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
Here’s a sneak peek at 2026 OIGC Tour Gardens
||| FROM PERRI GIBBONS for ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Garden A: Warm Valley Farm If you think you know this farm from the many times driving by it to the ferry…. think again!! You
News Brief | World’s leading deepfake expert no longer trusts his own eyes
In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself ||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| Hany Farid has invented software to identify deepfakes. But
News Brief | Switzerland to vote on capping its population at 10 Million
Capping its population at 10 Million could reshape Switzerland ||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| About 9.1 million people live in Switzerland — approaching too many, for many Swiss people. The country will vote
Marine Surveys | Science and stewardship in action
What’s happening in the County’s Marine Stewardship area? ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Department of Environmental Stewardship cares deeply about our marine environment; yet it is hard to know
Communitywide climate survey extended through June 19
Take the survey to help build the next phase of the Climate Action Plan ||| FROM SJC DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP ||| We want to hear from the community! To allow for additional inputs on
A benefit of prioritizing natural areas for conservation without public access
||| FROM TANYA WILLIAMSON for SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK ||| Discovered during recent monitoring at Entrance Mountain Preserve on Orcas Island, this petite pink wildflower is extremely sensitive to trampling; heedless hikers can cause serious
Join Us for Orca Sing 2026
||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| Join your friends and neighbors at Lime Kiln Point State Park on Saturday, June 20th at 7:00 PM for Orca Sing 2026! Bring your friends, family,
Harvesting immature Chinook is shrinking salmon and reducing future returns, new research finds
Study shows that millennia-old practice of fishing in rivers could restore salmon size ||| FROM EMMA HELVERSON for WILD FISH CONSERVANY ||| A new study by researchers at the Wild Fish Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation
News Brief | Trump is taking aim at forest and wildfire research just as the West is poised to burn
||| FROM NPR ||| SEATTLE — Few public universities get more federal research funding than the University of Washington. So, as President Trump has already canceled or suspended about a quarter of all funding for
Guest Opinion | WA lawmakers should get involved as AI data centers sprout
||| BY MICHAEL RIORDAN as printed in THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| Artificial intelligence promises benefits, but its pernicious impacts must be anticipated and mitigated, else vast inequities and disruptions will result. State and local governments
Environment Stewardship community-wide climate survey
Your input guided the first steps—now help us build the next phase of the Climate Action Plan ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK ||| San Juan County is developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP)
CWR encounters Bigg’s killer whales and humpbacks
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 12:39 PM ObservEnd: 01:36 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss Other Observers: Rachel John Pods: Bigg's killer whales IDsEncountered: T30A, T30C,
While orca and salmon declined, ocean harvests of Puget Sound chinook significantly underestimated for decades
Revised Pacific Salmon Commission data reveal substantially more Puget Sound Chinook were intercepted in ocean fisheries over a twenty-year period, harming local communities and undermining decades of salmon and orca recovery efforts. ||| FROM EMMA
What is the capacity of Nantucket | The question no one wants to, or can’t, answer
During a recent Unscripted conversation, Andy Lowell recalled once being told that “nobody on this planet is qualified to put a capacity on the island of Nantucket.” It was a striking line because it points
Community Survey | Human Services Transportation Plan
Take the survey here! ||| FROM RICHARD URI for FRIENDS OF RURAL TRANSPORTATION ||| We want to know about you and the help you need with transportation. For some individuals that don’t drive or don't have access to a
