species protection

This Tuesday, July 27, the Whatcom County Council will hold a public hearing and vote on whether to adopt a landmark ordinance to protect Cherry Point and the Salish Sea. Voices from around the region are needed to let the Whatcom County Council know that you support them in adopting this important ordinance that will ... read more

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

Check out the June issue of our e-newsletter – Highwater Marks! You’ll learn about: where our waste goes in San Juan County from two Spring Street International School students, engaging in important actions for Southern Resident killer whales, how to get involved with the County’s Comprehensive Plan update – and lots more! Read it here.

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

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

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

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

This week, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman delivered a court victory both to Friends of the San Juans and to the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. “We’re very excited about this ruling,” said Brent Lyles, Friends’ Executive Director, “and it’s been a long time coming!” The issue started in early 2019, when the ... read more

We want to remind you about this opportunity to take action in support of Southern Resident orcas! The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) needs to hear from YOU on its draft regulations for the Commercial Whale Watch Licensing Program. WDFW is required to use best available science to adopt rules that reduce the daily and cumulative impacts on Southern Resident orca whales, ... read more