That's San Juan Island's Kevin Ranker in the Fourth of July parade back in 2004...

Our state senator Kevin Ranker says there is $167 million in recovery investments for shoreline and marine habitat restoration by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (here’s more on that), and a chunk is coming our way – here’s more in his statement:

Today US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the distribution of $167 million by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to help restore coastlines and natural areas across the country, including $16.4 million for projects in Washington – many of which are in our communities here in the 40th district.

“I’m excited about these investments in the health of Puget Sound and the surrounding watersheds.  These efforts will restore critical habitat while creating and sustaining green-sector jobs in our jobs in our communities.”

“These investments underscore the importance of the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda.  Having a scientifically vetted plan for Puget Sound recovery has made us a national model.  These funds will invest in projects that will be key steps in protecting and restoring the Puget Sound eco-system for years to come.”

“We owe great thanks to Sen. Murray, Sen. Cantwell, and Rep. Larsen for their efforts to make sure these important investments were made in our area.”

Local area projects include:
·         Removing derelict fishing gear from Puget Sound
·         Restoring the tidal connection for the Nooksack River at Smuggler’s Slough
·         Help salmon and restore the floodplain for Hansen’s Creek
·         Restoring freshwater marsh at Fisher Slough

For more information on the projects in our area, or any of the other projects across the country, you can see the full list at the NOAA’s website by clicking here.

The Toxins in Our Water Lecture Series continues and looks at our ability to control pollution. Please attend lecture 4 of the series, Successes and Challenges in Pollution Control, given by San Juan County Pollution Control Specialist, Brian Rader.

Brian provides on-site technical assistance to small business owners regarding how small businesses handle, store and dispose of hazardous waste. He is sensitive about being a win-win consultant and approaches businesses with pro-active, supportive suggestions on how to clean up our messes.

Brian holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Health (Human Health Toxicology) and a Master’s Degree in Ecology (Ecological Toxicology), both from Colorado State University.  Brian has a diverse employment background, including several years of environmental consulting, as well as seven years of professional business to business sales experience, 4 of which were spent working for the distribution business of International Paper.

This free lecture will be on Thursday, May 7th at 7:00 pm at the Friday Harbor UW Labs Commons. This lecture series is sponsored by Friends of the San Juans.

The San Juan Island Community Foundation (SJICF) has established a new fund to promote local non-profit and public organizations and their projects that foster the education and practice of community stewardship of our environmental resources.

The Environmental Stewardship Fund is a membership fund open to all San Juan residents and organizations and will, through a collective review and voting process, advise the SJICF board on how to prioritize grant requests. 

“The San Juans are a unique island community, offering unmatched opportunities and challenges to restore, protect and preserve our natural environment and to thoughtfully consider the impact of the use of our precious resources,” said Charles Anderson, Foundation chair.  “This fund allows members to support the growing number of environmental stewardship programs through a combination of giving and decision making.”

The fund has, within weeks of its founding, raised and funded its first project: the Sustainable San Juans Earth Day Celebration which took place this past weekend, on Saturday (see: www.stewardshipsjc.org).

There are no fees applied to the Fund, 100% of every donation will go to support local projects. 

The Community Foundation serves as a non-profit philanthropic umbrella organization helping donors, non-profits and public organizations to achieve their goals through direct grants, organizational assistance and philanthropic resource management. The work of the SJICF is supported through individuals’ direct contributions to the SJICF Operations Fund.  

If you would like to join with others in supporting Environmental Stewardship in our community or support the general work of the Foundation, please call Susan Matthews, SJICF Program Coordinator, 378-1001.