San Juan Update reader from California Paul Denikin shares some more green tips with you – this time for the holidays… The holiday season is a time of wonder and joy, but it can also be a major crunch on your finances. Going green isn’t just good for the environment, it can also help you  Continue Reading

The Kinder Morgan Transmountain Pipeline expansion decision could happen before the end of November. On Nov 21st, our island community will join together with rallies in the U.S. and Canada to send a clear, shining message – climate leaders don’t build pipelines or create oil spills. Reject Kinder Morgan. Join us! Stop Kinder Morgan Candlelight Rally,  Continue Reading

As of November 1st, winter 2016-17 driving access to the summit of Mount Grant Preserve will be open, weather permitting,9am to 4pm, on the following dates: Thanksgiving – November 24 & 26 Christmas – December 25 New Years – January 1 Martin Luther King Day – January 15 President’s Day – February 19 Easter –  Continue Reading

Water, Water Everywhere… Enough For Us To Drink? Is there enough fresh water in the San Juan Islands to support future growth? How can we preserve water resources? What is the potential for catchment and desalination? These questions are among those to be explored at a public meeting of the League of Women Voters of  Continue Reading

Tanja from the Land Bank shares this invitation with you… Hello Oakies! I hope you all have been enjoying the work party respite and are ready for some Fall Planting Fun atop Cady Mountain! Under the guidance of Land Steward, Eliza Habegger, The Salish Seeds Project had a fruitful season and has many native species  Continue Reading

Need A Mountain by Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer Local singer/songwriters, Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer, wrote “Need a Mountain” for the Campaign for Mount Grant Preserve because, as they stated, “it’s near to our hearts and home that has inspired us deeply. It would mean the world to us if you considered donating (any  Continue Reading

Related to the Letter to the Editor sent last week we were notified that Bob Jarman had sent a response to our questions in September, but it never reached us. The Facebook site and web page have now been updated with Bob Jarman’s responses (also available here) and we apologize for any confusion or misrepresentation that this  Continue Reading

We woke to the pleasant observation this morning that our first storm of the series has materialized as a normal windstorm in the islands. The Outage Center at the Opalco website is thankfully free of outage reports. The big question remains, “what will Storm 2 bring”? The latest Weather Service forecast says Storm 2 may  Continue Reading

Dave Halloran with SJCDEM shares these thoughts before the storm… The National Weather Service has updated their forecast with the latest information available. They are forecasting with higher certainty that storm 1 of 2 this weekend will start early evening tonight the 13th with the strongest winds starting late in the evening and lasting into  Continue Reading

This just in from the SJC Dept. of Emergency Management… The National Weather Service is forecasting a series of very powerful storms is headed our way, starting with heavy rain on Wednesday night. The NWS models forecast a 1 in 3 chance that this could be a “worst case scenario leading to a historical windstorm for  Continue Reading

Islands Climate Resilience (ICR) is a group of islanders working to improve our resilience to climate change through a combination of outreach/education and strategic planning. We believe that climate change is happening, and that it needs to be addressed both locally and globally. To ensure that climate change issues are addressed in the 2016 County Council campaign, we asked each of  Continue Reading

Halloween litter pick-up on San Juan Island! Some participants in our annual spring Great Islands Clean-Up have suggested that we do another litter pick-up in the fall to spruce up our roadsides and beaches after summer’s outdoor activities have ended. Everyone can help. On Saturday, October 29, simply go outside and take a little walk,  Continue Reading

by Sylvia Yamada and Craig Staude “Sylvia, I think we caught one!” Craig Staude shouted excitedly as he and his team of volunteers opened a baited trap in a tidal channel near the sculpture park at Roche Harbor on August 30th. Sure enough, the 74-millimeter-wide male was the first live European green crab ever caught  Continue Reading

From the SJ Update mailbag… Dear Editor, Many of you know that I am passionate about recycling and the need for siting of Essential Public Facilities.  I can attest to the fact that over the last 4 years, Bob Jarman has been the only Council member to agree to meet with me on these two issues,  Continue Reading

Join us this Saturday for the San Juan Island Green Home Open House and Tour  at the San Juan Grange 11:00 Open House: Booths and Speakers Everything you always wanted to know about making your home more energy efficient. 1:00 Green Home Tour If you are planning to come on the tour, please let us know. We are carpooling  Continue Reading

Bring your family out to relish autumn with naturalist Shona Aitken. Shona will lead an exploration into the woods in search of wild creatures. Your child will use their senses to find clues about which animals live there and where they would go to stay dry and warm when the weather becomes cold and wet.  Continue Reading