Island News
Island Allies of Indigenous Lifeways supports tribally managed hunting at North Shore Preserve
||| FROM JAIME BEECHUM and CAITLIN LECK ||| In recent public discourse around the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank’s proposal to open up hunting at Turtleback Preserve and North Shore Preserve, there have been opinions articulating the unfair nature of having a two week period for Tribal only hunting, or of having Tribal hunting occur at all. The proposal – sponsored and supported by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, and the Swinomish Tr
2026 ADU lottery application cycle open April 1 – May 30 for San Juan County
A total of eight (8) eligibility slots are available for the 2026 cycle ||| FROM SAN JAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Between April 1 and May 30, the San Juan County Department of Community Development (DCD) will be accepting Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) applications for detached ADU permits proposed outside of urban growth areas and activity centers. ADU lottery applications for determining eligibility must be received no later than May 30, 2026. A total of eight (8) eligibility slots are availab
Guest Opinion | The solar promise that wasn’t
How a small island’s experiment in clean energy became a lesson in what happens when a co-op stops listening to the people it serves ||| FROM ALAN MIZUTA ||| I own a piece of a solar farm. I paid for it. I’m proud of what it was supposed to be. I’m considerably less proud of what it became. The Decatur Island microgrid, OPALCO’s first community solar array, was described to state grant-makers as a future national showcase for equitable community […]
Town & County Councils discuss ferries, affordable housing & more at joint meeting
Town and County Councils will continue to partner on the variety of services residents depend upon ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This week, the Town of Friday Harbor and San Juan County Councils held a special joint meeting where they discussed tourism and economic development in the islands, ferries and significant legislation, affordable housing projects, and opportunities for collaboration. The meeting lasted approximately three hours, and a recording is available on the Town’s
ROAM | Art & literary pop-ups
Eastsound, April 8–12 ||| FROM AYN GAILEY for HUB FOR ARTS & LITERATURE ON ORCAS (HALO) ||| The Orcas Island Library, HALO (Hub for Arts & Literature on Orcas), artists, and our businesses have teamed up to create a weekend of events that will bring inspiration and foot traffic to beloved Eastsound businesses this April. ROAM is a rare opportunity to view curated work by many of the island’s most remarkable artists—many of whom do not show in the Artist Studio Tour. It’s […]
CWR encounters three families of Bigg’s
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 08:44 AM ObservEnd: 09:16 AM Vessel: Mike 1 Staff: Mark Malleson Pods: Bigg’s killer whales IDsEncountered: T036A, T036A2, T036A2A, T036A3, T036A5, T086A1, T086A1B, T124A4, T124A4, T124A1A LocationDescr: Parry Bay EncSummary: Mark received a call at 0733 from a colleague who had just seen a group of killer whales heading west off of Ross Bay on Victoria’s waterfront. He got into motion and made his way to town to mobilize
WSF Weekly Report | 20.1 million customers in 2025; Governor signs ferry bill; summer reservations open Tuesday
||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve In 2025 we carried 20.1 million customers, nearly 1 million more than the previous year. That translates to 152,592 sailings. Each one starts and ends at a ferry terminal. Only 22 trips were canceled for terminal-related issues last year. While zero is the goal, 22 is a low number and a testament to our 80 terminal engineering employees. They quietly keep the many moving parts of our […]
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Town and County Councils discuss ferries, affordable housing, tourism, economic development
PRESS RELEASE: Friday Harbor Town Council and San Juan County Council met for a joint meeting April 1, 2026. They discussed tourism and economic development in the islands, ferries and significant legislation, affordable housing projects, and opportunities for collaboration. The meeting lasted approximately three hours, and a recording is available on the Town’s website. “I appreciated the […]
Re-flowering Cattle Point
Kwiaht and the Coast Salish cultural association PKOLS began fundraising this week through the San Juan Island Community Foundation for experimental restoration of part of the Cattle Point meadow at the lighthouse trailhead. The goal is not just to replace sheep grass and weeds with wildflowers, but something closer to what this landscape was like […]
Larsen Requests $77 Million for Local Job-Creating Infrastructure, Public Safety
Larsen Submits Requests for Federal Funding for 20 Projects in FY27 Spending Bills WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) has requested $77,113,331 for 20 local projects in the Fiscal Year 2027 spending bills. “This funding will create good-paying local jobs and improve infrastructure, public safety and education in Northwest Washington,” said Rep. Larsen. “I will keep […]
Garden Club presents | History and cultural legacy of pansies and violas
Join us at 9:30 AM (just before the program) for social time, and feel free to bring something for the Sharing Table ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Please join the Orcas Island Garden Club on Wednesday, April 15 when we welcome Brenna Estrada of Three Brothers Blooms to speak about the History and Cultural Legacy of Pansies and Violas followed by a book signing for her book, “Pansies: How to Grow, Reimagine, and Create Beauty with Pansies and Violas” […]
Larsen requests $77 Million for local job-creating infrastructure, public safety
Larsen submits requests for federal funding for 20 projects in FY27 spending bills ||| FROM THE OFFICE OF US. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) has requested $77,113,331 for 20 local projects in the Fiscal Year 2027 spending bills. “This funding will create good-paying local jobs and improve infrastructure, public safety and education in Northwest Washington,” said Rep. Larsen. “I will keep working with local leaders to bring home federal money to suppor
County receives support from Rep. Larsen for funding repairs at Orcas Landing
Applying for these new funding sources is just one of several ways the County is continuing to manage budget shortfalls in 2026 and 2027 ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| In an effort to manage budget constraints in 2026 and 2027, San Juan County pursued congressional funding to help maintain public services and infrastructure. This included submitting a $4 million Community Project Funding request to Representative Rick Larsen’s Office to fund repairs and improvements to the Orcas Lan
Hearing Examiner rejects permit that allowed a major expansion of a Whatcom County LPG terminal
||| FROM LOVEL PRATT ||| The Whatcom County Hearing Examiner sided with six local environmental groups in ruling that the County mishandled its review of a series of expansions of a liquefied petroleum gas facility near Bellingham. The groups charged that the Ferndale Terminal at Cherry Point significantly and illegally expanded its capacity to ship fuels without first studying the environmental impacts, as required by Washington state law. The Hearing Examiner’s decision is a victory for local
Larsen defends free and fair elections
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement: “President Trump has no constitutional authority to change election law by executive order. This is an unlawful effort to suppress the right to vote. No matter what the President says, there is no proof of widespread voter fraud in our elections. “While this Executive Order is challenged in the courts, I will work with my colleagues in Congress to safegu
Densmore’s artwork featured at Library for April
||| FROM ANDREA COHEN for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| David Densmore will be April’s featured artist in the Art in the Library series at the Orcas Island Library. David has been capturing the beauty and spirit of Orcas Island in his paintings for many years, and his style continues to evolve. Trained as a jeweler and metalworker, he has said that he “still sees painting and the landscape with a sculptor’s eye.”
Town parking lot closure April 7 and 8
||| FROM JENNIFER KREMBS for TOWN OF FRIDAY HARBOR ||| Residents are advised of a temporary closure of the Town parking lot located at 330 Spring Street across from Wells Fargo Bank, April 7 through mid-day on April 8, 2026, for parking lot improvements. The Streets and Parks Department will scrape vegetation and install new gravel. This will be the first phase of improvements to the public parking lot. Questions regarding the closure may be directed to the Town Administrator […]
Let’s talk public transit for Orcas & the San Juan Islands
||| FROM COLIN WILLIAMS for FRIENDS OF RURAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ||| Hosted by the Friends of Rural Public Transportation Tuesday, April 7, 2026 1:45 PM – 3:30 PM Orcas Island Public Library Community Room Online Meeting Link Imagine Orcas & the San Juan Islands where… You can hop on a bus from the ferry to Eastsound, Doe Bay, or Deer Harbor. Kids can get to activities independently. Neighbors have reliable backup transportation when their car is in the shop. You […]
Award-winning illusion, music, puppetry show + free magic workshop
||| FROM PHINA PIPIA ||| Hailed as “Imaginative, intelligent, and strangely mesmerizing” by the San Diego Union Tribune, Phina Pipia brings award-winning solo show to the Orcas Island Odd Fellows Hall A tuba lights the way, beds make music, paintings come to life, and a radio delivers a message from the past in an award-winning production that combines illusion, music, puppetry, and theater. When a grad student discovers that Leonardo da Vinci and his collaborator, magician and mathematician Luc
Don’t forget! Join the community meeting on April 6 to review the Critical Areas Ordinance update
YOU’RE INVITED to comment on the first draft! Join County staff on Monday, April 6, from 6:00-8:00 pm to ask questions and learn more about the regulations included in the CAO ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is updating its critical areas protections, also referred to as the Critical Areas Ordinance or CAO, and YOU’RE INVITED to comment on the first draft. Join County staff on Monday, April 6 from 6:00-8:00 pm to ask questions and […]
Town Parking Lot Closure April 7 and 8
Residents are advised of a temporary closure of the Town parking lot located at 330 Spring Street across from Wells Fargo Bank, April 7 th through mid-day on April 8, 2026, for parking lot improvements. The Streets and Parks Department will scrape vegetation and install new gravel. This will be the first phase of improvements […]
Decades of data tell a complex story at Indian Island
By Darrell Kirk
Salmonberry students explore world religions in Seattle
In early March, Salmonberry Community School students returned to Seattle for a learning adventure that these 15 9- to 12-year-old students will never forget. Every three years, this classroom centers its studies on a yearlong thematic exploration of world cultures and world religions. After being immersed in the geography, history, religion and culture of regions as diverse as the Himalayas and the Middle East, these students got to experience several sacred sites in person.