the Clean Water Act and ... read more

Oil spills threaten the Salish Sea and Washington’s coast every day. These risks threaten coastal jobs, cultures and livelihoods, as well as the endangered Southern Resident orcas. This year, the House of Representatives has moved forward oil spill prevention legislation to modernize our safeguards and protect our environment, economy, and endangered orcas from the devastation ... read more

Here in Washington, the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) is a foundational tool that provides important information and opportunities for public input on projects that impact the environment. SEPA is the law that ensures that projects are evaluated and the public can have a say in the review and assessment of the project. SEPA also ... read more

April 11, Emmanuel Episcopal Parish, Orcas Island, 6:30-8 p.m. Friends of the San Juans is excited to partner with Toby Cooper and Georgette Wong to bring information to the community about green investing – a movement that benefits humanity and the planet. Toby, a sustainability advocate and career financial professional will trace rise of socially-responsible ... read more

Over the past few weeks, in sweeping votes from both chambers, the Washington State Legislature took major steps to address the emergency facing Southern Resident orcas and the systemic problems of salmon and Puget Sound recovery. Four bills that will protect orcas passed out of the House or Senate, and most with bipartisan support! Each bill ... read more

On March 20 in Friday Harbor, Friends of the San Juans explored the plight of the Southern Resident orcas and engaged the community in actions that can help their recovery. Click here to watch the video of the full event. Find out what the Southern Resident orcas need to survive and thrive including how San ... read more

Have you ever been in such a noisy or crowded room that you find yourself yelling to be heard and sometimes giving up on getting food? Imagine what the Southern Resident orcas (SROs) face as they forage for scarce Chinook salmon while being accompanied by boats. Please join us in urging your state legislators to ... read more

In late January we traveled to Olympia with six high school students from Friday Harbor High and Spring Street International Schools to participate in the 2019 Environmental Priorities Coalition’s lobby day. We joined 500 other Washington State citizens and environmental groups to promote a transition to 100% clean electricity, orca emergency response, oil spill prevention, ... read more

This Thursday (2/7), the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee will vote to advance SB 5578, which will improve the safety of oil transportation in our state. Please contact all the members of the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee (or at least the Chair, Sen. Reuven Carlyle) and urge them to vote YES on ... read more