Read the letter to Governor Inslee | August 20, 2020
E-MAIL language and links to include in your own letter
Ask Governor Inslee to say YES to Southern Resident orcas & NO to a new terminal less than a mile from WA State!
Get more information about the Roberts Bank Terminal 2
Continue readingEd and others,
Hope you are all having a nice day!
The “new approach” is for our leaders, elected and agencies, to realize that immediate action is required to save salmon, Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW), and Bonneville Power Authority (BPA). Collaboration needs to be about rounding up some of these leaders and to agree and how to get these two agencies and their overseers in DC to agree to immediate breaching. More meeting about anything else is the “old approach” and should be avoided. If they don’t understand the peril these creatures, fisherman and ratepayers are in, then help me arrange a briefing for them. I can also show them how the option of immediate breaching is real.
The Columbia River Systems Operations (CRSO) was a planned train wreck and is so fatally flawed as to render it useless accept as cannon fodder in the next round of legal battles between the NGOs and Feds. Which is just fine with them. Our leaders need to stand up to this protracted discussion, studies, litigation, etc. and take decisive and immediate action on breaching. That would be “new”. Here is the link to a document submitted to the CSRO process that lays out the 14 Fatal Flaws in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). https://damsense.org/fourteen-fatal-flaws/
Also, the COVID 19 crisis will most likely wreck much of the salmon and orca restoration initiatives, whereas breaching does not cost the state a dime, saves 8 million juvenile smolts, goes a long way to restoring fisheries and those jobs, and could create 2-3 thousand jobs in eastern Washington. That is what our leaders ought to be talking about, not more collaboration about anything but immediate breaching and how to expedite the mitigation that keeps virtually everyone whole and that have already been identified. Along those lines I have attached a letter we recently sent to Governor Inslee making these points.
I applaud Ron Allen for raising this issue with Congressman Kilmer, and he just may be the person in the Pacific Northwest who has the business acumen and courage do to what is right before it is too late.
Thanks for sharing this.
Respectfully,
Jim Waddell Civil Engineer, PE USACE Retired and Clallam County PUD Commissioner.
These views are my own and do not represent a position by the CC PUD
Facebook Event at Orca Oracle Bus Carpool — https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/a3uj90
to rally on the Washington Capitol steps,
Jan. 23, 2020 at 11 am
Gov Inslee is taking written comments on his “LSRD Stakeholder Study” through Jan. 24, but has no public meetings set around the Salish Sea, nor is he allowing any public comments at his 3 “Stakeholder Meetings” [set in Clarkston, Tri-Cities and Vancouver].
Speakers, signs and songs will let Gov. Inslee know that the time has come to breach these dams now based on science, economics and treaty rights!
No public comment is taken at the Stakeholder Meetings.
The Stakeholder Rally welcomes open public comment. Come be heard and seen as
We the People advocate for saving salmon, orca, and taxpayer money.
More info and carpooling link will be available at the Facebook event
You may print and display the Stakeholder Rally Poster.
Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard,
has followed his 2014 documentary DamNation
with a new film:
Artifishal is a film about people, rivers, and the fight for the future of wild fish and the environment that supports them. It explores wild salmon’s slide toward extinction, threats posed by fish hatcheries and fish farms, and our continued loss of faith in nature.
Sign the Petition for the Salmon
See the interview with Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard
Says Paul Chiyokten Wagner:
“I believe the sacred words of our
ancestors. Duwamish prophecy: “If the Blackfish were ever to be absent from the Salish Sea, so would the humans
be absent from the land”.
Most sadly three more Blackfish
just starved to death.
We can do this together my family, rise up, make yourself strong for all of the
children of Mother Earth
and their livable future.
O si,am”
One whale from each pod of the
Southern Resident killer whales
has been determined dead by the
Center for Whale Research.
Author: KING5 Staff Published: 08/08/19
Three more Southern Resident killer whales have been determined dead by the Center for Whale Research. That brings their total population down to 73.
The deceased orcas are J17, K25, and L84; that’s one killer whale from each pod of the resident orcas.
Continue reading
This inspiring film reveals the obvious way to stop decades of ever increasing
ecological devastation and financial misappropriation.
As the salmon numbers plummet and orcas starve, weak political will remains the status quo. Four obsolete dams on the lower Snake River kill hundreds of salmon per every megawatt of hydropower produced. These fish killing dams never were an environmentally friendly decision, and with renewable resources on the rise are no longer economically sound. Breaching these dams will not only save salmon and orca, but millions of taxpayer and ratepayer dollars.
You will also hear the story of a Palouse tribal elder from eastern Washington who courageously refuses to let the injustice of constructing the dams go untold. Carrie Chapman Nightwalker Schuster’s family home was drowned by the construction of Ice Harbor Dam, completed in 1961. Since her childhood she has fought valiantly to maintain and restore Palouse culture, language, and land, some of which lies under the reservoir behind Ice Harbor Dam. Carrie gives the vision of steadfast grit to all who take up the mission to “Free the Snake.”
Dana Lyons
June 8th – 7-9 p.m. at Sequim’s Pioneer Park
387 East Washington Street
Dana Lyons with an inspiring musical message of hope
for the Orca to help save
the Southern Resident Killer Whales
from extinction.
Dana has invited the North Olympic Orca Pod to dance,
and specifically the “Stayin’ Alive” number,
which Dana will play and have the lyrics for.
Suggested donation is $10-20 — No one will be turned away
See Dana perform “The Great Salish Sea” — CowsWithGuns.com
By Emi Okikawa, Digital Communications Fellow
From The Sierra Club, Washington State Chapter Journal – “The Crest” Volume 38, Issue 1
The Story of Tokitae
Three thousand miles away from Seattle,
a lone Southern Resident orca swims in a tank. To visitors at Miami Seaquarium
her name is “Lolita,” but to the Lummi Nation she is Tokitae. It’s a Chinook
name, given to her the day she was kidnapped from our waters.
At 51 years old, Tokitae has spent the majority of her life–47 years– in
captivity, confined to a tiny swimming pool with no other orca for company. She
is the age of an elder matriarch and should be the mother of her own family. But
instead, she is all alone.
Tokitae was taken from her family in the infamous Penn Cove capture of 1970.
In the brutal attack, a group of men used boats, planes, and explosives to
corral frightened and panicked orca families into nets to separate them, using
long sticks to push mothers away from their calves. In the end, the remaining
orca could only watch as their stolen babies and relatives were helicoptered
away to be distributed to various marine parks around the country. According to
the Lummi, the orca have since avoided Penn Cove because it’s still the site of
such painful memories.
“Dammed to Extinction”
Port Townsend — May 4th — 3:45 p.m., doors open 3:30 p.m.
The Wheeler Theater, Fort Worden Conference Center
Four obsolete dams choke off access to thousands of miles of rivers.
Removing these dams will save money, salmon and endangered orcas.
I’d like to watch the movie trailer . . .
$10 general admission, tickets on-line at Brown Paper Tickets
Post-film Discussion
This event features a post-film discussion with Director Michael Peterson, and Cast Members Carrie Chapman Nightwalker Schuster and Jim Waddell.
Peterson-Hawley Productions 2019. This special preview is part of the Global Earth Repair Conference.
Things to remember:
Schedule
| 12:30pm | DamSense and Backbone set up ocra pattern layout. |
| 1:00pm | People assemble in the orca pattern layout. |
| 1:15pm | Mural assembled and speakers at the dorsal fin to speak. |
| 1:15pm | Drone flies over to take video/photo |
| 1:45pm | Orca mural wraps up. Participants gather for a group photo and sing “No More BS” lead by Karen Davis |
| 2:00pm | NOOP performs “Stayin’ Alive” and other routine. |
| 2:30pm | Socializing and wrap-up. A canopy with table for information materials will be available. |
Let’s get to 1 million signatures! Spread the word!
It was back-to-back activism yesterday at Rep. Derek Kilmer’s office in Port Angeles.
First, the North Olympic Orca Pod hosted a die-in and delivered a letter outlining 23 scientific articles supporting the immediate breaching of the lower Snake River dams.
OCA members delivered our own letter to Kilmer and described the promise offered by the Green New Deal to remake the Lower Snake River watershed into a showcase for clean energy, green jobs, restorative agriculture, recreation, and carbon sequestration, rather than a cesspool for salmon mortality and methane production.
Then, the new Sunrise Movement Olympic Peninsula hub hosted a meeting at Kilmer’s office to express concern that our Representative has had several months to ponder what Congress should be doing to solve the climate crisis, and has yet to speak or act. Time to step up!
Both groups asked to meet with Kilmer next time he’s home.
At the direction of our membership at our February 3 meeting, OCA sent letters to Governor Inslee, our District 24 State Representatives, and Rep. Derek Kilmer about both the necessity and feasibility of breaching the lower 4 Snake River Dams this year. Nothing would prevent this from happening if we recognized the true dire straits our Southern Resident Orcas are in, and none of the recommendations of the Governor’s Orca Task Force would have as immediate and beneficial an impact as this one thing. Here’s the letter we sent to Gov. Inslee: OCA to Inslee 2-15-19
And here’s a letter being hand-delivered by our friends at the North Olympic Orca Pod to Rep. Derek Kilmer on Feb. 27: NOOP to Kilmer 2-27-19
From the co-chairs of the Governor’s Southern Resident Orca Task Force:
Please join us on Thursday, January 10, from 10 to 11 a.m., for a Governor’s Office budget and policy update webinar to address questions from members of the Governor’s Southern Resident Orca Task Force.
The following panelists will participate in the discussion:
Task Force and Working Group members are encouraged to participate and ask questions, but no deliberations will take place, and no actions will be taken. The goal of the webinar is for Task Force and Working Group members to better understand this topic and help members formulate their perspectives on how these budget and policy updates will affect Task Force work in 2019.
The public is welcome to listen to the webinar, which will be recorded for later viewing.
How to join the webinar:
By phone
855-929-3239 (toll free)
+1-240-454-0887 (US toll)
Meeting number (access code): 808 330 011
Online
When it’s time, click to start your meeting.
From a video system or application
Dial 808330011@watech.webex.com
You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter meeting number 808 330 011
Need help joining the meeting?
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that this WebEx service allows audio and other information sent during the session to be recorded, which may be discoverable in a legal matter. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to being recorded, discuss your concerns with the host or do not join the session.
An important rally for the orcas is scheduled at the Capitol complex in Olympia on Nov. 16, 2-5 pm. There will be representations of all 74 living wild Southern Resident Killer Whales, plus Tokitae, aka “Lolita,” held in captivity at Miami Seaquarium.
Nov 16 is when the Orca Task Force final recommendations go to Governor Inslee. The rally is to support breaching the Lower Snake River Dams a.s.a.p. for the sake of our salmon and orcas!
There is a big need for people to hold one of the 75 orca replicas. Interested people should let the organizers know they want to hold an orca by posting on the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/254931905370101/
Event poster: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JIu1idaBW6zNejmqu3igFrYRqz4uNc9I/view?usp=sharing
Here is a site for both drivers and passengers to carpool to the event: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/9yo54z
At our August 5 general meeting, OCA members by consensus adopted a resolution calling for the immediate removal of the four lower Snake River Dams and their replacement by clean power. Removing the lower 4 Snake River Dams will benefit the Pacific Northwest in several ways:
DamSense.org/ – comprehensive, in-depth website devoted to the issue
Orca facts from the Center for Whale Research
Southern Resident Killer Whale Synopsis – Debra Ellers, North Olympic Orca Pod
The Case for Breaching the 4 Lower Snake River Dams – Orca Network
Comments to Orca Task Force from the President of Advocates for the West in Idaho
Greenhouse Gas Impacts of the L4SRDs – John Twa, Mechanical Engineer
Ratepayers subsidize dirty power from the L4SRDs while better green power is available
Seattle Times: Controversy over orcas vs. dams
Actions to save the Orcas, from 350 Seattle: Call Governor Inslee at 360-902-4111 and ask him to take action immediately. Thank him for working to protect orcas, and tell him you support stronger action, now, without delay:
Online petitions:
Whom to call or contact and ways to provide your opinion: Sample comments and link here: “Public Feedback: Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery and Task Force” https://bit.ly/2McBcFT
Governor J. Inslee
phone: (360) 902-4111
e-message: https://bit.ly/2F7AWDN
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GovInslee
Senator Patty Murray (425) 259-6515
fax: (509) 624-9561
e-message: https://bit.ly/2jsVl8T
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PattyMurray
Senator Maria Cantwell (202) 224-3441
fax: (202) 228-0514
e-message: https://bit.ly/2lzQshJ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SenatorCantwell
NOAA, Barry Thom (503) 231-6266
Please tell the Army Corps of Engineers to supplement the 2002 EIS promptly and use Alternative 4 to breach the 4 Lower Snake River Dams in 2018.
US Army Corps of Engineers (202) 761-0000
Lt. General Todd T. Semonite
Commander and Chief of Engineers
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20314-1000
Northwest Division, USACE
Brigadier General Helmlinger
PO Box 2870
Portland OR 97208-2870
503-808-3800
At our August 5 general meeting, OCA members by consensus adopted a resolution calling for the immediate removal of the four lower Snake River Dams and their replacement by clean power. Removing the lower 4 Snake River Dams will benefit the Pacific Northwest in several ways:
https://damsense.org/ – comprehensive, in-depth website devoted to the issue
The Case for Breaching the 4 Lower Snake River Dams – Orca Network
Greenhouse Gas Impacts of the L4SRDs – John Twa, Mechanical Engineer
Southern Resident Killer Whale Synopsis – Debra Ellers, North Olympic Orca Pod
Seattle Times: Controversy over orcas vs. dams
David James Duncan on Freeing the Snake River from Mark Titus on Vimeo.
Actions to save the Orcas, from 350 Seattle: Call Governor Inslee at 360-902-4111 and ask him to take action immediately. Thank him for working to protect orcas, and tell him you support stronger action, now, without delay:
Online petitions:
Whom to call or contact and ways to provide your opinion: Sample comments and link here: “Public Feedback: Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery and Task Force” https://bit.ly/2McBcFT
Governor J. Inslee
phone: (360) 902-4111
e-message: https://bit.ly/2F7AWDN
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GovInslee
Senator Patty Murray (425) 259-6515
fax: (509) 624-9561
e-message: https://bit.ly/2jsVl8T
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PattyMurray
Senator Maria Cantwell (202) 224-3441
fax: (202) 228-0514
e-message: https://bit.ly/2lzQshJ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SenatorCantwell
NOAA, Barry Thom (503) 231-6266
Please tell the Army Corps of Engineers to supplement the 2002 EIS promptly and use Alternative 4 to breach the 4 Lower Snake River Dams in 2018.
US Army Corps of Engineers (202) 761-0000
Lt. General Todd T. Semonite
Commander and Chief of Engineers
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20314-1000
Northwest Division, USACE
Brigadier General Helmlinger
PO Box 2870
Portland OR 97208-2870
503-808-3800
When do we finally say, “Enough”?
On September 15th, from 2-4 pm at Pope Marine Park in Port Townsend, there will be a free concert featuring singer/songwriter and guitarist, Dana Lyons. He will be sharing his “Songs of the Salish Sea” focusing on the health and restoration of our important waterway.
Our local community is joining other communities around the bioregion to build broader awareness and advocacy for protection for our Sacred Sea and all living creatures. While the sea itself may separate us physically, we are uniting to face these growing threats together. #WeAretheWater
The event will feature song, art and education integrated together to raise awareness of how we all can help Save the Salish Sea. Interspersed with Dana Lyons’s songs, leaders in the community will talk about the challenges the Salish Sea faces and how we all can protect it. The family-friendly event will also include inter-generational art creation and information tables. Speakers include Deborah Stinson, Mayor, City of Port Townsend; Laura Tucker, Climate Educator; and others.
The event is being organized by the Sierra Club North Olympic Peninsula Group, Local 20/20, QUUF’s Green Sanctuary Environmental Action Committee, and Olympic Climate Action in partnership with organizations throughout the peninsula.
RSVP here or on the Facebook event. Bring an umbrella, and a chair to guarantee yourself a seat!
And of course, please bike, bus, walk or carpool to the event if possible! The event is fully accessible.
Additionally, for those interested in direct action before the event, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center is hosting an International Coastal Cleanup day from 12pm – 4pm on the same day, September 15th. Go to PTMSC.org for more information.
CONTACT: Cherri Mann, cherrimann@aol.com, 360-390-4877.
* Hollywood Beach Party, meet and greet, potluck/picnic
* Kids’ activities all day long (see press release below for details)
* Storytelling and music
* Orca vigil & Kayaktivists invocation
* Featured speakers at Feiro Marine Life Center:
* Evening program at Elwha Klallam Heritage Center: Multi-media
presentation of The Road To Athabasca, a chronicle of an epic
bicycle journey along the route of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
This event is free, but donations will be collected to fund OCA’s activities and the opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Please RSVP here so we can add our numbers to the overall count of people who are gathering on this day for Climate Justice internationally. You can also keep up to date on this event on our Facebook page.
Press release with more details
B&W flyer for the day’s events
Poster: Rising for Orca & Climate Justice
Poster: The Road to Athabasca
Salish Sea Protection – Lobby Day 2018
A day of action to protect The Salish Sea! Join Protectors of the Salish Sea and Students for the Salish Sea in a day of constituent conversations with decision makers about key issues threatening our Salish Sea and what it will take to let this beautiful region return to health. This session we are advocating:
What: Salish Sea Protection – Lobby Day 2018
Date: Monday, February 12th, 2018
Register: salishsea.brownpapertickets.com/
Location: TBD
Carpool info: www.groupcarpool.com/t/5ups9x
Questions: chiara[at]studentsforthesalishsea.org
Let’s create a healthier Salish Sea together!
* S C H E D U L E *
8:30-10: Indigenous prayer with Protectors for the Salish Sea and briefing on Indigenous solidarity issues; followed by a briefing on up-to-date policy priorities list.
— During this portion each participant will receive a name tag, an itinerary for constituent meetings and folder with specific policy information —-
12:00 Students for the Salish Sea Kinder Morgan petition delivery to Jay Inslee!
10-4:15, meetings with Senators and Representatives!
If you register here we’ll schedule meetings with your representatives:
https://salishsea.brownpapertickets.com/
**Please let us know if this cost poses a barrier to you and we will do our best to accommodate.**
We’d like to arrange childcare for anyone coming with kids. Message us if this is your circumstance ♥
https://www.facebook.com/events/170422866830544/
“I believe in the sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods, the owls, the hawks flying, the river running, the wind talking. They’re measurements. They tell us how healthy things are. How healthy we are. Because we and they are the same”
-Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Tribal Leader
The people of our Salish Sea are rising like the tide to protect what we love and cherish as sacred, to stand together like the trees and lift each other up and the “each other” includes our grandchildren’s grandchildren, the orca and salmon people, the tree and bird people and all the other animal people of our Salish Sea. To stand in solidarity with Salish Sea tribes to ensure their treaty rights are honored and respected and for other nations to have their unceded territories and natural laws honored and respected.
