Executive Director Letter
Dear partners,
This new issue of Making Waves highlights stories about the importance of building and maintaining partnerships to make progress on key issues related to Puget Sound recovery. Partnerships are built with trust and communication and maintained over time through open collaboration and mutual respect. Events like Puget Sound Day on the Sound this past fall and the upcoming Puget Sound Day on the Hill can help build these types of partnerships. The stories in this new issue of Making Waves show how collaborative work helps drive recovery efforts:
Nora Nickum, senior ocean policy manager for the Seattle Aquarium, spoke with me about her new book, “Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest,” the “superpod” of people who are working to help the Southern Resident orcas, and making scientific information accessible for everyone.
The Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel expanded upon its comments in the 2023 State of the Sound. The Science Panel wrote about the current and future challenges we face with Puget Sound recovery and the science and policy actions it recommends. The Science Panel stresses that “[r]ecovering Puget Sound requires bold actions combined with creativity and collaborations to meet the increasingly complex challenges facing the region.”
The third annual Puget Sound Day on the Sound event gathered representatives from federal and state agencies, Tribes, and local governments for several panel discussions. Participants spoke about opportunities to better coordinate and align resources to accelerate Puget Sound recovery and support Tribal treaty rights.
The long-term clean-up of the ASARCO smelter site in Tacoma and its redevelopment into Point Ruston has involved many different partners, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, and others. Point Ruston would not be what it is today without the work of those partners and the engagement of community members in both Tacoma and Ruston.
At the start of 2024, we look forward to a new year of collaboration with our partners and shared collective effort. Please join us at this year’s Puget Sound Day on the Hill to forge new partnerships, strengthen existing ones, and work creatively to accelerate Puget Sound recovery.
As a final note, I recently changed my last name from Blackmore to Bradstreet, and you’ll see that change reflected on the Partnership’s website and in our communications.
Sincerely,
Laura Bradstreet
Executive Director,
Puget Sound Partnership
