8/8/2019 2008 Issue #4 Bird's Eye View Newsletter Washington Audubon Society

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2008 Legislative Newsletter April 7, 2

Audubon Washington is apartnership of

National Audubon Society and26 independent Audubon

Chapters.

Admiralty Audubon

Black Hills Audubon

Blue Mt. Audubon

Central Basin Audubon

Discovery Coast Audubon

East Lake Washington Audubon

Grays Harbor Audubon

Kitsap Audubon

Kittitas Audubon

Lower Columbia Basin Audubon

North Cascades Audubon

North Central Washington Audubon

Olympic Peninsula Audubon

Palouse Audubon

Pilchuck Audubon

Rainier Audubon

San Juan Islands Audubon

Seattle Audubon

Skagit Audubon

Spokane Audubon

Tahoma Audubon

Vancouver Audubon

Vashon-Maury Isle Audubon

Whidbey Audubon

Willapa Hills Audubon

Yakima Valley Audubon

The EvergreenCommunities ActBecomes Law

Contact Policy Staff

Heath Packard360-790-5680

Lisa Paribello360-786-8020 ext. 201

The Evergreen Communities Act,signed by Governor Gregoire onApril 1st, is the first step inmaintaining and increasing urban treecover in cities, towns, and counties,creating a greener more livableWashington.

Besidesbeing aplace toplay,urbanforestsprovidemanybenefits,said Gov. Chris Gregoire. They

improve air and water quality, combatclimate change, contribute to realestate values, and conserve energy.

The law will create an EvergreenCommunities designation torecognize Washingtons localgovernments that have demonstratedexcellent urban forestry managementsurpassing Tree CityUSA standards. The law

will also provideresources to achievehigher levels of urbantree cover throughmodel tree ordinancesand management plans.

It will provide for astatewide inventoryand assessment ofWAs urban trees to

better inform

communities about local urban forconditions. To encourageparticipation in the voluntaryprogram, designated "EvergreenCommunities" will have increasedaccess to certain state funds andfuture grants.

These tools and resources will helpWA communities maximize themyriad of urban ecosystem benefitthat are gained from increased treecover. Through increased canopy,taxpayers would save $2.4 billionfrom storm water management, aprime Puget Sound pollutant. A risin urban tree cover would alsoimprove air quality through airbornfiltration and carbon sequestration,well as decreased energy use forheating and cooling, cutting costs fhome and business owners by up to30%.

Special thanks you to everyone wh

helped make this legislation a

realityespecially Rep. Kagi (D-3

We look forward to continuing ou

work to ensure the Evergreen Stat

is full of Evergreen Communities

this multi-year campaign.

Governor Chris Gregoire signs the Evergreen Communi

URGENT ACTION

Contact yourlegislators and ask

them to supportUrban Forest

Funding in 2009.

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April 7, 2008 Page 2

WIN: LOCAL FARMS, HEALTHY KIDSHB 2798, SB 6483. Prime Sponsors: Senator Hatfield, Representative Pettigrew

The Local Farms-Healthy Kids initiative successfully passed and was signed by theGovernor March 27th. Through a series of changes to existing purchasing laws andcreation of new programs, theLocal Farms Healthy Kids Act is one of the most

comprehensive and far-reaching efforts in the country to promote state-level localfood policy. The new law will create several new programs allowing easier access formore people in Washington communities to fresh, locally grown fruits andvegetables. Along with easing the procurement restrictions, a farm to school programis created, and the WA Grown Fresh Fruit and Vegetable grant program will provide funds to schools with highernumbers of low income students. Better technology to support food stamps and credit cards at Farmers Markets,promotion of School gardens, and the development of three farm to food bank pilot programs are also created by thnew law.

WIN: LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL WARMINGHB 2797, SB 6580. Prime Sponsors: Senator Marr, Representative Simpson

The Local Solutions to Global Warming bill also passed and was signed by the Governor April1st. Although the bill passed, work will continue over the next year to carry out the establishedgoals; which requires a report back to the legislature about additional reforms to the GrowthManagement Act that will be needed to significantly reduce global warming pollution throughsmart growth. Over the next year, work will be done with cities, counties, and other

stakeholders to ensure these legislative recommendations include strong policies that willreduce driving and meet the growing demand for green walkable communities. Audubon wouldlike to thank the prime sponsors, Senator Marr and Representative Simpson for their help in thepassing of this important bill.

WIN: CLIMATE ACTION AND GREEN JOBSHB 2815, SB 6516. Prime Sponsors: Senator Pridemore, Representative Dunshee

The Climate Action and Green Jobs bill successfully passed the Senate and wassigned by the Governor on March 13th. This bill is a first step in realcomprehensive climate policy, addressing Washington's green house gas emissionsand creating more green industry jobs throughout the state. But there are still stepsthat need to be taken to make sure the State of Washington continues to showstrong leadership in the Western Climate Initiative. More needs to be done toensure funding for the development and implementation of green jobs training

programs.