Conservation Volunteers in Action
Third Thursday Zoom Meeting
November 17, from 7 to 8 pm
Margie Van Cleve, state Sierra Club Conservation Chair, will discuss current priority issues that volunteers are working on. Margie is a long-time volunteer who was on the team that prepared a briefing book for an omnibus Wild and Scenic River bill for Washington State.
She’ll be joined by other volunteers to help you understand that becoming a volunteer is a journey with friends who will encourage you to enjoy your talents and make the world a better place for all.
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Support Urban Tree Canopy Policy
It's time to speak up for trees. For two years, the League of Women Voters has taken the lead in proposing a set of goals, objectives and policies to save more trees in urban areas of Snohomish County.
The Snohomish County Planning and Development Services is taking public comment, however there is big push back from developers. If you care about trees, let county planners hear from you. |
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League of Women Voters assist tree planting in Everett neighborhood.
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Can We Save Our Legacy Forests?
Legacy forests have many of the same characteristics as "old growth" forests. They are forests that were logged more than 80 years ago. These forests were not artificially planted with a single species in tidy rows; they were allowed to naturally regenerate. They are robust forests with a healthy diversity of plant and animal life. They also efficiently sequester carbon to mitigate the climate crisis.
Unfortunately, they are a primary target for loggers. The Washington Department of Natural Resources needs to hear that we want healthy forests, not more clearcuts.
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Snake River Dams are Killing Salmon
Tell your US Representatives and Senators it is urgent to begin replacing the services of the Lower Snake River dams. Waiting too long will end hopes of salmon recovery.
Saving salmon runs on the Snake River is essential to honoring the Columbia River Treaty with Tribes in the area.
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Support WEAN for Much-Deserved Award
You've heard about their success in stopping covert military training in Washington State Parks, their precedent setting win to protect rare plant species and their habitat, and the protection for the Western Toad habitat. These are just the most recent successful court battles of the Whidbey Environmental Action Network, that has worked for 30 years to protect the environment in and around Whidbey Island. These wins represent thousands of hours of volunteer effort, and we now have a chance to reward that effort.
WEAN is a finalist for a $40,000 grant for non-profit organizations. The group with the most votes wins. Scroll down to the end of the alphabetical listing to find WEAN and get your vote in by the Nov. 13 deadline.
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Family Program: All About Beavers
Saturday, Nov. 12 at 3 pm
NW Stream Center,
600 128th St. SE, Everett
Members $5 non-members $7
Masks please.
Join Sammy the Salmon at this IMAX movie to learn how beavers create great salmon habitat. Question and answer session follows. Check out the skull of a 69 pound beaver. |
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Hear Plans for Airport Expansion
Friday, Nov. 18 at 10 am, on Zoom
What is planned for Paine Field? And why are Arlington and Monroe no longer being considered for an airport?
David Fleckenstein, Director of Civilian Aviation Coordination Committee for the Washington State Department of Transportation, will explain what is happening. Join the meeting sponsored by the Natural Resources committee of the Snohomish League of Women Voters. |
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VOTE NOW!
If you have not already submitted your ballot, you can still do it through tomorrow, Nov. 8.
Drop it in a ballot box near you or use the US mail -- for free. Ballot envelope postage is prepaid.
Let your voice be heard.
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Whidbey Students Meet With VP Harris
Six students from South Whidbey schools were invited by the White House to attend and speak at the Seattle press conference for the EPA's new electric bus grant. Audrey Gmerek, of the United Student Leaders, had the honor of introducing Vice President Harris to approximately 300 event attendees. Audrey also gave a speech that emphasized the importance of sustainable practices for our planet.
Students also had the opportunity to meet Senator Patty Murray and Governor Inslee.
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High School Junior Audrey Gmerek
and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Electric school bus grant to South Whidbey
South Whidbey School District was encouraged by the United Student Leaders of Whidbey to apply for the Clean School Bus Grant, and they were selected.
This award provides $395,000 to transition to a regenerative economy, addressing the climate emergency. South Whidbey is one of four districts in Washington selected for an electric bus grant. |
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Winning a Court Case against DNR
The work of environmentalist groups pays off! Groups called Save the Olympic Peninsula and Center for Sustainable Economy have prevailed in their suit against the state Department of Natural Resources.
A Jefferson County Superior Court judge ruled that DNR must follow state EPA policy and report greenhouse gas emissions from logging. DNR is also required to evaluate the extent to which clearcutting is making the land hotter, drier and more susceptible to wildfire. |
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Edmonds Marsh Restoration Updates
The Edmonds City Council passed a resolution requesting an extension of the First Right of Refusal to purchase the Unocal property from the state Department of Transportation. The resolution cited the City's intent to return the property to open space and re-establish the estuary.
Follow restoration progress on the website.
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Climate Alliance of Snohomish County
Representatives of the Climate Alliance of Snohomish County recently met with newly appointed County Council member Strom Peterson to share information about the purpose of the organization and how it functions. Approximately 20 local area environmental groups have joined the Climate Alliance to support one another in working toward mutual goals. The combined groups have a membership of many thousands of environmentally concerned citizens.
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A Study in Solar in US K-12 Schools
by Bill Trueit
If all schools used solar energy to fully power their buildings, it could offset the CO2 emissions of 16 coal-fired power plants. Already one in 10 schools have some form of solar power for a total of 8,409 schools. Washington State has 112 schools generating more than 20,000 kWh of solar power.
Some schools generate a tiny amount of power, but in Spokane there are 12 schools each generating 1647 kWh of power. To put that into perspective, an average 2,000 square foot home uses about 30 kWh per day.
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Pilchuck River Cleanup Success
Green Snohomish volunteers removed more than 18 bags of garbage and three bags of recyclables along the Pilchuck River under the Dubuque Bridge. They found some surprising things, such as a 200 lb. broken open safe, an almost new frying pan, and a perfectly good patio chair.
They're planning their next cleanup, an opportunity to show their appreciation for the beauty sometimes hidden by carelessness. If you can join them, please contact: don.dillinger@comcast.net
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Volunteers Nominated for our Leadership Team
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| Executive Committee Election
The seven member leadership team of the Sno-Isle Group is the Executive Committee. It meets monthly and is responsible for finances, strategic planning, oversight of committees, and other functions necessary to ensure smooth operations of the group.
Current members are eligible to vote before 5 pm Friday, December 9th, 2022.
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Sno-Isle Executive Committee Candidates:
Nancy Johnson: Working with our wonderful Ex-Com, we have made steady progress on our long-term goals – expanding outreach to include all of Snohomish and Island Counties, increasing committee membership, collaborating with many other local groups on land use, climate, and environmental justice issues, and supporting activists in what they do best. This is a critical time in our nation and the world. We must seize this opportunity to halt climate change and promote a just and sustainable recovery and world.
Ann Posner: I would enthusiastically serve on the Executive Committee. A member of Sierra Club since 1977, I enjoyed Sierra Club outings in the United States, exploring and photographing our beautiful land from Maine to California. As a USAID Foreign Service Officer, I hiked with people in countries overseas, learning about environmental concerns in their countries. A voracious reader about the natural environment, I have become increasingly alarmed about global impacts of human-caused degradation. I support Sierra Club values of more equal sharing among humans and careful use of the earth’s precious resources. As a member of the Executive Committee, I would apply these on beautiful Whidbey Island.
Bill Trueit: Learn, share, and do. That has been my approach to addressing the threats to our environment as an environmental activist. As long as I can remember, I have been inspired and comforted by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. As I grew more aware of the threats to our local and global environment, I felt a moral imperative to share what I had learned, but that was not enough. For the last ten years, I have been a member of the Sierra Club and involved in writing articles for a local newspaper about environmental issues, giving presentations on the climate crisis, lobbying elected officials on a variety of environmental issues, and helping to produce events for electric vehicles.
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Unless someone like you cares
a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.
~~ “The Lorax,” by Dr. Seuss
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