Attendees in Olympia from left to right: Scott Richards, Emily Heber, Rachel Roman, Maud Daudon, Mike Stevens, Kathleen Hebert, David Mendoza, Skippy Shaw, Mike Schaefer, Lilianna Ayalla © Hannah Letinich
Our all-volunteer Board of Trustees is made up of incredible folks from across the state who are united under common support for the conservation of Washington’s lands and waters. They give their time, expertise, and passion to make our organization stronger. Each year, we bring them together for meetings with lawmakers to discuss TNC priorities and further our advocacy efforts.
TNC staff and trustees, from left to right: Kathleen Hebert, Maud Daudon, Emily Heber, Skippy Shaw, Mike Schaefer, Governor Inslee, Mike Stevens, Lilianna Ayalla, David Mendoza © Hannah Letinich
This year’s lobby day was especially energized by being back on the capitol campus in person for the first time since 2019. On March 15th, Trustees met with Governor Inslee, 16 lawmakers from both chambers and both sides of the aisle, and wrapped the day up at a reception with Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz.
The opportunity to sit down with lawmakers and learn more about their policy goals and approaches, and for trustees to share their perspectives, is extremely impactful to our work. Conversations spanned TNC’s legislative priorities, successes from long-term work like Floodplains by Design, updates like the recent hire of our new burn boss, and where we hope to go in the coming years. Trustees and staff appreciate the depth of the conversations with legislators and the awareness many of them had of our ongoing work across the state.
David Mendoza, Director of Public Advocacy and Engagement © Hannah Letinich
A common thread throughout the day was the importance of engaging local community members and bringing in all impacted voices when crafting policy solutions. This came up especially when talking about HB 1216, a priority bill to expand clean energy development while taking local needs into consideration. In service of deeper engagement, we applaud the efforts of legislators in expanding the ways the public can take part in the legislative session, like the new remote testimony option they implemented during the pandemic and have since made a permanent feature.
Senator John Braun, who represents Washington’s 20th district © Hannah Letinich
At this point in the legislative session, we’re thrilled that our policy priorities for clean energy expansion and climate resiliency planning have passed through both chambers and are on their way to the Governor’s desk for signature. The next major hurdle for the Legislature is to negotiate the final state budgets. Trustees were able to lift up some of our top priority investments for both the operating and capital budgets, including the most effective use of Climate Commitment Act revenue, and we’ll be continuing those conversations in the final days of session.
Trustee Lobby Day is a highlight every year for the Government Relations team here at The Nature Conservancy. It’s a wonderful reminder of the real reason for our advocacy and policy efforts: to strengthen the relationship between people and nature so that both can thrive.
Banner photo: The foyer of the legislative building in Olympia,
© Hannah Fitinich
