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
4H members talk with livestock market auctioneer
||| FROM KATHLEEN MORRIS for SAN JUAN COUNTY 4H ||| Recently members of San Juan County 4H interviewed long time auctioneer for the 4H Livestock Market Auction, Tom Pasma. Aurora Miller (club reporter), Louie Averna
News Brief | The state of whale watching in Washington
||| FROM KOMO-TV ||| When you go out on a whale watching tour and actually spot one, part of it is surely luck, but there is also a lot going on behind the scenes. Every
CWR encounter #53 • Northern Resident Killer Whales C and G Pod
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 11:45 AM ObservEnd: 12:55 PM Vessel: Mike 1 Staff: Mark Malleson, Joe Zelwietro Pods: Northern Resident IDsEncountered: C6 matriline: C8, C22, C27 G31 matriline:
It’s time to fish out those face masks
Smoke from wildfires across the state will threaten air quality in Western Washington this week ||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| Amid harsh winds and hot, dry weather, wildfires sparked across Eastern and Central Washington
Second encounter of CWR 2026 outer coast research trip
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 06:55 AM ObservEnd: 01:34 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss Other Observers: Taylor Redmond, Jess Schultz Pods: J, K, L IDsEncountered:
News Brief | About those Spokane wildfires on Monday
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| Three wildfires are burning the edges of Spokane, the second-largest city in Washington, after they surged over the weekend. Hundreds of structures have been damaged and tens of thousands
Larsen joins entire WA delegation in requesting expedited emergency declaration for devastating wildfires in Spokane
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) joined Washington state’s entire Congressional delegation in a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to approve Washington state Governor
OPALCO hosts leadership chats
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| In July the OPALCO leadership team hosted an open house with co-op members. About 20 islanders gathered with some of the OPALCO board and
News Brief | What goes into whale watching and what could put it at risk
||| FROM KOMO NEWS ||| Every time a tour boat, ferry or any of the other Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) members see a whale, they log it. Boats will put up a special flag,
CWR | First encounter of the 2026 outer coast research trip
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 10:38 AM ObservEnd: 01:01 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss Other Observers: Taylor Redmond Pods: J IDsEncountered: J16, J22, J26, J27,
August 6 is Pollinator Day at Orcas Island Library
||| FROM SAM GAILEY for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| The Orcas Island Library will host Pollinator Day on Thursday, August 6, featuring Russel Barsh and biologists from Kwiáht. The free, all-ages program will include outdoor pollinator observations on
Larsen demands answers on oil spill preparedness
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02), top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, sent a letter to Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, Commandant
Construction on the Pea Patch Community Campus has begun
Summer update on site work and fundraising success ||| FROM SUZANNE OLSON for PEA PATCH COMMUNITY ||| Summer is in full swing and so is the site work to prepare the Pea Patch Community Campus
San Juan Island coffee shop ditches plastic cups
Third House Coffee owner Caleb Aldstadt made the switch on his own - and says it's saving him money ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| As communities around the world mark Plastic Free July,
News Brief | Who speaks for the trees? A tiny Quebec town
||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| The Universal Declaration on the Rights of Trees was drafted in France in 2018 and 2019 by lawyers, ecologists and lawmakers. It mandates that humanity “act with the
