Whidbey Environmental Action Network

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Whidbey Environmental Action Network

Protecting ecosystems on Whidbey, Camano, and beyond through civic education, policy advocacy, and litigation. Reach out to us at [email protected].

Our mission is to protect wild spaces and promote healthy ecosystems in and beyond Island County. We envision an Island County whose protected environment supports myriad species in harmony, and whose engaged community recognizes the interdependence of all life and actively participates in stewardship of and advocacy for our shared home.

10/16/2026

We’re now at Part III of our spotlight on Robinson Beach for this month’s Fridays In Nature With WEAN.

Shorelines are so much more than sand and water; they are bustling with both plant and animal life! While walking along Robinson Beach, you can find flora amongst the grains, such as sea rocket, large headed sedge, and yarrow. Other examples of shoreline plant life around Island County include seagrasses, kelp, sand verbena, beach morning glory, and seashore lupine—just to name a few.

While relaxing at Robinson Beach you might spot a harbor seal or porpoise swimming by. Keep an eye out from our shorelines for gray whales, sea lions, orcas and humpback whales, too. Other creatures nearby include sea stars, migrating salmon, mollusks, crabs, forage fish, beach hoppers, and ghost shrimp.

Birds, both local and migratory, are plentiful with various gulls, mallards, cormorants, eagles, horned grebes, surf scoters, and yellow-rumped warblers all spotted around the Robinson Beach area.

All of the above is merely a snapshot of the plant and wildlife that depend on our shorelines, which is why protecting them through advocacy is one of WEAN’s priorities. Reminder, you can give in-person public testimony in Anacortes with WEAN this Monday (10/19) as part of the Shoreline Management Act rulemaking process. Visit our Action Center on our website for details.

In our fourth and final installment next week, we’ll take a closer look at hard armoring and its impact. See you next Friday!

Photos by Nia Martin

10/15/2026

Join WEAN for an urban walk and talk spotlighting Garry oaks in Oak Harbor. Local expert, Kyle Renninger, will be joining to share about these native Pacific Northwest trees and can help answer questions. Learn more about Garry oaks, socialize with fellow attendees, and find out more about WEAN. Expect a 60-minute walk with some light exertion, rain or shine.

When: October 29, 2026, from 3pm to 4pm
Where: Meet at the corner of SE Jensen St & SE Pioneer Way in Oak Harbor by the Garry oak mural (across the street from the Whidbey Coffee located at the 980 SE Pioneer Way).
Bring: Travel mug for a hot beverage (provided) if desired.

Head to https://forms.gle/jgwM9YWTMcycfUNU8 for more info and to R.S.V.P.

Hope you can join us!

Photo by Jordan Oram/Creative Commons

10/13/2026

Reminder! Current WEAN members are invited to join together with us in community to share a dish, good conversation, and some time with WEAN mascot, Melvin the donkey!

When: October 17, 2026, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Where: Hosted near Lone Lake. Address will be provided to registrants closer to the date.
Bring: A potluck dish to share with serving utensils and allergen labels—we'll provide the rest!
R.S.V.P.: Head to https://forms.gle/iGR1F8w1nndxeEph6 Please respond by 6pm today.

Not yet a member? Want to pet a donkey? Become a member today by visiting https://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/membership

Melvin looks forward to seeing you!

10/09/2026

Welcome back to Part II of Fridays In Nature With WEAN! This month, we’re taking a closer look at Robinson Beach.

The most recent statistics in the Whidbey News-Times showed upwards of 376,000 new visitors coming in a year to Island County. The City of Coupeville’s presentation also showed over $175 million dollars in county revenue from tourism. We are, unmistakably, a destination spot. And one of our islands’ biggest draws are our public beaches and shorelines—69 in total. These beaches are great for recreation, gathering, and even having a sweat in a mobile sauna. But several stretches of shoreline in Island County are private and not open to the public, meaning that a significant amount of people are occupying the same marine life spaces. Protecting our shorelines is why WEAN continues to participate in public commentary for the Shoreline Management Act rulemaking process. (Feel free to join us at the public hearing in Anacortes on October 19th—see our Action Center on our website for details).

To help keep Robinson Beach and other public shorelines healthy for all who share it, residents and visitors can do the following: Unless designated off-leash, keep dogs on leash, so as not to harass birds and wildlife, and pick up after them; refrain from touching or moving marine plants and animals, which can hurt them, cause undue stress, or disrupt habitat; leave rocks, driftwood, and other elements where you found them as they provide shelter and create natural barriers; obtain permits for any fishing or harvesting and know the rules around what can be taken home; if you see a marine mammal stranded, ensure it is given plenty of space and call 1-866-ORCANET (866-672-2638); lastly, leave no trace on your way out, taking all your belongings and throwing trash away in the bin. Collectively, we can all assure Robinson Beach and public access shores remain thriving spaces into the future for kelp, salmon, eagles, seals, islanders, and yes, even tourists.

Next week, we’ll learn more about what plants and animals live around Robinson Beach and our shorelines. Until next Friday!

Photos by Nia Martin

10/06/2026

As part of the Shoreline Management Act rulemaking process, WA Department of Ecology is holding public hearings, including one in Anacortes on October 19th.

Join WEAN in Anacortes to give public testimony:

When: October 19, 2026; optional meet up with WEAN team at 4:30pm before the Q&A and hearing at 5pm.
Where: Meetup - Causland Memorial Park, 710 N Avenue, Anacortes, WA 98221; Q&A and Hearing - Anacortes Public Library, Community Meeting Room, 1220 10th Street, Anacortes, WA 98221
Plan Ahead: Write down your comment or notes beforehand and bring them with you; plan to carpool with other attendees; have a dinner plan or water and snacks on hand, as this will be taking place in the evening hours.

Unable to join in person? You can still join the virtual hearing on Oct. 22 or submit a written comment online before Nov. 17.

Get more information for in-person and online comments, as well as links and resources by visiting https://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/your-voice-is-needed-for-shorelines

Thanks for commenting!

Photo by Nia Martin

10/05/2026

Reminder: Finding Your Civic Voice workshop, co-hosted by WEAN, Audubon Washington, and Washington Conservation Action will be held this Thursday. The focus of this workshop will be on protecting our shorelines.

Join us in the process of finding your own, unique voice as an environmental and civic advocate. By the end of the workshop, each participant will have an effective, personally meaningful comment ready to submit to the Department of Ecology either in writing or aloud.

When: October 8, 2026, from 12:00pm to 1:30pm
Where: Online; a link will be shared with registered participants closer to the date.
Cost: Free; registration is required as space is limited.
Register: Go to https://forms.gle/6cHJWWYnFB3B6qD78

Background photo by Linda LaMar

10/02/2026

Now that we are in a new month, we’re switching the focus of Fridays In Nature With WEAN to shorelines. In particular, we’re shining a light on the unique shoreline that includes Robinson Beach in Freeland. Welcome to Part I!

Robinson Beach is sandwiched between two stretches of private beachfront. Though a small public park, with approximately 300ft of shoreline, it’s known for its epic views, attracting visitors and residents alike for picnicking, gathering, volleyball, fishing, swimming, and other recreational activities. Besides access, there’s another important distinction between the public and private stretch of this shoreline: hard armoring. Also known as bulkheads, these walls are prominent along residential properties.

The shoreline along the Robinson Beach area is particularly germane this October, because the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Shoreline Management Act Rulemaking is currently in its public comment phase—until November 17, 2026.

Island County possesses roughly 108 miles of forage habitat along its 200 total miles of shoreline, but that ecosystem is currently under threat of hard armoring (which we’ll discuss more in later posts). Hard armoring has scouring effects on the sand and gravel that forage fish need for spawning. Forage fish are key to shoreline health, but more broadly, marine ecosystems overall, as they play a vital role in the food web, affecting plants to predators and everything in between. We cannot maintain proper biodiversity without them.

Cohosted with Audubon Washington and Washington Conservation Action, WEAN is holding a Finding Your Civic Voice workshop on October 8, where you can learn how to craft a public comment in favor of protecting our shorelines in a supportive environment. Register by going to https://forms.gle/sgZYpH2LESimzDfg7 or our Events Page at https://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/events.

Next week, we’ll talk more about the importance of public access to shorelines like Robinson Beach and how to treat these spaces with care, whether you are a visitor or an islander. See you next week!

Photos by Nia Martin

09/28/2026

Members are an important part of WEAN's work. We invite current WEAN members to join together with us in community to share a dish, good conversation, and some time with WEAN mascot, Melvin the donkey!

When: October 17, 2026, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Where: Hosted near Lone Lake. Address will be provided to registrants closer to the date.
Bring: A potluck dish to share with serving utensils and allergen labels—we'll provide the rest!
R.S.V.P.: Head to https://forms.gle/iGR1F8w1nndxeEph6 Please respond by 6pm on October 13th.

Not yet a member? Want to pet a donkey? Become a member today by visiting https://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/membership

Melvin can’t wait to meet you!

09/25/2026

Welcome back to our fourth, and final, installment highlighting Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship for Fridays In Nature With WEAN.

On September 10th, WEAN’s Communications and Membership Manager, Nia Martin, joined the PRI team, as well as Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue, Whidbey Camano Land Trust, Coast Salish Youth Coalition, tribal members, PRI neighbors, and members of various environmental organizations for PRI’s first Indigenous-led ignition of a prescribed burn. It was, in a word, extraordinary.

Practiced by Coast Salish tribes on Whidbey Island since time immemorial, prescribed burns of prairies continue to be an important part of land stewardship and provide a myriad of benefits. These include adding nutrients to soil, preventing forest encroachment, supporting edible native plant species, stopping damage by voles, restoring the land and, importantly, reducing the risk of wildfires by eliminating dry fuel.

For more photos and information on this story, check out today’s newsletter or head to our blog under the "News" tab on our website: https://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/ .

Thanks for reading along this month about Pacific Rim Institute and stay tuned to see where we explore next in October.

Photos by Nia Martin

09/24/2026

Come say hi to WEAN at Wings Over Whidbey Bird Festival where we’ll be tabling to support the “Get Out the Vote” campaign, led by our partners, Save Our Wild Salmon

When: September 26, 2026, from 10am to 3:30pm
Where: Wings Over Whidbey, Camp Casey, 1276 Engle Road, Coupeville, WA 98239

Head to https://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/events for more info.

See you Saturday!

Art by Ramon Shiloh

Address

PO Box 293
Langley, WA
98260

Telephone

+13604047870

Website

http://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/, https://linktr.ee/whidbeyenvironment

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