Puget Sound Partnership media advisory: Leadership Council to hear status of resident orca, updates to 2016 Action Agenda

MEDIA ADVISORY
April 21, 2016

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathy Cochrane, 360.790.7958, cathy.cochrane@psp.wa.gov 

Leadership Council to hear status of resident orca, updates to 2016 Action Agenda

Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council will meet April 28-29 in
Port Townsend

The Puget Sound Partnership’s Leadership Council will meet on Thursday, April 28, from 11:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Friday, April 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fort Worden’s Commons Conference Room, 200 Battery Way, Port Townsend. 

Thursday meeting highlights include:

• A presentation from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists on the status of Southern Resident Killer Whales, the endangered orca that live year-round in Puget Sound.  The health of the resident orca population is one of the Partnership’s 22 Vital Signs, which collectively help us understand whether our efforts to recover Puget Sound are on track.

Friday meeting highlights include:

• The latest on efforts to update the 2016 Action Agenda for Puget Sound. This collaborative planning process is part of the Partnership’s work to focus investments on actions that are most likely to advance Puget Sound protection and recovery targets. The Leadership Council will discuss high-priority recovery actions to complete within the next two years. The Leadership Council will review findings and recommendations from the draft plan forwarded from the Science Panel, Ecosystem Coordination Board, and Salmon Recovery Council.
  
  
• A presentation on National Estuary Program funding, led by representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office. National Estuary Program funds are directed toward high-priority actions to restore habitat, reduce stormwater runoff, and re-open shellfish beds.

The full agenda, meeting materials and directions to the meeting location are available at http://psp.wa.gov/LC_meetings.php. This meeting is open to the public, and all are welcome to provide comment and learn about the regional effort to restore and protect Puget Sound.

If you need special accommodations to participate in this meeting, please notify the Special Assistant to the Boards, Dominique Hampton, at 360.464.1229.

About the Puget Sound Partnership

The Puget Sound Partnership is the state agency formed to lead the region’s collective effort to restore and protect Puget Sound. Working with hundreds of governments, tribes, scientists, businesses, and nonprofits, the Partnership mobilizes partner action around a common agenda, advances Sound investments, and tracks progress to optimize recovery.

For more information, go to www.psp.wa.gov.