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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
December 31, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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December 31, 2020
 
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Page A-2O — Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 Perspectives offered through Climate Assembly By Kirk Boxlejtner l<b”0)deitner@masoncounty. com The Washington Climate Assem- bly will have its inaugural People’s Assembly starting Jan. 12 with at least two Mason County residents , among its numbers. ' This virtual event will bring 80 Washington residents together as assemblymembers to learn about, dis- cuss and recommend climate change solutions for consideration by the Legislature. Sherri Dysart and Julianne Gale are members of the WCA Monitor- ing Team, made up of representatives from state government, tribal groups and nongovernmental organizations, whose jobs are to help adopt and enforce the rulebook governing the assembly. Dysart is the Climate Change Com- mittee chair of the League of Women Voters of Mason County, while Gale is a youth worker and a community orga- nizer committed to social and environ- mental justice. Gale also will be an agenda consultant and presenter to the assembly. “I am really glad that a Mason County perspective on the climate crisis, and what we can do about it, Will be represented throughout this pro- cess,” Gale said. “The climate crisis is, or soon will be, affecting every single part of our lives as Mason County resi- dents, including how we make money, what we eat, where we can safely live and how healthy we can be.” Gale pointed out how climate change has not only damaged Mason County homes and blocked its roads through flooding and windstorms, but also has made outdoor air unbreath- able due to wildfires fueled by climate change. “It’s up to us here in Mason County to make sure statewide politicians and people in bigger cities understand what policies , would make sense in smaller communities like ours,” Gale said. “No one knows better than us what will work here.” A people’s (or citizens’) assembly seeks to solve a problem facing acom— munity by democratically represent- ing the interests of people from all walks of life, and the Washington Cli- mate Assembly, as the first of its kind in the Northwest, is intended to serve as a template for future assemblies throughout the region. “The great thing about the Washing- ton Climate Assembly is that anyone can submit a proposal for the assem— bly to vote on, and any proposal that gets broad support from the assembly members will go forward to the state Legislature,” Gale said. Dysart outlined a number of ways the public can get involved, many available through the Washington Cli- mate Assembly website at waclimate- assembly.org, which allows members of the public to submit their proposals for recommendations. Dysart added that the assembly’s four-step process starts with a learn- ing phase, during which. speeches by subject-matter experts and interested parties are not only scheduled to be presented, but will also be open to the media and broadcast live on the internet. “There’s an ‘apply for a support role’ button on the website, for someone in our community to register as an inter- ested party, for instance, if they wish to be a presenter to the assembly,” Dysart said. Each proposal must answer the question of how Washington might equitably design and implement cli- mate mitigation ideas, which would itself require the strengthening of communities disproportionately affected by climate change across the state, Dysart said.To that end,~assem- bly members are chosen through a lot— tery to accurately represent the state’s demographics of age, race and ethnic- ity, geographic distribution and politi- cal perspectives. After the learning phase, a deliber- ation phase Will present those assem- bly members with a variety of experts, stakeholders and tribal perspectives before they proceed to the decision phase of considering potential actions and discussing what they think should happen. ’ The assembly’s published report will offer a final set of recommenda- tions to elected officials and the wider public so they can be turned into laws: While Gale is more interested in using the assembly process to bring Mason County residents together to address the climate crisis, she did admit that she would welcome propos- als to redirect government funding for corpOrations into local communities, which she would also like to see become less reliant on global supply chains, and therefore less vulnerable to climate change disruptions. “I’d like to see us transition toward a completely local system, where even— tually no extractive energyis needed to bring in supplies from far-away places, and there’s no extraction of resources from our community either,” said Gale, who cited “community food forests” as but one example of poten- tial investments in local‘community systems. Gale said she would also welcome proposals that strengthen tribal sover- eignty so that we could draw from tra- ditional ecological knowledge. “When it comes to climate—change solutions, there’s no substitute for the wisdom that comes from thousands of years of living in one area, including through previous dramatic changes in climate,” Gale said. “Those of us who are relative newcomers have a lot to learn from that wisdom.” Gale invited those who want to “think together” about how Mason County residents can respond to the climate crisis, including creating pro- posals for the Washington Climate Assembly, to email her at mason- countyclimatejustice@gmail.com or to write Mason County Climate Justice, P.O. Box 675, Hoodsport, WA 98584. The Washington Climate Assem- bly will be livestreamed and recorded starting in January via Zoom, and will be available for subsequent viewing on the assembly’s website and You’l‘ube channel. Hood Canal council issues shellfish By Kirk Boxleitner kbofleitner®masoncounty com As part of the Hood Canal Shellfish Initiative, the Hood Canal Coordinating Council has issued a “Call for Projects” to implement the priorities out- lined in the HCSI Action Plan. The deadline for the HCCC to receive the submission materials for those projects was Dec. 21. HCCC Watershed Projects Coordinator Nate White outlined the plan’s six objectives: I Protect and improve Hood Canal’s water quality. . I Protect and improve Hood Canal’s shellfish habitat. I Promote a cultural appreciation of Hood Canal’s shellfish; I Support a sustainable Hood Canalcommercial shellfish industry. I Expand shellfish harvesting opportunities for Hood Canal’s treaty tribes, local communities and visitors. I Restore the native Olympia oyster populations to Hood Canal. Projects can meet these objectives by taking any one of six actions: « I Implement Pollution Identification and Correc— tion (PIC) programs. I Conduct assessments of shellfish—related land- use policies and regulations for their effects on shellfish habitat. I Incorporate tribal and nontribal cultural prac— tices associated with shellfish into the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Native American curriculum, where appropriate. ‘. I Develop prepermitting processes for priority w aquaculture development sites, or “shellfish enter- prise zones.” I Coordinate and increase the enhancement and seeding of clams and oysters at appropriate public and tribal harvest sites. I Develop and implement a Hood Canal-specific Olympia oyster restoration plan. Project proposals will be evaluated by how well their actions align to the HCSI’s objectives and con- tribute to its goals, as well as by their relative like- lihoods of success, in terms of the project’s feasibil- ity, as well as the applicant’s availability and capac- ity to carry out the project, and their demonstrated experience and qualifications to develop and com- plete the project within the time frame specified. Proposed projects should not exceed a budget of $55,000, and applicants should provide budget tables that include estimates of total hours and hourly rates for all tasks. The project submission format calls for a title page that identifies the project and the organiza- tion, partners and contact information for the proj- ect’s primary point of contact; your qualifications and proposed project approach, to include resumes and up to three examples of similar past projects; and the scope of work, andproject budget, the latter broken out by tasks, personnel and other direct and indirect rates. White noted the HCCC would consider the fol- lowing questions: I Are the appropriate personnel and resources available to undertake this project in the timeline proposed? I Who would be doing the work, and What are their individual qualifications? I Will the execution of work to be performed by _ Wishing You a Very Happy 2021' H glycltou-"flilasou County Journal ‘Call for Projects’ your company require the hiring of subcontractors, and if so, who are they and what work Will they perform? I What is your organization’s experience work- ing in Hood Canal, or with any of HCCC’s member jurisdictions? I Are there any pieces missing in the project description, or are there alternative approaches toadvance this project, that the HCCC should consider? I How might your services save the HCCC time or resources in meeting its objectives? After project submission, the proposals are will be reviewed and evaluated by the HCSI Work- group, with a recommendation submitted to the HCCC board of directors in time for project funding decisions to be made at the Jan. 20 HCCC board meeting. ' Contract negotiations are set to begin immedi- ately afterward with the successful applicants, with work expected to begin immediately upon the con- tract’s execution, and to end by Nov. 30. The HCCC expects the Quality Assurance Proj- ect Plan, or the QAPP Waiver, to be deliverable 30 days after the contract execution, and the Water Quality Exchange Data Entry to be deliverable by Nov. 30, if necessary. The draft final project report should be ready by Nov. 12, and the final report should be ready by Nov. 30, with progress reports due by the 15th of the following month. Contact White at 360-900-6442 or at nwhite@ hcchagov. For more information, go to http:// hccc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/resources/downloads /HCSLCall%20for%20Projects_20201125.pdf for the requirements for project submissions. BELFAIR RALD