A citizen group formed Friends of the San Juans in 1979 to help preserve the beauty, character, and wildness of the San Juan Islands in the face of increasing development. The organization’s first major effort was helping San Juan County adopt its first Comprehensive Land-Use Plan; today, thoughtful, science-based decision-making about land use, habitat protections and restoration, and strengthening local ecosystems remains a high priority.
Friends’ primary goals are to foster wild and healthy shorelines, promote thriving and sustainable communities, conserve forests, farmlands, freshwater, and prairie habitats, and ensure the health of marine ecosystems in the Salish Sea. Friends uses science to inform decisions that conserve the county’s environment and economy.
Friends works locally and throughout the region using innovative public-private partnerships, applied science, legal advocacy, and community-based initiatives to protect and steward the land, water, and sea for those of us here today and for future generations.