Olympia—Throughout August, the Washington Invasive Species Council and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are asking the public to take 10 minutes to check trees in their communities for invasive insects. August is the peak time of year that wood-boring insects are most often spotted outside of trees. “State and federal agencies do a  Continue Reading

If you visit the Sculpture Park at Roche Harbor on a warm summer day you may feel drawn toward the shade of the forest path. Should you venture into the wooded path you may find some surprises. Island artists Anita Barreca and Francie Hansen joined by others including Beth Spadafora and Jason Munkres have adorned  Continue Reading

In the San Juan Update mailbag this afternoon we have this letter from Tanja at the Land Bank… Hello San Juan Update! I’ve been posting our weekly “nature notes” on our facebook and Instagram accounts since April, and today’s posting features a pilot project to help the Island Marble butterfly thrive. I think it’s a  Continue Reading

Friday Harbor Film Festival’s Summer 2020 Virtual Cinema will present a FREE virtual on-demand screening of The Story of Plastic anytime on July 16, 17, 18, and 19, followed by a hosted Q&A on July 19 at 6 pm PDT.  To view the film and participate in the virtual Q&A, RSVP at www.fhff.org. Once you  Continue Reading

COVID 19 is creating many unique challenges for literally everyone and the Land Bank is no exception. The Land Bank typically uses a variety of strategies to achieve stewardship activities including volunteer work parties, collaborating with partners, engaging special interest groups, and leveraging help from youth conservation corps type organizations. At this time we are  Continue Reading

By Louise Dustrude A number of people have been asking one another what those bright yellow flowers are that have appeared recently at Island Rec’s LaFarge Open Space, aka the gravel pit. So we checked with Eliza Habegger, the land steward at the Land Bank, whose responsibilities also include ecological assessment, monitoring, and restoration on  Continue Reading

This FHL Tide Bite was written by Jen Burnaford… My first trip to UW Friday Harbor Labs was in 1995. After completing my undergraduate thesis on freshwater zooplankton and spending a post-bac year chasing primates through the jungles of Borneo, I had been accepted into the PhD program at Oregon State University in the Menge/Lubchenco  Continue Reading

Your Conservation Land Bank turns 30 this year and is celebrating with a multi-island exploration. Every preserve has a story – gather your family and get outside this summer to discover what your public lands have to say! The San Juan County Land Bank teamed up with the Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Island libraries  Continue Reading

We are living in a time of unprecedented trial. In an effort to bring you a much-needed reconnection to the natural world, Friends of the San Juans would like to invite you to attend an upcoming Zoom presentation with Peter Cavanagh. Are you experiencing travel withdrawal after months of lockdown and cancelled travel plans? Peter  Continue Reading

Fact Check of Whalen Petition Dear Editor and Community, We recently received in the mail Mr. Ron Whalen’s request to have us sign a petition to eliminate the Land Bank by December 2020. The request was loaded with falsehoods and outrageously attempted to dupe our community into thinking that a yes or no answer meant  Continue Reading

The following is shared from the Old Military Road Trail Committee… Hello Fellow Islanders and Hikers, It seems that for many of us, ‘hunkering down’ on San Juan Island has involved enjoying our multitude of trails and even choosing some new trails to explore. If you’ve not yet experienced the American Camp Trail, springtime is  Continue Reading

With so many unknowns happening for all of us it is easy to stray from the positive events happening every day that make our world better. Often, those events are acts of kindness that deserve celebration. Sometimes those events are as simple as helping others plant a garden. Last spring, the WSU Master Gardener program,  Continue Reading

Know Your Islanders: Thane Pratt, Kokoda Sketches: A Birding Trek across Papua New Guinea Lace up your (virtual) hiking boots and join wildlife biologist Thane Pratt and artist Szabolcs Kokay on a trek across the mountain ranges of Papua New Guinea.  We’ll relive some of the adventures and experience the biological wonders of this, the  Continue Reading

FREEZER BURNED: Tales of Interior Alaska is a new regular column on the San Juan Update written by Steve Ulvi… After gritting through another sub-arctic winter, there was celebratory pleasure in first plying the roiling, wood-strewn waters of the Yukon River in spring. The boat season followed seven to ten days of heavy running ice.  Continue Reading

The 2020 boating season is officially upon us, and soon our anchorages will begin to fill with local and visiting private boats. Our amazing group of islands, where boaters find wonder and relaxation, are also where fish and wildlife find food and shelter. One of the Salish Sea’s most critical and sensitive marine habitats is  Continue Reading

As you may have heard, asian hornets (a.k.a: Murder Hornets) have found their way to the United States and have been detected in Washington. They are an invasive species and will decimate honey bee hives. If you would like to help the State of Washington, here is a project you can do on your property  Continue Reading