A six-month extension to a controversial trial expansion of Guemes Island ferry runs was approved Monday by the Skagit County Board of Commissioners over the objections of Friends of Guemes Island.

The late weeknight schedule was due to complete a two-year trial period on June 30.

“This will allow adequate time for gathering and analyzing ridership and cost data for review,” said Skagit County Commissioner Sharon Dillon in a county press release. “It will also allow time to hear from the people before a permanent schedule is set.”

The trial extended service to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Before that weeknight runs ended at 6 p.m.

In a June 16 statement, Friends of Guemes Island said they and the 75 percent of voters on the island who voted against extension of weeknight ferry runs remain steadfastly opposed to even a temporary extension.

“Furthermore, we believe that the action you have just taken is in direct violation of the court order issued in the lawsuit between Friends of Guemes Island and the county by the Superior Court in Snohomish County,” the statement said.

The group cited the judge’s ruling, which said the schedule will revert to the former 6 p.m. cutoff on June 30 “and no weekday evening extension will again be considered unless and until there is a new, thorough, and SEPA compliant environmental review, including, among other issues, the probability of induced growth, and the direct, and indirect adverse environmental impacts resulting from the same.”

The Friends said the environmental assessment recently conducted by the county falls far short of the SEPA compliant review called for by the judge.

The group said the new schedule is causing the ferry budget to hemorrhage resources, contributing significantly to the county’s budget woes. “We continue to ask: Why waste valuable and limited taxpayer resources on ferry operations that are potentially destructive to the environment, costly, wasteful, and explicitly not wanted by the county residents it is intended to serve? Is this good government, or profligate spending in a time of severe economic difficulties?”

County commissioners, however, want time to evaluate costs and ridership figures. Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt said there has been support for the change.

“We’ve had lots of input from Islanders both for and against the extended schedule,” he said. “We want to be sure we take enough time before making a final decision.”