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
The Exchange Update | August 2025
||| FROM ORCAS RECYCLING/THE EXCHANGE ||| Microplastics Beach Cleanup at Eastsound Waterfront Park Join us on Saturday, August 23, from 11am to 1pm at the Eastsound Waterfront Park for a hands-on effort
At the Speed of Island Life | Why transit is about more than transit
||| FROM ISLAND STEWARDS ||| It’s not about buses. It’s about belonging. We’ve always known living here asks more of us—more intention, more interdependence, more care. That’s the tradeoff for waking up to clean air
Get ready for Trashion Fashion Show & design workshops
||| FROM JESSICA ARDIS for TRASHION FASHION SHOW ||| Get front row ready for an evening of recycled style, clever construction, and earth-first elegance! The Exchange is bringing you the 2025 Trashion Fashion Show on Saturday,
Larsen, Murray lead WA Democrats in urging interior secretary Burgum to restore funding for critical salmon recovery and habitat restoration efforts in WA
Bicameral group of Members urge Trump administration to restore funding for Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups, abrupt cancelation of $1.285 million for WA state jeopardizes dozens of active habitat restoration projects across the state ||| FROM
Microplastics beach clean-up at Eastsound Waterfront Park
Locals and visitors welcome ||| FROM JESSICA ARDIS ||| Join The Exchange on Saturday, August 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Eastsound Waterfront Park for a hands-on effort to tackle microplastics pollution. Volunteers
What if you’re aboard a ferry when a tsunami watch is in effect?
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR ||| When a recent tsunami alert, following an 8.7 earthquake in Russia, began to show up on our screens on July 29, we were afforded the opportunity to view
Proactive boat recycling saves Washington waterways and resources
||| FROM KGW-TV PORTLAND ||| Twenty-nine vessels were recently removed from the Salish Sea and brought to a Bellingham recycling facility to be broken down as part of a state program aimed at preventing a
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
Now at the Market Garden Nursery ||| FROM JULIA TURNEY and JAY LUCAS for MASTER GARDENERS ||| Do you have a question about your soil, have a problem with your fruit tree, or are thinking
WDFW to host meeting on planned westside Lake Rotenone treatment to remove invasive Northern Pike
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and San Juan County Conservation Land Bank (Land Bank) are co-hosting an in-person public meeting to hear community input on
3 reports of cougar sightings on San Juan Island
||| FROM KING-TV SEATTLE ||| Three people reported cougar sightings on San Juan Island over the last three days, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office (SJCSO). The first two sightings occurred on Monday.
San Juan Preservation Trust launches effort to protect 30 acres on San Juan
||| FROM KELVIN BAKER for SAN JUAN PRESERVATION TRUST ||| The San Juan Preservation Trust (SJPT) is thrilled to announce a major new conservation initiative on the west side of San Juan Island: the future
Rhythms and Blooms | Come learn about algal bloom on Orcas
||| FROM SAM GAILEY for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Scientists from the University of Washington and Georgia Tech conducted research on Orcas Island in the summers of 2021 and 2022, studying East Sound's algal bloom
Volunteers needed to help monitor vital eelgrass beds around Orcas Island
||| FROM KATIE JOHNSON for SJC MARINE RESOURCES COMMITTEE ||| Do you have an interest in marine science and a passion for protecting local ecosystems? The San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) is looking
Become a WSU extension master gardener
||| FROM CAITIE BLETHEN for MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM ||| Are you interested in learning more about horticulture, gardening and becoming a WSU Extension Master Gardener, but don’t quite know what that means? Join us for
Deer Harbor Charters celebrates fun on the water in the San Juan Islands
||| FROM KIM BEALES for DEER HARBOR CHARTERS ||| Orcas Island based Deer Harbor Charters, infuses Orca awareness initiatives in daily activities including whale watching, sunset cruises, boat rentals, water taxi transportation to Sucia Island
