Meet the owners of San Juan Safaris Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island Washinton State
Background on what it takes to own a whale watching company
Bill Wright and Colleen Johansen are business and life partners.
Bill spent 15 years in Alaska.
He started Alaska
Wildland Adventures back in 1975. He made a lot of waves in Alaska.
Many firsts were done by Bill.
First to have a commercial rafting
operation on the Kenai River, first to obtain permits, first to promot
fly fishing and spearheaded "catch and release". He also promoted
the notion of "non-consumptive" use of wildlife.
Bill is still
a proud partner with Kirk Hoessle, Alaska Wildland Adventures.(Kirk
has become a national spokesman for eco-tourism and sustainable
tourism). From Alaska, Bill moved to Hawaii (Kona) where he ran
a whale watching operation. That is where Colleen and Bill met.
From the time Bill was a little kid; he knew he wanted to be
out in nature, to be a park ranger. Ranger he was, Superintendent,
Chugach State Park, half million acres and ran the Youth Conservation
Corps for the state of Alaska, along with numerous other projects
and positions.
Colleen's outdoor experiences pales compared to Bills outdoor background. She is somewhat of late bloomer in the wildlife field.
Colleen became a "naturalist"
or sometimes refered to as a "regional naturalist" (a naturalist in the true sense knows
all animals, all plants, etc.) only a couple of decades ago.
Having enjoyed
many fields; a degree in gemology and music and considered a professional in Search Engine Optimization and graphic arts, Colleen is a bit of a jack of all trades.
As an owner of a small business, one never knows
what oneI will be required to become proficient at next. That is
the way it is when you own your own business. Keeps it very interesting.
They love what they do. They live it, breath
it and dream it. They love the type of people that this business brings
them in contact with. And their staff is of particular joy to them.
When not in the office or on the boats, Bill and Collen enjoy their llamas, geese and pet rabbits. They are birders and love counting how many duck species are visiting their pond.
Traveling is another interest of theirs. They have both been to every state in the US and have traveled to Africa, Fiji, Costa Rica, New Zealand and Europe.
Both of them also enjoy photograpy and many of the photos that appear on this website without photo credit are theirs.
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Bill Wright owner San Juan Safaris Whale Watching on San Juan Island WA
 Colleen and Bill owners San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island WA
Llama companions Isabella and Camille in the San Juan Valley (freshly trimmed for summer)
San Juan Island Bunnies - Honey and Marmalade
 Geese on the pond San Juan Island - left to right wild Canada goose,Stella and Brunch entering the pond
sanjuansafaris.com is the copyrighted intellectual property of
San Juan Safaris, Inc.,
Friday Harbor, WA, USA
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