Agricultural Plastics Recycling Events

Please save your plastic nursery pots and flats, baling twine, plastic soil amendment bags, and hay bale wrap! If the materials are dry and relatively clean (shake off any soil), they will be accepted FREE at this year’s agricultural plastics recycling events from noon to 4 p.m.

Orcas Island: Saturday May 3rd, County solid waste facility
San Juan Island: Sunday, May 4th, County Fairgrounds, 4-H building
Lopez Island: Saturday, May 17th, County solid waste facility

IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO SORT YOUR NURSERY POTS BY NUMBER THIS YEAR!!!! Please do stack them by size and shape to facilitate storing and transporting them. Turn soil amendment bags inside out to shake out any remaining contents. Look for future display ads in your island’s newspaper for more details.

Recycled agricultural plastics are used to make truck bed liners, drain pipe, plastic lumber for benches, posts and pilings, automotive parts, tool handles, and trash bags.

WSU Beach Watchers Graduates Class Of 2008

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The third class of San Juan County/WSU Beach Watchers
graduated April 24th after attending nearly 100 hours of classroom training and field experience about the San Juan County marine and watershed environment.

The new class of Beach Watchers included 10 members from Orcas Island, 2 from Lopez and 9 from San Juan Island. Extension Director Tom Schultz and Program Coordinator Shann Weston addressed the graduating class and handed out Graduation Certificates to the new WSU Beach Watcher Volunteers.

Says Weston, "I have been honored to coordinate Beach Watchers' Training for these special volunteers. Many instructors have contributed to make this experience informative and valuable. The Beach Watchers now have an opportunity to give back to their community with service hours."

The new 2008 WSU Beach Watcher Volunteers are:

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Who Should Be Allowed To Use Turtleback Mountain?

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The Land Bank Commission held their regular monthly meeting in Eastsound on April 11th.and the first hour of the meeting was for public comment regarding the Management Plan (Draft Stewardship and Management Plan) for Turtleback Mountain.

There were about 40 members of the community present, included citizens from Lopez Island; San Juan Island; Center Island, and Orcas Island. Many of the speakers were passionate in their testimony, with a majority speaking in favor of multi-use trails on Turtleback.
There were speakers against any public use, and a few who spoke in favor of restricting access to hikers only. The current restrictions include: No camping; No fires; No hunting; No firearms; No vehicles; No bicycles; No horses, and No commercial use,

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Oil Spill Workshops on SJ & Orcas

2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Oil-Spill Response Strategies Workshop, at the Mullis Community Senior

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Oil-Spill Response Strategies Workshop at the Orcas Fire Department

The public is invited to help the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) and U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) update and improve site-specific oil-spill response strategies used for the San Juan Islands, called geographic response plans.

Ecology and the Coast Guard will hold two workshops this week - one in Friday Harbor and one in Eastsound - where citizens, resource managers, spill response contractors and oil-industry representatives can help identify any new information that might make the strategies more effective.

Geographic response plans are oil-spill response strategies tailored to reduce the effects of oil spills to sensitive areas along beaches, shores, or waterways.

The first workshop will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, April 11, at the Mullis Community Senior Center, 589 Nash St., Friday Harbor.

The second workshop will be conducted from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, at the Orcas Island Fire Department, 45 Lavender Lane, Eastsound.

The goals of the workshops are to:
* Provide information about the use and expectations of geographic response plans during spill incidents. * Solicit local information to update existing geographic response plans, including site access points such as boat ramps and marinas, sensitive natural resources, cultural resources and significant economic resources. * Ensure that those attending understand the plan updating process and provided the opportunity to participate.

For more information about geographic response plans, the San Juan Island workshops and the site-specific response plan updating process: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/preparedness/GRP/GRPWorkshop.htm Ecology's Web site: http://www.ecy.wa

More Bluebirds Released In San Juan County

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(Pair Of Bluebirds In Transport To San Juan Island)

In March of 2007 four pairs of bluebirds were released on San Juan Island as part of a program to reintroduce Bluebirds to San Juan County. Three months later three baby Blue Birds were born, and while there were sporadic sightings, all sightings came to an end after the annual migration season started. So far they have not returned, or if they have. they have yet to be spotted.

On Friday and Saturday, additional pairs of the birds were released from small aviaries on San Juan Island as part of the ongoing program.

Please let SJ Audubon know if you see any groups of bluebirds in the San Juans or adjacent counties. Call San Juan Islands Audubon, Barbara Jensen, 360-378-308 or San Juan Preservation Trust, Kathleen Foley, 360-378-2461.

This five year project is sponsored by: San Juan Islands Audubon, San Juan Preservation Trust, American Bird Conservancy and EcoStudies Institute. Call if you would like to donate to or participate in this project.

March 8 & 9: Free Composting Workshops

Do you want to learn how to compost your food and yard waste for a healthier garden, yard, and environment?

San Juan County Public Works, WSU Extension, and the Conservation District are co-sponsoring FREE spring compost workshops:

Saturday, March 8th, 9 am to noon, ORCAS ISLAND Senior Center multi-purpose room

Saturday, March 8th, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm, SAN JUAN ISLAND Mullis Senior Center

Sunday, March 9th, 10 am to 1 pm, LOPEZ ISLAND Elementary School

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A Gift of Land On Orcas

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The San Juan County Land Bank has received a bequest of 36 acres on Orcas Island from William H. Halpenny of Riverside, California.

The parcel adjoins the Land Bank’s Entrance Mountain Preserve, expanding the protected natural area to over 120 acres. In the coming months, the Land Bank will complete ecological assessments and incorporate this acquisition into the Entrance Mountain Preserve Stewardship Plan.

Like other portions of the Preserve, the Halpenny addition has rugged, steep topography and is heavily forested. Of particular note is the prevalence of Sitka spruce and scattered areas of mature big leaf maple.