The Madrona Institute recently awarded $45,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations based on revenues received from sales of the San Juan Islands special license plate. This was the second year that the program has issued grants. 2022 grants include:

• $10,000 — San Juan Islands Conservation District — San Juan Islands Youth Conservation Corps Program
• $10,000 — Madrona Institute — Coast Salish Youth Stewardship Corps Program
• $5,000 — Friends of the San Juans — Youth Environmental Mentoring Program
• $5,000 — Alchemy Art Center — Young Environmentalists Arts Intensive Program
• $5,000 — San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild — Farm Heroes for Environmental Stewardship Program
• $5,000 — Wild Orca — San Juan Islands Naturalist Program
• $5,000 — Children of the Setting Sun Productions — To support the creation of the indigenous film series and pilot episode “Canoe Journey”

“Awards are made on an annual basis for local projects and programs that support the conservation and stewardship of agricultural, cultural, historic, and natural resources in the islands, with emphasis on youth engagement,” the Madrona Institute said in a statement. “As expected, grantmaking has doubled since its first year in 2021, where $22,500 was awarded. We expect grant making will continue to increase each year as plate sales increase across the county, region, and state.”

Visit the Madrona Institute website to purchase a San Juan Islands license plate.

Contributed photo

The San Juan Islands Sculpture Park shares news about some new, long-term additions to their collection.

PropagationNation and the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park have joined forces to plant six giant sequoias and fourteen coast redwood trees for future generations to enjoy and watch grow.

The sequoias are now about three feet tall and the redwoods roughly five feet tall. The sequoias were started from seedlings and the redwoods were cloned from the largest and healthiest trees available.

With the new plantings, the Sculpture Park is now a repository of critical genetic information that will not only enhance the beauty of the Park, but create an extended habitat to mitigate against the daunting climate challenges facing these unique tree species.

The trees can grow up to three feet annually, so SJISP encourages visitors to take photos with the new trees and visit often to compare their photos with the trees’ growth over time.

We thank Philip Stielstra, president of PropagationNation, whose vision as a champion of redwoods and sequoias made the planting at the Park possible, and Bob Barnes, whose knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm turns little seedlings into the beautiful specimens now spreading their roots at the Park. We also thank Ted Lagreid for taking the lead on this project after a visit to the SJISP, and bringing the trees and the volunteers to help plant them.

San Juan Islands Sculpture Park is located next to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island.

The Washington State Transportation Commission has posted a survey asking for public input about a possible fuel surcharge by Washington State Ferries to temporarily address fuel costs that exceed the agency’s budget.

“While the WSTC has never implemented the fuel surcharge, recent rises in fuel costs have increased the likelihood that the surcharge may be needed,” the Commission explains. “Under current regulation the surcharge could be activated upon Commission approval. If activated, the surcharge would be added to the current ferry fare and could be in an amount from 2.5 percent to 10 percent of the fare, depending on the funding gap the surcharge is addressing.”

Contributed photo

San Juan Community Theatre shares news about two upcoming holiday performances.

Join the San Juan Singers at San Juan Community Theatre in a celebration of the joys and miracles of the Christmas season. This year’s show features a performance of John Rutter’s Magnificat with the San Juan Island Winter Chamber Orchestra. Also included in this festive concert are Joseph’s Carol — a new work by John Rutter — and O Magnum Mysterium by world-acclaimed composer and San Juan Island resident Morten Lauridsen.

The singers will be joined by guest performers Sound Vibrations and members of the Friday Harbor Presbyterian Bell Choir.

There are two opportunities to see this concert — Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and $5 for student rush.

For Giving Tuesday — tomorrow, Nov. 29 — the Family Resource Center is hosting a household items drive. They’re asking that community members bring the following unopened items to the Family Resource Center at 476 Market St. to help islanders in need:

• Paper towels
• Toilet paper
• Laundry soap
• Dish soap
• Spray cleaner
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Shampoo
• Conditioner

The Family Resource Center is open from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Friday Harbor High School’s class of 2023 will be selling 24-inch noble fir wreaths on Sunday, Nov. 27 from 9-11 a.m. in the parking lot of San Juan Interiors — 205 Web St. The wreaths are $25 each and proceeds from the sale will go toward the Grad Night activities fund, which helps ensure a safe graduation celebration.

Stewardship Network of the San Juans shares news about a recent County Council resolution proposed by the organization.

The San Juan County Council declared the month of November Native American Heritage Month in recognition of Native American contributions to the San Juan Islands.

“The history, economy, and culture of San Juan County has been significantly influenced by local Native Americans and Tribes whose customs and traditions are respected and celebrated as part of the rich legacy throughout our area,” the Council’s resolution states.

The resolution goes on to say that “all residents are encouraged to recognize the accomplishments and contributions Native American communities have made to our society, and to honor their inherent treaty and cultural rights.”

San Juan County joins other counties across the state and nation in recognizing Native American Heritage Month in November, and declaring the fourth Friday of November each year as Native American Heritage Day.

San Juan County is the ancestral homeland of numerous Coast Salish tribes who have inhabited, actively managed and stewarded this region since time immemorial. The resolution further emphasized the Counties commitment to Coast Salish people by saying, “San Juan County has a commitment to strengthen our relationship with Native American people and Tribes,” and that “San Juan County honors the unique heritage of this continent’s First People and reaffirms its commitment to respect tribal sovereignty and cultural identity.”

The resolution was suggested by the Stewardship Network of the San Juans, a coalition of twenty private and public conservation-based organizations advocating for a healthy, thriving Salish Sea ecosystem in the San Juan Islands. It was introduced by Cindy Wolf, San Juan County Councilmember from Orcas Island.

The work of Jennifer Armstrong

The 44th Island Artisans Holiday Market fundraiser happens again today, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the San Juan County Fairgrounds.

Friends of the San Juans shares news about the results of a research project more than a decade in the making.

With more than 400 miles of coastline, San Juan County is a sanctuary of breathtaking seaside views. When left unchanged by the hands of humans, shorelines and the wide range of life they support are amazingly resilient. Often a fear of coastal erosion — a natural process that builds our beaches — instigates owners to build structures near the water, an approach known as shoreline armoring. Seawalls, bulkheads, and riprap are a few examples. Shoreline armor directly buries and alters safe havens essential to small salmon and their prey, and disrupts the processes that form and maintain the beaches we all love.

Friends of the San Juans just released findings from a decade’s worth of research that illuminate how San Juan County’s waterfront properties are shoring up in the face of development. The results are shocking. More than 90 percent of new shoreline armor installed in San Juan County between 2009 and 2019 was built without the necessary state or local permits before being installed. Despite knowing just how harmful armoring can be to habitat, the installation of new shoreline armor is greatly outpacing removal.

Friends is discussing this research with land managers and decision-makers, and working cooperatively with state and municipal officials on solutions to safeguard San Juan County’s beaches.

“It’s so important that we understand what’s actually happening on the ground,” says Friends of the San Juans Science Director Tina Whitman. “This research provides an objective look at current armor and permit trends. It clearly shows that if we are serious about recovering salmon and orca, we need much better tracking and permit and enforcement systems.”

Friends provides free technical assistance to help shoreline property owners protect their investments and support marine food webs at the same time. Contact Tina Whitman if you are concerned about erosion and want to learn how to maintain a healthy natural beach, or are interested in removing an existing bulkhead and want to learn about alternatives to hard armor.

You can also learn more about the research and join the conversation around healthy shorelines at Friends of the San Juans’ free virtual event, titled Tracking Change: Shoreline Armoring in San Juan County. The event takes place Tuesday, Dec. 6 from noon-1 p.m.

San Juan County Affordable Housing Coordinator Ryan Page at the HolliWalk construciton site — Contributed photo

The County shares news about the impact that its Home Fund grants are having on San Juan Island.

Take a stroll through Friday Harbor’s neighborhoods and you’ll find the next wave of affordable housing. On Price St., passersby will see walls being framed in, hear the hum of compressors hard at work, and feel the excitement in the air. This is the future HolliWalk Neighborhood – a collection of eight permanently affordable homes set to be completed this spring.

“This is where you can see affordable housing in action,” said Ryan Page, San Juan County’s Affordable Housing Coordinator. “It’s so exciting to see the progress every time you visit the site.”

Page manages San Juan County’s Home Fund, a Real Estate Excise Tax program dedicated to developing, producing, and preserving affordable housing in San Juan County. $1.68 million from the Home Fund was awarded to the San Juan Community Home Trust to make the HolliWalk Neighborhood a reality.

“The County REET program is essential to affordable housing in the island,” said Jim Goetz, the Home Trust’s Board President. “The County is funding almost half of our HolliWalk project. Without that, we would be unable to proceed.”

The neighborhood of eight homes will remain affordable for future generations of homeowners. For this project, the County secured roughly $160,000 from a state Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program grant, which helps offset utility hookup charges for affordable housing developments. The savings allow the Home Trust to subsidize the cost of construction to help make the new homes as affordable as possible for the families purchasing them. Continue Reading