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
Keynote speaker Thor Hansen leads 2025 Annual Garden Workshop Series
||| PRESENTED BY SAN JUAN COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS ||| Celebrated local author Thor Hanson invites us to step outside into our ordinary and often overlooked back yards to discover extraordinary hidden wonders, contribute to science
No Place Like Loam | Growing olives in the Pacific Northwest
History, Survival, Struggle, and the Long Bet ||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO-WOLF ||| What it means to wager on olives in the cold edge of the Pacific. On the Greek island of
Free noxious weed disposal program ends Sept. 30
||| FROM ORCAS RECYCLING / THE EXCHANGE ||| La Eliminación Gratuita de Malezas Nocivas Termina el 30 de septiembre El condado de San Juan anunció recientemente que elúltimo día del Programa de Eliminación de Malezas
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
Now at the Market Garden Nursery ||| FROM JULIA TURNEY for ORCAS MASTER GARDENERS ||| Do you have a question about your soil, have a problem with your fruit tree, or are thinking about starting
News Brief | Scientists reveal why orca have been attacking boats, and they are not targeting humans
||| FROM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES ||| "Researchers monitoring Iberian pods say younger whales appear to mimic older individuals, turning rudders into interactive objects/ " ORIGINALLY FROM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES "Some scientists have suggested that food availability,
News Brief | ‘Lights Out’ they say, as 12.3M birds to migrate over Washington state
||| FROM KING TV NEWS||| "During the spring and fall months, billions of birds migrate across the United States, mainly at night. In Washington state, the fall migration season typically peaks around late September to
Madrona Institute releases COMPASS final report
500+ hours of islander participation to generate 960 ideas to shape San Juan County’s future ||| FROM CHOM GRAECEN and FAITH VAN DE PUTTE for MADRONA INSTITUTE September 18, 2025 — The Madrona Institute has
Fall back together: Join the Great Islands Clean-Up on October 4
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| “I can’t think of a more rewarding way to spend a Saturday afternoon,” said Katie Johnson, San Juan County Marine Project Coordinator. She’s referring to the Great Islands
Now Available | Best available science & GAP analysis for critical areas ordinance update
The County's goal is to adopt an updated CAO by March of 2026. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is updating its critical areas protections, also referred to as the Critical
Center for Whale Research | An update on J36
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| On September 12, 2025, researchers at CWR, along with our colleagues at SR3 and SeaDoc Society, documented 26-year-old female southern resident J36 carrying a dead female calf. Sadly,
It isn’t always a boat for Oil Spill Association
||| FROM BILL SYMES and ELAINA THOMPSON for ISLANDS' OIL SPILL ASSOCIATION ||| When Islands’ Oil Spill Association (IOSA) kicks into gear, the cause usually involves a boat: fuel emitted from a sunken vessel, spilled
Land Bank monthly meeting Sept. 19
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY CONSERVATION LAND BANK COMMISSION ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold a regular monthly meeting on September 19 , 2025 from 8:45am – 11:10am via Zoom. The meeting will also
No-charge noxious weed disposal available through Sept. 30
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Noxious Weed Control Program works with the local transfer stations to accept noxious weed debris at no charge. The last day for free disposal
Guest Opinion | OPALCO owes us more options for meeting electricity demand
||| FROM ARTHUR WINER ||| While I respect the intelligence and technical strengths of OPALCO’s Board members and the executive leadership, I’ve been troubled in recent years by a logical contradiction in OPALCO’s energy policies.
No Place Like Loam | A chestnut is true generational wealth
||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO-WOLF ||| In history, entire cultures were built under canopies. Greek philosophers walked beneath plane trees, giving birth to the very idea of public life. Medieval Europe gathered
