Hello,
Since our last update, we’ve been busy learning more about Rights of Nature, meeting people at the farmer’s market throughout the summer, and celebrating the Salish Sea at our fall Dance for the Salish Sea.
In Rights of Nature news, the Yurok Tribe recognized the rights of the Klamath River, the first recognition of the rights of a river in the US, following the examples set by New Zealand, India, Columbia, and, recently, Bangladesh in recognizing the rights of rivers.
The Lake Erie Bill of Rights continues to make news, as Toledoans for Safe Water fight for the rights of the lake while fearing for their drinking water and the life of the lake during this summer’s harmful algae bloom.
Yes! Magazine featured an article about the Rights of Nature for the Southern Resident orcas that examines the challenges facing the orcas and whether the Rights of Nature might be one way to help protect them. The article featured some quotes from members of our group as well as from other groups working to protect the orcas; you can read the full article at Yes! Magazine online.
We’ve updated our website and relaunched the site at RightsOfTheSalishSea.org (but don’t worry, crsji.org still takes you there). There, we post updates like this one, as well as other Rights of Nature news and press about the Salish Sea; just click Updates in the menu.
Our goal for the fall is to reach out to community members on Orcas, San Juan Island and Lopez to learn about people’s concerns and priorities regarding how we protect the Salish Sea in preparation for drafting the initiative. We need folks from Orcas and San Juan Island to join us as we prepare the Initiative. Please contact us if you’re interested, or if you have any questions.
And check out our website and Facebook page. You can sign up for our mailing list on our contact page. We meet regularly, every two weeks, and we’d love to have you at one of our meetings in person or by phone if you are interested in Rights of the Salish Sea.
In solidarity with nature,
Kai, Beth, Chom, Ande, Anne and the rest of the Community Rights San Juan Islands team
p.s. Feel free to forward this update to anyone who might be interested. Thank you!
p.p.s. This beautiful photo from the Salish Sea is by Lopez’s own Cathy Wilson.
