species protection

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 have secured the funds, the experts are ready, all we need now are more waterfront property owners to take steps to support the marine ecosystem. While it may not be as thrilling as securing your appointment to get vaccinated against Covid-19, it is quite exciting news for forage fish, salmon, and Southern Resident orca! ... read more

Attention island residents located near herring spawning grounds!  Pacific herring – also known as forage fish – play a key role in marine food webs as food for out-migrating juvenile salmon, seabirds, and even marine mammals. Herring rely on sensitive eelgrass meadows found along our tidelands to spawn and incubate their eggs. Herring spawning populations ... read more

My name is Kaia, and I’m a high school sophomore currently interning at Friends of the San Juans. Some of you may know my grandpa, San Olson, current board member, past board president, and longtime resident of Lopez Island. It is largely because of my grandpa that I have the chance to write this letter ... read more

The 2020 boating season is officially upon us, and as we saw with Mother’s Day weekend, our anchorages will begin to fill with private boats. Our amazing group of islands, where boaters find wonder and relaxation, are also where fish and wildlife find food and shelter. One of the most critical and sensitive marine habitats ... read more

Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published its final rule in the Federal Register to list the Island Marble Butterfly as an endangered species. For our islands this is a big decision as this beautiful white and green butterfly is found only in the San Juans. This decision comes nearly two decades after a coalition of conservation groups, including ... read more

Winter is here and the Italian Arum invaders are coming. We need your help to get rid of this invasive plant on Lopez Island!  Starting as early as December, Arum sent up single leaves. Take a look at the first two photos to see what you should be looking for. You may find just one, which indicates that it is a ... read more

Victory in the Salish Sea! Xylene will NOT be manufactured and exported from the Anacortes refinery! An additional 120 tank vessel transits will NOT impact Southern Resident orcas, our economy, our marine ecosystem, and shoreline communities with increased vessel noise and the increased risk of accidents and spills. [NOTE: not just oil spills – xylene spills ... read more

Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has issued a Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance for Cooke Aquaculture’s proposal (SEPA No. 19056) to farm biologically-engineered steelhead (aka Triploid Rainbow Trout) in the net pens Cooke Aquaculture used to farm Atlantic salmon. Open water net pens are “Confined Animal Feeding Operations” that generate disease and pollution. There could also be ... read more