See the entire Calendar here.
Enviro Corner
The Conservation District has an election…
The County Conservation District has an election between now & the 16th – here’s how it works:
The San Juan Islands Conservation District election for one position on the Board of Supervisors will be held on Tuesday, March 16, 2010.
There are two candidates running, Ed Kilduff of Lopez Island and incumbent Henning Sehmsdorf, also of Lopez Island. Candidate statements are published on the SJI Conservation District home page: http://www.sanjuanislandscd.org/
All registered voters in San Juan County are eligible to vote in the SJI Conservation District election.
Voters may vote in person on March 16, 2010 at the SJI Conservation District office, 540 Guard Street #150, Friday Harbor, between 10am and 2pm. Identification is required.
Voters may also vote by mail. Requests for mail-in ballots must be made by March 8, 2010 to Josie Byington, Election Officer, by e-mail: j.byington (at) sanjuanislandscd.org, by phone: 360-378-6621, or in person at the SJI Conservation District office, 540 Guard Street #150, Friday Harbor.
The San Juan Islands Conservation District is a local organization committed to protecting and enhancing the natural resources of San Juan County ecosystems for the future of us all. Your Conservation District is dedicated to providing natural resources education, information, and technical assistance free of charge to citizens of, and organizations, in San Juan County. Services offered by the San Juan Islands Conservation District include: water quality monitoring, habitat preservation, farm and forest plans, and low impact development.
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What’s the chance for a quake here? Pretty good.
Most geologists rate our chances to host the next big quake as pretty good. Here’s more.
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Speaking tonight….
Frank Penwell sent this over:
Norm MacLeod
CAPR San Juan’s March 2nd, 2010 speaker will be Norm Macleod. Please join us for an educational evening and dinner at the Grange Hall at 5:30pm.
Norman MacLeod is the president and CEO of Gaelic Wolf Consulting, a natural resource policy design and Internet strategy firm with locations in Hockessin, Delaware and Port Townsend Washington. His firm’s clientele, past and present, include Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the Washington Department of Agriculture, Forester Communications, and more.
He has worked with natural resource issues in the Klamath Basin, throughout Washington State and beyond. His current projects include evaluating the interface between climate change policy and its impacts on land use regulation and access to water resources.
Frustration with the level of quality in the sciences used to justify legislation, rules and regulations, Norm and a group of senior scientists recently founded the Environmental Sciences Peer Review Institute (ESPRI), where he currently serves as executive director. ESPRI is already working internationally on the science issues that impact us locally.
Norm is a founding member of the Olympic Stewardship Foundation, with a goal of putting conservation on the ground for future generations, and firmly believes that the people working and residing in our rural areas are the very best stewards of the ecosystems they live in . . . and that government regulation is a poor substitute for the individual’s knowledgeable care.
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Killer whale at Sea World kills trainer…
2/24/2010
Just off the wires…an orca kills a worker at SeaWorld in Florida, where the killer whale is being held captive. Here’s more, from the BBC.
2/25/2010
I thought that the response by the Orca Network folks (Howie & Susan, co-written with Ken Balcomb & former Secretary of State Ralph Munro), sums up the situation with a clear eye on what’s going on, tinged with compassion & hope. Please take the time to read this.
3 Responses to “Killer whale at Sea World kills trainer…”
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The islands… national monuments?
This is why we're on the list...this is a photo of Mount Baker, looking past Lopez Island that I took from the air...beautiful place we live, eh?
Looks like the President has the San Juan Islands on a list of proposed national monuments. This is a big deal – here’s more, from the New West Communiy Blogs.
One Response to “The islands… national monuments?”
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Shannon Bailey
The San Juan County (San Juan Islands) has two national parks and numerous state parks within it’s borders. I question how giving National Monumont status to the San Juan Islands would effect our county and our lives here. Would it mean more federal governmental control? Would it make it even more expensive to live here? How would it protect both the environment and the lifestyle of those who live here? My understanding from what I read below is that we have little to say in whether we want this status or not. And we definitely don’t have any say in how it would effect us if it happened. I want to trust and believe that this would be a good thing, but I am hesitent to embrace it. Is it just about receiving more federal monies to protect the orcas and other marine life? or does it mean more federal control over our personal property and our lifes? If anyone has any good answers please reply.
Quoting from Wikepedia on what is a National Monumont:
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and afford fewer protections to wildlife than national parks. However areas within and extending beyond national parks, monuments, and national forests can be part of wilderness areas, which have an even greater degree of protection than a national park would alone, although wilderness areas managed by the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management often allow hunting.
National monuments can be managed by one of several federal agencies; the National Park Service, US Forest Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service or by the Bureau of Land Management.
The power to grant national monuments comes from the Antiquities Act of 1906. President Theodore Roosevelt used the act to declare Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first national monument. He thought Congress was moving too slowly and it would be ruined by the time they made it a national park.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Native American ruins and artifacts — collectively termed “antiquities” — on federal lands in the West. It authorized permits for legitimate archaeological investigations and penalties for persons taking or destroying antiquities without permission. And it authorized presidents to proclaim “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” as national monuments — “the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”
So it was originally expected that national monuments would be proclaimed to protect prehistoric cultural features or antiquities and that they would be small. Yet the reference in the act to “objects of … scientific interest” enabled President Theodore Roosevelt to make a natural geological feature, Devils Tower, Wyoming the first national monument three months later. Among the next three monuments he proclaimed in 1906 was Petrified Forest in Arizona, another natural feature (Congress would later make it into a national park).
The expectation that national monuments would be small was also soon overcome. In 1908 Roosevelt again used the act to proclaim more than 800,000 acres (3,200 km²) of the Grand Canyon as a national monument — a very big “object of scientific interest.” And in 1918 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Katmai National Monument in Alaska, comprising more than a million acres (4,000 km²). Katmai was later enlarged to nearly 2.8 million acres (11,000 km²) by subsequent Antiquities Act proclamations and for many years was the largest national park system unit. Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, and Katmai were among the many national monuments later converted to national parks by Congress.#3515
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Good stewards…takin’ names….
Jeff Hanson says the annual hunt is underway to identify the stewards of the islands:
Nominations Sought for the 2010 Good Steward Awards
You can help recognize individuals, families, and businesses that have made a significant impact on the conservation, preservation, and protection of the San Juans.
The Stewardship Network of the San Juans is seeking Nominations for the 2010 Good Steward Awards in the following categories: Shoreline Stewardship, Farmland Stewardship, Woodland Stewardship, Village Stewardship, Business Stewardship, Individual Stewardship, Youth Stewardship and Educator Stewardship. The awards will be presented at the Sustainable Living Fair to be held at the Village Green in Eastsound, on Orcas Island on May 1, with field trips on Sunday, May 2.
The Sustainable Living Fair will have great music, engaging speakers, field trips and displays by organizations and businesses committed to creating a more environmentally and economically sustainable San Juan Islands. A highlight will be the presentation of the 2010 Good Steward Awards. The awards are handcrafted stoneware salmon by Crow Valley Pottery and have become know as the “Finnies.” The Fair will share the Village Green with the first Orcas Farmer’s Market of the Season. The Sustainable Living Fair is a cooperative effort of the Stewardship Network of the San Juans and Sustainable Orcas Island.
If you know someone who deserves a Good Steward award, please make a nomination by April 1. Last year’s winners, award guidelines and nomination forms are available on the Stewardship Network website at www.stewardshipsjc.org
Organizations or individuals interested in providing displays and/or demonstrations at the Fair can sign up in person at the Orcas Island Library or download a registration form at www.stewardshipsjc.org
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The next big one…
Satellite view of home....
In the aftermath of the events in Haiti, Time magazine ran a bit called, “Where will the next five big earthquakes be?”
Tucked in with LA, Indonesia, Tehran & Tokyo is…the Pacific Northwest. Here’s the story.
Not satisfied with that thinly-presented rundown of our seismic setup here? (I wasn’t.) This story in Wired has a fuller explanation & review of what’s beneath our feet, and the waters around us.
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Transients off Race Rocks….
Killer whales near Victoria....
Captain Jim Maya reported that he saw a large number of transient killer whales off Race Rocks yesterday, including T100’s baby calf….
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J1 (that’s Ruffles, baby) swims by…
J1, with Mount Baker in the background.
J pod was here earlier this week, as you can see in this amazing photo by Mark Malleson from Victoria…if you’d like to see a much bigger, much cooler picture – click here. Mark works with Prince of Whales in BC – thanks, Mark!
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Marine Mammal Stranding Network going strong….
Harbor seal pup at Wolf Hollow...photo by Sahale Casebolt
It always good to hear about the good work the Stranding Network does – here’s more from Amy:
The San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SJCMMSN) would like to thank the community for all their assistance in reporting stranded (live and dead) marine mammals over the past year.
Amy Traxler, Network Coordinator, says they received over 230 calls in 2009 reporting a variety of marine mammals on shore including harbor seals, harbor porpoise, elephant seals, and Steller and California sea lions. With the fresh carcasses that were collected, 33 complete necropsies were performed, primarily on harbor seals and harbor porpoise.
“We depend on the community to be our ‘eyes and ears’ to let us know what’s happening along our shorelines,” states Traxler. “Only by documenting these strandings, gathering the pertinent information, collecting fresh carcasses for necropsies, and recording all this information in our long-term data set can we monitor diseases, contaminant levels, and the impact we humans potentially have on our local populations.
To report marine mammal strandings or sightings, call the Whale Hotline at 1-800-562-8832. If you would like more information on the Stranding Network, please contact Amy at The Whale Museum at 378-4710, ext. 27.
The Stranding Network is authorized by NOAA and administered through The Whale Museum.
One Response to “Marine Mammal Stranding Network going strong….”
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Seeker is looking for a solution to save stranded Whales (US$ 1000 reward)
More details at
http://blog.ideaken.com/2010/01/seeker-is-looking-for-solution-to-save.html#3153
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Special showings of “Food, Inc.”
Showing Friday & Tuesday....you won't look at food the same way again...
First of all, you need to know: This is a life-changing & lifestyle-changing movie. I believe it ought to be required for anybody in this country who thinks we have protections in place for food production.
Here’s more about Food, Inc., including the trailer.
There are a couple of special showing coming up in the next week – here’s more from Land & Sea/Slow Food’s Linda Cobos:
Hi Ian, I’m just writing just in case you missed our Land & Sea Slow Food note about the movie this Friday. We’re showing “Food, Inc.” in the activities room at Seanene Kenneday’s lovely Village At the Harbour, Deanna Osborne has made it possible for us to do this for 2 different nights, Fri. 1/22, and Tues 1/25, both evenings at 6:30.
We’ll have free air popped popcorn with organic butter or virgin olive oil, and the movie’s also free. People can donate if they like to if they want to help with popcorn for next time, but mostly we just want you to bring yourself, a friend, and have a great time.
Best wishes,
Linda and Maureen
Land & Sea
One Response to “Special showings of “Food, Inc.””
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amy wynn
If you can’t make it to these special showings, the video is also available to rent at the Big Store. Think globally, rent locally! Support local agriculture and local business. Plus I’ll be happy to give you my two cents worth on the video when you finish watching this great documentary. Amy Wynn
#3134
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What to do with your old computer….
Don't just ditch it...
Look, that thing has mercury in it – you CAN’T just dump it in the landfill! Here’s more from Helen with the scoop about how to ditch it:
It’s almost a year since Washington State began one of the most successful recycling programs for waste electronics. Manufacturers who sell televisions, monitors, computers and laptops in our state cover the full cost of the program. By the end of November, almost 36 million pounds of electronics were collected and recycled in our state free of charge to households, small businesses, charities, schools and small governments! About 35,000 pounds have been recycled in San Juan County so far.
Instead of burying electronics in a landfill, (more…)
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Sea Shepherd gets $5M from game show host….
Bob Barker
As you probably know, Friday Harbor is the international HQ for Sea Shepherd…. Traci Walter wrote me this afternoon with news that a big, well-known donor has stepped forward. Here’s more:
The Time is Right for Bob Barker to Rescue the Whales: Bob Barker Donates $5,000,000 to Sea Shepherd for Ocean Conservation
Another anti-whaling ship arrived in the Southern Ocean today, unexpected and right on time: the Bob Barker.
The 1,200-ton Norwegian built Antarctic harpoon vessel (more…)
One Response to “Sea Shepherd gets $5M from game show host….”
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Kathy
This is great news!! Thank you Bob Barker and go shepherds go and stop the Japanese! There are many people cheering for you. Many of us cannot send money but we do spread the word about what is happening to the creatures of this planet.
Thank you for risking your lives to stop these horrible people!
#3085
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There’s a new orca, baby….
It’s the new year’s baby…J47! Here’s more from the Orca Network, including pictures.
And…here’s Howie’s proposal to retire Lolita from her forced labor at the Miami Seaquarium & bring her, finally, home. Here are some pictures he took of her recently, and yes, if that tank seems too small for a killer whale who would ordinarily swim 75 miles a day, you get the idea.
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Island in the mist….
Wetlands with mist in the background....photo by Shay Byington
That was the low-hanging mist off Beaverton Valley Road across from the entrance to Xtreme Fitness over the weekend….
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Walking the trails….
Walking into the light on Mitchell Hill....
In November, President Obama signed the bill that included $6 million dollars to purchase the Mitchell Hill property & add it on to the national park at English Camp (or British Camp – I gotta ask Mike Vouri which is right.
It's right next to English Camp...
Or Canadian Camp – maybe they want it back.)
It’s a beautiful 320-acre gift to the island, to future generations, and serves as a reminder of our work serving as stewards to the land.
So, on Saturday, I decided to take my brother from Alabama (Pat works with the Wilderness Society), nephew Thomas, and son Cam & gf Lauren out to the DNR property to check it out. I can report to you that the woods are a nice place to walk, and it’s nice to go through such a quiet, not-overtrodden place.
We came just a little ways of being able to get to Mount Young from the south, and I think you’d find it nice hike, too. There are maps at the trail entrance, and you can sort out how to get there by checking out the San Juan Trails Committee site (click here), which includes directions about how to locate the place’s trailhead. (Here is our congressman’s website, detailing the purchase from Washington state’s Department of Natural Resurces.)
Get out there and check it out when you get the chance.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep...." You can see where Frost got lines like that, when you walk around the DNR land at Mitchell Hill. And yes, we have promises to keep....
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Wildlife on the island…
It was a surprise to see this turkey....
It was neat to see this wild turkey up near the dump…there used to be tons of wild turkeys here on the island fifteen years ago – you’d see them walking around in little mobs downtown, and out in the parks.
Someone introduced fox to the island in the early 1990s, and that seems to have mostly settled that – the turkey population is much reduced, while fox have become common.
3 Responses to “Wildlife on the island…”
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jeff se
i don’t know if anyone else remember’s but the national park superintendent interduced them another great idea to get rid of the rabbit’s at american camp. there was a 5 hundred dollar fine if you killed a fox at the time. but the rabbits were to fast ,and there was easier prey elsewhere on the island.
#3053 -
Linda
@Shannon Bailey
I live a few towns outside of Boston. There’s wild turkeys wandering around my apartment complex. They also disappear before Thanksgiving and come back after, Lol.#3030 -
I’m glad to see the turkey as well. Despite some people’s protests, I wish there were more. I remember a flock of them flying into the trees next to our house one winter…and they always seemed to know when Thanksgiving was near. They’d disappear until have Turkey Day.
#3029
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Orcas…in San Diego!
An offshore orca (which is different from a resident or transient) off San Diego....photo by Ivan Reiff
As you may know, Ivan from Western Prince is operating in San Diego this winter as Jackie works on her grad degree there…he tells me he went out on the 21st to look for gray whales & fin whales & saw a minke….but then saw a pod of about 20 orcas, which is pretty unusual there.
Here’s the page from his blog with a bunch of pictures – check it out!
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Gray orca born to transients…
Unusual grey orca in our midst....this baby calf is with the transient whales (not one of the three resident pods here), seen over near British Columbia.
First, a very happy birthday to Jim Maya, with my thanks to him for today’s report.
He was out on the water yesterday and saw & photographed a gray killer whale calf hanging around with the transients – here’s more, from yesterday:
We were near the Victoria waterfront…I called Goldwing as we got close, about 5 miles south of Trial Island, (3:15 today) and were told that one of the Orcas had a gray dorsal fin. Gray fin? It was the whole Orca that was gray and white, not just the fin.
It’s a calf and one of the T11s. In over twenty years of viewing Orcas in this area, I’ve never seen a gray Orca. I was flabbergasted! Here is a picture of the calf. I think Ken Balcomb also got some shots.
One Response to “Gray orca born to transients…”
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Cathy
Since it’s grey, maybe it’s not a claf but a half calf. LOL!
#2933
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The wind gives way to rain…
The windsock at Friday Harbor Airport flew in tatters on Thursday after taking a beating the night before...photo by Chris Teren, who didn't fly that day.
You and I heard enough people say Wednesday’s winds were the worst they’ve seen in ages, and we all saw enough branches scattered around, trees down, and chainsaws going to know it was a strong one.
Heck, it even knocked down the flagpole at American Camp (here’s more on that.)
Next up on the weather front for the island – a couple of days of rain…
NOW will you go to the store & load up for emergencies for the rest of the winter?
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This brought back the constant underlying sadness that I continually experience especially if I don’t distract myself with human needs to consume everything in sight…that brings forth and present the experience of being part of a Free Lolita Campaign in the 90’s…which involved an amazing song collaboration, video, and incredible education from The Center for Whale Research, and help from Ralph Munro.
I will contact Ken, and Howie and ask if they would like to YouTube this song/video.
I cry until I have no more tears each time I think of these choices that we make as humans…it’s like our species is lost beyond recognition of our loving, serving essence.
I beg to differ, but “foul play” is both obvious and at the root of this and the other seaquarium deaths. It’s criminal, morally, to take an intelligent animal, capable of roaming thousands of miles, capture it and condemn it to life in a tiny pool. Adding insult is teaching these magnificent mammals to do tricks for the entertainment of obviously less cerebral animals; people!
I’m very sorry to hear of this “trainer’s” death, but the only solution is to free all the Orcas. I only hope they can still remember how to survive in the wild.
It’s too bad a human died. But, it could be avoided if whales were not kept in captivity!