Advocacy Action

How You Can Contribute to the Thurston County Comprehensive Plan Update Betsy Norton and Charlotte Persons, for the Conservation Committee You probably know that the Thurston County Comprehensive Plan Update will guide county policies and actions for the next 20 years.  That is why it is called Thurston 2045. Why is it important for our local environment and wildlife?  Birds and other wildlife...

NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD If you are interested in following environmental bills going through our Washington State legislature and voicing your support, you are welcome to use the Bill Tracker that Audubon WA has on their website.  You can see where a particular bill is in its journey to become law and use the provided links give your input. You can also sign up to receive weekly...

Conservation Action / Thurston County Focus Biodiversity Advocacy to Conserve Habitat—Black Hills Audubon Conservation Committee BHAS’s Conservation Committee has been advocating for conservation of mature forest habitat, Wildlife Corridors, and more environmentally friendly development codes, as well as pushing for more aggressive work to protect quantity and quality of water – especially for wildlife...

Concerned Citizens Call for An End to Log Shipping at the Port of Olympia By Carla Wulfsberg Concerned community members have launched a petition to end log shipping as soon as possible at the Port of Olympia’s Marine Terminal. The goal is to ensure that Port resources and land on the Port peninsula be used to benefit the public while protecting the health and the environment for future generations...

Thurston County Comprehensive Plan – Update from the BHAS Conservation Committee ** See below for public comment info ** By Betsy Norton Thurston County Comp Plan: The Thurston County Comprehensive Plan 2045 update is well underway. Initial outlines by county staff and discussions of draft chapters are proceeding with the TC Planning Commission through September. The Planning commission is listening,...

The Thurston County Comprehensive Plan 2045 update is being compiled now:  initial drafts of chapters are available for public comment here: https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/community-planning-and-economic-development-cped/community-planning/thurston-2045 Watch for an update from the Conservation Committee with our specific recommendations in the August issue. photo by Mick Thomps...

Stop the Sale of Ivy—Sign the Petition Charlotte Persons You can help the drive to stop selling Ivy by signing BEFORE MAY 20 the petition at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-selling-english-ivy-in-washington/ Whatcom Million Trees is sponsoring the petition, which will be presented to the Washington Noxious Weed Control Board at their next meeting on May 23. The board annually reviews the plants...

Good-bye to the Wildland Urban Interface Code – For a While Charlotte Persons Readers of The Echo know that environmentalists have been working to improve the Wildland Urban Interface Code since last summer.  We were overjoyed when on March 15, 2024, Governor Inslee signed into law ESB 6120. The law passed without a single dissenting vote in any committee or in the House or Senate. There were...

Chapter by Chapter Revising of the Thurston County Comprehensive Plan Has Started By Loretta Seppanen Local governments express their vision, goals, and policies for the coming 20 years in their Comprehensive Plans. The responsibility for this work does not rest only on elected officials and the  residents who volunteer on planning committees. Adding our voice as these documents are updated is...

Three RRI Rezone Requests to Allow Warehouses by I-5 REMOVED from the 2024-2025 Thurston County Work Docket Betsy Norton Thank you! Thank you to all of you who wrote and called in to the County Commissioners on behalf of wildlife and conservation, helping prevent (slow down?) the loss of rural lands and wildlife habitat.  Your active support is critical to ensuring land use decisions are fact-based...