As we kick off the new year, we’re heading for Olympia to advocate for policy and public funding to support nature and people in Washington and beyond. This year’s 60-day session promises to be a busy one, and we’re joining forces as we do every year with partners from across the state to advocate for progress on climate change, protecting communities from wildfire, improving the health of our forests and waterways and more.
Mark your calendars: Environmental Priorities Coalition Lobby Day is on Thursday, January 30. This is your chance to make your voice heard alongside other passionate people who care about the well-being of nature and all of us. If you’ve never lobbied before, don’t worry – there are training sessions to start the day before you head to meetings with the people who represent you in Olympia. Register here to join us on January 30.
As a member of the Environmental Priorities Coalition, we’re supporting a slate of four important bills this session. We’re asking lawmakers to update our state’s limits on greenhouse gas emissions to bring us in line with the best available science and get us on the path to net-zero emissions by midcentury. That’s an ambitious goal, but we are bouyed by the successes of 2019, when the Legislature passed a measure for 100% clean electricity and other climate-forward policies. We must achieve bold climate action for Washington’s future: Our kids and grandkids deserve no less.
And we can do it with nature’s help. Our forests, soils and wetlands have tremendous carbon capture potential, if only we invest in allowing them to do what they do best.
We’re also supporting a clean fuels standard to reduce pollution from transportation - the sector with the highest emissions in Washington. With a such a standard in place, we’ll be on the road to cleaner air and a more climate-friendly future.
We continue to advocate for the best ways to give our beloved orca their best chance to survive - including by protecting and restoring habitat, recovering salmon populations and cleaning up our waterways, all actions that benefit people and the rest of nature too.
Another big priority for us is getting ahead of the wildfire and forest health crisis in Washington. We all depend on healthy forests – rural or urban, rich or poor – and we’re all affected by wildfire. Our youngest, oldest and most vulnerable neighbors suffer most from smoke-choked skies and direct threats to communities, but wildfire also threatens the 80% of our water supply that comes from forests, imperils already-endangered salmon and disrupts rural economies.
We know what to do to confront of this challenge and help avoid the most catastrophic effects of wildfire. Science tells us what our forests need, and the Department of Natural Resources has a plan (two, actually) for restoring forests to improve resilience and equipping our firefighters. We know we need to also invest in community preparedness to help keep people safe. All we need is the funding to put these plans into action.
That’s why we’re supporting a DNR request bill to provide stable, dedicated funding for wildfire preparedness and forest health. It’ll cost less than we already spend in emergency wildfire response, and it has the added benefits of healthier forests, safer, better-prepared communities, more sustainable water supplies, better conditions for salmon—not to mention a better chance for blue skies and breathable air for all during wildfire season. The investment pays off.
That’s just a sampling of some of our top priorities. As we do each year, we’ll be encouraging other smart policies and investments to protect nature and make people’s lives better. To stay in the loop about our advocacy priorities and opportunities to speak up for nature, sign up for email updates here:
