|
Santa Delivers!
2022 was a very good year for Olympic Peninsula and Washington environmental activists. Here's a recap:
February 17: Dr. Anne Shaffer of the Coastal Watershed Institute reports to North Olympic members on coastal ecosystem improvements attributed to the removal of the Elwha dams.
April 1: Thurston County judge says the Navy Seals can no longer conduct training exercises in state parks using simulated weapons among unsuspecting visitors. Sierra Club consistently spoke out against this misguided plan.
April 1: A new agreement requiring Port Townsend's paper mill to pay for using 11 million gallons/day from the Quilcene watershed, previously free. Over $4 million will be generated in the first year to maintain Port Townsend's aging water infrastructure. The North Olympic group advocated for this change.
April 6: Jefferson County commissioners begin to look at using county DNR lands for carbon sequestration, questioning the environmental impact of DNR's clearcuts. Olympic Forest Coalition and the Center for Responsible Forestry advocate for protecting legacy forests.
July 21: Washington Supreme Court finds DNR has discretion to consider environmental issues when deciding whether to cut trust land trees; DNR had previously argued their sole responsibility was to raise revenue by cutting timber, including legacy trees.
November 8: Environmental champions elected locally and statewide.
November 18: Washington bans commercial net-pen fish farming in state waters.
December 25: Congress delivers the biggest gift of all, finally passing Wild Olympics legislation protecting Olympic wilderness and designating the peninsula's rivers as Wild and Scenic. This can finally happen if you write Senators Murray and Cantwell and Congressman Kilmer. Use the buttons below to ask them to make passing this legislation a priority before the end of the year.
|
