Friends of the San Juans

We had productive and fun days at our Mud Bay restoration site on Sucia Island this month, learning with island youth and furthering ecological improvements to the site. Throughout 2020, restoration efforts at Mud Bay included the removal of nearly 300 feet of coastal road, the removal of rock armor and a culvert, as well ... read more

Since the San Juan County Council shifted into a full-throttle, get-this-thing-across-the-finish-line approach to the update process for San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan (aka, Comp Plan), housing has been a hot topic and focus of discussion amongst Friends of the San Juans and across our community. The Comp Plan is one of the key ways that ... read more

Check out the March issue of our e-newsletter – Highwater Marks! Learn about our latest victory against Phillips 66; the spring Great Islands Clean-Up; the herring spawn event happening now; a community conversation on housing, vacation rentals, and land use; our new staff; an update on the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project; and more!

Friends of the San Juans recently scored a decisive legal victory against fossil-fuel giant Phillips 66, representing an important win for critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales. On February 28th, the Washington State Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Friends in a lawsuit regarding Phillips 66’s expansion of its Ferndale, WA, refinery. In 2019 ... read more

Check out the February issue of our e-newsletter – Highwater Marks! Learn about San Juan County’s decision to Fast-Track the Comp Plan Update process, Meet our New Legal Director, Celebrate 20 Years of Tina’s Dedication to Friends, Volunteer Opportunity to Monitor for Invasive Green Crabs, and More!

The San Juan County Council has shifted into a full-throttle, get-this-thing-across-the-finish-line approach to the update process for San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan, or Comp Plan. This has implications for the effectiveness of the Comp Plan and also for public engagement in the update process. The County’s fast track plan will add more pressure on all ... read more

40 Days into the State Legislative Session…Update on our Priorities Thank you to everyone who has responded to our action alerts and registered support for our legislative priorities! We are more than half-way through the legislative session. Bills (except for those related to the budget) must pass out of the opposite house by March 4th. ... read more

I recently read an article from a Canadian news organization titled “The Future of Exploration.” In it, author Kate Harris examines how traditional exploration’s complicated past makes it difficult to reconcile with modern values of justice and sustainability. From Marco Polo to Lewis and Clark, most famous expeditions have been glorified in western culture while ... read more

Check out the January issue of our e-newsletter – Highwater Marks! You can read the results of our 10 year Armor Change Study, Catch up on Environmental Legislative Priorities, and much more!

In February 2021 I wrote about how we could learn from the pandemic to address the climate crisis. A year later, every day still brings us closer to the 2030 planetary tipping point for irreversible ecological change. As the new year begins in 2022, 2030 seems a long way away. But we have just 96 ... read more