SPEAKERS AVAILABLE Speakers with live, slide presentions of selected charts and tables are now available from the Institute. Such presentations have been made to a school district, a group from the Economic Development Council, and the board of a community theater. The presentations are available on all ferry-served islands. Call 360-378-3494 to discuss your group's interests.

San Juan Islands Institute

This nonprofit Institute was founded in 2003 to serve islanders interested in helping craft the future of the county. The Institute's purpose is primarily educational: To gather, analyze, and present objective information on important social, economic, and natural-resource subjects. Typically the Institute will deal with demographic, financial, land use, transportation, and fresh water data from public sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, IRS, Washington State, and San Juan County. The Institute's underlying philosophy is that voters, given reliable facts and figures, will make thoughtful decisions about the San Juan Islands archipelago.

Comprehensive information on county matters is in short supply. Even if data were readily available, there are neither local TV channels nor radio stations nor county-wide newspaper(s) to interpret and spread the information. In addition, there are few inter-island events that culturally link Lopez, Orcas, San Juan, Shaw, Waldron, and the rest. Islanders are independent by nature, too, and this adds to the fragmentation--Balkanization--that can be self-defeating in the face of common Mainland pressures.

The Institute seeks to be a unifying force-by sharing information that affects all islanders. Most of the 15,000 county residents came from somewhere else, by choice. Many apparently stay because they deeply care about their small, still-rural county in the sea.