HIGHWATER MARKS
news & updates
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April 2021 | Issue 3
Upcoming Events
GiveBIG Washington 
Educating and engaging youth is a powerful and productive way to ensure long term environmental stewardship. Each year, Friends mentors local students. Help us provide the resources and mentoring they need to navigate the future. Support youth mentoring through GiveBIG on May 4 & 5.
 
Great Islands Clean-up
Help our islands be plastic free by the sea during the Great Islands Clean-up on April 24
Action Center
Are you ready to get involved in how San Juan County grows, protects, and adjusts to our changing climate? Join our San Juan County Comprehensive Plan Update Action Team -- email Brent Lyles for more information.

It is going to be busy on the water again this summer; learn how to be a “green boater” to reduce your impact. Click here for resources.

Two bills are going through the WA State legislature that will improve how we plan for climate change and housing affordability. Show your support today by emailing your Senator about HB1220 and HB1241.

Reminder! Sign the Petition: Tell Washington State to say YES to Southern Resident Killer Whales & NO to industries that could cause oil spills!
Friends of the San Juans and Southern Resident Killer Whales achieve victory in court!
This week, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman delivered a court victory both to Friends of the San Juans and to the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. “We’re very excited about this ruling,” said Brent Lyles, Friends’ Executive Director, “and it’s been a long time coming!” The issue started in early 2019, when the Phillips 66 Refinery applied to Whatcom County for permits to install a new 300,000-barrel storage tank for crude oil and an 80,000-barrel storage tank for fuel oil. 
Friends of Friends: Nancy DeVaux

Nancy DeVaux worked part-time as the newsletter editor for Friends of the San Juans from 1984 until 1990 - she was the only staff person at the time. In 1990 the Board appointed her as the first Executive Director, a position she held until 1996. 
 
Nancy remains steadfast in her support for Friends and says, “It means so much to me to have helped protect the rural environment and natural beauty of the San Juan Islands during the 1980’s and 90’s. Now I get to share my appreciation of these beautiful islands with my grandchildren, too.”
Help Document Spawning Herring this Spring!
It’s springtime in the islands and that means tulips, hummingbirds, and eggs – HERRING EGGS! It’s the time of year when herring come to our shorelines to spawn. Herring spawn in eelgrass beds in Eastsound and West Sound on Orcas Island, Shoal, Hunter and Mud Bay on Lopez Island and Blind Bay on Shaw Island. There used to be spawning at Westcott and Garrison Bays on San Juan Island. Males will disperse their milt over eelgrass meadows and create what looks like white clouds or “whitewater” from the shore. For the next two months, if you see anything like this or a lot of birds feeding in the nearshore, please report the time and place by emailing Jess Newley. Thank you!
Words from the Next Generation: Turning Off the Faucet of Plastic by Kaia Olson (high school sophomore)
The demands to clean up our seas of waste have multiplied in recent years as we finally realize the cost of our convenient lives. But we cannot hope that simply cleaning up our mess will make a dent in the issue unless we address it at the source. To explain this, I often use the analogy of trying to mop up a floor when a faucet is still pouring water onto it. We need to turn off the faucet of plastic production and use.
Origin Stories: April, 1983 Newsletter 
What was Friends of the San Juans doing in the spring of 1983? A lot! That was when we first retained the services of land-use attorney, Peter Eglick. Learn about our work in the early days and the state of development in the islands. 
Resonance - Feel the Natural Power to Protect 
Take a moment to watch this video of George Lawson, Strategic Advisor and former Board Member for Friends. In one minute, you will know why he named Friends in his will, and established a legacy that will ensure stewardship and protect what he values for generations to come. 

For every gift we know about, statistically, there are seven more we don’t. Let us know if you have Friends of the San Juans named in your will. We would also love to know your story of why this place is so important to protect in perpetuity through Friends. 
What We're Reading & Watching
Is shoreline armoring becoming a relic of the past? Salish Sea Currents Magazine, March 30, 2021
Our science has shown for many, many years that shoreline armoring is ineffective and causes harm to the Salish Sea ecosystem – especially forage fish and salmon. This article details why so much of it was built in the first place. If you have armoring and want to explore your options for removing it and restoring your beach, email Tina Whitman. 

Video: Shorelines and Salmon: Friends of the San Juans’ Immersive Education 360VR
Make sure you’ve seen the amazing underwater video Jess Newley, our Marine Science Coordinator, created for our new Immersive Education Virtual Reality Program.

Video: Protect the Fraser Estuary - Reject The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Expansion
The Port of Vancouver is proposing to double the size of the Deltaport shipping terminal in the heart of the Fraser estuary, putting further stress on an estuary that has already lost more than 70% of its floodplain. Learn more from this video by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. And click here to say no to RBT2!
Friends of the San Juans respectfully honors the fact that this beautiful place we strive to protect and restore with our mission-centered work is comprised of the ancestral lands, waters, and natural resources of the Coast Salish peoples. These Tribes have cared for and stewarded the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea since time immemorial — and continue to do so — and we honor their inherent, aboriginal, and treaty rights that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Friends of the San Juans | www.sanjuans.org