Leaders and advocates from across the region gathered at the beautiful Nisqually Cultural Center longhouse Tuesday for “Puget Sound Day on the Sound,” taking a moment together to celebrate some big federal policy progress for people and nature.
Former EPA Regional Administrator and current Chair of the Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council, Dennis McLerran, opened the panel discussion at Puget Sound Day on the Sound. Photo by Chase Nuuhiwa.
Watch the Puget Sound Partnership’s video about the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act and its benefits for conservation in Washington.
Organized by the Puget Sound Partnership and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the event featured a discussion with the co-chairs of the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus, Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-06) and Marilyn Strickland (D-10).
Nisqually Tribal Chairman Willie Frank III welcomed the group, which included local and visiting tribal council members and other elected leaders from around the Sound and from eastern Washington — and even members of the Canadian consulate, representing our neighbors on the other side of the Salish Sea.
Panelists answered questions submitted ahead of time and live from event attendees. Photo by Chase Nuuhiwa.
Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council Chair Dennis McLerran opened the discussion, expressing his excitement about two major pieces of federal legislation — the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, passed in the fall of last year, and the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Biden this summer — as well as Washington state’s 2021 Climate Commitment Act. The panelists discussed how these and other federal- and state-level policies will work together in the coming years to make a big difference for Washington’s communities, for salmon recovery, clean water and more.
Representative Derek Kilmer (D-06) expressed his enthusiasm for the conservation and climate investments in the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, especially funds for the Puget Sound Geographic Program, NOAA coastal programs, culverts and fish passage barrier removal. Photo by Chase Nuuhiwa.
With more than 100 attendees in the audience, Representatives Kilmer and Strickland answered questions about salmon recovery, green infrastructure, protecting tribal treaty rights and helping local governments and community groups get federal dollars working on the ground.
Both Representatives said that one of their top priorities for this year is passing the PUGET SOS Act (believe it or not, it’s an acronym: Promoting United Government Efforts To Save Our Sound). Currently included in the National Defense Authorization Act bill under consideration by Congress, the PUGET SOS Act aims to improve federal-state agency coordination and accelerate habitat restoration and clean water efforts around the Sound. As Representative Strickland pointed out, climate change is a national security issue, and restoring Puget Sound will help improve the climate resilience of communities from Olympia to Port Townsend to Blaine.
Representative Marilyn Strickland (D-10) spoke about the challenges of pollution from tire particles, which is killing salmon in Puget Sound waterways. Photo by Chase Nuuhiwa.
As we noted here when it was signed into law, thanks to advocacy by our members of Congress, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $89 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Puget Sound Geographic Program as well as a new National Culvert Removal, Replacement and Restoration Grant Program and $1 billion to implement it.
Representative Strickland highlighted the urgent need to address stormwater runoff with green infrastructure like bioswales to help mitigate the effects of toxic tire particles that are killing Puget Sound salmon — another opportunity for state- and federal-level coordination on funding and implementation. We’re excited about expanding upon a public-private stormwater project under the Aurora Bridge in Seattle with another under the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge, funded with $10 million in state dollars this year.
Investing in stormwater is an investment in salmon. Learn about the Aurora Bridge Bioswale and what’s next for green stormwater infrastructure in Puget Sound in this video.
Building on the tradition of Puget Sound Day on the Hill — a previously annual trip to the other Washington for this community — this year’s Puget Sound Day on the Sound was a moment of hope and optimism for those gathered on the cool, misty morning. There’s a lot of work to do, but with state and federal dollars in place, and a new ability to cautiously gather together once again to foster collaboration and exchange ideas, we’re looking forward to making major progress for Puget Sound together.
Justin Parker (left), the Executive Director of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, and Laura Laura Blackmore, Executive Director of the Puget Sound Partnership, moderated the panel discussion. Photo by Chase Nuuhiwa/PSP.
Banner photo by Jessie Israel.
