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
Student Stories: Washington State History as a graduation requirement
||| FROM OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION ||| Do you know what’s noteworthy about Washington state’s high school graduation requirements? It’s Washington state history. From seventh to 12th grade, all students in Washington State are
It’s getting quieter in Puget Sound and easier for orcas to find dinner
||| FROM KUOW.ORG ||| Orca conservation groups are thanking commercial ships and other big vessels for slowing down around endangered southern resident killer whales. They are asking vessels to voluntarily reduce their speeds in a
In major shift, Northwest Tribes — not U.S. officials — will control salmon recovery funds
||| FROM PROPUBLICA.COM ||| When the Biden administration said it had reached a “historic” legal deal with Northwest Indigenous tribes last week to save endangered salmon, no one could agree on what it meant for
Newborn orca spotted near Seattle off Bainbridge Island
||| FROM KUOW.ORG ||| Beachgoers and whale researchers were excited to spot a newborn calf swimming with the Northwest’s endangered orcas on Tuesday near Seattle. “Oh my gosh,” schoolteacher Neil Davis said, standing on the
Analysis of Northwest, other salmon hatcheries finds nearly all hurt wild salmon populations
More than 200 studies across 40 years revealed large-scale salmon hatchery programs weaken wild salmon diversity and lead to wild population declines ||| FROM OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE ||| For much of the last century, fish
Don’t forget to take the Land Bank’s strategic plan survey by January 6
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Land Bank staff and commissioners are seeking broad community input by hosting a month-long, anonymous survey. Click here to begin the survey or visit the Engage platform: engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/land-bank-strategic-plan. The survey takes
Orcas Island Garden Club opens grant process
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| The purpose of the Orcas Island Garden Club is to stimulate knowledge and love of gardening, to cooperate in the protection and conservation of nature, and to assist
Take action by December 22nd for a healthy Salish Sea
||| FROM FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS ||| Please join us in seeking to prevent additional big-oil vessel traffic that would pose a threat to endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Don’t let the holidays distract
Remove dams to fight the climate crisis
Ten reasons bringing down these barriers are key for mitigation and adaptation. ||| FROM HIGH COUNTRY NEWS ||| POSTED AT REQUEST OF ORCASONIAN READER As the climate crisis escalates, a huge amount of attention and
Scientists contact whales in world-first communication experiment
||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT ||| What do whale experts and alien hunters have in common? More than you might expect. For a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal PeerJ, scientists from UC Davis, the Alaska Whale Foundation, and
Even in winter, our gardens need attention
||| FROM LAURA WALKER for ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| December brings a calmness to the garden. Plants look a little rough but there is still plenty of activity if you quiet yourself and observe. Birds are
Local students inspire at Youth Earth Summit in Padilla Bay
||| FROM JESS NEWLEY for FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS ||| Once a year, regional youth gather at the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve to explore creative solutions for climate change. Thirteen students from
Guest Opinion | Why is San Juan County not talking about Ecological Overshoot? Part 3
||| FROM ELISABETH ROBSON ||| Part 1:theorcasonian.com/guest-opinion-why-is-san-juan-county-not-talking-about-ecological-overshoot/ Part 2: theorcasonian.com/guest-opinion-why-is-san-juan-county-not-talking-about-ecological-overshoot-part-2/ What should we do? That is the question we ask ourselves when we think about wicked problems like ecological overshoot. The three speakers who presented
San Juan Island plastic film recycling program needs your help
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County encourages the public to be careful and thoughtful when utilizing the plastic film recycling program. The first batch of plastic film since the recycling drop-off
Tokitae’s death surfaced orcas’ complicated history in the PNW
The death of the whale at a Miami amusement park just before her planned release highlighted the species’ fraught relationship with humans. ||| FROM THE COLUMBIAN ||| The orca has become the symbol of the
