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
Thor Hanson book signing scheduled for Market Garden
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Join award-winning conservation biologist and local author, Thor Hanson for an engaging talk and signing of his most recent bestselling book, Close to Home, The Wonders of Nature Just
Land Bank July 2026 meeting and agenda
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold its monthly meeting Friday, June 17. The meeting is scheduled from 8:45am – 11:10am via Zoom. The meeting will also be available
Letter to Editor | Thank you from Orcas Island Garden Club
||| FROM EVANGELINE O'SULLIVAN for ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Our hearts are joyful after another wonderful Garden Tour event this past June, 2026. On behalf of the Orcas Island Garden Club, we are delivering a
Want to sign this petition to end public fireworks on Orcas Island?
||| FROM THOM CARNEVALE ||| We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon our local leaders and event organizers to end public fireworks displays. While fireworks have long been associated with festivities, the significant harm they cause
Waste Tire Disposal | San Juan County wants to hear from you
Resident input needed on possible waste tire collection event ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Do you have old tires you'd like to dispose of? Let the County know! San Juan County's Solid Waste
CWR encounter #46 • Bigg’s Killer Whales
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 04:35 PM ObservEnd: 05:10 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit Other Observers: TAR, AKC, NAZ, LLK Pods: Bigg's killer whales IDsEncountered: T124A, T124A1A,
CWR encounter #45 • Bigg’s Killer Whales
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 03:20 PM ObservEnd: 04:10 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit Other Observers: TAR, AKC, NAZ, LLK Pods: Bigg's killer whales IDsEncountered: T46B, T46B2,
Join OPALCO on July 15 at Eastsound headquarters
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| OPALCO will be hosting monthly informal chats with the leadership team starting this month. Ask questions about the Decatur Community Solar Expansion and OPALCO’s
Letter to Editor | Fire Works – but doesn’t
||| FROM SUSAN SLAPIN ||| Fourth of July and New Years seem to be the times... There are other ways to commemorate holidays, and create something that benefits humans and animals in a kind, fun, entertaining
News Brief | Whale sightings are surging off Canada’s Pacific coast
But 10 grey whales have been found dead ||| FROM THE COOL DOWN ||| Researchers say the Salish Sea, the waterway between Vancouver Island and the mainland, is seeing an unusual concentration of whale activity,
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
Wednesday July 11th at the Market Garden Nursery ||| FROM ORCAS MASTER GARDENERS ||| Do you have a question about your soil, have a problem with your fruit tree, or are thinking about starting a
News Brief | New report on economic implications of LSR dam removal
||| FROM IDAHO RIVERS UNITED ||| New research helps answer a question we've asked for years: what would removing the four Lower Snake River dams actually mean for the communities that host them? Here's what
News Brief | Will an aging propane tank near Bellingham be the next disaster?
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| In Ferndale, near Bellingham, another industrial tank has come under scrutiny because of serious safety concerns. While catastrophic failures are rare, the consequences can be disastrous. When you consider
CWR encounters ‘just another day’ with Southern Residents
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 11:15 PM ObservEnd: 12:26 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss Other Observers: Rachel John, Taylor Redmond Pods: Southern Resident - J,
Letter to Editor | Stop the madness, break the logjam
||| FROM JEFF STRUTHERS ||| Some years ago, the Friends of the San Juans worked to discourage the volume of coal-laden ships along the U.S.-Canadian border on their way to foreign ports. Each transiting vessel
