Sign in Pro to support Conservation Futures

The Conservation Futures bill (HB 1672) is in the House Finance Committee. Let those committee members know you support it by adding your name at the Committee Sign in page before the hearing on January 18.
(Not sure how this works? Here’s what “sign in pro” means.)

We all know — especially after the past couple of years — that access to the outdoors is crucial public health infrastructure. Everyone needs a place to get outside, take a deep breath, exercise, play.

Washington’s Conservation Futures program has helped counties across the state ensure and expand access to parks and open space for residents for more than 50 years. But as our population grows and property values climb, a conflict in the law authorizing Conservation Futures threatens to erode the utility of the program for counties.

Small fix, big difference

House Bill 1672 clarifies an ambiguity in existing state law to restore local control for the conservation of parks, farmland and forests, allowing local jurisdictions like counties to use the property taxes they already collect however it works best for their communities — including for conservation.

Working together

Washington’s Conservation Futures program is an important source of matching funds for federal dollars from programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is responsible for protecting some of our state’s most precious outdoor places. Take a quick photo tour of just a few of the stunning spots LWCF protects in our state.

Speak up for local conservation capacity

Your voice makes a difference. Help ensure communities across Washington continue to have access to parks and open spaces by signing in “pro” before the House Finance Committee hearing on January 18.

Learn more from the Conservation Futures Coalition

Sign in Pro before 1/18 House Finance Committee Hearing

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Banner photo by Breanna Oakley.

A newly completed bioswale at the foot of Seattle’s Aurora Bridge now removes pollutants from stormwater running into Lake Union. Myriad partners from public agencies, private businesses and nonprofits collaborated to make the Aurora Bridge Bioswale a reality, with major pollution-cleanup benefits – this piece of green stormwater infrastructure filters two million gallons of runoff each year. Projects building off this model could make an even bigger impact – including a proposed bioswale under Seattle’s I-5 bridge that could filter more than 900 million gallons of stormwater annually.  These types of projects are an important part of tackling pollution.  

Wherever vehicles drive over impervious surfaces, tiny particles of tire dust wind up in the water running off roadways when it rains, entering our waterways along with other toxic pollutants. Recently, scientists from Washington State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University of Washington Tacoma discovered that one chemical present in all types of tires – 6PPD – is particularly harmful to salmon. While there is no known replacement for 6PPD, we do know that green stormwater infrastructure – like bioswales and rain gardens –is effective at removing this and other harmful substances from runoff. 

Watch the video below to learn more about the innovative approaches TNC and partners are taking to combat stormwater here in Washington. 

Thank you to the partners that made this possible: 

• Boeing 

• Clean Lake Union 

• Department of Commerce  

• Hess Callahan Grey Development 

• KPFF 

• Salmon Safe 

• Stephen C. Grey and Associates 

• The Nature Conservancy in Washington 

• Weber Thompson 

• Site Story

• Adobe 

• City of Seattle 

• Fremont Dock Company 

• Groundspeak/Geocaching 

• Hal Real Estate 

• Hess Callahan Partners 

• Parametrix  

• Rushing 

• Spear Street Capital 

• Tableau/Salesforce  

• Turner Construction Company 

• Washington State Legislature 

• Washington State Department of Transportation

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Our all-volunteer Board of Trustees is packed with wonderful folks. They’re community leaders, business owners, farmers, philanthropists, professors, parents and adventurers. Many also have a keen interest in policy and understand how important it is to successful, long-lasting conservation efforts. Though they’re among the busiest people we know, our trustees also know how worthwhile it can be to visit with the lawmakers whose decisions have major impacts on people and nature in Washington.  

That’s why Trustee Lobby Day is a highlight of the year for our Government Relations staff. Though we’ve been stuck on Zoom for two years running now, the energy, commitment and enthusiasm these volunteers bring to our advocacy efforts is as refreshing as ever.

This year, nine trustees joined TNC staff on our virtual trip to Olympia during the third week of the legislative session. We met with Governor Inslee and his staff, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and ten legislative leaders from both houses and both parties. We checked in with each office about our 2022 priorities and next steps for bills moving through the legislative process during this short session.  

Learn more about our Board

Nature Unites Us

The urgent need to support the resilience of Washington’s communities and ecosystems in the face of climate change was the common thread that ran through all our meetings — with Republicans and Democrats, caucus and statewide leaders and locally-focused lawmakers. As in previous years, we were impressed by the thoughtfulness of legislators and their staff when discussing the bills we’re following, made ever more remarkable knowing they’re jumping from 15-minute meeting to 15-minute meeting all day long, every day.

As the Legislature faces a key deadline this week, lawmakers are working hard to amend and advance bills and budget items that are important to their constituents. Some of our top policy priorities, including the Lorraine Loomis Act for salmon recovery and the Keep Washington Evergreen proposal, are undergoing major changes and may not advance in their original form. We’re working hard, alongside our partners and the Legislature, to ensure that Washington will continue making progress for nature this year.

Revisit our 2022 Legislative Priorities

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Opting Outside

As the daylight hours increase and signs of spring emerge, we’re looking forward to spending more time in Washington’s great outdoors. We were delighted to take the opportunity to invite our elected officials to tour a few of our projects on the ground, from efforts to increase urban tree canopy in south King County and improve wildfire resilience in Kittitas County.

While there’s no substitute for the inspiration getting out in nature can provide, you too can take a virtual tour of the diverse landscapes in our state via the buttons below.

Explore More of Where We Work

Look forward To a Summer Road Trip

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Banner image: Tarboo Bay and the Olympic Mountains by Keith Lazelle.

Last week, Rep. Kim Schrier hosted a conversation with Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa and State Forester George Geissler. The three leaders spoke about the implementation of the recently announced U.S. Forest Service 10-year Wildfire Strategy and how the strategy will unfold in Washington state. 

The 10-year Wildfire Strategy outlines the need to significantly increase fuels and forest health treatments to address the growing risk of wildfire that threatens lands and communities across the West—and it specifically highlights three priority “firesheds” in Central Washington where communities are at greater risk of wildfire. A fireshed is a delineated area that shows where fires are likely (or not likely) to ignite, how they might spread and how nearby communities might be impacted.

The three leaders also spoke about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which Congress passed in November. The IIJA provides nearly $3 billion to implement the actions in the 10 Year Wildfire Strategy.

Rep. Schrier stated that the 10 Year Strategy and the new federal funding will help “increase the pace and the scale of fuels reductions and forest health treatments across jurisdictions to match the actual scale and urgency of wildfire risk. This work will include things like prescribed fire and thinning and will be complemented by investments in fire-adapted communities to make sure that people can protect their own homes and communities.” 

Among other investments, the infrastructure bill includes $500 million to ramp up the use of prescribed fire—a tool that Rep. Schrier championed with the National Prescribed Fire Act  she introduced last year.  This new federal effort complements the investments that the state Legislature enacted last year through HB 1168, the Wildfire Funding and Forest Health bill. 

After the virtual event, Darcy Batura, forest partnerships manager for TNC, said, “Collaborative partners across Central Washington have developed plans and projects to address the wildfire resilience need.  Now thanks to Rep. Schrier, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and other congressional leaders, we have the critical funds to complete these projects, restore resilience to Central Washington forests and protect the communities where their safety and local economies are directly linked to forest health.”

Check back on this blog for more updates on the implementation of the 10 year Wildfire Strategy and the rollout of the federal infrastructure funds that will help our forests and our communities across Washington.

Learn More About Our Work in Fire Management

Banner photo © Nikolaj Lasbo / TNC

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Black History Month started on Tuesday, and there has been a lot of appropriate focus on the work and contributions of countless Black leaders, communities, and people thus far. We haven’t yet shared anything to honor or celebrate the month, and there’s a reason for that. 

We seek to genuinely and authentically honor, celebrate, and support the work and leadership of Black members of our communities—not just during Black History Month, but all year.  

We acknowledge that many historical and present engagements with Black colleagues and community members around the time of, and during, Black History Month have caused harm and perpetuated patterns of tokenism and performative allyship (statements to profess support, though lacking in substantive action or accountability—for example, appearing to honor and celebrate the work of Black leaders and people, but just during Black History Month and without equitable actions and support year-round). We aim to disrupt those patterns and commit ourselves to actions rooted in authenticity and accountability.  

It is from this place of acknowledgement and aspiration to do better that, starting several weeks ago—which should have been months ago—we engaged in conversations within our Marketing and Communications team, and with Black colleagues who expressed interest, to identify ideas, opportunities, and shape paths forward for how we honor and celebrate Black History Month now and into the future. 

With input, we’ve identified Black-led organizations, collectives, and efforts that we believe are doing important and impactful work, with an emphasis on those doing work in the environmental, conservation, and climate spheres within the state of Washington. 

We are reaching out to a number of those organizations, collectives, and people with the goal of understanding if and how we can support them and their work, and, through our platforms, how we can ultimately spread word and support for the incredible amount of great work being done in our communities by Black leaders and community members. 

This is not a short-term play or disingenuous attempt to wave our own flag during Black History Month. We hope it is the beginning of sustained and reciprocal relationships.  

Stay tuned for more from us and others in this space, this month and beyond. 

Banner image: Sunrise view of Mt. Rainier at Reflection Lake by Nina Ritchie/TNC Photo Contest 2021