Conservation, by Tim Manns

Washington State Legislative Session

The last few conservation reports in the Skagit Flyer newsletter (SAS Blog — Skagit Audubon Society) and conservation notes on the website (Conservation notes & letters — Skagit Audubon Society) describe Audubon’s goals during the current legislative session. The session is scheduled to finish April 27th. Of the several thousand bills introduced, a fraction will be passed. Audubon is also focused on how the biennial budget to be written during this session will affect its conservation goals.

Audubon Washington’s Bill Tracker website lays out a well-organized path to supporting Audubon’s efforts in the state legislature. Follow the steps outlined on this website: Bill Tracker: 2025 Legislative Session | Audubon Washington

To help follow through on the Bill Tracker information, here is information on how to use the legislature’s website (Welcome to the Washington State Legislature) to comment on bills prior to a committee hearing or directly to your legislators:

1.       You can go to the website for each legislator and phone or email them or send a letter. Legislators are most attentive to communications from their own constituents. Go to: How to send a message to a legislator. To find your legislative district, go to Washington State Legislature.

2.       You can go to the page for the particular bill (Click on Bills, meetings, and session and enter the bill number). On the particular bill’s page, find “Send a comment on this bill to your legislators” in a dark green rectangle. Communicating your opinion is particularly important when your elected official is on the committee considering the particular bill. When you find your district (Washington State Legislature), your legislators’ names will appear. Click on each name to get information about them including the names of committees on which they serve.

3.       Until shortly before a committee hearing, you can register “Pro” or “Con” on a bill without testifying or you can send written comments or register to testify remotely. (Note: You cannot indicate your position preceding an executive session of the committee.) At the webpage for the particular bill, if there is a committee hearing scheduled, you will see a dark green box with the words “Sign up to Testify/Submit Written Testimony.”  Click there to go to a page titled “Senate (or House) Committee Sign In.” Indicate the bill on which you wish to comment. Then “Select Type of Testimony.”  Clicking on “I would like my position noted for the legislative record” will take you to a page where you can indicate you are “Pro” or “Con” on the bill but do not wish to testify. You can also choose to submit written or live testimony.

Our legislators want to hear from us, and it’s easy to contact them.

All of this is not to neglect national legislative matters during this tumultuous time in Washington, D.C. Sign up for National Audubon Take Action notices on this website: https://www.audubon.org/takeaction.

Skagit County Comprehensive Plan Update

Washington’s Growth Management Act of 1990 (GMA) requires the fastest-growing cities and counties to complete Comprehensive Plans and development regulations to guide future growth. These Comp Plans look ahead twenty years. The required ten-year update for Skagit County and, separately, for Skagit’s incorporated towns is happening now with a deadline late this year. These Comprehensive Plans address a list of required elements (e.g. land use, housing, capital facilities.). By new state law, this update must address the causes and effects of climate change and ways to make communities resilient in the face of climate change. Several Comp Plan elements are relevant to Skagit Audubon’s mission of preserving and restoring wildlife and its habitat. Our chapter commented during the public input opportunities provided so far. More are scheduled. The entire draft is now out for public review through March 13th. To review the draft and contribute comments, go to www.skagitcounty.net/2025CPA. Skagit Audubon’s focus is on the Comp Plan of its namesake county, but it should be noted that the adjacent counties plus Skagit’s towns and cities are on the same timeline to complete 10-year updates of their own Comp Plans with each having public comment opportunities.

Other Issues

For information on other conservation issues Skagit Audubon is following, please go to the Conservation Notes on the chapter website at https://www.skagitaudubon.org/conservation-notes-letters.

Brant; photo courtesy Audubon Alaska

Conservation, by Tim Manns

Audubon Priorities for the 2025 Washington State Legislative Session

Next year’s regular legislative session in Olympia begins​ Monday, January 13, 2025, and will run 105 days to April 27, longer if necessary. Sessions in odd-numbered years are 105 days versus 60 days in even-numbered years, allowing time for writing the state’s bi-annual budgets (Operating, Capital, and Transportation). Before and during the session, the Legislature’s website (https://leg.wa.gov/)  is the place to read about the complicated legislative process, find the number of your district, the names and committee memberships of your two representatives and state senator, and much else you might like to know.

As a member of the Environmental Priorities Coalition, Audubon Washington works with 26 other coalition members to choose a few bills on which to focus during the legislative session. Watch this website for information about the 2025 priorities, which should appear sometime in December: Environmental Priorities Coalition 2024 priorities, Partnership Agenda - Washington Conservation Action. In recent years Audubon Washington has had a few additional priorities of its own. For a preliminary look, go to Audubon Washington’s 2025 Legislative Priorities | Audubon Washington. With more local chapters (25) than any other conservation group in Washington (Washington Chapter Network | Audubon Washington), spread across the state, Audubon has the power of constituency. Elected officials pay most attention to people living in their own districts. Whether you visit, call, send a letter, or email your legislator, know that they, by and large, do want to hear from you and will be influenced by what you say. When specifics on legislative priorities become available, please be an active citizen on behalf of birds and the environment in our state by contacting your legislators as often as possible.

Climate Commitment Act

As has been well-publicized, the work of many Audubon members and members of hundreds of other groups defeated ballot initiative 2117 and kept the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) intact. In the entire U.S., only California and Washington State have programs such as the CCA, which  established a cap on carbon emissions from the largest emitters by requiring purchase of allowances. Progressively fewer and more expensive allowances create an incentive to devise the best means for each to reduce the greenhouse gases they emit. The CCA caps emissions at 45 percent of the 1990 level by 2030. The limit decreases over time until the state reaches net-zero emissions by 2050, a mandatory goal set by legislation.

That over 62% of voters in the recent election chose to keep the CCA signals other states that this approach has broad public support. Economists see this cap-and-invest system as an effective way to efficiently and quickly reduce carbon emissions. And CCA revenue is funding a wide range of projects and programs to reduce emissions and deal with the effects of climate change across the state. See previous issues of this newsletter and the conservation notes on the Skagit Audubon website for more about the CCA and relevant website links. Thank you to all who worked on this important Audubon Washington priority. The national election outcome suggests that action on climate change at the state and local level will be even more important in the years ahead. 

Updating City and County Comprehensive Plans

At this writing in mid-November, we’re reviewing the drafts of the Environmental Element and the newly required Climate Element for the update of Skagit County’s Comprehensive Plan. See previous issues of the Skagit Flyer and the Conservation Notes on the Skagit Audubon website for background on this issue. The deadline for review comments on these elements of the plan is November 22nd, but there will be additional comment opportunities before the update is completed later in 2025. Our County Commissioners need to hear that we want Skagit County to make a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare our county for resilience in the face of climate change. The Skagit County Planning and Development Services website on the Comp Plan update has drafts of all the element updates and much more: https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/PlanningAndPermit/2025CPA.htm. Note that Skagit’s towns and cities and adjacent counties are also updating their Comp Plans. Each has public comment opportunities.

For information on other conservation issues Skagit Audubon is following, please go to the Conservation Notes on the chapter website at https://www.skagitaudubon.org/conservation-notes-letters.

Conservation, by Tim Manns

Keep the Carbon Commitment Act: Vote No on Initiative-2117

On October 18th the Seattle Times ran a detailed article on what would result were Initiative 2117 to pass (WA’s carbon market pumps billions of dollars to state projects. What happens if it vanishes? | The Seattle Times). Passage of 2117 would repeal the Climate Commitment Act of 2021.This newsletter’s September issue (Sept24Flyer.pdf (squarespace.com)) gives the background on the initiative whose defeat is a high priority for Audubon Washington. Why? The cap-and-invest program which the act established is the best tool Washington State has to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the causes and effects of climate change. National Audubon research has identified climate change as the number one threat to bird populations. Consequently, advocating for addressing climate change has long been a major, nationwide priority for the organization of which Skagit Audubon is part.

Over 500 organizations, companies, Tribes, and unions are supporting the “No on 2117” campaign. When you read this newsletter, there may still be time to help get out the word. Go to the campaign website (Vote NO on Initiative 2117 | Home (no2117.com)) and click on “Get Involved” at the top of the page if you would like to help.

Some background from last month’s newsletter:

The Department of Ecology’s website states,

“In 2021, the Washington Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which establishes a comprehensive, market-based program to reduce carbon pollution and achieve the greenhouse gas limits set in state law… The cap-and-invest program sets a limit, or cap, on overall carbon emissions in the state and requires businesses to obtain allowances equal to their covered greenhouse gas emissions. These allowances can be obtained through quarterly auctions hosted by Ecology, or bought and sold on a secondary market (just like stocks and bonds).” (Cap-and-Invest - Washington State Department of Ecology)

 Other legislation has committed Washington to reducing carbon emissions by 95% by 2050. The CCA, with its incentive for the largest carbon emitters to progressively reduce those emissions, is the major tool for achieving the mandated reduction. This market-based program generates revenue that is funding projects across Washington to address the many impacts of climate change and further reduce emissions.

Last year a wealthy California transplant to the Sammamish Valley spent six million dollars paying signature gatherers to collect enough names to bring six initiatives to the legislature. During this year’s session, the legislature passed three of those initiatives but decided not to act on the remaining three. Those three plus another sponsored by the same individual are on the ballot. One initiative deals with the state’s long-term care program, another would repeal the capital gains tax which applies only to about 4,000 of Washington’s wealthiest, and the third, Initiative 2117, would repeal the Climate Commitment Act (Initiative 2117.pdf (wa.gov)). The fourth initiative would block policies now in place to move Washington away from dependence on gas (methane) for home heating and appliances

The idea that the CCA has forced petroleum companies, already reaping record profits, to raise gasoline prices has been the subject of many news reports. Wherever the truth lies, the reality of human-caused climate change urgently requires action even if it means paying a bit more for fossil fuels while they are still in use. And there is no guarantee that repealing the CCA will lower gasoline prices, only that it will slow the transition away from fossil fuels and exacerbate climate change.

CCA-generated revenue funds projects across Washington to address climate change and its effects. For an overview of what repealing the CCA would mean, see https://no2117.com/the-costs-of-i-2117/. For a map of CCA-funded projects: Home – Risk of Repeal (cleanprosperousinstitute.org)  (Projects in Skagit County: Skagit County.pdf - Google Drive).

Updating of City and County Comprehensive Plans

Continuing step by step with the mandated update of Skagit County’s Comprehensive Plan, the Planning & Development Services Department is now accepting comments on the plan’s new Climate Element. Washington House Bill (HB) 1181, passed in 2023, requires that Comprehensive Plans (mandated by the Growth Management Act) address climate change and resilience either as a separate plan element or by integration into existing elements. The plan must include measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to provide for resilience to the effects of climate change, such as sea level rise and increased flooding. The draft of this new plan element is available for public comment through November 22nd. For information about the Comprehensive Plan revision and the new element, go to:   https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/PlanningAndPermit/2025CPA.htm Scroll down to the October section for a link to the Climate Element and further down for instructions on commenting.

Battery Energy Storage Systems in the Skagit

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are typically facilities using large lithium-ion batteries to store electricity when the power grid has energy in excess of need and then to boost the supply when demand exceeds supply. As electricity comes increasingly from sources such as wind and solar, BESS are needed to provide power when the wind isn’t blowing, or the sun isn’t shining. Two such facilities are currently proposed for Skagit County, one of which has aroused controversy due to its proposed siting on land zoned agricultural adjacent to salmon-bearing Hansen Creek and a residential community. Skagit Audubon’s letter opposing that siting just east of Sedro-Woolley is on the chapter website. The Skagit County Commissioners have issued a 6-month renewable ban on accepting permit applications for new electrical energy generation or storage on land zoned agricultural. BESS facilities are needed for moving beyond fossil fuels, but the siting must be done carefully, just as with commercial-scale solar and wind facilities. Skagit County needs to be proactive by planning for where siting such facilities would be acceptable rather than waiting for developers to file for permits with no advance guidance.

State Wildlife Action Plan Survey

See the Conservation Report in this newsletter’s September issue for information about the State Wildlife Action Plan, its importance, and the revision now underway. Please contribute to this revision by participating in Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife’s on-line survey, open through November 15, 2024. Go to https://publicinput.com/x4675 and scroll down.

For information on other conservation issues Skagit Audubon is following, please go to the Conservation Notes on the chapter website at https://www.skagitaudubon.org/conservation-notes-letters.

Conservation, by Tim Manns

Stop repeal of the Carbon Commitment Act: Vote No on Initiative-2117
The Conservation Report in the September Skagit Flyer (Sept24Flyer.pdf (squarespace.com)) gives the background of Initiative 2117, which will be on this November’s ballot. This initiative would repeal Washington’s Climate Commitment Act of 2021.

 In Audubon Washington’s late September newsletter Interim Executive Director and Director of Bird Conservation Dr. Trina Bayard writes:

 “This fall, one of our top priorities is to support the campaign to protect the Climate Commitment Act by voting NO on Initiative 2117. I-2117 would overturn the Climate Commitment Act, which supports many of our conservation priorities. I-2117 would strip billions of dollars in investments in climate priorities like air quality, transportation and transit service, fish, habitat, and preventing wildfires. Remember to vote NO on I-2117 and if you’d like to get more involved, join a campaign event near you.”

 Following two brief training sessions in August and September, 30 Skagit County volunteers delivered No on 2117 literature to over a thousand doors in Mount Vernon, Burlington, and Anacortes. At this writing another training session is scheduled for late September which will be followed by doorbelling to talk with voters about the importance of defeating this initiative. Attendance at the training is not mandatory for volunteering, and if you would like to help, contact Tim Manns (conservation@skagitaudubon.org). For other opportunities to volunteer with the NO on 2117 campaign, go to https://no2117.com/volunteer/.

 Updating City and County Comprehensive Plans
As mentioned in the September Skagit Flyer, Washington’s Growth Management Act requires counties, cities, and towns to update their Comprehensive Plans every ten years. These plans describe the community vision for population growth, housing, employment, transportation, capital facilities and utilities, parks, recreation and open space, rural areas, and protection of natural resource lands. Skagit County’s update is due next year. The county is revising elements of the Comp Plan in stages and accepting public comments at each stage.

 At this writing in the third week of September, Skagit County Planning & Development Services (PDS) has released the draft Transportation, Capital Facilities, and Utilities element revisions. You can read these documents on the PDS website (https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/PlanningAndPermit/2025CPA.htm) and comment through October 24th.

The last part of the Comp Plan to be considered will be the Climate Element, newly required by Washington House Bill (HB) 1181 passed last year. This bill amends the Growth Management Act to mandate that Comp Plans include policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate resilience. There are two sub-elements: a greenhouse gas emissions reduction sub-element and a resilience sub-element. Please note that on October 1, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Jefferson Elementary School in Mount Vernon, there will be an open house to gather public input on the Climate Element. Skagit County has not been pro-active in addressing climate change and its effects in either the Comp Plan or the Shoreline Master Program, which governs shoreline development. This open house and the comment period present a welcome opportunity to express your and Audubon’s interests in regard to climate change. Years ago, National Audubon research identified climate change as the most significant threat to birds just as it is a profound threat to human well-being (Climate Science | Audubon).

 State Wildlife Action Plan Survey
See last month’s Skagit Flyer Conservation Report for an explanation of the State Wildlife Action Plan, its importance, and the revision now underway. Please participate in Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife’s on-line survey, open through November 15, 2024. Go to  https://publicinput.com/x4675 and scroll down.

For information on conservation issues Skagit Audubon is following, please go to the Conservation Notes on the chapter website at https://www.skagitaudubon.org/conservation-notes-letters.