Executive Director Letter

Dear partners,

Our fourth issue of Making Waves focuses on the 2022-2026 Action Agenda, our community’s shared plan to advance Puget Sound recovery over the next four years. It is a bold plan, based on robust science and collaborative problem-solving, that includes strategies and actions to achieve long-term Puget Sound recovery.

This issue includes my conversation with Dennis McLerran, chair of the Puget Sound Partnership’s Leadership Council, about the Action Agenda, new funding for recovery, community involvement with the Action Agenda and its strategies, and our thoughts about the future of recovery in the region.

Our video about the 2022-2026 Action Agenda includes an overview of the plan, details about what we need to achieve, how we’re going to achieve our goals, and how we’ll measure our progress.

We also have a video about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and what it will mean for Puget Sound recovery. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide game-changing funding to the Puget Sound region. This money will be invested in salmon recovery, transportation infrastructure, and in making Puget Sound more climate resilient.

This issue also includes two stories about programs and goals that are featured in the 2022-2026 Action Agenda:

• The Washington State Department of Ecology has set an ambitious program goal for its toxics reduction program, which helps businesses reduce their use of toxic chemicals, waste generation, and operating costs by providing technical assistance tailored to the business’s needs.
  
  
• The 2022-2026 Action Agenda sets targets for six Puget Sound Vital Signs, including Toxics in Aquatic Life, which measures toxic chemicals in aquatic animals. There are two targets for the Toxics in Aquatic Life Vital Sign indicators; reaching these targets would mean we’re making big progress in improving the health of fish, other wildlife species, and people. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Toxics Biological Observation System leads the monitoring and reporting for the Toxics in Aquatic Life Vital Sign.

The 2022-2026 Action Agenda will help us protect and restore habitat and habitat-forming processes, improve water quality, protect the food web and threatened species, prevent the worst effects of climate change, and ensure human wellbeing. This is the plan we need now to set us on the right course for the coming decades. We know what we need to do, and now is the time to act.

Sincerely,

Laura Blackmore

Executive Director,
Puget Sound Partnership