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Advocacy

Feedback to those in leadership roles is powerful.

Your voice counts and persistently speaking out can make a difference.

Sample Advocacy Letter

Federal Elected Officials

Contact President Donald Trump online, or call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1414 or the comments line at 202-456-1111 during business hours.
Locate your U.S. senators' contact information.
Find your U.S. representative's website and contact information.

State Elected Officials

Get in touch with your state governor.
Find the names and current activities of your state legislators.

Local Elected Officials

Locate your mayor by name, city, or population size.
Find your county executive (the head of the executive branch of government in your county) by map search or your ZIP Code. The county executive may be an elected or an appointed position.

Washington State Governor:

Washington Governor Jay Inslee

PO Box 40002

Olympia, WA 98504-0002

360-902-4111

Washington State Legislators:

https://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/

Local Government:

https://www.usmayors.org/mayors/

Salmon Advocacy for Southern Resident Orcas

Why salmon?

Southern Residents are fish-eaters, feeding primarily on salmon, with Chinook making up over 80% of their overall diet. They used to be seen in the Salish Sea for most of the summer when salmon runs were once abundant. Unfortunately, salmon species in our area are now endangered. When the issue in lack of food is compounded with contaminants in the water and vessel noise, the road to recovery for Southern Resident orcas remains perilous.

Please learn more and then learn how you can help below.

Data and chart from WDFW

Data and chart from Orca Behavior Institute.

Chinook Priority Stock Assessment by NOAA

Data and chart from Orca Behavior Institute.

There is hope. But that involves active participation from the public. That is YOU!

What can you do? Please find a few suggestions below.

Support Fair Fisheries

Fisheries managers establish a “total allowable catch” each year (North of Falcon), and currently, the entire catch is designated for human consumption—with nothing allocated for whales. The public can demand change. We must insist that NOAA and the Pacific Salmon Commission acknowledge the needs of the SRKWs and allocate salmon for them, while honoring tribal treaty rights. Southern Resident Killer Whales are a federally protected, endangered species. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a legal obligation to safeguard the whale’s prey. But they’re not adhering to this requirement (learn more at wildorca.org).

Click here to read 2019 Public Comments - No allocation was made for the SRKWs for 2020

Stay tuned - Fair Fisheries are being considered CAO November 2020

Request immediate breaching of the lower Snake River dams

The SRKWs now spend the majority of their time outside of the Salish Sea, searching for salmon on the coast of WA, CA, and OR. The Columbia and Snake River salmon stocks are on the NOAA priority list, furthermore the four dams are all run-of-river facilities, which means that they have limited storage capacity in their reservoirs and pass water through the dam at about the same rate as it enters the reservoir. They provide irrigation for 13 farms, 4% of the region's electricity, and the barging is taxpayer-supported.

Write Officials about lower Snake River dam breaching: Click here

Learn More:

Top 10 Reasons the Lower Snake River Dams will be Breached

Vital Connection: Orcas, Salmon & the Snake River Dams

Dammed to Extinction

DamNation

River of Life, Channel of Death

Recovering a Lost River: Removing Dams, Rewilding Salmon, Revitalizing Communities

Follow the Fraser Test Fishery

The purpose of the multi-panel net is to ensure representative sampling of Chinook passing through the lower Fraser River, due to the wide range of body sizes observed in Fraser River Chinook stocks.

https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/fraser/docs/commercial/albionchinook-quinnat-eng.html

Support Survive the Sound

Survive the Sound is an interactive online game from May 4-8 of each year where students and the general public are invited to follow their favorite fish character as it migrates through Puget Sound. The game uses real data collected as part of LLTK’s research efforts to tell the story of imperiled steelhead and the challenges they face. During the journey, everyone develops a deeper connection to their local environment, encouraging them to take action to protect it.

https://www.survivethesound.org

Stormwater and Contaminants

Toxic Free Future

Toxic-Free Future advocates for the use of safer products, chemicals, and practices through advanced research, advocacy, grassroots organizing, and consumer engagement to ensure a healthier tomorrow.

https://toxicfreefuture.org/

Stormwater Mangement

Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington

Neat stormwater project

Phenomenal timelapse of a project

Swale on Yale info:

https://lakeunionwatershed.com/the-tale-of-the-swale-on-yale/

https://pugetsoundinnovationstories.blog/2017/04/20/capitol-hill-water-quality-project-swale-on-yale/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc8vt3svjGw&list=PLXny_Je3KsDzSATutzrXqWljZiz3e1u_o&index=8&t=0s

City of Anacortes Stormwater website: https://www.anacorteswa.gov/493/Stormwater

Anacortes Stormwater Useful Links: https://www.anacorteswa.gov/1080/Useful-Links

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