6/20/08

As spring becomes summer, People For Puget Sound begin to shed the fleece and raingear (keeping them close at hand, though; you never know), and head out to restore shoreline habitats, peer from piers at the Sound’s “night life,” appreciate the whales, and enjoy the long, long days and the low, low tides.

Meanwhile, with a dizzying array of consultants, meetings, papers and workshops, the Puget Sound Partnership is hard at work to develop the Action Agenda and funding plan that will make the Sound healthy by the year 2020.  The Partnership’s Leadership Council recently adopted the four priorities that have emerged from the flurry so far (I paraphrase): 1) focus on the important stuff; 2) protect what’s working well; 3) restore what isn’t; and 4) prevent water pollution.  Hmmm…  Not exactly revolutionary thinking, yet not a bad starting point.  What we most need now is a focus on how we move from basically knowing what we need to do, to actually doing it. I guess we’ll have to stay tuned for that.

Next week I’m off to Washington, D.C. to testify in favor of Puget Sound moving up on the national agenda.  Congressman Norm Dicks is proposing that EPA establish a Puget Sound program office, the first step to getting Puget Sound on a par with Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes in terms of help from the federal level.  This has been talked about for years—now finally it’s within reach.

Also pending in Congress is a long-term solution to the rescue tug issue.  Senator Cantwell has included a provision in the Coast Guard reauthorization bill that would require an oil spill prevention tug to be placed at Neah Bay year-round, paid for by the oil and cargo shippers.  This will put the funding burden on those who might cause a spill, and will bring to an end the year-to-year uncertainty that has caused us to have to keep our fingers crossed—not exactly the best oil spill prevention strategy!

There’s a lot to be optimistic about for Puget Sound’s future.  From the governor to our Congressional delegation and on down the line, it seems that everybody wants to save the Sound.  And people everywhere are going green. 

There’s a lot to be nervous about as well!  The important thing right now is to make sure that the new Partnership doesn’t get lost in a black hole of process, or lose its gumption to tackle the tough issues. 

I think I’ve said this before: this is our last best chance to save the Sound.

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