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
Fire-smart landscaping for Western Washington with Marlene Finley
LEARN FROM HOME GARDENER AND FOREST EXPERT! Wednesday, November 12th, 10 am (at the Orcas Center or by Zoom) ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| The Orcas Island Garden Club presents Fire-Smart Landscaping for Western
2025 vacation rental (VR) certification cycle Is now open
||| FROMM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| If you operate a vacation rental, it’s time to certify your compliance with County code to maintain your permit through the end of 2026. The 2025 vacation rental
Island Stewards | As the veil thins, before the snow flies
||| If our previous dispatch was about noticing what’s straining, this one’s about celebrating what’s sustaining! The tides keep shifting, the plans keep unfolding, yet the spirit of these islands endures—resilient, adapting, and alive. Fall
Commercial burn permits open Oct. 27 in San Juan County
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Effective today, October 27, 2025, Commercial Burn Permits are open in San Juan County. Commercial burns include yard debris and vegetation in piles greater than 10 feet in
There’s No Place Like Loam | Less sugar, more soul: Making maple syrup at home in the Pacific Northwest
How to tap a bigleaf maple, boil down rain into sugar, and taste what the Northwest keeps to itself. ||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYA-WOLF ||| My daughter was getting bored with our
Letter to Editor | Arctic Pie Surprise
||| FROM DAN GOTTLIEB ||| Arctic Pie Surprise Prep time: 4.7 billion yearsCook time: 260 yearsTotal time: 4,700,000,260 years Ingredients: Oil companies (see our cartel recipe) Mining companies (yup, here too) Adulterated media outlets (ditto) One
News Brief | Critically endangered North Atlantic right whale making a comeback
||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT ||| It's not yet time to take our foot off the gas, conservation-wise. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY SCIENCE ALERT Researchers at the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium have shared that in 2024,
News Brief | New underwater technology could give scientists a direct line to orcas
||| FROM KING-TV ||| "There are fiber optic cables everywhere, that's why we get internet. But we can basically use the same fiber for monitoring marine mammals." ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY KING-TV If successful, it could
News Brief | Alaska receives disaster help from Western Washington
||| FROM KING-TV SEATTLE ||| The remnants of a typhoon slammed into western Alaska last week, leaving thousands with nowhere to live. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY KING-TV SEATTLE Back in Alaska, people are expected to be
Wind Advisory in effect thru 5am Sunday
||| FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Seattle WA 1105 AM PDT Sat Oct 25 2025 San Juan County-Foothills and Valleys of the North Cascades- Foothills and Valleys of
Wind advisory posted this morning
||| FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Seattle WA 158 AM PDT Fri Oct 24 2025 San Juan County-Lowlands of Western Whatcom County-Port Townsend Area-Island County- Including Friday Harbor,
Garden Club, Master Gardeners Program | Sow & grow native wildflowers
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB |||
CWR locates 26 Bigg’s Killer Whales traveling together
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| FULL ENCOUNTER REPORT ObservBegin: 05:05 PM ObservEnd: 05:27 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss, Katie Jones Other Observers: Rachel John Pods: Bigg's killer whales IDsEncountered:
News Brief | Inside ‘data centre alley’
||| FROM SKY.COM ||| Down at ground level you can see the hallmarks as you drive around what is known as "data centre alley". ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY SKY.COM There are enormous power lines everywhere -
News Brief | In Alaska, land is easy to come by. But energy and food are not
||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| Alaska tests a theory: Solar farms help nearby crops grow. The purpose is to study how food and energy can be produced together, in a place where food
