"Call me Big Bufo—and smile when you say it."

We hope you received WEAN's Annual Obnoxious Fundraising Letter last week. You might remember Marianne referenced an AI toad image, which was generated using an image description from WEAN founder Steve Erickson. The first attempts were laughable but we eventually got a rather entertaining image!

While Steve was musing on the question of "why give to WEAN?", the toad came to mind. "She used to ramble all across the Puget Sound country, the swamps and marshes, the forests and prairies," he wrote. "But now most of those places are gone, drained and clearcut, bulldozed and paved, turned into parking lots and petunia pots. Big Bufo's not hiding under logs anymore. Now, when the bulldozers show up to turn another critter condo into cash, she calls her friends at WEAN."

2023 was a big year for WEAN—a new board of directors came together in January, an executive director was hired in April, and after a busy summer and fall of updating tools and systems, reestablishing public communications, and building relationships, we began interviewing candidates for an Engagement Director role in December. Meanwhile, founders Steve and Marianne signed on for formal roles as hired consultants and responded to over two dozen illegal or environmentally damaging permit applications. Many of these relate to the hot topics of shoreline armoring and logging, pointing to bigger issues that need our care.

For almost four decades, WEAN has kept a watchful eye out for activities that threaten our most delicate ecosystems, raising concerns when warranted, watching for patterns indicating a need for stronger legal protections, and taking legal action to interrupt environmental harm in the most strategic and effective manner. Now, with donor support, we've added capacity for more proactive work.

Your donation today helps us get ahead of environmental damage by building a more informed and engaged community. Going into 2024, we're poised to shift the conversations around logging, shoreline armoring, comprehensive planning, and other hot topics from positions of confusion or contention to positions of collaborative movement toward a future where health—on human and ecosystem scales—comes first.

Thank you for helping us advocate for our island ecosystems! We would love to have 100% participation in our winter fundraiser, even if you can just give $5.

Guest Post: Fireworks Hearing Scheduled for January 23

For the past 18 months, Safe and Humane Fireworks, a grass roots organization on Whidbey Island, has been advocating for a ban on the sale and use of personal fireworks in Island County. We have lobbied the BOCC, the fire commissioners for all three districts, the sheriff, the veteran's organizations, along with many non-profit partners and businesses. There is wide support for a personal fireworks ban, most importantly, we have the support of the fire commissioners for South Whidbey and the District 1 Commissioner, Melanie Bacon. The science and data is clear: in this age of climate change, fireworks create a dangerous wildfire risk; and the availability of powerful bomb-like fireworks traumatize domestic and wild animals, pose a health risk to humans, and pollute the air and water.

In response, the BOCC has nibbled around the edges of this urgent issue by proposing to ban aerial mortars and reduce the number of days of legal usage from 4 to 3. These proposed changes have gone through code review and are due to be presented at a public hearing on January 23, 2024. While we applaud any action on this issue, these changes are insignificant and unlikely to be enforced. Fireworks are already banned in County Parks, but Fourth of July firework's tourists were out in full force again this year for their days'-long fireworks celebrations with deputies standing by, not taking action. 

While we continue to work for a full ban on personal fireworks, we'd like to encourage you to make a statement at the public hearing on January 23. Here are some suggested talking points: 

1. Significantly increase penalties for fireworks violations—the current maximum penalty of $250 is not a deterrent for someone who is willing to spend thousands of dollars on fireworks.
2. Reduce the hours for fireworks to July 4th ONLY between noon and 11 PM.
3. The sheriff must enforce the existing ban in all county parks and beaches; this step alone would go a long way toward a more hospitable and healthy environment since many of the large fireworks are detonated at Double Bluff, Maxwelton, Robinson Beach and Mutiny Bay.
4. Speak to our values, and make it clear that the values we want instilled in the upcoming 2025 Comprehensive Plan include protection of our critical areas and wildlife from wildfire risk and the pollution/health risks associated with personal fireworks.

Due to the level of support on the south end of Whidbey Island, we are researching a public vote on the ballot in 2024 on the sale and use of consumer fireworks within the jurisdiction of the South Whidbey Fire District. So, we add a fifth talking point:

We want a public vote on banning the sale and use of consumer fireworks in the jurisdiction of the South Whidbey Fire Department on the ballot in 2024.

We appreciate your help and support. For more information, or to volunteer to assist in our efforts, please go to the Safe and Humane website.

—Citizens for Safe and Humane Fireworks

Public Comment Requested on Proposal to Cull Barred Owls

By Linda LaMar

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a plan that involves the killing of half a million Barred Owls in the PNW over the next 30 years. The rationale for the plan is the continued protection of the Northern Spotted Owl whose population has declined over 80% in the last two decades. Despite late coming safeguards from the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, the Spotted Owl population continues to suffer from human eradication of their habitat: deforestation on unprotected lands, and extreme wildfires as a result of climate change. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife department sees the Barred Owl as the invasive species that represents the final threat to the Spotted Owl, while others think the Spotted Owl is doomed regardless. While Island County is not directly affected by this proposal, the plan covers most of the Olympic Peninsula and the Western Cascades. Owls from Island County would likely migrate to areas vacated by eradication, continuing the culling cycle.

What is our responsibility? Is it to individuals or other levels of biological organizations such as species and communities? We'd like to hear your thoughts.

Public comment on the Fish and Wildlife plan is open until January 16, 2024. If you are interested in this issue, please take a moment to comment.

From all of us at WEAN, thanks again for being in this work with us!