The waters of the Pacific, Puget Sound, lakes, and streams are rising! How will that change how we live, play, and plan? Natural Resources Committee chair Joan Smith introduced Charlotte Dohrn and Misty Blair of the Washington State Department of Ecology at the February 16th meeting. The Shoreline Act Committee for LWVWA members Shelly Kneip, Ann Aargard, and Betsy Cooper attended as resource guests. Dr. Richard Gammon, UW Emeritus, also attended as a special guest.
Charlotte indicated that one of the first priorities is establishing the full list of stakeholders and being able to form a manner and timetable for connecting with all of them. Washington has 56 city and county governing bodies with over 3,000 miles of shoreline. Others include the railroads, chiefly Burlington Northern and private property owners.
One of the newest influences is that the legislature has granted the DOC legislative authority. They will be making the rules! To do so, they have identified three major policy goals:
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Identifying existing laws and regulations, which means working out the haziness of the “no net loss” standard.
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Addressing the global sea rise impacts – coastal floods, habitat loss, salinity change, erosion, and deposition.
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Climate resilience planning – assessing risks, understanding exposure, identifying options, prioritizing, planning, and taking action.
Their rule-making will follow a calendar that begins in April of this year:
A full recording of this presentation along with the incisive questions and responses is available at the League’s YouTube site!
Reports from committee members:
TRANSPORTATION: Steve Trautwein covered Transportation issues in the legislature. He indicated that the legislative committee was looking more closely at expanding local rail. He also suggested that League members access the work of the Transportation Choices Coalition. One report on how jaywalking impacts Washingtonians reveals a justice issue. Several bills have died: HB 1428 concerning pedestrians crossing roadways; HB 2456 ensuring connectivity of wildlife corridors; SB5431 requiring funding to purchase zero emission school buses; SB 5959 concerning automated traffic cameras authorization. Still alive was SB6114 to require that local airports provide sustainable fuel.
URBAN TREE CANOPY/MATURE FORESTS: Carol McMahon reported that Kate Lunceford is studying budget legislation for more effort to “find the money” to buy back mature forest lands. She will present at the League’s April Membership Meeting at the Mukilteo Library.
SIERRA CLUB/EDMONDS MARSH – Carol mentioned that the Unocal meeting did not offer any new solutions for use of the land adjacent to the Edmonds Marsh.
CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY – Jim Bloss offered several websites, “Borealis,” and one on Sea Rise. He also said that support is growing for the “Healthy Forests” initiatives.
OTHER:
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FIELD TRIP PLANNING: Joan will pursue a combined transit, art walk tour, a return to the Qwuloolt Estuary, a modern equipment farm tour, and Kayak Point reopening tours. Wendy Wyatt suggested a visit to The Everett Herald.
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Joan shared that Rare Care, an effort to preserve rare and endangered native plants, is housed at the Urban Horticultural Center at the UW. She indicated that although Washington State has an Endangered Animal list, it has none for plants.
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Joan recommended One Two Three, a novel by Laurie Frankel, that concerns how triplets of various “ableness” combine efforts to expose the willful environmental damage done by a chemical factory.
NEXT MEETING: March 15, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. by Zoom. Dr. Alana Springer, Environmental Education Program Manager, Snohomish County Conservation Committee, “Engaging Youth with the Environment.”