Oddly, Senator Kevin Van de Wege is promoting a terrible bill, (SB5517) which would dramatically alter the issue of the instream flow rule. Eastern Washington has been trying for years to get something like this through but the Dems have been not been willing to support it. Now, with Van de Wege co-sponsoring this bill, it seems possible. Below you will find a Sierra Club overview of the problems with this bill. I am surprised if the Tribes support this. My guess is that the farmers of the Dungeness valley are behind this and getting Kevin to promote it. With only two sponsors my experience tells me it’s just a straw dog that Kevin did for them. We encountered this same kind of bill a few years ago regarding gravel bed “management” by farmers down on the Chehalis River. The tribes killed the bill. But it’s not to say that there ought to be a solid showing of dislike for this.
Please contact Kevin’s office and also put your comments in down at the State web site.
. Quick action – sign in “CON”
- Go to the SB 5517 Sign-In webpage. (this is a direct link to the SB 5517 specific sign on)
- Choose CON as your position
- Fill in the remaining boxes: First name, Last name, Email, Address, and Phone
- Leave Organization blank
- Check the box “I’m not a robot”
- Finally, hit submit!
Filed under: Environmental Activism, Environmental Law, fisheries, legislation | Tagged: Olympic Peninsula, Salmon |
vote : NO !
vote no
Honestly, I sometimes wonder what is going through Senator Van De Wege’s mind. I also wonder why he’s typically so against protecting the environment. Was he bitten by a snake as a kid? Did a tree limb fall on him at some point in his life? Did a fish bone get stuck in his throat?
Our waterways protect all of us and the fish we love, so why introduce such a terrible bill? Here we are spending millions upon millions of dollars to save the salmon, yet this bill comes along to undo all of that? Taking water out of a stream and then “paying it back” by protecting other habitat instead is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.
This is such an insult – not only to the tribes, the state and federal government, but to all of us tax-paying citizens who value all our instream flows for the incredible purpose they provide our aquatic habitat. Please vote NO on SB 5517.
Connie, I think that as a Senator representing a very conservative district, he gets hammered from both sides. Putting forward a bill that has no chance of succeeding in order to say he tried is the way I’ve seen the sausage gets made in Olympia. I wouldn’t assume anything *yet*. Put in the “cons” on this bill get everyone you know to do so, and see how it progresses. If it seems to have a chance of passing, then get upset with him. Hope his helps.
done