February 2023 Events and News

February 13, 2023

February 2023 Events and News

This Thursday: Hear About Environmental Issues in Olympia and How You Can Make Your Voice Heard

February 16th at 7 PM on Zoom, RSVPs Required

Last year was a great legislative session, with substantial action to address the climate crisis, protect the environment, and ameliorate social disparities. This session looks to be another landmark session in those areas and other areas including salmon, water rights, and saving legacy forests.

Barb Boyle, State Chapter Legislative Committee Chair, will join us to fill us in on this year's progress, how our priority legislation is proceeding, and some actions we can take to help our state stay on the right track to mitigate the climate crisis, achieve climate and environmental justice, and protect our wild lands and animals.

RSVP HERE

And, While You're At It, Sign Up For Legislative Updates!

Bills are moving quickly through the legislative process. Let's keep the momentum going. Sign up for legislative updates and take action.

Some important bills now under consideration concern the removal of the Snake River Dams, protecting stream flows for salmon, ensuring adequate funding for DNR trust land transfers to protect legacy forests, and holding manufacturers and retailers responsible for the enormous amounts of plastic and other packaging they are more than happy to leave to us to dispose of properly.

Sign up here for the Washington State Sierra Club legislative action updates:

Lobby For the Environment Here

Don't Keep the Home Fires Burning!

Wood-burning creates localized pollution that can linger in the air. Worse still, people tend to fire up their wood stoves in the evening, when their neighbors are also likely to be in, exposing more people to the pollution and leaving them breathing in filthy air for hours throughout the night.

PM2.5, the fine particulate pollution from wood-burning, is associated with respiratory diseases such as asthma, heart disease, dementia and lower educational scores for children.

“People perceive wood smoke to be harmless because it comes from a natural fuel. People need to understand that the wood smoke that fills their neighborhood is as harmful as the pollution from traffic or industry,” says Gary Fuller, an air pollution scientist at Imperial College London.

Thanks to the U.K.'s Guardian of February 9 for this article.

Winter Nighttime Poor Air Quality in Eastern Jefferson County as Measured by the Purple Air Monitoring Network

And, In the News

Public Lands Underfunded: More than ninety percent of Washingtonians recreate outside, according to the State of Washington 2022 Assessment of Outdoor Recreation Demand Report. That high demand for our outdoor spaces combined with a growing state population means an increased strain on our public lands. However, the funding needed to maintain Washington's public lands has not kept up with demand. The three state land management agencies estimate a combined funding gap of $50 to $75 million annually. (Source: Washington Trails Association)

Goodbye Pebble Mine: After a decades-long fight, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a 404(c) Clean Water Act veto - ending at last the catastrophic threat of the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. This hard-won victory was led by Tribes, and supported by millions of people—including commercial and sport fishers, businesses, chefs, and many others—whose lives and livelihoods depend on the thriving fishery, and countless others who are fed, sustained and/or inspired by the almost unimaginable abundance of Bristol Bay salmon. Thanks to the Biden Administration for upholding its promise to protect Bristol Bay and its wild salmon for present and future generations. (Source: Save Our Wild Salmon)

Northwest Forest Plan Review: The US Forest Service (USFS) recently announced they will be accepting applications for a Federal Advisory Committee that will provide formal recommendations for revising the Northwest Forest Plan. The Northwest Forest Plan area consists of 19 million acres of federal forest lands in western Washington, Oregon, and northwest California and was an administrative effort to turn the page on years of litigation over unsustainable timber harvests in federal forests. Finalized in 1994, the Northwest Forest Plan was the first science-based, ecosystem-level land management plan of its kind in the Nation and curtailed the clearcutting of major swaths of ancient forests across the region.

The Sierra Club advocates for ending commercial logging on federal public lands. This will not only safeguard remaining primary forests, but also allow re-forestation across wide areas. We believe The Northwest Forest Plan has succeeded in turning the region into a carbon sink by allowing for forest recovery. This process must continue and be extended to other regions.

Let us know how if you have any suggestions or if you want to volunteer to help protect the Olympic Peninsula's environment. We promise to keep you busy!

The North Olympic Group's website contains a blog that's updated to reflect current environmental issues and events. Members are encouraged to periodically check it out.

North Olympic Group Website

February 2023 Events and News