Olympia protest for safe waters set for Feb. 13

Submitted by Salish Sea Stands

What: Salish Sea Stands lobby day. Protesters will carry life-size posters of orca fins — one for each member of J, K and L pods, including Lolita in captivity and the 7 we lost in 2016. That’s 86 total.

When: Monday, February 13. Let’s show up and stand up on the Capitol steps in Olympia!

Why: Protesters will meet with representatives — the men and women we elected to work for us — to ask them to work with us to enact the toughest regulations possible to protect our Salish Sea.

The bill most likely to do that (at this moment in time) is currently in House and Senate committees. It is called the Oil Transportation Safety Bill (House Bill 1611/Senate Bill 5462) and it offers critical safeguards to protect the Salish Sea from the increase in shipping traffic via proposed and possible projects by BP, Shell, Tesoro, Kinder Morgan and others.

Legislators need to hear that we expect them to support the Salish Sea and its inhabitants by supporting this bill. How will they know who we are and how serious we are unless we show up, stand up, and speak up? Since they can’t be there to speak for themselves — we can do it — for the orcas!

Schedule and transportation:

5:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12: Join fellow islanders on a free shuttle bus. The bus leaves from the Anacortes Ferry Terminal bound for Olympia. Walk on the 2:50 p.m. from Friday Harbor; 3:35 p.m. Orcas; 3:50 p.m. Shaw; 4:20 p.m. Lopez. BYO dinner. RESERVE YOUR SPOT ON THE BUS BEFORE 4 p.m. WEDNESDAY at katie@sanjuans.org or 378-2319.
Or carpool. North Puget Sound: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/yd5anm; Everett-Seattle-Tacoma: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/ngiq2f; Olympic Peninsula: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/ey2ctf. Meet protesters before 12:30 p.m. at the capitol steps before 12:30 p.m. If driving from Anacortes, give yourself 3.5 hours and 1.75 hours from Seattle.
Sleep overnight in historic Olympia. They are leaving a light on for us at Quality Inn, 1211 Quince St SE, Olympia. Call 943-4710 to reserve your room. Tell them Friends of the San Juans sent you. If you have lodging elsewhere, you will take off from here.
Monday, Feb. 13: 8:30 a.m. coffee, morning snacks and 9 a.m. discussion of our lobbying plans. United Churches of Olympia, 110 11th Ave SE, Olympia. This will be our base camp for the day. It’s a six-minute walk to the capitol from here. Directions to the church: http://www.theunitedchurches.org/im-new-here/directions/ Nearby parking map: http://www.des.wa.gov/services/travel-cars-parking/parking/parking-visitors
Lunch: BYO or take time to shop or dine at sandwich shops a block north of the church on Capitol Way S. Wagner’s Café, Meconi’s Subs or Subway.
12:30 p.m.: rally on the steps of the Capitol with orca fins, signs (you can bring your own), and Salish Sea spirit (definitely bring that)!
Lobby: There will be legislative appointments for us throughout the day with members of the committees who are considering the Oil Transportation Safety Bill and/or our own representatives.
4:30 p.m.: Bus departs for Anacortes for the 9:15 p.m. boat.

Recreation: Here are some Olympia-area sights:

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Billy_Frank_Jr_Nisqually/visit/plan_your_visit.html
Priest Point Park: http://olympiawa.gov/community/parks/parks-and-trails/priest-point-park
Hands On Children’s Museum: www.hocm.org/
Washington State History Museum (closed Mondays: http://www.washingtonhistory.org/visit/wshm/
Splash Gallery artists co-op (closed Mondays): http://www.splashgalleryolympia.com
Evergreen State College campus: http://evergreen.edu/tour
Olympia Food Co-op: http://www.olympiafood.coop
Yashiro Japanese Garden: http://olympiawa.gov/community/parks/parks-and-trails/yashiro-japanese-garden
Olympia Symphony Orchestra concert on Sunday, February 12: https://www.olympiasymphony.org
Arbutus Folk acoustic open mic on Monday, February 13: http://www.arbutusfolkschool.org/892-2/
Capitol State Forest: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Capitololympia
Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/MimaMounds