FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin Hyde, 360.819.3045, kevin.hyde@psp.wa.gov
The Puget Sound Partnership Ecosystem Coordination Board will meet on Thursday, May 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the San Juan Island Grange, 152 1st ST N, Friday Harbor, WA, 98250.
All are welcome to attend the meeting. With the expiration of the Governor’s COVID-19 State of Emergency, masking for Partnership staff, board members, and attendees is voluntary. We continue to strongly support those who choose to wear a mask.
We’ll be providing an all-virtual livestream of this meeting, through TVW (link below). We highly encourage partners and other members of the public to use this virtual option, if possible, to reduce carbon emissions and to minimize COVID risks for everyone. If you do elect to use the livestream option and wish to submit public comment, please send your written comments to anna.petersen@psp.wa.gov by noon on Wednesday, May 17. We will review public comments submitted by email during the general public comment period on May 18.
TVW web link: https://tvw.org/video/puget-sound-partnership-ecosystem-coordination-board-2023051022/?eventID=2023051022
The full Ecosystem Coordination Board agenda and meeting materials are available through our board meetings page: https://psp.wa.gov/board_meetings.php.
Meeting highlights include:
- A forum with the San Juan Local Integrating Organization (LIO). This session will include presentations and discussion about vessel accident and oil spill prevention and vessel impact plan for ecosystem recovery in the San Juan Islands. Forum presenters include Cindy Wolf, San Juan County Council member and Ecosystem Coordination Board member; Kimbal Sundberg, retired habitat biologist at Alaska Department of Fish and Game and San Juan LIO member; Marta Green, Puget Sound recovery coordinator, San Juan County Marine Program; Lovel Pratt, marine protection and policy director, Friends of the San Juans; and Frances Robertson, San Juan County marine project manager.
- A presentation and discussion about the implementation of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force recommendations. This session will include an overview of the threat areas and progress on some of the key recommendations from the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force and highlight some of the ongoing work of adaptive management. Presentation by Todd Hass, special assistant to the director at the Puget Sound Partnership; Tara Galuska, orca recovery coordinator, Governor's Salmon Recovery Office; and Julie Watson, chair of the Ecosystem Coordination Board and killer whale policy lead at the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.
- A presentation and discussion about the 2023 Washington state legislative session, recent federal policy, and the Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force state-federal working groups. Presentation by Ahren Stroming, special assistant for federal affairs at the Puget Sound Partnership, and Peter Murchie, Puget Sound Geographic Program manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The full Ecosystem Coordination Board agenda and meeting materials are available through our board meetings page at: https://psp.wa.gov/board_meetings.php.
If you need special accommodations to participate in this meeting, please notify Special Assistant to the Boards Anna Petersen at 360.338.2384.
About the Ecosystem Coordination Board
The Ecosystem Coordination Board's main role is to advise the Puget Sound Partnership’s Leadership Council on carrying out its responsibilities. The Board is made up of 30 members representing specific interests around the Sound.
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 government agencies, 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.
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