Earth Share of Washington

Earth Share Notes - March 2005

Monthly perspectives from Earth Share of Washington staff members on activities and trends.

Dear Reader:

Special Thanks…
As we receive 2004 charitable giving pledge results from workplaces across Washington, Earth Share would like to take this opportunity to thank all the individual donors, campaign coordinators and workplaces that help to make Washington a healthier and safer place to live. If you do not currently have the option to give to the environment at work through Earth Share, now is a great time to ask your Human Resources manager about adding us as a giving option. Contact Ana Garzon at agarzon@esw.org for details.

Ana Garzon
Campaign Director

State of the State Parks

- by Liz Banse from ESW organization Washington Foundation for the Environment

What state agency is one of the most well-known, used and loved, but receives less than a quarter of a penny on the dollar of state spending?

The answer is the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the agency which manages our 120 state parks.

The state park system is a total of 260,000 acres. This covers everything from ocean beaches, to historic sites and buildings to forest and lake recreation sites, camping sites and boat launches.

State parks are heavily used. They receive approximately 40 million visits per year. About half of Washington state residents have visited a state park in the previous two years.

While parks are heavily used, with Washington’s state parks ranking fourth in the nation for day attendance and tenth for overnight visits, the state ranks 47th in the nation for state spending per visitor.

The state park system is moving toward a more revenue-supported system; in other words, fee-based, to support its lean and mean operating budget, as mandated by the Legislature in 1995. State parks now generate 36 percent of their own revenue through fees.

While the public has protested parking and other fees, many have welcomed other aspects of revenue generation, such as the rental cabins and yurts. After a successful venture with yurts at Cape Disappointment, the park system now has platform tents at Dosewallips, cabins at Battle Ground Lake and a village of yurts at Grayland Beach.

It should be a top priority to ensure that parks get the level of funding they need for a statewide system that citizens can take pride in as we near the centennial celebration in 2013.

It is an investment that will pay off. Trips to state parks generate approximately $34 million a year in state tax receipts. They are important contributors to our state’s economy, particularly in the hard-hit rural areas.

Washington state is one of the most gorgeous and naturally diverse places in the country. Our parks should reflect that. They make our treasures accessible to the public and help preserve the variety of natural, cultural and historical places for future generations.

My Journey to the State Capitol

Antonia Jindrich from Earth Share organization Washington Environmental Council shares her experiences attending her very first Citizens’ Lobby Day that took place in Olympia recently.

I recently attended the Citizens’ Lobby Day on February 17th, an annual event hosted by a range of environmental and conservation organizations, intended for people just like me to get personally involved in the legislative process. I feel too strongly about preserving our quality of life to have never met my legislators. After all, these 147 people under the Capitol Dome create the laws of our state and approve the money needed to make those laws work.

This trip was only my second to the Capitol during a legislative session and I admit, I was a bit nervous. I had no idea how to lobby. And yet that was what I was here to do.

But as I sat to review my registration material, I calmed down. There was a sheet labeled “How to Lobby” and others with the bill numbers and proposal descriptions. Meetings were already scheduled for me to get together with my legislators. This isn’t looking all that hard, I thought.

Soon Senate Majority leader Lisa Brown addressed the swelling crowd. “Political parties are not the leaders,” she said. “It’s the people working collaboratively at the grassroots level that keeps things coming together.” Looking around I realized that I was part of something bigger than myself. Today I was directly part of that grassroots level – making something happen.

Then Governor Gregoire took the stage. “(Washington State) is a treasure, and you can lose that treasure” by not staying involved and active in working to protect it for future generations. She said we can prove what we all know is true, that “good, sound environmental practices are good for economics” as businesses want to locate in Washington because of our high quality of life.

After the pep talk, I was ready to work. I met with other people in my district – the 43rd – and we headed to our meeting with Representative Ed Murray. Twenty-eight of us packed a briefing room, and after a little ad-hoc organizing among us, we had decided who would speak on which issue and ask questions.

Representative Murray is the Chair of the House Transportation Committee, and the lead sponsor of the Clean Cars legislation, so we were all most interested in asking questions about the bill, and where he thought it was headed.

After a couple more meetings, it was off to the Clean Cars hearing, which was packed with so many people it overflowed to another room to be viewed on a closed-circut T.V. The chair of the committee had panels of supporters and detractors testify on the bill.

Chris Marr, the vice-president of a large automobile dealership in Spokane, made a particularly eloquent case for the new Clean Car standards. He said he felt it would do little to deter people from buying cars, and would actually allow people to have options of cars available in California that he can’t get here.

He said it would help the revitalization of Spokane, as they could work on the development of their urban core in the future without having to fear being out of attainment of air quality standards.

I was exhausted at the end of the day. Over beverages and snacks, fellow lobby day attendees chatted over the day’s events. Seeing the legislative system first hand made me appreciate the role of grassroots organizations to help people get involved in creating a sustainable future – and how important a single voice, like mine, really is.

Stewardship has Big Paybacks for Public Shorelines

- by Sarah Krueger, from ESW organization Washington Water Trails Association

When Washington Water Trails Association (WWTA) volunteer Gail Wilcox, paddled her kayak to Kopachuck State Park last summer, she came armed with a camera and an eye for erosion. As a Cascadia Marine Trail Site Steward, Gail commits to monitoring one of the 53 campsites along the Cascadia Marine Trail, a National Recreation Trail in Puget Sound and a keystone of Earth Share organization Washington Water Trails Association’s efforts to improve public access to the state’s waterways for non-motorized boaters.

Less than 10% of Puget Sound’s shore is in public ownership, leaving few opportunities for beach walks or places to land a kayak. Keeping a close eye on the condition of the public lands that do exist on the Puget Sound is critical, as these sites inevitably bear the impact of wind and wave and must accommodate high visitation. The task may seem overwhelming, but individual volunteers can and do make great strides in the stewardship of these lands. Gail Wilcox’s effort to monitor the state of the shore at Kopachuck State Park, an idyllic Cascadia Marine Trail site, led to over 85 hours of volunteer power at a successful work party.

Gail documented the severe erosion of the park’s banks and the perilous condition of the stairway leading from the beach to the campsite with photos of the park. Armed with Gail’s photos, WWTA contacted Kopachuck State Park’s manager to plan the best strategy for addressing the park’s restoration needs.

Washington Water Trails Association partnered with the Hood Canal Watershed Project’s AmeriCorps Team and held a work party at the state park on February 15th. Eleven volunteers from Hood Canal Watershed Project, as well as WWTA and Kopachuck State Park staff, rerouted the eroded trail to the restroom and transplanted ferns to restore the closed trail. The park plans to replace the hazardous wooden stairway with stone steps when funding becomes available.

Efforts like these from volunteer stewards help Washington Water Trails Association ensure that water trail sites are accessible and functioning for the people who visit them. To lend a hand at upcoming shoreline work parties, or to learn more about becoming a Cascadia Marine Trail Site Steward, visit: http://www.wwta.org/get_involved/

Agreement Joins Wildlife Watchers and Rural Economies

- submitted by Hilary Hilscher from ESW organization Audubon Washington

By attracting tourist dollars, Washington state’s wildlife may be feathering its own nest for the future under the terms of an historic agreement signed in Olympia this week by four public agencies and a statewide conservation group.

Despite Washington’s abundance of natural assets, the state ranks 46th among the 50 states in spending for tourism promotion. The new memorandum of understanding establishes a cooperative effort to create, enhance and market wildlife watching in Washington state.

“Washington’s legislators are the first in the country to request a plan for Watchable Wildlife,” said Sen. Ken Jacobson. “It’s a visionary approach to rural economic development that also helps achieve wildlife conservation.”

Participating agencies are the departments of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW); Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED); and Transportation (WSDOT), as well as State Parks. Also signing the agreement was Audubon Washington, which together with its local chapters develops and publishes maps of the Great Washington State Birding Trail.

The agreement grew out of the 2003 Washington Legislature’s request for a strategic plan by WDFW, CTED, other state agencies and the private sector to promote Washington’s outstanding wildlife viewing opportunities while helping to maintain wildlife habitat.

“Not only is wildlife watching the fastest-growing form of outdoor recreation in America, it brings in substantial revenues to our state,” said Jeff Koenings, director of WDFW. “Washington has one of the highest percentages of state residents who watch birds and other wildlife.”

Statistics show that 47 percent of Washington’s residents watch wildlife annually, spending more than $979 million and creating 22,000 jobs, primarily in rural counties.

“The primary travelers who watch wildlife are what we call “urban naturalists,’” said CTED Director Juli Wilkerson. “By traveling to all corners of our state, these tourists bring new dollars to our rural economy.”

Audubon Washington’s Great Washington State Birding Trail comprises a series of self-guided driving loops that guide nature tourists to see our 365 species of birds along Scenic Byway routes throughout the state. The birding trail’s first two maps, the Cascade Loop and the Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway, were developed jointly by birders and local businesspeople who recognize the growing trend in nature travel.

Five more routes of the birding trail are planned, with two currently under development by Audubon Washington and local chapters in Southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula.

Volunteering For Wildlife

- by Lauren Glickman, from ESW organization PAWS Wildlife Center

Spring is right around the corner and that means we are gearing up here at the PAWS Wildlife Center. We will soon be receiving hundreds of orphaned and injured wildlife a week. How do we handle this? With a lot of volunteer help.

Volunteering at a wild animal hospital is a unique experience. It’s not for the faint of heart, the weak, or the squeamish. The PAWS Wildlife Center offers a unique opportunity to care for sick, injured or orphaned wild animals with the goal of rehabilitating them and releasing them back to the wild. Why do they do it? They do it to learn about wild animals and to ensure that the injured and orphaned animals that arrive at the facility will be well cared for.

These volunteers work closely with 11 professional staff members to do a wide variety of tasks - some glamorous and some not so glamorous. Laundry and dishes must be done. Infant and young animals are fed throughout daylight hours and solid foods are made for adult and juvenile animals that are eating on their own. Besides caring directly for these wild creatures, volunteers have a unique opportunity to educate community members about coexisting peacefully with wildlife.

There are a variety of positions available. Bird Nursery Caretakers focus on feeding and cleaning the orphaned songbirds we receive while Wildlife Care Assistants do a wide variety of tasks with a wide variety of species. Transport Team Members bring wild animals from Seattle Animal Control to PAWS Wildlife Department. Some volunteers are eligible to participate in the Advanced Skills Workshop after volunteering consistently for six to nine months. This advanced training includes handling large raptors and adult rodents, giving subcutaneous and intramuscular injections to mammals and birds and tube feeding a variety of animals.

The species treated at the PAWS Wildlife Center range from the tiniest hummingbird to the regal bald eagle: from a baby chipmunk to a black bear cub. Many of them are here because they have come into contact with humans. Among other reasons they have been hit by a vehicle, attacked by a cat or dog, been a victim of cruelty or hit a window. It isn’t always pretty. Many of these animals are in pain and this can be a difficult thing to face. It is the strength and compassion of the volunteers who are so willing to get dirty that make this healing work possible. It absolutely couldn’t get done without volunteers.

Does this sound like something that would be a good fit for you? Go to http://www.paws.org/help.vol/ to find out more and fill out a volunteer application. All training is provided and the only requirement is a once-a-week commitment for three or four months depending on the position.

Picture the Earth a Better Place

Yahoo! Photos and Earth Share Team Up to Raise Awareness of Environmental Issues

Taking photographs of our surroundings is one of the most revealing art forms. Whether meticulously crafted or snapped hastily to preserve a moment in time, photos reflect how we view the world in all its beauty, sadness and vastness.

In celebration of Earth Day 2005, Yahoo! Photos and Earth Share are holding a national photo event to celebrate how we each see the Earth, while raising awareness of environmental issues worldwide. Beginning on March 10, 2005, you can submit photos through Yahoo! Photos that you believe best represent what Earth Day means to you. Visit http://photos.yahoo.com to submit your photo by March 30. In honor of the top photographer, Yahoo! Photos will donate $10,000 to the Earth Share member organization(s) of their choice.

“This is a positive way for people around the nation to capture their feelings about Earth Day through photography,” said Kalman Stein, president and CEO of Earth Share (Earth Share of Washington is Earth Share’s local affiliate). “We hope this contest will provide people with an opportunity to share their thoughts about the environment as communicated through the powerful visual medium of photography.”

Photographs will be judged by a panel of experts, including professional photographers and representatives from leading environmental organizations and publications. Ten finalists, chosen by the panel of experts, will be posted on Yahoo! Photos, and users will then be able to vote for their favorite photograph beginning on April 11, 2005. The top photo will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, 2005, when the photo will be featured on the Yahoo! Earth Day web site.

“We are honored to work with Earth Share to further the appreciation for our environment during Earth Day and throughout the year,” said Jeff Stoddard, director of Yahoo! Photos. “With this photo contest, we are elevating awareness for environmental causes by encouraging people to celebrate their natural surroundings through digital photography.”

Many consumers don’t realize it, but using digital photography greatly reduces the negative impact on the environment. Unlike film photography that requires chemical processing and printing, you can enjoy digital photos immediately on your camera, PC or a website. Plus with digital photos, you only print the pictures you want rather than an entire roll. And with the ability to share photos virtually via email and online, the need to print duplicate photos for friends and family goes away.

InfoTrends, a leading analyst firm, says that about 12-15% of digital camera users don’t print photos at all, instead relying on digital files for viewing, sharing and archiving of photographs. Online photo sharing sites, such as Yahoo! Photos (photos.yahoo.com), provide consumers with the convenience of online storage and photo sharing, while also helping to preserve the environment by decreasing the overall quantity of photos printed.

Yahoo! Photos and Earth Share are dedicated to raising awareness of environmental issues and call upon everyone to submit photos to participate in this worthy event.