Sea otters are the smallest of the marine mammals found on the West Coast, but don’t let their size fool you: some male sea otters can weigh up to 99 lbs. Sea otters rely on their thick fur to keep them warm while out to sea. With 150,000 strands of…

Lime Kiln Point State Park, on Washington’s San Juan Island, is a prime location for exploring the beauty of Washington and a chance to see migrating orcas. Close to the rocky shoreline, the seafloor quickly drops off which allows whales like orcas…

The nesting habits of marbled murrelets were unknown to scientists until an accidental sighting in the 1970s. In 1974, by sheer luck, a Big Basin State Park maintenance worker spotted an odd little bird with webbed feet sitting in an old-growth tree.…

One of the first prominent physicians to call San Juan Island his home was Dr. Victor Capron. Born in New York in 1868, Capron moved to Port Townsend. He later moved to Hawaii as a government physician where he worked with leprosy patients, became an…

With over a hundred islands, many not served by the ferries, medical care for San Juan Islanders often required a long journey. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, island women made names for themselves while providing health care in the San Juan…

An old-growth forest – also known as a primary forest or primeval forest – refers to a forest that has reached a significant age without significant disturbance, such as a devastating wildfire or logging. With a variety of tree species that range in…

In 2003, while working on a local pond, a crew with a trackhoe began excavations for a pond when one of the men spotted a bone jutting out of the dig site. With careful examination, the crew started sifting through the loose soil and gathered almost…

Medicine prior to the modern era was precarious. Infectious diseases were poorly understood, and doctors rarely washed before an operation. Surgeons did not widely use antiseptics until the 1860s. The only "modern" medical practice at English Camp…

Cute, fluffy, and a pest: European rabbits have become a nuisance on the island within the last 100 years. In 1900 several domestic rabbits were brought to the island by a lighthouse keeper in hopes of selling their meat to Seattle markets. After…