shoreline protection

By Madeline Feaster and Tina Whitman As you know, Friends of the San Juans protects and restores natural shorelines to support forage fish, salmon, and the Southern Resident orca. In addition, Friends also conducts research on these shoreline habitats. We recently completed a Shoreline Armor Mapping, Change Analysis, and Regulatory Review project that provides an ... read more

In early November, Friends staff and members of the Islands Conservation Corps planted native dune grass and conducted beach surveys at the Salmon Point Community Beach on Lopez. This was the last phase in a shoreline habitat restoration project that also included planting native trees and shrubs and removing unnecessary rock armoring and creosote wood ... read more

Science classes from Lopez and Orcas High Schools just completed Friends’ Immersive Salish Sea Science Education program. Students experienced the marine food web through virtual reality technology, and they learned about science careers and how they can act to protect and restore the Salish Sea. Each class also took a trip to the beach to ... read more

At Friends of the San Juans (FSJ) we advocate for orca, healthy seas, and natural beaches. Our policy and education efforts rest on a foundation of science, research, and community engagement. The problems our community faces are wickedly complex and your support is fundamental to building organizational capacity to implement solutions. You have the capacity ... read more

2021 has been a tremendous year for Friends of the San Juans. As you’ve read in our newsletters and as you heard at our Annual Meeting last month, we’ve matured as an organization this year, and we’ve had terrific programmatic successes. In every case, the financial support of our members and donors made those accomplishments ... read more

To those of you who joined us for our 2021 Annual Meeting – thank you! To those of you who missed last week’s event — if only you could have been there! But don’t worry, here’s a link to the recording! We witnessed compelling testimonials, gained insight during our engaging conversation with Lynda Mapes, and ... read more

Check out the August issue of our e-newsletter – Highwater Marks! You’ll learn about joining Friends staff for Q& A’s at the San Juan County Virtual Fair, see the results from our 3 year-long forage fish surveys, plus more actions, news, and updates! Read it here.

Join Friends, Transition San Juan Island, Plastic Free Salish Sea, San Juan County (who officially proclaimed July to be plastic-free in the San Juans), and other communities world-wide in reducing your plastic waste in July! Plastic Free July® is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – ... read more

It’s springtime in the islands and that means tulips, hummingbirds, and eggs – HERRING EGGS! It’s the time of year when herring come to our shorelines to spawn. Herring spawn in eelgrass beds in Eastsound and West Sound on Orcas Island, Shoal, Hunter and Mud Bay on Lopez Island and Blind Bay on Shaw Island. ... read more