Wednesday January 8, 2025
The News Tribune —
If you want to find a turning point in Washington state’s modern history of environmental protection and advocacy, just go back a few decades to the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was a time period marked by an upsurge in commitment to enact meaningful legislation, create new agency initiatives, and emphasize partnerships with tribes.
But in the 30-plus years since, the planet has warmed, keystone species like salmon have declined, and Indigenous stakeholders have had to continually fight to improve basic living conditions like access to clean water. Tribes have been compelled to use litigation to assert everything from their treaty-guaranteed water rights to holding fossil fuel companies accountable for environmental destruction.
But the work done over those last few decades has helped foster a widespread consensus that conservation of wildlife, water, shorelines, and forests need to be prioritized. This is especially true in an environmentally progressive and natural-resource rich place like Washington.
But the Pacific Northwest state also has a massive advantage in fighting climate change. It’s home to 29 federally recognized tribes, plus several more like the Chinook still working for recognition. Despite having to overcome deep-rooted, institutionalized roadblocks and racism, countless Indigenous-led and involved conservation efforts shine.