So there is a lot of work to be done to fund the laws that Governor Inslee and many others of us have spent so much time getting put into bills and passed. Don’t let down. If you can spend a moment letting State Senator Kevin Van de Wege and others know that you want them to show you the money, now is the time.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s orca agenda is advancing in the Washington state Legislature, but with the budget yet to be decided how much of the governor’s billion-dollar-bold ambition will be accomplished is yet to be seen. Budgets passed by the House and Senate so far contain no funding to continue the governor’s task force on orca recovery. There’s no agreement yet on funding the governor’s proposed panel to consider the affects of breaching the Lower Snake River dams. And revenue measures to help pay for everything, from increasing hatchery production to enforcement of habitat protections, have yet to be decided. There also were policy disappointments for the governor, who got no takers for his request for legislation to put a temporary stop on whale watching of southern resident killer whales; no lawmaker would introduce the bill. A vessel noise-reduction package will take years to implement with rule making yet to be done, and because U.S. Coast Guard regulations include important exemptions, including for commercial shipping that makes most of the noise that can disrupt orcas as they hunt. Lynda Makes reports. (Seattle Times)
Gov. Jay Inslee’s orca-recovery agenda advancing, but billion-dollar funding yet to be seen