Lobby Days success, cutoff season, and invitation to our spring event!

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Welcome to Synthesis — a 2-minute read to give you the quick hits of our recent work, to amplify our partners' projects, and to share important environmental stories.

Here at WCA, we recognize that the fierce progress and significant achievements made in the conservation movement could not have happened without the contributions and leadership of Black people and communities. Check out our blog about Black conservationists in Washington and in history. [[link removed]]

We are halfway through the 2023 Washington Legislative Session and committee deadlines are coming up. Thanks to activists like you, the bills related to our four environmental priorities [[link removed]] made significant legislative progress. But the fight is not over yet. Stay tuned for opportunities to take action!

Last week, 15 organizations signed a letter calling on WA Ecology to deny the Water Quality Certification for the Goldendale Pumped Storage Project. Based on the agencies’ environmental review, the project would have significant unavoidable impacts to Tribal cultural and religious resources. Read the full letter here. [[link removed]]

The 2023 Virtual Environmental Lobby Days held from Feb 14-16 was a huge success! Nearly 300 attended over three days. Activists attended more than 70 appointments with legislators, speaking up for environmental justice and health. Watch the recorded workshops and speaker sessions here. [[link removed]]

We’re hiring! Multiple full-time positions just opened up in our organizations. Interested in working with us? Apply now or help spread the word! [[link removed]]

UPCOMING EVENTS

Save the date: Join us May 5th at the Burke Museum for Bloom, Rising to new heights with Washington Conservation Action! This event celebrates uniting the power and brand equity of Washington Environmental Council and Washington Conservation Voters. Tickets are limited, reserve your seat now! [[link removed]]

Join us for this Insider Briefing & Happy Hour via Zoom on Monday, March 13th at 4pm. In this half-hour session, our Government Affairs Director Darcy Nonemacher will provide the latest on our 2023 WA legislative priorities. She’ll answer questions and provide ideas on how you can engage. Session will include a short update on our new name/brand. RSVP here. [[link removed]]

STAFF CORNER: Mariana Sanchez Castillo (they/them/she)

Mariana is originally from Mexico City. They attended the University of Puget Sound and now live in Seattle. Growing up in Mexico City, Mariana had limited access to the outdoors.

Living in Washington has brought them profound appreciation for nature and allowed them to explore outdoor activities and connect with nature in a new way:

“I can’t see myself living anywhere else because of the jaw-dropping scenery that surrounds me every day, and the easy access to biking, hiking, skiing, or ability to take a walk through Seattle’s best public parks.”

Mariana’s love for the outdoors inspired them to protect it. Their involvement in environmental activism began on campus as a volunteer with the Sunrise Movement fighting to ban fossil fuel expansions in the Port of Tacoma. That political campaigning experience then led them to an internship opportunity here at Washington Conservation Action (WCA). And now, Mariana is engaged in environmental advocacy full-time as the Field Manager of WCA.

An organization Mariana would like to lift up is “Trail Mixed Collective” – a group committed to making the outdoors inclusive for Women and Genderqueer People of Color.

RACIAL JUSTICE GLOSSARY

White Supremacy

White Supremacy shapes everything about life in the United States of America and is the system within which we operate as an organization. It structurally, culturally, and morally positions white people (Europeans and European descendants) as the epitome of human achievement, centering them as normal, worthy, safe, intelligent, and good, and all others as deviant. The system determines who has access to resources, power, and safety. White supremacy successfully endures through ongoing investment in racist and colonialist systems, institutions, and laws, and through the ignorance, inaction, silence, and complicity of white people and their reluctance to break with white solidarity.

Washington Conservation Action

1402 Third Avenue, Suite 1400 | Seattle, WA 98101

(206) 631-2600 | [email protected]

EIN: 91-0839385

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