February 2022 Newsletter
 

For three decades, The Coastal Watershed Institute has lead the way in nearshore ecosystem conservation and restoration through place-based science.

Dr. Anne Shaffer, CWI's  Executive Director, and a small group of colleagues first formed CWI in 1996. Through her leadership CWI conducts world class coastal ecosystem science, conservation, and restoration with very modest resources.  

A nearshore marine scientist and manager for her entire career, Dr. Shaffer has authored over forty scientific papers.  She and CWI have received numerous awards over the years including the NOAA/AFS Nancy Foster Award, the American Fisheries Science Conservation Organization of the Year Award, and the Seattle Aquarium Conservation Research Science Award.

A resident of the Olympic Peninsula for over 30 years, Anne and her husband continue their dedication to  understanding, conserving, restoring, and promoting the physical and ecological processes of our vanishing  wild  Pacific Northwest coastlines.
 

From the  Center for Biological Diversity:  The extremist sheriff of Washington’s Klickitat County has gone rogue, assembling a posse to hunt down cougars and kill them without justification. He claims it’s for public safety, but what he’s really doing is using a legal loophole to let his cronies hunt the big cats with hounds — a practice outlawed in Washington except under specific circumstances. 

Thankfully, state legislators have introduced a bill to stop this blatant abuse of power, save the lives of countless cougars, and help protect the ecosystems they support. 

Will you speak up to help our native wildlife? 

Forty-five citizens from Clallam and Jefferson counties turned out to urge the Commissioners to protect Miller Peninsula State Park in its natural state and to recognize the benefits this rare park land offers. Parks staff have ignored the public.  It is pushing forward to carve up the forested area.  They are considering a hotel, zip lines, playgrounds, 150 campsites and other inappropriate infrastructure. 

State Parks plans to come out with a final plan for the public to review.  We will keep you informed when this happens.  We urge our members to support keeping the land intact, protecting the quietude it offers, and preserving habitat for wildlife.