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
2025 will be an above average year for Columbia River salmon, says NOAA report
||| FROM THE COLUMBIAN ||| The number of salmon returning to the Columbia and Snake rivers this year is expected to beat the 10-year average return. That’s according to a new report from the National
The Whale Museum welcomes new executive director
||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| Mike and Jeanne Kuperberg The Whale Museum is pleased to welcome Dr. Mike Kuperberg as our new executive director. Dr. Kuperberg will be bringing
Get ready for Orca Action Month 2025
||| FROM REIN ATTEMANN for WASHINGTON CONSERVATION ACTION ||| It’s that time again! June is Orca Action Month in the Pacific Northwest, and the Orca Salmon Alliance is looking forward to all kinds of activities
Russel Barsh Kwiaht Talk at Odd Fellows Hall
||| FROM DIDIER GINCIG for ORCAS ODD FELLOWS HALL ||| Russel Barsh Russel Barsh, director of Kwiáht, a nonprofit conservation biology laboratory in and for the San Juan Islands of Washington State, will be offering
County announces trail funding to be used on Land Bank’s Beaverton Marsh Preserve
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| During today’s meeting, Council reviewed the most recent iteration of the ‘Trail Project’ for which the County received $5.2 million in federal funding in 2023. After a brief
The demise of the Northwest Forest Plan
||| FROM THE WILDLIFE NEWS ||| When is the Northwest Forest Plan no longer the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP)? After the Forest Service has removed the skeleton, meat, and blood, leaving only the dermis. Any
Earth Day parade, workshops and event calendar news
||| FROM EARTH DAY ORCAS ||| Come celebrate Earth Day Orcas – all month long in April. Organizations from across the islands are joining to offer a month of inspiring and educational, fun and creative
Microplastics are messing with photosynthesis in plants
Microplastics can cut a plant’s ability to photosynthesize by up to 12 percent, new research shows ||| FROM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ||| Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality. These minuscule fragments
Are these orcas imitating human speech?
||| FROM THE JOURNAL |||
Beached bird training session
||| FROM COASTAL OBSERVATION AND SEABIRD SURVEY TEAM ||| Join the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), and make a difference for the environment! COASST participants collect monthly data on beached carcasses of marine
Spring cleaning tips for your boat
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| As the days grow longer and warmer, San Juan County’s Department of Environmental Stewardship is pleased to share a few spring cleaning tips with boat owners. Before jumping
Public meeting on prescribed fire in the San Juan Islands
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK ||| A consortium of organizations is researching prescribed fire as a tool to reduce wildfire fuels in the San Juan Islands. Studies indicate that fire occurred every 6–15
Garden Club launches Project Blossom
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| The Orcas Island Garden Club is sponsoring a citizen science project called Project Blossom. Orcas has many microclimates that affect the bloom time of flowers. This project will
Full lunar eclipse coming this week
||| FROM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ||| A total lunar eclipse is happening next week, visible across nearly all of North America and all of South America. It will start late the night of March 13 and continue into
2025 Comp Plan Update | Climate element and draft official map amendments available for review
You’re invited to a virtual drop-in session on March 11 to learn more about the Climate Element. Public comments regarding the draft Climate Element & Official Map amendments can be submitted by March 20. |||