Salish Sea Stands on Olympia

Monday, Feb. 13 is Salish Sea Stands Lobby Day; let’s show up and stand up on the capitol steps in Olympia.

We’ll be doing more than standing. We’ll be carrying life-size “orca fins” — one for each member of J, K and L pods, including Lolita in captivity and the seven we lost in 2016. That’s 86 total.

Since they can’t be there to speak for themselves — we can do it — for the orcas.

We will meet with our 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 ad nauseam.

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?

Getting there:

We know it’s a trek to drive from the San Juans to Olympia, but we want you there and we know you will be glad you made the effort. Here are some options that will hopefully make your traveling easier:

1. Join fellow islanders on a free shuttle bus.

• Sunday, Feb. 12 at 5:15 p.m. Bus leaves from the Anacortes Ferry Terminal bound for Olympia. Walk on the 2:50 p.m. from Friday Harbor; 3:35 p.m. from Orcas; 3:50 p.m. from Shaw; and 4:20 p.m. from Lopez. Buy your own dinner (toilet on board. And maybe even singing).

Reserve your spot on the bus before 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, with Katie at Friends: katie@sanjuans.org or 360-378-2319.

• Sleep overnight in historic Olympia. They are leaving a light on for us at Quality Inn, 1211 Quince St SE, Olympia. Call 360-943-4710 to reserve your room. Tell them Friends of the San Juans sent you. If you have to lodge 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 and beverages: bring your own or shop/dine at sandwich shops a block north of the church on Capitol Way S. Wagner’s Café, Meconi’s Subs, or Subway.

• Rally on the steps of the Capitol with orca fins, signs (you can bring your own), and Salish Sea spirit (definitely bring that) at 12:30 p.m.

• Lobby Day: 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.

• At 4:30 p.m., the bus departs for Anacortes for the 9:15 p.m. boat.

2. Make it an adventure day. From wherever you are, drive on your own (or carpool – see below) and arrive in Olympia in time to meet the rest of Safe Shippers and the Salish Sea Protectors on the capitol steps before 12:30 p.m. (or if you are really speedy, the 9 a.m. morning meeting — see above). If driving from Anacortes, give yourself 3.5 hours to drive, park and join the gang on the north side of the capitol building. 1.75 hours from Seattle. If you can do only one thing, this rally is it.

3. Make it a mini vacation. Drive on your own, and use this event as an excuse for a much-deserved winter getaway (a Valentine’s Day celebration perhaps?) 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, Feb. 12 – https://www.olympiasymphony.org

• Arbutus Folk acoustic open mic on Monday, Feb. 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