Earth Share of Washington

Washington Legislature Supports Stronger Shoreline Protections

- submitted by Jerry Gorsline from ESW member Washington Environmental Council

After eight years of legislative struggle, and at a time when the state's poor economy has increased pressure to roll back environmental protections, the 2003 Legislature issued a strong endorsement for moving shoreline protection forward: It passed a bill (SSB 6012) that establishes a schedule for cities and counties to revise local shoreline plans and also provided $2 million over the next two years to help the first round of local governments update their local shoreline master programs (SMP).

Passage of the shoreline bill is a major accomplishment. Earth Share of Washington member Washington Environmental Council (WEC) led this successful effort in partnership with the Washington Conservation Voters, and with considerable volunteer contributions and media outreach. WEC represented 20 different environmental groups in a year-long negotiation with the state, some local governments, and business interests to develop updates to the state's Shoreline Master Program Guidelines.

What exactly are the Shoreline Master Program Guidelines? The Shoreline Management Act (SMA) establishes a balance of authority between local and state government. Cities and counties are the primary regulators, while Washington State's Department of Ecology provides technical assistance and oversight, reviewing local programs and permit decisions. The updated shoreline master program guidelines will provide needed direction to local governments and the state to implement the SMA.

The guidelines have not been comprehensively updated since original adoption thirty years ago. The proposed rules reflect advancements in science relating to how shorelines should be managed, changes in case law, the character of shoreline development, and new innovations in shoreline management practice.

If you would like more information on WEC's work, please go to www.wecprotects.org.

Governor and Legislature Act to Secure Long-Term Funding for Rescue Tug

- by Bruce Wishart from ESW member People for Puget Sound

On May 14th, of this year, Governor Locke signed SB 6072, which guarantees long-term funding for an oil spill prevention tugboat stationed at Neah Bay, where ships come into Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits from the Pacific Ocean.

"This bill represents a major victory for Puget Sound communities," said Pam Johnson, People For Puget Sound's field director.

The most significant threat to Puget Sound's resident orca population is a catastrophic oil spill, according to a recent National Marine Fisheries Service analysis of orca whale declines. And orca whales are not the only species that would be affected. A large spill could decimate the Puget Sound ecosystem.

The challenge of preventing an oil spill disaster has been a high priority for People For Puget Sound since the organization's inception 12 years ago, shortly after the Exxon Valdez spill. Experts have stressed for years the key to preventing such a catastrophe here is the placement of a rescue tug at Neah Bay to save vessels in trouble, before they run aground and spill the oil they carry as cargo or fuel.

"A major oil spill in our precious waters is unthinkable," said Rhea Miller, San Juan County Commissioner, who has traveled tirelessly to Olympia to advocate for the tug. "Yet we’ve had to struggle for years to do this one simple thing to prevent a disaster. Congratulations to the governor, legislators and citizens who made this happen."

The newly-guaranteed funding will cover about 200+ days per year, and it will have to be re-enacted in five years. "The big breakthrough is that we finally achieved a dedicated funding source," said Bruce Wishart, People For Puget Sound's legislative lobbyist. "Even though we still have work to do, the years of argument are over."

According to state Department of Ecology officials, mechanical failures and other problems leading to loss of propulsion occur on an alarmingly frequent basis in our waters. After reviewing years of "incident data," the Department of Ecology determined that these "drift groundings" of crippled ships pose the greatest risk of causing a catastrophic spill in our waters.

Fortunately, in the Inner Sound, there is usually a commercial tug operating nearby that can be dispatched to "rescue" a vessel before it runs aground. Along the 80-mile stretch of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Neah Bay and Port Angeles, however, and along the fragile beaches of the Outer Coast, there are few ports and, consequently, few commercial tugs in operation. In this area, which contains some of the most pristine and ecologically sensitive shorelines in the United States (including the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary), a ship in trouble could wait many hours for assistance, without the Neah Bay tug.

The track record for the tug is impressive, helping to convince even the most skeptical legislators that it was a good investment, with 22 "saves or assists" from 1999 to 2003. Activists correctly pointed out that, even if the tug was responsible for preventing only one spill during this time period, the investment of public funding was well worth it. The costs of a single spill would dwarf the cost of keeping the rescue tug at Neah Bay.

Boeing Awards EarthCorps $15,000 to support Urban Forest Stewardship

The Boeing Company granted EarthCorps, an Earth Share of Washington member group, a gift of $15,000 to support a community effort to remove English ivy from our urban forests. EarthCorps is a community-based environmental restoration organization that fosters youth leadership and brings people together to take concrete action for tangible change in our forests, wetlands and streams.

"The health of our community is largely dependent on a healthy environment," remarks Anne Farrell, former President/CEO of The Seattle Foundation. "While many King County residents voice concern for preserving the environment, there is often a disconnect in understanding how to become actively engaged in the process. EarthCorps' community-based approach makes it easy and fun."

Ivy is an invasive plant that slowly kills native plants and trees and provides excellent rat habitat. In Seattle alone, almost 70% of our 4,000 acres of public urban forest are invaded by ivy! With Boeing's support, EarthCorps is working to engage the community in stewarding these forests and to make Seward Park "Ivy-Free in 2003." They plan to lead 5,000+ volunteers in removing 40+ acres of ivy over the next 12 months. Ivy removal provides an important opportunity for volunteers to take part in local environmental service, creating a community solution to a major environmental problem.

The goal of this project is to:

• Increase community awareness of the problem of invasive English Ivy and conduct community education about native species.
• Inspire broad community action to remove this noxious plant from local parks and open spaces.
• Celebrate the Centennial of Seattle's Olmsted-designed park system.

To learn more about EarthCorps, visit www.earthcorps.org or contact joanna@earthcorps.org to get a team of your coworkers and friends out to pull ivy! You can find out more about English ivy and link to their project partners at www.ivyout.org.

Perspectives

- by ESW Executive Director William Borden

"Always do right," spoke Mark Twain to a group of young people. "This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest."

For Earth Share of Washington (ESW), "doing right" means accounting for, and using, each donor dollar with scrutiny. Each year, ESW examines its member organizations for fiscal responsibility, program achievement, and staff and board integrity. Each organization must meet these standards to participate in Earth Share of Washington.

"Doing right" means reducing overhead costs as much as practicable, an innate practice among business leaders. In 2002, ESW spent 3.09% of revenue on fundraising and administration, an extraordinarily low figure.

In May of this year, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley and a consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review, urging non-profits to examine their programs, identify duplication with similar groups, reduce fundraising costs, and operate in a more business-like manner. Among their findings, non-profit organizations could save $55 billion annually by eliminating inefficiencies, and save an additional $26 billion by raising money through the Internet and by soliciting larger grants from fewer foundations.

Clearly in the non-profit field, duplication of programs and services exists. Also clearly, non-profits have adopted more strategic business practices, devised innovative revenue-generating ideas (witness the explosion of gift shops at museums and zoos), and trimmed expenses to maintain essential operations.

Bradley is one of America's most respected policy advisers and a proponent of progressive environmental policies and sustainability. This report misses the mark by assuming that larger non-profits are more efficiently managed than smaller ones. Some of the most effective of Earth Share of Washington's member organizations consist of a handful of employees. In these organizations you may find the executive director working weekends hauling old refrigerators and junk cars out of streams, or training volunteers to wield a Pulaski (a landscaping tool often used in trail building). In the words of one donor, "For the Microsoft Giving Campaign, I chose Earth Share because it is a coalition that supports a diverse set of issues including environmental clean-up, outdoor recreation, habitat protection, and legal issues."

While we should heed the call for greater efficiency and economies of scale, we must also recognize that the work needs to get done, and at this critical time in our country's history, we need environmental groups large and small working together.

Today, as in the future, "doing right" is meeting – or exceeding – the expectations of our donors, our member organizations, and the public. We are grateful indeed to the thousands of citizens and institutions that have supported our efforts.

Cool Website

Earth Share of Washington
http://www.esw.org/

Proud to toot our own horn, Earth Share of Washington recently unveiled a new and updated website. In addition to the new layout and design, we are excited to feature freshly updated volunteer opportunities, current northwest environmental news (updated daily), searchable archives for news and Earth Page articles, and many more great features. Do you like the site? Please send us your feedback at webmaster@esw.org and tell us any features that you would like to see in the future.

Check back soon as we will be hosting a non-profit job seekers list online, and a calendar of upcoming events!