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
News Brief | Whale with no tail swimming off Washington coast
||| FROM LIVE SCIENCE ||| Aerial drone footage shows the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) missing its iconic lobed fluke, which is responsible for propulsion while swimming. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY LIVE SCIENCE Read full article
SJC Land Bank to meet October 17
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold a regular monthly meeting on October 17, 2025 from 8:45am – 11:10am via Zoom. Lopez Island
News Brief | Researchers discover remote lake could hold the key to understanding elusive threat of microplastics
||| FROM THE COOL DOWN ||| "There's no point knowing all about microplastics in a lake without using it to make change. Research shouldn't happen in a vacuum." ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE COOL DOWN "There
Orca survey 2025 census update
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Fifty years ago, Orca Survey set out on a simple but ambitious mission: to track and understand more about the Southern Resident killer whales. In 2025, we are
Before the Door Closes | Autumn dispatch from Island Stewards
||| FROM ISLAND STEWARDS ||| We’ve spent the past months doing what islanders do best — paying attention. To ferry lines that lengthened again this summer. To parking lots that overflowed while long-time residents searched
Join new DCD Director and Councilmembers at upcoming land-use meetings
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This fall, County staff and officials, including the County’s new Director of Community Development, will attend land-use committee meetings on Lopez and Orcas Islands to engage with the
No Place Like Loam | Growing wine grapes in Seattle? Part 1
Finding wine-growing promise in a place that doesn’t give it away ||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO-WOLF ||| Growing wine grapes west of the Cascades isn’t for the faint of heart. The rain
News Brief | Plan to beam ‘Sunlight on Demand’ at night sparks concerns
||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT ||| In the same way you can bounce sunlight off a watch face to produce a spot of light, Reflect Orbital's satellites would use mirrors to beam light onto a patch
Wind advisory in effect tonight, tomorrow morning
||| FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Seattle WA 1017 AM PDT Sun Oct 12 2025 San Juan County-Lowlands of Western Whatcom County- Including Bellingham and Friday Harbor 1017
News Brief | How shipping noise is harming killer whales
||| FROM DESERET NEWS ||| The whole maritime shipping industry is so loud that ambient underwater noise has more than doubled in decibels since the 1950s. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN DESERET NEWS A Canadian economist believes
Register NOW for Mason Bee Cocoon Harvesting and Orcas Isle Cider Tasting
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Mason Bee Cocoon Harvesting Hands-On Workshop Saturday, October 18th, from 2:15 - 4:00 p.m. Orcas Island Library Community Room Give our native bees a helping hand this fall
Marineland marine park threatening to kill 30 whales
||| FROM THE U.S. SUN ||| Some 18 beluga whales, one killer whale and one dolphin have died at Marineland since late 2019. ORIGINALLY FROM BY U.S. SUN It was also infamously home to the
Land Bank’s fall newsletter is here
||| FROM SJC CONSERVATION LAND BANK ||| Director's Note Lincoln Bormann It’s migration season – Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) at Weeks Wetland on Lopez Island, Snow geese (Anser caerulescens) at Zylstra Lake on San Juan Island
San Juan County policy change would streamline energy projects
Renewable energy generation and storage facilities would be added to a list of essential public facilities — such as ferry terminals, airports and recycling or waste facilities — if an OPALCO proposal is approved. |||
News Brief | Canada’s Marineland ‘threatens to euthanise 30 beluga whales’
||| FROM SKY NEWS||| "The park wants to send them to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, which it says would be a "humane relocation" and is the "only viable option.” ORIGINALLY FROM SKY NEWS "All whales belong
