Islands' Oil Spill Association

05/19/2026

Last week, you saw our team out at Rosario Marina practicing critical fuel-leak containment drills. Keeping the Salish Sea protected means being ready before a crisis happens—and staying ready takes community support. 🌊⚓

As a community-funded organization, Islands' Oil Spill Association relies on neighbors like you to keep our spill-response trailers fully stocked, our vessels maintained, and our local responders HAZWOPER trained.

When an oil spill threatens our shorelines, every second counts. Your donation directly funds the tools, fuel, and training our volunteers need to act fast and protect our marine wildlife, shorelines, and shared waters.

Stand with our volunteers and help protect the islands we love. Consider making a donation to IOSA today! 💙

👉 www.iosaonline.org/donate

05/17/2026

Last Wednesday, IOSA staff and volunteers headed to Orcas Island for a hands-on field exercise at Rosario Marina. Our team spent the day rotating through dynamic training stations—practicing containment boom deployment, sorbent placement, trailer maneuvers, and conducting aerial assessments with our new drone.

We rotate our training across the islands intentionally. It allows us to build vital relationships with local marinas and communities while staying sharp on the specific skills needed when a real spill happens. Whether it's practicing vessel safety or keeping a watchful eye out for local wildlife like seals and orcas, our team is committed to keeping the Salish Sea protected.

A massive thank you to Rosario Marina for hosting us and supporting our mission! 🙌

05/03/2026

Here until 2pm today promoting safe boating for opening day! We’re also in the parade at 3:45 flying sorbents and tyvek- come down and say hi!!!!

05/03/2026

05/01/2026

WE BE FLYIN HIGH NOW! 🙂 But also, drone footage during spill response is a game changer. So thankful to San Juan Island Community Foundation for helping to fund part of this new IOSA asset!

04/29/2026

Sunday May 3rd: IOSA is suiting up (literally). Join us and some incredible local partners at the Opening Day Boater Stewardship Fair (11am–3pm, Spring Street Landing), then watch us parade through Friday Harbor in the Green Heron spill response vessel wearing our Tyveks in full festive glory. Come for the stewardship, stay for the fashion show. See you this weekend! 🔥🚨💙

04/23/2026

This situation started with a concerned shoreline property owner calling IOSA to say "your boom washed up on my beach!" After a photo from the property owner and a quick discussion with Kari Koski who coordinated all the details from there - the boom (not IOSA's but random derelict trash boom) was removed and the shoreline owners were thrilled this problem was solved. This is another great example of a community working together! 💪

On a rocky stretch of private shoreline in the San Juan Islands, a heavy industrial boom had been wedged between two properties — too heavy, too unwieldy for the landowners to move alone. For San Juan County’s Derelict Vessel Program Coordinator Kari Koski, it looked at first like a dead end.

04/22/2026

TONIGHT at the San Juan Island Library — The Local Lowdown is back! 🗞️

We tried last week, but the county had other plans (12 hours of them, to be exact ⚡). We're rescheduled, recharged, and ready to share what IOSA has been up to. Please come join us tonight!

📅 April 22nd
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Library Main Salon

Our IOSA presentation partners include: the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank, Wolf Hollow (now Salish Wildlife Rescue) and of course the gracious host, San Juan Island Library

04/15/2026

04/10/2026

Exciting news! 🚀 IOSA is officially ready to begin rolling out our new drone response program. We've acquired drones with the help of a San Juan Island Community Foundation grant and our Deputy Director, Rick Winings, has passed his FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot exam. This tech will enhance IOSA oil spill response with rapid aerial assessments, access to hard-to-reach areas, and real-time situational awareness. Stay tuned for more updates and IOSA training with this new technology coming soon!