Category: Latest News
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Washington’s Bottle Bill: A Common-Sense Solution to Reduce Pollution and Protect the Salish Sea
Washington’s recycling system isn’t keeping up with waste, and billions of bottles and cans end up polluting shorelines, waterways, and the Salish Sea each year. The state legislature is considering Washington’s Bottle Bill (HB 1607/SB 5502), a refundable container deposit program designed to boost recycling, cut litter and climate pollution, and shift recycling costs from taxpayers to…
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Friends Supports Island High School Emerging Leaders at youth environmental summit
At the Youth Earth Summit, Friends of the San Juans helped twelve Friday Harbor High School Eco Club students showcase leadership, share environmental solutions, and guide a student-led session on getting involved in local policy—highlighting how youth voices are shaping the future of conservation.
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What’s at Stake With “Essential Public Facility” Designation for Renewable Energy Projects in San Juan County?
San Juan County is considering designating all utility‑scale renewable energy projects — like large solar arrays, battery storage, or experimental tidal systems — as Essential Public Facilitys. While clean energy is important, this blanket classification could undermine environmental review, reduce public participation, and put sensitive lands and habitats at risk.
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Housing and San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan Update
Housing in San Juan County is deeply tied to the health of both people and the environment. When homes are unaffordable, residents are forced into survival mode, limiting community participation and fueling cycles of inequality and environmental degradation. With nearly half of all homes sitting vacant or used seasonally, sprawl increasing, and affordability shrinking, Friends…
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Community Resilience and San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan Update
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; goals for developing housing to serve everyone in our community; and much…
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Honoring Native American Heritage Month
Every November, Native American Heritage Month invites us to honor the histories, modern day cultures, and ongoing leadership of Indigenous peoples across the United States. Here in the San Juan Islands and the greater Salish Sea, this month carries a particularly deep meaning. The islands are the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary homelands of multiple Coast…
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San Juan County Comprehensive Plan Update – the Final Push
San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan update is in its final stage. Friends of the San Juans highlights key issues, community feedback, and ways residents can participate to help shape the future of the islands’ growth, resources, and resilience.
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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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A Super Volunteer Story: Meet Tony Imkamp
Meet “Terrific Tony,” a standout Friends of the San Juans volunteer whose energy, dedication, and community spirit have made a lasting impact on local conservation efforts. From helping lead restoration projects to supporting events and education, Tony’s generosity and enthusiasm exemplify the vital role volunteers play in protecting the Salish Sea and strengthening community connections.
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Local Leaders Convene for Shoreline Resiliency
Explore how Friends of the San Juans brought together regional land managers for a shoreline restoration boat tour in San Juan County, highlighting successful projects and strategies to reconnect wetlands, restore habitat, and strengthen shoreline resiliency.
