Protecting
Island Communities & Resources
Safeguarding our communities, farms, waters, and forests takes advocacy and action.
As development pressures grow, Friends works to sustain the balance between human and ecological wellbeing—protecting natural resources while supporting resilient communities. Grounded in science-based policy, planning, and public engagement, we advance policies and actions that sustain the living systems in which we are part.
Friends’ origin story is rooted in San Juan County’s first Comprehensive Plan. Formed in 1979 to help guide thoughtful growth, we continue that legacy today—balancing protection and progress with an understanding that our communities are made up of people, wildlife, and the interconnected natural systems that support life here.
Friends’ Approach
Friends engages communities, Tribes, decision-makers, and partners to shape policies that sustain healthy land, water, and people. Through planning, education, and research, we help ensure the San Juan Islands remain resilient and livable for generations to come.
Commitment to Sovereign Nations
Our offices in Friday Harbor are located on Northern Straits Salish territory, and much of our work focuses on the San Juan Islands, which hold deep cultural significance and are homelands for the Northern Straits Salish language community. Friends supports Land Back transactions and presses decision-makers to respect tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. Learn More About How That is done.
Comprehensive Planning
Local planning shapes how island communities grow, adapt, and thrive. Comprehensive Plans influence everything from housing and water use to farming and forest protection. Friends reviews draft policies, offers science-based recommendations, and activates public testimony.
Public Process
We bring community voices to the environmental policy table. Through community science, civic engagement, and hands-on learning, we help islanders of all ages understand their role in shaping the future—and empower them to advocate for a healthy, resilient island community deeply connected to and actively protecting this special place.
Permit Review
Each year, we review all county land-use permits to ensure compliance with shoreline, wetland, and critical area protections. We use this work to identify gaps, improve policy, and advocate for stronger environmental standards rooted in the best available science.
Adapting with Science
Island communities are navigating increasingly complex decisions about how to protect people, property, and ecosystems in a changing climate. Friends provides science-based guidance, from site-specific to regional planning data and sea-level rise projections. With informed, adaptive planning, we can protect what matters most.
What’s new in protecting communities & island resources?
Building Blocks of Island Resources
The strength of our islands begins with their natural resources. Forests, farms, freshwater, and wild habitats support both the environment and the people who depend on them. Friends works to ensure these vital systems remain healthy and in balance—through local planning, policy advocacy, and community action that protect what makes island life possible.
How and where we build shapes the health of both human and natural communities. Affordable, stable housing supports community vitality and engagement, while unchecked or inequitable development can strain local ecosystems and social balance.
With rainfall as our primary water source, every drop matters. Friends advocates for county policies that protect this limited resource—ensuring safe, sustainable freshwater for people, farms, and wildlife.
From historic homestead orchards to modern organic farms, island agriculture supports local economies and food security. Friends advocates for zoning that protects farmland from subdivision and conversion, keeping these landscapes productive and resilient.
Forests
The islands’ forests provide habitat, store carbon, and shape our rural character. They also support forestry, recreation, and beauty that enrich community life. Friends works through the Comprehensive Plan process to maintain strong Forest Resource Land protections and prevent fragmentation.
Wetlands, woodlots, and fields nurture the plants and animals that make these islands extraordinary. For some species—like the Island Marble butterfly—these habitats are their only home.
Origin Story / Friends’ role in the formation of the San Juan County Land Bank Origin
In the early 1990s, Friends of the San Juans helped shape the framework for a local conservation funding program that protects critical shorelines, forests, and farmland—the San Juan County Land Bank. Friends mobilized community support and provided the scientific and policy groundwork that made the Land Bank possible. Today, the County manages one of the most successful community-based conservation programs in the nation, protecting over 5,000 acres across the islands. Friends continues to collaborate with the Land Bank on shoreline restoration, habitat connectivity, and shared goals of protecting the islands’ natural and cultural heritage.
The Land Bank was born from a belief that islanders could take conservation into their own hands. Friends of the San Juans helped prove that vision was possible.”
— Peter Kilpatrick, Founding Board Member of Friends
Friends‘ Science and Policy Expertise in Action
Made possible through member support, grants, and countless community partnerships, explore Friends’ science and policy expertise that are shaping a more resilient community.
Join Friends for Community-Centered Action
Whether you live in the San Juan Islands, visit often, or help care for the Salish Sea from afar, your actions make a difference. Together, we can protect what makes this place extraordinary—shorelines, wildlife, and community.
