Support the “No Consumer Fireworks” Campaign
By Jackie Lasater and Joaquin Sweet-Fosmo
The Island County Commissioners are placing an advisory vote on the November 2026 general election ballot to ban consumer fireworks in the unincorporated areas of Island County. Whidbey Audubon has joined a coalition of local citizens, businesses, nonprofits and environmental groups supporting a yes vote on this measure, which would help to protect the birds that live in, or near Deer Lagoon and Crockett Lake, as well as other wildlife.
Audubon members know firsthand the detrimental impact of fireworks on birds and other wildlife.
Whidbey Island has two Important Bird Areas: Deer Lagoon Preserve and Crockett Lake. We feel compelled to protect the birds that live in, or near, these fragile ecosystems as well as all birds, other wildlife, and the habitats they need to survive on Whidbey Island and beyond.
Again, this last Fourth of July holiday we received numerous complaints about the impact of pyrotechnics on our local bird populations. One resident who lives near Deer Lagoon Preserve voiced concerns about the impact of the loud booms on the 200 American White Pelicans that were resting and feeding at Deer Lagoon on July 4th. The resident was particularly concerned that his grandchildren were visibly distressed as they watched the Pelicans panic and fly helter-skelter around the lagoon.
Less than a decade ago, an American White Pelican population in Skagit County abandoned their breeding colony on the Fourth of July and never returned. The explosive booms of fireworks are also known to cause Bald and Golden Eagle fledglings to fall from their nests and become open to predation on the ground. Seabirds, shorebirds, and landbirds flee their nests as well leaving their eggs and/or fledglings vulnerable to predators.
We are supporting a ban on consumer fireworks, not on permitted professional shows.
If the proposed fireworks ban advisory vote passes and is subsequently adopted by Island County, families will still be able to see fireworks on July 4th and protect birds and wildlife by attending a permitted community-based professional display sponsored by a town or city.
City and town sponsored fireworks are only one day a year, they are concentrated in one location rather than in several locations all at once (birds can move to a safer location and are not fleeing noises coming at them from all directions), and cities can still opt for pyrotechnics or other more environmental alternatives, such as drone shows.
We need your help!
A “No Consumer Fireworks” Campaign is costly and will require an extensive amount of volunteer hours. We are working with local environmental groups and organizations, including Whidbey Environmental Action Network, to raise funds for this effort.
Donate the the campaign at the “Safe and Humane Fireworks” site.
Questions?
Please refer any questions or concerns to: conservation@whidbeyaudubonsociety.org.