FRIENDS of the San Juans

With a growing list of human pressures impacting the islands, the stakes have never been higher for preserving the San Juans. FRIENDS is working towards clean water and healthy shorelines for fish and wildlife, safe shipping and oil spill prevention, and a livable community.

FRIENDS has a busy year on the horizon providing shoreline property owners with free technical assistance for managing their beaches and bluffs; developing neighborhood shoreline conservation easement tools; conducting research on sea level rise, cumulative impacts and forage fish; designing shoreline restoration projects; monitoring tsunami debris; commenting on the proposed coal terminal in Whatcom County; and participating in the Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Master Program updates.

FRIENDS will continue to provide the community with information about these and other emerging issues. There’s never been a better time to get involved or to make a special donation to protect and preserve the livability of the islands for future generations.

FRIENDS Signs the International Treaty to Protect the Sacred

Stephanie Buffum signs the International Treaty to Protect the Sacred with Chief Phil Lane of the Ihanktonwan Dakota and Chicksaw Nations.  Photo by Paul Anderson.

In March, 2013 FRIENDS coordinated a conference that brought together thirty-five participants from First Nations tribes, U.S. tribes, Canadian and American NGOs to discuss current and proposed vessel traffic that would ship tar sands and coal through the Salish Sea, and the associated increased risk of an oil spill. The purpose of this gathering was to build a coalition of Canadian and U.S. partners for the protection of the Salish Sea.

Attendees took direct action and signed the International Treaty to Protect the Sacred from Tar Sands Projects. Signing the proclamation represented solidarity with the Treaty Council members, traditional leaders, societies, and their allies. 

Click here to see a moving video about the International Treaty to Protect the Sacred.

Shoreline Master Program Update

San Juan County is updating its Shoreline Master Program (SMP) this year. FRIENDS will keep you updated on educational events to help you better understand our shorelines as well as public comment opportunities for the SMP update.

The SMP is a comprehensive shoreline land-use plan ratified by the state Shoreline Management Act in 1972. To regulate shoreline development, the state law requires local governments and the Department of Ecology to mutually regulate shoreline development, use, and protection. MORE INFO>>

Click here to read FRIENDS' Spring 2013 SMP Primer.

Free Creosote Removal Program

Are you a waterfront landowner in San Juan County? Are your tidelands home to a variety of old, derelict creosote-treated pilings or structures? Would you like to see these relics from the past removed from your property?

If so, you can now get help to remove these toxic structures from your tidelands, thanks to a partnership between FRIENDS and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This program is voluntary and free to property owners
For more information contact Tina Whitman (FRIENDS), 360-378-2319 or Lisa Kaufman (DNR), 360-854-2808.

Check out the press release and DNR's creosote flyer for more information.