Here’s a thought…
“The competition between Nature and the economy is deep and broad.
In the short term, the economy usually wins. In the long term …?”
BILL APPEL
Microplastics may be stoking antibiotic resistance: Study
||| FROM THE HILL ||| The microscopic shards of plastic found in every corner of the planet may be exacerbating antibiotic resistance, a new study has found. Bacteria exposed to these ubiquitous fragments, known as
Land Bank to sell a portion of Frazer Homestead Preserve to National Park Service
To more fully tell the story of the Pig War ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| During this week’s meeting, Council held a public hearing and spent time with Conservation Land Bank staff reviewing
Space advertising could outshine the stars—unless it’s banned first
||| FROM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ||| Imagine stepping outside to stargaze on a clear summer night, only to see no stars but rather the garish glow of advertisements streaming across the sky. This seemingly science-fictional scenario
The Exchange Update: March 2025
||| FROM ORCAS RECYCLING/THE EXCHANGE ||| How “Tiny Orcas Island” is Helping Change the World Former ORS/The Exchange Board Member, Toby Cooper, recently wrote an article published by the Salish Current on how the city
Governor Ferguson throws environmentalists under the bus
||| FROM OLYMPIC PENINSULA ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS ||| Governor Ferguson has had his first major controversy, over a relatively little known agency called the Fish and Wildlife Commission. While this commission is small and not well
2025 will be an above average year for Columbia River salmon, says NOAA report
||| FROM THE COLUMBIAN ||| The number of salmon returning to the Columbia and Snake rivers this year is expected to beat the 10-year average return. That’s according to a new report from the National
The Whale Museum welcomes new executive director
||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| Mike and Jeanne Kuperberg The Whale Museum is pleased to welcome Dr. Mike Kuperberg as our new executive director. Dr. Kuperberg will be bringing
Get ready for Orca Action Month 2025
||| FROM REIN ATTEMANN for WASHINGTON CONSERVATION ACTION ||| It’s that time again! June is Orca Action Month in the Pacific Northwest, and the Orca Salmon Alliance is looking forward to all kinds of activities
Russel Barsh Kwiaht Talk at Odd Fellows Hall
||| FROM DIDIER GINCIG for ORCAS ODD FELLOWS HALL ||| Russel Barsh Russel Barsh, director of Kwiáht, a nonprofit conservation biology laboratory in and for the San Juan Islands of Washington State, will be offering
County announces trail funding to be used on Land Bank’s Beaverton Marsh Preserve
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| During today’s meeting, Council reviewed the most recent iteration of the ‘Trail Project’ for which the County received $5.2 million in federal funding in 2023. After a brief
The demise of the Northwest Forest Plan
||| FROM THE WILDLIFE NEWS ||| When is the Northwest Forest Plan no longer the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP)? After the Forest Service has removed the skeleton, meat, and blood, leaving only the dermis. Any
Earth Day parade, workshops and event calendar news
||| FROM EARTH DAY ORCAS ||| Come celebrate Earth Day Orcas – all month long in April. Organizations from across the islands are joining to offer a month of inspiring and educational, fun and creative
Microplastics are messing with photosynthesis in plants
Microplastics can cut a plant’s ability to photosynthesize by up to 12 percent, new research shows ||| FROM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ||| Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality. These minuscule fragments
Are these orcas imitating human speech?
||| FROM THE JOURNAL |||
Beached bird training session
||| FROM COASTAL OBSERVATION AND SEABIRD SURVEY TEAM ||| Join the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), and make a difference for the environment! COASST participants collect monthly data on beached carcasses of marine
