Periodically, events take place that call for a response from the Board of JUUstice Washington.

Actions Needed to Strengthen Columbia River Treaty Agreement-In-Principle

September 16, 2024

1000 Friends of Oregon ● American Rivers ● American Whitewater ● Association of Northwest Steelheaders ● Bird Alliance of Oregon ● Boulder-White Clouds Council ● Center for Biological Diversity Center for Environmental Law & Policy ● Coastal Trollers Association ● Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network ● Columbia Riverkeeper ● Deschutes River Alliance ● Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light ● Earthjustice ● Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and Oregon Interfaith Power & Light ● Endangered Species Coalition ● Environment Oregon ● Environment Washington ● Faith Action Network ● Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs ● Friends of the Columbia Gorge ● Greater Hells Canyon Council ● Idaho Conservation League ● Idaho Rivers United ● Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center ● JUUstice Washington ● League of Women Voters of Idaho ● League of Women Voters of Montana ● League of Women Voters of Oregon ● League of Women Voters of Washington ● Native Fish Society ● Neighbors for Clean Air ● Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment ● Northwest Guides and Anglers Association ● Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association ● NW Energy Coalition ● Orca Conservancy ● Orca Network ● Oregon League of Conservation Voters ● Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition ● Oregon Wild ● Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations ● Polly Dyer Seattle Broads Great Old Broads for Wilderness ● Save Our wild Salmon Coalition ● Sierra Club ● Snake River Waterkeeper ● Snohomish County Indivisible ● Spokane Riverkeeper ● Washington Conservation Action ● Washington Wild ● Washington Wildlife Federation ● WaterWatch of Oregon ● Wetlands Conservancy ● Wild Orca ● Wild Steelhead Coalition ● Willamette Riverkeeper

Secretary Antony Blinken September 16, 2024
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20522

Senator Patty Murray Senator Maria Cantwell
154 Russell Senate Office Building 511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510

Senator Jeff Merkley Senator Ron Wyden
531 Hart Senate Office Building 211 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510

RE: Actions Needed to Strengthen Columbia River Treaty Agreement-In-Principle

Dear Secretary Blinken and Senators Murray, Cantwell, Merkley and Wyden,

On behalf of 57 national and Northwest-based conservation, clean energy, faith, fishing, and civic groups and our millions of members, we write to share our perspective on the Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) announced recently between the United States and Canada on the modernization of the 60-year-old Columbia River Treaty and to offer our recommendations for strengthening cooperative management of the Columbia River.

First, we are very disappointed that the AIP excludes the addition of Ecosystem Function as a third primary purpose of the modernized Treaty, as was called for in the 2013 Regional Recommendation and by Columbia Basin tribes and many stakeholders. Without formal recognition of Ecosystem Function as a new primary purpose, the health of the river and its fish populations will continue to remain a secondary issue in Treaty implementation. This concern isheightened because the flow augmentation component of the AIP will not meet the needs of Columbia River salmon.

We ask that you act now to build upon the AIP and consider the following recommendations, which can be pursued either unilaterally by the U.S. or bilaterally in negotiation with Canada, to ensure the final modernized Treaty meaningfully improves the health of the Columbia River ecosystem and its struggling fish populations.

1. Secure additional water for fish via a new Non-Treaty Storage Agreement (NTSA). The NTSA manages the extra 5 million-acre-feet (MAF) of water storage built into the Mica Dam above Columbia River Treaty requirements. Under the current NTSA, which expires on September 15, 2024, the U.S. previously accessed non-Treaty water stored behind Mica Dam to support downstream fishery needs. In combination with the 1-1.5 MAF of Treaty water included in the AIP for salmon, a new fish-focused NTSA could achieve the minimum 3-5 MAF of water that Tribal and other fisheries scientists have identified as necessary for threatened populations.

2. Secure Congressional appropriations and authorization for the Flood Risk Policy Review called for in the Regional Recommendation. The 2013 Regional Recommendation called for a study of options for managing flood risk while identifying opportunities to provide fish flows and improve habitat. This could include changes to existing flood control rule curves, the use of artificial intelligence to improve drought/flood forecasting, and “green” infrastructure projects that can abate flood waters and reduce our reliance on Canada while also improving fish and wildlife habitat. It could also identify weaknesses in existing traditional flood infrastructure. Given that traditional flood control capacity seems poised to decrease under the AIP, now is the time to proceed with this long-delayed assessment.

3. Add language to the modernized Treaty strengthening the role of the Joint Ecosystem and Indigenous and Tribal Cultural Values Body (JEB). The AIP includes the creation of the JEB to inform how Treaty operations can better support ecosystem needs and Tribal and Indigenous cultural values. Unfortunately, the AIP does not reflect language requiring the bodies that currently govern the Treaty (U.S. Entity, Canadian Entity, Permanent Engineering Board, and committees) to consider and, whenever feasible, implement the JEB’s recommendations. It is essential that the JEB’s input on Treaty implementation be prescriptive rather than merely advisory to fulfill U.S. commitments on Indigenous inclusion and ecosystem health.

4. Provide expert representation for ecosystems by adding new members to the Treaty’s governing bodies. The current membership of the Treaty’s governing bodies (U.S. Entity, Canadian Entity, Permanent Engineering Board, and committees) is unable to serve as an effective “voice for the river.” President Biden should amend Section 101 of Executive Order 11177 to appoint, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency and/or NOAA Fisheries to serve on the U.S. Entity alongside Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Similarly, the U.S. should work with Canada to update Article XV of the current Treaty to add members with ecosystem expertise to the Permanent Engineering Board and supporting committees.

5. Add formal public engagement mechanisms to the modernized Treaty. Many international watershed governance systems, both in North America and around the world, include tools to support ongoing public education and input. Incorporating public engagement into the Columbia River Treaty will enhance, not hinder, its long-term success.

The current window of opportunity to build upon the AIP to craft a stronger, more balanced Columbia River Treaty may be very short. Fully modernizing the Treaty to reflect current knowledge, societal values, and the pressing challenges we face is of critical importance to all people of the Columbia Basin and Pacific Northwest. We appreciate your attention at this pivotal time. Should you have any questions or if we can assist in any way, please contact Save Our wild Salmon Coalition executive director Joseph Bogaard at joseph@wildsalmon.org / 206-300-1003.

Sincerely,

Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director
Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition

Dan Ritzman, Lands, Water, and Wildlife Director
Sierra Club

Neil Brandt, Executive DirectorWater
Watch of Oregon

Rev. AC Churchill, Executive Director
Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light

Mary Coltrane, President
League of Women Voters of Washington

Lisa Benton, President
League of Women Voters of Oregon

Elizabeth McBride and Jean Henscheid, Co-Presidents
League of Women Voters of Idaho

Nancy Leifer, President
League of Women Voters of Montana

Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director
NW Energy Coalition

Trish Rolfe, Executive Director
Center for Environmental Law and Policy

Lauren Goldberg, Executive Director
Columbia Riverkeeper

Michael Mayer, Senior Attorney
Earthjustice

Sarah Dyrdahl, Northwest Region Director
American Rivers

Thomas O’Keefe, PhD, Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director
American Whitewater

Mitch Cutter, Salmon & Energy Strategist
Idaho Conservation League

Stephen Pfeiffer, Wild Fish & Hydropower Policy Manager
Idaho Rivers United

Joel Kawahara, Vice President
Coastal Trollers Association

Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations

Bob Rees, Executive Director
Northwest Guides and Anglers Association

Liz Hamilton, Policy Director
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

Norman Ritchie, Executive Director
Association of Northwest Steelheaders

Derek Goldman, National Field Director & Northern Rockies Sr. Field Rep.
Endangered Species Coalition

Noah Greenwald, Endangered Species Director
Center for Biological Diversity

Julian Mathews, Director
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment

Buck Ryan, Executive Director
Snake River Waterkeeper

Jule Schultz, Waterkeeper
Spokane Riverkeeper

Bob Sallinger, Executive Director
Willamette Riverkeeper

Mark Sherwood, Executive Director
Native Fish Society

Shari Tarantino, Executive Director
Orca Conservancy

Howard Garrett, President
Orca Network

Deborah Giles, PhD, Science and Research Director
Wild Orca

Josh Mills, Board Member
Wild Steelhead Coalition

Katie Ryan, Executive Director
Wetlands Conservancy

Rev. Carol Jensen, Governing Board Chair
Faith Action Network

Will Rutt, Executive Director
Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center

Deb Cruz, President
JUUstice Washington

Rev. Richenda Fairhurst, Board Member and Creation Justice Committee Chair
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and Oregon Interfaith Power & Light

Christina Wong, Vice President of Programs
Washington Conservation Action

Tom Uniack, Executive Director
Washington Wild

John McGlenn, President
Washington Wildlife Federation

Ian Giancarlo, Oceans Advocate
Environment Washington

Don J. Miller, Environmental Liaison
Snohomish County Indivisible

Genia Moncada, Advocacy Chair
Polly Dyer Seattle Broads Great Old Broads for Wilderness

Lindsey Scholten, Executive Director
Oregon League of Conservation Voters

Steve Pedery, Conservation Director
Oregon Wild

Renee Tkach, Conservation Director
Friends of the Columbia Gorge

Emily Cain, Executive Director
Greater Hells Canyon Council

Sarah Cloud, Executive Director
Deschutes River Alliance

Quinn Read, Conservation Director
Bird Alliance of Oregon

Ian Giancarlo, Oceans Advocate
Environment Oregon

Cameron LaFollette, Executive Director
Oregon Coast Alliance

Annie Merrill, Ocean and Estuaries Manager
Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

Mary Kyle McCurdy, Associate Director and Managing Attorney
1000 Friends of Oregon

Debi Ferrer, Leadership Team Member
Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network

Pat Ford, President Emeritus
Boulder-White Clouds Council

John Rettig, President
Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs

Mary Peveto, Executive Director
Neighbors for Clean Air

---

JUUstWA Signs onto Letter to President Biden to Restore the Endangered Species Act.

August 17, 2023

On August 17, 2023, JUUstice Washington Board member approved signing a letter generated by Earth Justice concerning the draft rule changes regarding the Endangered Species Act.  During his tenure, former President Trump rolled back a number of regulations that put the Endangered Species Act in jeopardy.  President Biden has proposed to put several of those rolled-back regulations back in place; however, has left several of them in place yet.  The letter calls on President Biden to restore more of the regulations and strengthen the ESA once again. Draft text of the letter below.

We are writing to provide comments on three proposed regulations under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (“The Services”). Proposed rules to address harmful regulatory changes made in 2019 that undermined ESA implementation are long overdue, and we welcome this process to finally make needed revisions. The proposed rules would reverse some of the damage done to ESA implementation by the 2019 rules, and we urge you to quickly finalize those important changes. Disappointingly, the proposed rules fail to fully restore the ESA, and we urge the Services to make additional needed changes that have been detailed in public comments dating back to the original 2019 regulatory process, including those detailed below.

Over the past five decades, the ESA has been remarkably successful: 99% of species protected under the Act have not gone extinct. The ESA has also protected millions of acres of habitat: forests, beaches, rivers, and wetlands that species rely on to survive and recover. At the same time, we are facing a growing biodiversity crisis. Human activity has put over a third of the plants and animals in the U.S. at risk of extinction and biodiversity loss is occurring at an unprecedented pace, underscoring why restoration of the ESA’s full potential is more important than ever. The biodiversity crisis means fewer pollinators for agriculture, depleted fisheries, and disappearing places like old-growth forests and wetlands that provide a long-term, low-cost source of clean air, water and carbon storage.

The Endangered Species Act is the best tool we have to fight the global extinction crisis and the key to protecting at-risk species in the U.S.. With these proposed regulations, the Biden administration has taken a few steps toward restoring the purpose and power of the Endangered Species Act, including the return of default protections for threatened species within Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction under section 4(d) of the ESA. This is a common sense and efficient policy that has worked for decades and one that we urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to finalize quickly.

Disappointingly, the draft regulations fall short of restoring ESA implementation to its full strength. The Services must take this opportunity to ensure the final rules bring the ESA regulations back to where they were pre-2019, which means correcting a number of glaring failures in these proposed rules. Detailed comments submitted via the Federal Register notice will provide a full description of all needed changes to the draft regulations. Below are several key examples.

The Services must go back to the drawing board and fully restore section 7 of the ESA, which governs interagency consultation — how federal government agencies ensure that federal actions do not cause imperiled species to go extinct or destroy protected habitat. For 50 years it has been established that the federal government should not engage in activities that could jeopardize species’ survival or destroy habitat they need to survive and recover.

Specifically, we ask that you rescind the addition of “as a whole” to section 402.02. This language created an enormous loophole, inconsistent with the intent of the ESA itself. The nefarious “as a whole” language is a free pass to destroy critical habitat as long as the total destruction of a species’ entire critical habitat is avoided. This is especially damaging for wide-ranging and migratory species, from piping plover to marbled murrelet, from salmon to lynx. This language also ignores the cumulative impact of various causes of habitat destruction over time. And it goes against the science-based establishment of critical habitat to ensure both the species survival and recovery, instead treating some areas of critical habitat as expendable.

Additional section 7 definition changes from the 2019 rules that need to be reversed include one that creates unnecessary confusion when examining an agency action that is ongoing, or a continuation of past activities (“environmental baseline” section 402.02).

Regarding the proposed regulations for Section 4 of the ESA, the Services are weighing whether to keep a slightly modified regulatory definition of “foreseeable future,” in section 424.11(d) or to rescind the definition in its entirety. The current proposed definition could make it harder to protect species threatened by climate change by potentially allowing an administration to claim alleged scientific uncertainty to deny protections for climate-impacted species. We urge the Services to include language that would  require projecting effects over the longest possible period for which credible projections are available. Barring that result, the Services should simply rescind the definition.

The Services must also rescind a Trump-era provision in section 424.12 making it easier to deny protecting a species’ habitat at the outset. Struggling plants and animals with designated critical habitat are more than twice as likely to recover than species without it. By retaining the expanded set of circumstances when designating critical habitat would automatically be “not prudent,” the Services will continue to significantly set back recovery efforts for animals like the northern long-eared bat–which is being decimated by white-nose syndrome, but also suffers from ongoing threat of habitat loss.

The Services also must reverse damaging changes made in section 424.11(e) that allow plants and animals to be prematurely delisted. It is essential that a species’ recovery meets all science-based standards before removing the backstop of ESA protections that have kept so many species alive.

Many of the changes to ESA regulations made in 2019 weakened protections for threatened and endangered species at a time when we must be doing everything in our power to fight the biodiversity crisis and recover species from the brink of extinction. Despite the broad support for restoring and strengthening the rules that implement the Act, the Services failed to do everything within their authority to restore the ESA rules and protect imperiled species.These three examples demonstrate just some of the additional changes that are needed before these proposed rules are finalized. Now is the time to get this right; we have no more time to waste.

---

JUUstWA Signs onto Letter to Congress for support of the Afghan Adjustment Act.

July 20, 2023

On July 20, 2023, JUUstWA Board members agreed to become signers on a letter to Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, legislation that would follow through on our commitment to Afghan people who support the U.S. during our activity there.  Many loyal Afghan people were left behind in the withdrawal in 2021 and those that were brought to the United States did not received the resources and services needed to establish life here in the United States.  Draft letter is below.

Dear Members of Congress,

As 108 religious leaders and 61 national, state, and local faith-based organizations representing many faith traditions, we urge you to support and work to immediately pass the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act of 2023 (S. 2327 / H.R. 4627). If passed, the bill would provide a clear path to permanent status for Afghans living in the U.S. and expand pathways to protection for vulnerable Afghans left behind. On July 13th, the Afghan Adjustment Act was introduced as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). We strongly encourage your support of this crucial measure and its inclusion in the NDAA to provide stability and safety to tens of thousands of Afghans, many of whom risked their lives in service of the U.S. mission.

As communities of faith, we are called by our principles and sacred texts to the spiritual practice of welcome. Our congregations have historically played key roles in meeting the needs of displaced people, a tradition that has come to include supporting Afghans who have fled from the violence and persecution of the Taliban. For nearly two years, congregations and organizations have mobilized to connect Afghans with housing, language services, employment, transportation, and social support as they rebuild their lives in the U.S. However, Afghans who have become integral to our communities will continue to face significant obstacles until Congress demonstrates moral leadership by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act. 

As we approach two years after the fall of the elected Afghan government in August of 2021, the need for an attainable path to permanent status for Afghans living in the U.S. has never been more urgent. More than 76,000 at-risk Afghans have been welcomed into the United States via “humanitarian parole” which provides only temporary protection and no clear path to permanent residency. Though the vast majority of Afghan parolees are eligible for asylum or Special Immigrant Visas, due to long backlogs and processing delays, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, fewer than 10% have secured permanent protection.

The Afghan Adjustment Act would provide stability and security to the thousands of Afghan evacuees who remain in legal limbo as their initial period of protection is set to expire this fall. The new pathway the bill creates would be cost-effective and secure, and there is significant precedent of Congress coming together to pass similar adjustment acts for others that have been evacuated to the U.S. under humanitarian parole.

As religious leaders, congregations and faith-based organizations, we join with a diverse range of supporters calling for the immediate passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act, including veterans, businesses, national security experts, and women’s rights leaders. Around the nation and across the political spectrum, a broad consensus has emerged: Congress must stand up for displaced Afghans and immediately pass the Afghan Adjustment Act.

Our nation’s diverse faith traditions call us to love our neighbor, accompany the vulnerable, and welcome the sojourner. We believe that it is a moral imperative to act swiftly to protect Afghans at risk. We look forward to working with you to ensure your support for the Afghan Adjustment Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Congregations & Faith-based Organizations

---

JUUstWA Signs onto NGO ltr on the Columbia River Treaty

NGO Letter to Senator Rolfes, Senator Liias, Representative Fey, and Representative Ormsby

February 6, 2023

American Rivers ♦ American Whitewater ♦ Association of Northwest Steelheaders ♦ Black Hills Audubon Society ♦ Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Social and Environmental Justice Executive Committee ♦ Center for Environmental Law & Policy ♦ Coastal Trollers Association ♦ Columbia Riverkeeper ♦ Defenders of Wildlife ♦ Earthjustice ♦ Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light ♦ Earth and Climate Action Ministry East Shore Unitarian Church of Bellevue, WA ♦ Endangered Species Coalition ♦ Environment Washington ♦ Faith Action Network ♦ Friends of Grays Harbor ♦ Fuse Washington ♦ Grays Harbor Audubon Society ♦ Great Old Broads for Wilderness ♦ Idaho Conservation League ♦ Indivisible ♦ Resisterhood360 ♦ JUUstice Washington ♦ Kitsap Environmental Coalition ♦ The Lands Council ♦ Multifaith Network for Climate Justice ♦ National Parks Conservation Association ♦ National Wildlife Federation ♦ Natural Resources Defense Council ♦ North Cascades Conservation Council ♦ NW Energy Coalition ♦ Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association ♦ Northwest Watershed Institute ♦ Olympic Climate Action ♦ Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations ♦ RE Sources ♦ Rivers Without Borders ♦ Save Our wild Salmon Coalition ♦ Seattle Aquarium ♦ Sierra Club Washington State ♦ Skagit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship ♦ Southwestern Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church ♦ Stillpoint at Beckside Spirituality Center ♦ Spokane Riverkeeper ♦ Thurston Climate Action Team ♦ Vancouver Audubon Society ♦ Vashon Climate Action Group Vashon Island Unitarian Fellowship ♦ Washington Conservation Action ♦ Washington Council of Trout Unlimited Washington Kayak Club ♦ Washington Wild ♦ Washington Wildlife Federation ♦ WashPIRG Students Wild Steelhead Coalition ♦ Woodland Park Zoo

Dear Senator Rolfes, Senator Liias, Representative Fey, and Representative Ormsby,

Northwest salmon and steelhead are on the brink of extinction today, and our Southern Resident Orcas lack their main food – chinook salmon. Restoring a freely-flowing lower Snake River by removing its four dams is our best chance to stop extinction, restore abundance for salmon, orcas and our fishing communities, and honor our commitments to Tribal nations.

Support for urgent action is overwhelming — and the science backs it up. Northwest policymakers and the Biden Administration have made significant commitments to develop a long-term strategy to restore salmon and other culturally significant native fish populations to abundant levels. In a groundbreaking report last fall, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) specifically identified lower Snake River dam removal as an urgently needed “centerpiece action” to protect and restore endangered salmon. Last August, Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee concluded in their in-depth analysis that we can replace the energy,  transportation, and irrigation services these four dams provide and that we must do so because the extinction of Snake River salmon would be unacceptable.

We urge your strong support for the following budget requests and necessary 2023 legislative actions to help meet the urgent need to plan for replacement of the services of the Snake River dams, stop salmon extinction, honor promises to Tribal Nations, advance the largest river restoration in history, and invest in salmon habitat priorities across our State.

• Transportation Study: The Governor’s budget funds the Department of Transportation ($5 million) to conduct an analysis of highway, road, and freight rail transportation needs and options to plan for the continuation of efficient movement of freight and goods that currently move by barge through the lower Snake River dams.

• Energy Study: The Governor’s budget provides funding ($5 million) to develop a detailed LSRD energy replacement plan. It will lay out how to maintain reliability and adequacy of the existing electrical power system, that is consistent with the Clean Energy Transformation Act, and supplemental to replacing the fossil fuels currently used in the transportation, industry and buildings sectors.

• Irrigation Analysis: Secure $500,000 for the Department of Ecology, in consultation with other agencies as necessary, to conduct an analysis of continued water use for irrigation during lower Snake River dam drawdown and thereafter from a restored river.

• Salmon Habitat Protection and Restoration Priorities: Support significant investments in programs to protect, restore and reconnect fresh and marine water habitats in Washington and to right-size habitat funding to protect and restore abundant salmon for future generations.

Restoring the Snake River is essential to stop extinction and restore abundance. By taking the above actions in 2023, Washington State can lead efforts to recover endangered Snake River salmon and steelhead; honor promises to Tribal Nations; feed hungry orcas; modernize transportation, irrigation, and clean energy infrastructure; address decades-long salmon recovery litigation; and enhance economic opportunities for every corner of our state — farmers and fishermen, Tribes, and local communities. It is vital for this planning to begin immediately to restore the lower Snake River before our salmon and orca disappear forever.

Sincerely,

Kyle Smith, Snake River Director
Northwest Region
American Rivers

Thomas O’Keefe
Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director
American Whitewater

Miles Johnson, Legal Director
Columbia Riverkeeper

Kathleen S. Gobush, NW Regional Director
Defenders of Wildlife

Joel Kawahara, Board Member
Coastal Trollers Association

Eric Gonzalez Alfaro
Northwest Regional Office Policy Advocate
Earthjustice

John Rosapepe, Pacific Northwest Representative
Endangered Species Coalition

Pam Clough, Advocate
Environment Washington

Abbie Abramovich
Salmon Campaign Grassroots Coordinator
Idaho Conservation League

Rev. AC Churchill, Executive Director
Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light

Amanda Parrish, Executive Director
The Lands Council

Giulia C.S. Good Stefani, Senior Attorney
Natural Resources Defense Council

Erin Farris-Olsen, Regional Executive Director
National Wildlife Federation

Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director
NW Energy Coalition

Liz Hamilton, Executive Director
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

Glenn Spain, NW Regional Director
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations

Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition

Sept Gernez, Acting Director
Sierra Club Washington State

Darcy Nonemacher
Government Affairs Director
Washington Conservation Action

Jerry White Jr., Executive Director
Spokane Riverkeeper

Pat Hesselgesser, State Chair
Washington Council of Trout Unlimited

Tom Uniack, Executive Director
Washington Wild

Rich Simms, Co-Founder & Vice President
Wild Steelhead Coalition

Jason Wedemeyer, Executive Director
Association of Northwest Steelheaders

Sam Merrill, Conservation Committee Chair
Black Hills Audubon Society

Kara Black, Chair
Social & Environmental Justice Committee
Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship

Trish Rolfe, Executive Director
Center for Environmental Law & Policy

Kristi Weir
Earth and Climate Action Ministry
East Shore Unitarian Church of Bellevue WA

Elise DeGooyer, Executive Director
Faith Action Network
Interfaith Network for Indigenous Communities

Arthur (R.D.) Grunbaum, President
Friends of Grays Harbor

Aaron Ostrom, Executive Director
Fuse Washington

Lovel Pratt, Marine Protection and Policy Director
Friends of the San Juans

Janet Strong, President
Grays Harbor Audubon Society

Genia Moncada, Seattle Leader
Great Old Broads for Wilderness

Krestine Reed, North Olympic Peninsula Leader
Great Old Broads for Wilderness

Deborah J. Cruz, President
JUUstice Washington

Taylor Goforth, South Sound Leader
Great Old Broads for Wilderness

Carol Price, Co-President
Kitsap Environmental Coalition

Kevin Leja, Co-leader
Indivisible Bellingham

Louise Pathe, Steering Member
Indivisible Eastside (WA)

Lisa Ornstein, Co-founder
Olympia Indivisible
Donald Miller, Environmental Liaison
Snohomish County Indivisible

Linda Hood, Steering Committee member
Indivisible Tacoma

Kevin Jones, Leadership Team Member
Indivisible Vashon

Melinda Mueller
Wallingford Indivisible (Seattle)

Kathryn Wilham, Lead Organizer
Resisterhood360, an Indivisible chapter

Sandra Shipley, Member
Indivisible Whidbey

Carol Price, Co-President
Kitsap Environmental Coalition

David Ketter
Policy and Legislation Committee Coordinator
Multifaith Network for Climate Justice

Rob Smith, Northwest Regional Director
National Parks Conservation Association

Philip Fenner, President
North Cascades Conservation Council

Peter Bahls, Executive Director
Northwest Watershed Institute

Howard Garrett
Orca Network

Helen Amerongen, Secretary
Olympic Climate Action

William C. Patric, Executive Director
Rivers Without Borders

Shannon Wright, Executive Director
RE Sources

Nora Nickum, Senior Ocean Policy Manager
Seattle Aquarium

Emily Bianconi, Board President
Skagit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Rev. Kristin-Luana Baumann
Chair, Native American Work Team
Southwestern Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

Amy Carey, Executive Director
Sound Action

Linda Conroy, Owner and Director
Stillpoint at Beckside Spirituality Center

Melinda Hughes, Executive Director
Thurston Climate Action Team

Susan Saul, Conservation Chair
Vancouver Audubon Society

Kevin Jones, Board Member
Vashon Climate Action Group

Merrilee Runyan
Social Justice Committee Member
Vashon Island Unitarian Fellowship

Renée C Paradis, Board Member
Washington Kayak Club

Parnian Karimi, Vice Chair
WashPIRG Students

John McGlenn, Board President
Washington Wildlife Federation

Kerston Swartz
Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy
Woodland Park Zoo

---

UU Statement of Commitment in Response to Climate-Forced Displacement

Approved by members of the Board July 10, 2022

In light of the global challenge of forced displacement caused by the climate crisis, Unitarian Universalist (UU) organizations—the UU Ministry for Earth, UUs for a Just Economic Community, Side With Love, UUA Office at the United Nations, UUs for Social Justice, and the UU Service Committee—join forces to issue the following statement of solidarity and commitment:

Recognizing the interdependence of life on Earth and the accountable pursuit of justice, equity and compassion is central to creating a thriving 21st Century.

Unitarian Universalism is a faith tradition anchored in religious pluralism, the rhythms of nature, and the inherent worth and dignity of each person. The ongoing climate crisis challenges all of our core values as a faith tradition. As organizations currently or historically affiliated with Unitarian Universalism, we feel compelled to speak and act in solidarity with front-line communities facing forced climate displacement. In keeping with these principles of repair and justice, we urge governments, world leaders, corporate actors, and congregations to respond to the global challenge of climate-forced displacement by centering the human rights of affected communities.

As the climate crisis escalates, the needs of those that are suffering the worst effects of climate change—a crisis chiefly caused by carbon emissions from wealthier industrialized nations like the United States—have gained wider acknowledgment. The climate crisis is not a matter for future generations to address; it is already upon us. In early March 2022, the world’s leading climate scientists issued their starkest warning yet about the failure of global leaders to stem carbon emissions. Humanity is on pace to exceed the 1.5 degrees of warming that scientists estimate is the limit the Earth can sustain without risking an unstoppable chain reaction of climate harms.

Due to this collective policy failure, communities around the globe and in the U.S. are already facing the effects of climate destruction. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, front-line, and other oppressed and marginalized communities — who have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis historically—are facing the worst of its effects. Many of these communities have been displaced from their homes, and millions more will follow in the decades ahead. Communities across the U.S.—as well as in other countries—are already experiencing these pressures, and the reality that parts of the U.S. will become uninhabitable is increasingly hard to ignore.

This involuntary climate exile is both a global and a domestic human rights violation on a massive scale. Not only does it deprive millions of people of their rightful home, it also forces them to seek resettlement in a global community that has done little to ensure the safe and dignified reception of people seeking asylum—particularly migrants of color. In the U.S., people are forced to abandon their traditional homes and communities or look to build infrastructure mitigation strategies that outstrip the resource and financing capacity of their households and local governments.

Even as we acknowledge that climate displacement is a present reality and not a hypothetical risk, we also reject the fatalism and defeatism that would deny the possibility of further collective action to forestall or address it. To this end, we shall share the power of our voices and influence with those who have less recourse to engage decision-makers, be they elected, appointed, or corporate actors. We pledge to coordinate our advocacy in order to persuade the international and domestic community to:

Prevent further climate displacement by mitigating the effects of climate change and ensuring a just transition to clean and renewable energy sources;

Ensure—in the event of displacement that cannot be forestalled—that communities are able to relocate safely, with dignity, and in a self-determined way that respects their integrity and identity;

Provide communities with the resources they need to adapt-in-place to the effects of climate change, and to compensate for the loss and damage they have already incurred as a result of anthropogenic warming;

Redress past failures and address root harms and causes as part of our accountable behavior to those suffering harm.

Climate displacement is already occurring around the world. Our leaders have a choice as to the pace at which it unfolds and the treatment of people who endure it. We urge them to act now, before even more people are deprived of their homes.

---

JUUstice Washington Board Statement on Commitment to Racial Justice

Approved by members of the Board 27 June 2020

In the long and continuous struggle to bend the arc of history toward justice and compassion and turn away from white supremacy, and racism more generally, JUUstice Washington  reaffirms our commitment to work to: 

• Dismantle systemic racism against people of color in education, employment, housing, voting rights, access to health care, safety and other areas of inequity; 
• Prevent and overturn the disproportionate effects of environmental degradation on communities of color; and 
• Implement equitable and ethical treatment in the criminal justice and judicial systems that disproportionately render inequitable treatment of people of color.

We are called to this work by Unitarian Universalist Principles and the Unitarian Universalist living tradition of supporting and leading social and environmental justice movements locally and in broader communities.

We are committed to engage in faithful discernment that we may know when to speak and when to listen, when to lead and when to follow, when to be an active presence and when to bear witness.  We are committed to the short- and long-term natures of achieving the goals of equity, justice and compassion.

We encourage all JUUstice Washington members and Unitarian Universalist congregations to move boldly forward to make this time in history a tipping point toward racial justice.

---

 JUUstice Washington Joins Latino Civic Alliance

The Board of JUUstice Washington voted unanimously to join Latino Civci Alliance in asking the Governor, Legislature and State Agencies to make farm worker health and safety a priority, especially in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Among many other groups, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the agricultural workers very hard.  The have been deemed “essential workers” and required to continue working in order to keep food supply systems operational.  However, in spite of being essential workers, farmworkers are not receiving the equipment and safety protocols necessary to perform their work without risking exposure to COVID-19 for individuals and entire communities.  JUUstice Washington granted Latino Civic Alliance permission was granted to use our name and logo on a flyer produced by Latino Civic Alliance requesting our greater community to petition Governor Inslee and the WA State Legislature to act.

 

---

Our Children’s Trust Amicus Brief Signatory

On or about May 31, 2019 a quorum was achieved by email voting to sign-on to the Our Children’s Trust (OTC) amicus brief described below.  Organizations signing on needed their statements filed with OTC by June 2, 2019.

The JUUstice Washington Board of Directors and the Social and Environmental Justice Committee of the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship have voted to become signatories on an interfaith amicus brief to be filed on behalf of the youth in Aji P. v. State of WashingtonOur Children’s Trust.

The Statement submitted to OTC by JUUstice Washington for inclusion in the amicus brief Motion to File is as follows:  

“JUUstice Washington, a Unitarian Universalist State Action Network is a signatory to this brief because it works diligently with Unitarian Universalist (“UU”) congregations throughout the State of Washington to carry out its principles, one being the Seventh Principle in which we affirm and promote, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” In addition to this Principle, JUUstice Washington also affirms and promotes our Sixth Source of Living Tradition with which we draw upon, “Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.” JUUstice Washington fully supports and believes in these youth and their challenge to their elders that climate change is within the purview of the public trust and they have the right to secure and preserve their future and those of future generations.”

 

---

JUUstice Washington Statement of Support for Trans Community

On March 1, 2019, UU Worldmagazine published an article entitled “After L, G, and B” which hascaused harm to transgender and non-binary people. In the article, a cisgender woman wrote about her perspective and experience while intending to be an ally to transgender people. In its public response, Transgender Religious professional Unitarian Universalists Together (TRUUsT) explains the harm caused by this article:

“The UU World’s article titled “After L, G, and B” frames the trans experience by centering a white, heterosexual, cisgender woman’s experience. By doing so, it reduces trans people to objects—something that happens far too often in society and in our UU communities. The use of harmful slurs, the conflation of intersex and trans experience, and a repeated focus on surgery, hormones, and pronouns perpetuates stereotypes around trans experiences that devalues the gifts we have to bring to the world and Unitarian Universalism.”

JUUstice Washington is committed to dismantling institutional and systemic oppression, including oppression based on gender identity/expression. We encourage you to read the UU Worldarticle and TRUUsT’sresponse, and explore the additional resources listed below. The Unitarian Universalist community is a space in which trans UUs regularly experience oppression. UU World’s commissioning and publication of “After L, G, and B” is reflective of and adds to that collective oppression. We call on our cisgender members to develop new knowledge and skills that are needed to create a safe and inclusive community in which the inherent worth and dignity of all people is truly valued and honored.

After L, G, and B (Kimberly French, Contributing Editor, UU World)

Putting the “T” First: Public Statement on This Week’s UU World Article (TRUUsT Steering Committee)

What It Takes to De-Center Privilege: The Failure of this Week’s UU World Article (Alex Kapitan)

Our Story Hurt People (Christopher Walton, Editor, UU World)

Tips For Talking about the UU World Article (Transforming Hearts Collective)

TRUUsT Calls on All Unitarian Universalists to Take Action to Support Trans UUs (TRUUsT)

Report on the Experiences of Trans Unitarian Universalists (TRUUsT)

Transgender Inclusion in Congregations course (Rev. Mykal Slack & Zr. Alex Kapitan, Transforming Hearts Collective)

Transgender Inclusion & Affirmation Questions to Consider (LGBTQ Ministries office, Unitarian Universalist Association, 2012)