Category: Latest News
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Housing and San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan Update
Why does Friends of the San Juans care about housing? The patterns of how and where housing is built are connected to the health of both our human and non-human communities. Housing affordability is central to community livability and inclusiveness. Stable housing frees residents to engage with environmental issues, while unaffordable housing forces them to…
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Community Resilience and San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan Update
How does San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan Update address our changing climate? Known as the “Comp Plan,” the County’s Comprehensive Plan includes goals and policies to guide how our community will look in the future. This includes policies to protect our remaining forests, agricultural lands, and healthy shorelines; a blueprint for our community’s transportation needs;…
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San Juan County Comprehensive Plan Update – the Final Push
San Juan County is close to finalizing their latest update to the Comprehensive Plan or Comp Plan. The Comp Plan provides a high-level framework for issues like housing, transportation, water, climate, and land use. Once approved, the updated Comp Plan will guide new policies and shape how the County prepares and plans for growth over…
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Restoring Eelgrass to Protect Herring and Salmon
Follow along as Friends of the San Juans improves conditions for eelgrass! Eelgrass meadows are a cornerstone of the San Juan Islands’ marine ecosystem. But in many local herring spawning areas, eelgrass meadows have declined along with the herring populations that depend on it. Since Chinook salmon rely on herring as a critical food source,…
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Environmental Coalition Appeals Whatcom County Decision for Expansions at Ferndale Terminal
For Immediate Release, September 29, 2025 County promised a full review of the company’s illegal expansion, but then backtracked WHATCOM COUNTY, WA — Less than two weeks after rallying more than 662 public comments in opposition to the expansion of a major fossil fuel terminal in Ferndale (Cherry Point), a coalition of six environmental organizations…
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Volunteer Spotlight: Elyse Woodruff
Friends is honored to have Elyse Woodruff join the Friends team as a new member of our Legal Review Committee! Elyse was first introduced to Friends through one of our European Green Crab community science trainings on Orcas Island this summer. Inspired by the presentation, she invited Friends to bring the program to her neighbors…
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Friends of the San Juans Restores Critical Shoreline Habitat at Neck Point, Shaw Island
Friends of the San Juans (Friends) has successfully restored another ecologically important beach in San Juan County. Neck Point, the westernmost point of Shaw Island, is treasured by islanders and marine life alike, and it has now been designated as a vital spawning habitat for forage fish, a cornerstone species in the Salish Sea food…
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A Super Volunteer Story: Meet Tony Imkamp
Every summer, the San Juan County Fair brings people together to celebrate the community, farms and agriculture, and island spirit that make this place so unique. For Friends of the San Juans, it’s also an opportunity to connect with supporters and share how each of us can contribute to protecting the San Juan Islands and…
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Local Leaders Convene for Shoreline Resiliency
Regional Land Managers Join Friends of the San Juans for Shoreline Restoration Tour On July 31, Friends hosted 20 land managers for a shoreline restoration boat tour around San Juan County. The tour highlighted successful restoration projects that reconnect wetlands, enhance beach spawning habitats for forage fish, and safeguard shorelines against the impacts of sea…
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Uncovering Nearly 50 Years of Advocacy
Lori Momchilovich Reflects on Archiving Friends’ Legal and Environmental Advocacy Last spring, Friends welcomed Lori Momchilovich as our Document Archivist, a role focused on organizing and digitizing decades of paper records. With 15 years of experience in public and private libraries, and a background in education, Lori brought both skill and passion to the monumental…
