Friends of the San Juans

Where the river meets with a concrete wall, the fish have nowhere to go. Towering one hundred feet in the air and spanning over half a mile, the Lower Granite Dam in southeast Washington is one of four federal hydroelectric dams situated on the Lower Snake River. The Snake River stretches from Wyoming to Washington, ... read more

Jan SanburgOperations and Finance Manager Jan has called Shaw Island home since 1968 and enjoys many aspects of small-scale farming, including the importance of how everything is connected and how we must all work to keep the environment healthy. She and her son enjoy spending time at the beach and camping in the PNW. The ... read more

Tina Whitman Senior Science Directorshe/her/hers Winner of the 2022 Salish Sea Science Prize, Tina is staff scientist for Friends of the San Juans, where she has managed shoreline research, restoration and protection programs since 2002. Tina holds a Master of Science from the University of Oregon focused on the application of biological data to improved land ... read more

Chris Wolfe Board of Directorsshe/her/hers Chris joined the Friends’ Board in 2019, motivated by the work Friends’ was doing to protect the Salish Sea from shipping impacts. Her previous work with the Environmental Defense Fund had focused on improving air quality at ports and in the shipping sector, and she brings that experience to support ... read more

Check out the May issue of our e-newsletter – Highwater Marks! You’ll learn about how to be a green boater in the San Juans this summer, read poetry from a Spring Street International School student, hear from and about some of our members, see what Friends staff is reading and watching – and lots more! Read it ... read more

The rich marine environment of the San Juan Islands offers extensive recreational opportunities such as wildlife viewing, fishing, and crabbing. Last year’s pandemic-related travel restrictions led to huge increases in boat traffic in the islands, and this summer is shaping up to be extra busy as well. All of these extra boats — crowding waterways, ... read more

Poem and photos by Faith Jayaram, junior at Spring Street International School I traveled far to save you,High on childish naïveté.I suppose at the timeI believed myself a heroine; Reality, though, is cruel,And real life is deathBy the dozens,Starved, poisoned, struck. I no longer believe in fate,Or rather I do not believeIn my capacityTo save. ... read more

You know that students hold the power to create change — they are an electrified force. At Friends, Katie Fleming, our Community Engagement Director, embraces that energy. Katie is in her essence, electric! She lights up the classroom talking with students. She illuminates student potential on field trips to Olympia, as a conductor between local legislators ... read more

Check out the April issue of our e-newsletter – Highwater Marks! You’ll hear about our recent victory in court that will help protect the Southern Resident Killer Whales, learn how to report herring spawning in the San Juans this spring, discover more about how to address the growing plastic pollution problem – and more! Read it here. ... read more

Our modern lives are inevitably tied to plastic. The so-called Everlasting Polymer is the epitome of convenience, so it was love at first sight for our consumerist culture. Plastic pollution is a major threat to biosphere health, and the problem is constantly worsening. Single-use plastics comprise about 50% of the 8 million tons of plastic ... read more