Island News
News Brief | Photographing whales when something you can only see once in a lifetime happens
||| FROM WONDERBOT ANIMALS |||
News Brief | A water doom loop is coming
||| FROM NEW YORK TIMES ||| Ecologists warn that in just 25 years, more than 70 percent of the Southwestern needle leaf evergreen forests, which include ponderosa pines, may be replaced by grass in what might qualify as the first significant post-climate change landscape in America. Lands that are no longer covered by snow also absorb more heat from the sun, drying them out and leaving them more vulnerable to large wildfires. Given the ponderosa’s striking reputation for resilience, it’s […]
18 miles of roads on Lopez and San Juan Islands to be chip sealed this summer
San Juan County’s Public Works Department’s annual summer road resurfacing schedule includes chip sealing of approximately 18 miles of roads on Lopez and San Juan Islands. Chip sealing is a pavement treatment that extends the life of the road surface and is fully funded by the Road Fund. Learn more by visiting the County Roads […]
Orcas Island Health Care District sponsoring Orcas Island Caregiver Project
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| OIHCD is excited to support the Orcas Island Caregiver Project, a community initiative working to strengthen professional caregivers and connect them with island families. During the collaboration of the Orcas “Out of Clinic Care” workgroup in Summer of 2025, caregiver support was identified as a high priority area of need for our community. The “Out of Clinic Care” workgroup, which brought together San Juan County Senior Services, the Orcas Communi
GiveOrcas | Let’s grow something together
||| FROM LINDSAY JENNINGS for GIVEORCAS.COM ||| Today is the day! Since 2013, the Orcas Island community has come together to contribute an impressive $3 million during Spring GiveOrcas. You’ve invested in preserving historic community buildings, made sure seniors have plenty of activities to connect, brought artistic visions to life for all to enjoy, unlocked access to outdoor education, ensured no family goes without nourishing food and hygiene supplies, supported the development of affordable
May 24: Orcas Island Fire & Rescue urges community action on wildfire prevention
In recognition of Wildfire Awareness Month, Orcas Island Fire & Rescue (OIFR) is encouraging residents to take proactive steps now to reduce wildfire risk and protect homes, neighborhoods, and the island as a whole ahead of the summer fire season. Wildfire prevention starts at home. OIFR is asking all community members to assess their properties […]
OIFR urges community action on wildfire prevention
||| FROM FIRE CHIEF CHAD KIMPLE ||| In recognition of Wildfire Awareness Month, Orcas Island Fire & Rescue (OIFR) is encouraging residents to take proactive steps now to reduce wildfire risk and protect homes, neighborhoods, and the island as a whole ahead of the summer fire season. Wildfire prevention starts at home. OIFR is asking all community members to assess their properties and take simple, effective measures such as clearing defensible space, removing flammable materials near structures,
Ken Kwapis comes to the Orcas Public Library
Orcas Island Public Library will host a special evening with award-winning film and television director Ken Kwapis on Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m. The program will feature a Q&A-style conversation about Kwapis’ career in film and television, his work adapting books for the screen and his book, “What I Really Want to do is Direct.”
Protect your flock: Tips to prevent avian influenza exposure
Submitted by San Juan County.
SJC sheriff’s log
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office responded to the following calls.
Letter to Editor | The crisis at Eastsound Water Users Association
||| FROM CONCERNED CITIZENS LISTED BELOW ||| If you are one of the 70% of Orcas Island residents who receives water from Eastsound, Doe Bay, Rosario, and Olga water users associations, you depend on the experienced water system operators of the Eastsound Water User Association (EWUA) who operate all of these water systems. EWUA water operators are the dedicated, highly trained and certified professionals who work behind the scenes treating and delivering safe drinking water 24/7, 365 days a year
Derevensky and Stern Win Seats in OPALCO 2026 Board Election
On Thursday, May 7, OPALCO held their virtual Annual Business Meeting, where the meeting minutes from the 2025 Annual Meeting were approved and the election results were announced. Ray Glaze of the OPALCO Election and Governance Committee announced the results of the 2026 Board Election. In District 1 (San Juan et al), Laura Derevensky was elected with 764 votes. […]
Letter to Editor | Congratulations to new OPALCO board members
||| FROM RICH GOODHART ||| It is easy to congratulate the two new OPALCO Board members this year — Congratulations Lauras! Both have backgrounds with strong qualifications and I’m sure will do an outstanding job, along with the existing five board voices. If I have any advice, it is through the lens of a co-op member: listen (sometimes even ideas that may seem unworkable have a useful thread of insight), research (there is a whole world looking for solutions to […]
No Place Like Loam | The six-tree culinary apple orchard: eating, cider, baking, storage
||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM from ALEX TAMAYO WOLF ||| I spent the last week pruning an orchard near President’s Channel on Orcas Island —thinning cuts only, thank you—which leaves a lot of time to think. There’s a long pause between deciding the future and letting the saw finish the sentence. You stand there, reading structure, weighing the past and future, listening to the quiet argument between what could stay and what must go. I have a lot to think […]
August 9: Rotary Car Show at San Juan Vineyard
Now in its 18th year, the Rotary Car Show is known for its relaxed, friendly atmosphere and stunning setting at San Juan Vineyard, 3136 Roche Harbor Road. Held August 9th, 11 am – 3 pm, the show welcomes custom, classic, agricultural vehicles and alternative-fuel vehicles. It’s also a great excuse for a ferry ride to the […]
BLM, Wildland fire service announces fire restrictions for Oregon and Washington
On May 14, 2026 fire restrictions will go into effect for all Bureau of Land Management administered lands throughout Oregon and Washington. The BLM and U.S. Wildland Fire Service leaders encourage all visitors to be aware of active restrictions and closures as warmer, drier weather sets in around the Pacific Northwest. These fire restrictions help […]
Derevensky and Stern win seats in OPALCO 2026 board election
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPEERATIVE ||| On Thursday, May 7, OPALCO held their virtual Annual Business Meeting, where the meeting minutes from the 2025 Annual Meeting were approved and the election results were announced. Ray Glaze of the OPALCO Election and Governance Committee announced the results of the 2026 Board Election. In District 1 (San Juan et al), Laura Derevensky was elected with 764 votes. In District 2 (Orcas et al), Laura Stern was elected […]
AG Brown files brief urging Supreme Court to stay restrictions on Mifepristone
Submitted by the Washington State Office of Attorney General Nick Brown.
Update to proposed deer hunting at Turtleback Mountain and North Shore Preserves
Submitted by San Juan County.
Free kindergarten transition event at Camp Orkila on May 11
Submitted by the Orcas Community Resource Center Communications Team.
June 11, 2026 – September 14, 2026: Convergence & Divergence: The Family Aesthetic at San Juan Islands Museum of Art
Two Parents, One Son. A Century of Vision. In a San Francisco darkroom in the 1920s, five-year-old Rondal stood on a wooden box to reach the darkroom sink, learning to rock developing trays as he watched the images appear like magic on the silver gelatin paper. His mother, Imogen Cunningham, taught him how light and […]
Garden Club garden tour tickets now on sale
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift? Garden tour tickets are officially on sale! Hello Fellow Garden Enthusiasts! Mark your calendars! This year’s theme, “Gardens With Purpose” features seven inspiring gardens with fun planned for all ages. As a non-profit, all proceeds go back to our community. During the 2025 – 2026 season, the Orcas Island Garden Club has been proud to fund speakers for programs always free and open to the […]
Community art show at Orcas Center | Capturing the Moment
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| The Visual Arts Committee of Orcas Center announces a new community show — “Capturing the Moment” – to open on May 29. For this show, the VAC welcomes art that depicts a special moment or fleeting event (e.g., a whale breaching, a lightning strike, a child laughing, friends having coffee together). This is a broad theme for art in all mediums. Community shows are open to ALL island artists, beginning and […]
Happy Mother’s Day to all the matriarchs of the sea
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Today we’re celebrating all mothers everywhere, especially the matriarchs of the Pacific Northwest. For 50 years, the Center for Whale Research has studied the endangered Southern Resident killer whales. What we’ve found is remarkable: grandmothers are essential to their family’s survival. They know where to find food, lead their pods through uncertainty, and pass down a lifetime of knowledge to the ones they love. This Mother’s Day, we honor the matriarchs