Mount Baker from Cypress Island

Before 1968, there was no unified voice for the environment in Washington. Then a group

of visionary conservationists got together to advocate for stronger environmental

protections. In the process, they created one of the first and most effective state-focused

environmental organizations in the country.

Since then, Washington Environmental Council consistently has been on the forefront of efforts

to advance smart environmental protections in our state. We were instrumental in enacting

bedrock laws to safeguard our communities and our wild lands, including the Shoreline

Management Act, the State Environmental Policy Act, the State Superfund Law, and the Growth

Management Act.

In recent years, WEC has gone back to our roots – bringing people together through the

Environmental Priorities Coalition. By unifying the environmental community around four

clear goals, we have built collective power and succeeded in advancing bold solutions. We’ve

worked to address climate change by promoting cleaner cars and greener buildings, and setting

responsible limits on climate pollution. We also led the Priorities effort to pass the nation’s

smartest e-waste recycling law.

WEC works beyond Olympia to protect Washington’s environment. We played a central role in

the No on I-933 campaign, an initiative that would have allowed for irresponsible development

across our state. We have worked to establish basic safeguards for our streams and rivers. And

in a state defined by our majestic forests, WEC has worked to protect important fish and wildlife

habitat and move us towards modern and sustainable forest practices.

Since our inception, WEC has helped to create a strong, unified voice for the environment by

bringing together uncommon partnerships across communities, issues, and political parties.

Together with you, our partners, we’re looking forward to 40 more years of building a better

future for our children and for all of Washington.

Cover: Patos Island Lighthouse, Alden Point, Patos Island State Park, San Juan County

The present day achievements of the Washington Envi-

ronmental Council make me proud. I believe our success

comes from setting priorities and that means making tough choices

and saying no to people with important and good ideas. Being dis-

ciplined and focused is what makes WEC so effective.

By not trying to be everything to everyone, WEC has helped the

movement to a powerful new place. Looking back to our early days,

Governor Dan Evans asked environmentalists and his key cabinet

and legislative leaders to come up with ten environmental priori-

ties – if there was agreement, he would call a special session of the

legislature. WEC helped pull it together, he called the special session

in 1970, and nine out of ten priorities passed. A year later, the Shore-

line Management Act was passed. Exciting times then and today!

– Joan Thomas, former State Parks Commissioner and one of

the founders of WEC

Nisqually River Delta, Pierce and Thurston Counties

Hemlock & redcedar, Olympic Peninsula

Washington Environmental Council is the type of group I’d

love to see in every state in the nation.

WEC’s expanded partnership with Washington Conservation Voters, when

combined with the leadership on the Priorities coalition, gives the entire

community a cohesive voice in the state capital. That is very powerful.

The power comes from focusing a community around Priorities – what

you put on the top of the agenda, and what do you choose not to put on

top of the agenda - in any given year. Every legislator in Olympia –friend

and foe alike – always knows the four environmental priorities!

All around the nation, people are looking at this model and the success

it has enjoyed. I predict it will be widely replicated. Beyond question, the

environmental community is enjoying a new era in Washington State,

and much of that can be credited to WEC. After 40 years, WEC remains at

the cutting edge of innovation among state green groups.

– Denis Hayes, President of the Bullitt Foundation and founder of the

first Earth Day

If you care about clean water then you should know about

Washington Environmental Council. WEC’s involvement in the

fight around Buckhorn Mountain helped even out the odds of a David vs. two

Goliaths - the mining company and the state government itself.

In the early 1990s WEC got involved and transformed the nature of the fight

from a ‘not in my backyard’ struggle of a small group of Okanogan Highlands

residents to a statewide issue. Good science and the law helped stop the state-

approved mining company plan to blow off the top of Buckhorn Mountain

and pollute the local waters. WEC brought expertise, relationships and the

voice of the state environmental community to the table. They helped get that

word out and built support for the passage of the Metals Mining Act in 1994.

The need for WEC’s statewide role is stronger than ever. They help ensure that

our laws are improved and enforced. State agencies must do a better job. We

need WEC to continue their commitment to protect the public interest in a

clean and healthy environment.

– David Kliegman, Okanogan Highlands Alliance

Vine Maples along the Wenatchee River

Aerial, San Juan Islands, San Juan County

My name is Aden Kahr and I’m eleven years old. I’m a

sixth-grader at the Bush School in Seattle. Over the past

couple of years, I’ve worked to find solutions to climate change.

I started reaching out to others in my school and community.

Working with WEC and the Environmental Priorities Coalition, I

met with legislators and the Governor to urge them to lead the way

on fighting climate change.

I have a deep commitment to make a difference on cli-

mate change. It’s the absolute most critical challenge fac-

ing our planet and it’s going to affect me and everyone in

my generation if we don’t take action NOW. I’m optimistic

that together we can find solutions to this profound predicament.

– Aden Kahr, Seattle, WA

I worked with WEC during the campaign to help defeat Initiative

933. That initiative would have opened the door for irresponsible

development here in Snohomish County and was an enormous

threat to the future of farming in our state.

My family has been farming Snohomish for almost 100 years. Along with

the dairy, we’ve grown broccoli, peas, corn, and a variety of seed crops

in our fields. We greatly respect the land that has given us so much and

we know our biggest responsibility is to take care of the land for the next

generation to farm.

WEC worked with me on the ground here in Snohomish County — getting

the word out to voters about the danger to our farmland and way of

life. Hundreds of farmers like me across the state joined together in the

campaign to stop that initiative. We helped build a strong coalition who

all shared the common thread of wanting to protect our communities and

preserve our irreplaceable farmland. WEC helped make sure that people

around Washington heard our voices loud and clear.

– Cliff Bailey, Snohomish, Washington

Aspens, Cascade Range

Hoh Rain Forest

I first got involved with WEC in 1979, when I was outraged by some of the

logging I’d seen out on the Olympic Peninsula. I tried to find out what was

going on and how it could be done better, so I turned to WEC as a source of

information. And the next thing I knew, I was taking a three-day tour around

the Olympic Peninsula with the chair of the WEC Forestry Committee. By the time I got back, I

was hooked. I’ve been working on forestry issues for WEC ever since.

When I look back over the decades of working on forestry for WEC, I can see real progress.

Early on, we took some important steps forward with the Timber, Fish and Wildlife

Cooperative, which added riparian buffers and review of roads and harvest on unstable slopes

on both State and private forest lands. WEC continues to oversee the Forest and Fish Habitat

Conservation Plan along with the other members of the Conservation Caucus. More recently

we had some hard-fought successes around state forest logging levels and Forest Stewardship

Council certification. But we’ve still got a ways to go before our forests are truly sustainably

managed; implementation of the regulations and agreements and the adequacy of water

quality protections remain ongoing concerns.

Achieving real and lasting protections for our state and private forests will continue to take a lot

of work and a lot of patience. The only way we’re going make progress is to stay involved, bring

people together and hammer out ways of doing things better. And that’s something that WEC

has proven it can do.

– Marcy Golde, Olympic Forest Coalition and WEC Board Member

I first became involved with WEC after reading a newspaper

article about the Local Farms – Healthy Kids campaign. As

a parent of two daughters I had been working in Port Angeles to bring

locally-grown food to our schools and was thrilled to learn that WEC was

working to make this a reality for kids across Washington.

Working with WEC on this campaign was a totally inspiring and

rewarding experience. Participating in the Legislative Workshop gave

me the opportunity to see first-hand how organized, competent, and

dedicated WEC and the other coalition partners were in achieving their

environmental priorities. This experience inspired me to head back to

my community to seek support for the Local Farms – Healthy Kids bill

from parents, teachers, and our school board. It also inspired me to visit

Olympia and lobby my legislators directly. Of course the fact that the

legislation passed was very rewarding, but perhaps more rewarding still,

was my renewed sense of hope and the belief that each one of us really can

make a difference.

– Beth Loveridge, Port Angeles, WA

Aerial, Palouse

Quinault River, Olympic National Park

I joined the board of WEC in 1998. Little did I realize then

that I would get involved with a six-year negotiation around

Manastash Creek, a tributary creek near Ellensburg.

Water rights in Washington have traditionally been a place where a

history of distrust prevents any meaningful progress – it’s a loaded

issue here and in other Western states. Through the Manastash

Creek Steering Committee, we were able to bring farmers,

environmentalists, Tribes, state agencies, and others together and

eventually work out an agreement that led to the restoration of the

creek, while providing water needed by local farmers.

With our water supply at risk due to climate change and population

growth, we’ll need to take this successful model and build on it.

– John Arum, WEC Board Member

Washington Environmental Council is today the leading

environmental organization in Washington.

WEC is viewed by those in government and in the private sector as the most

influential and most effective environmental advocacy organization and clearly

the one with which to do business. This is not because WEC is the best place

to “get a deal”, but because WEC is a mature organization with effective staff

and board leadership that is decisive, fair and confident enough to compromise

where compromise is appropriate, but tough enough to know when to say “no”.

Combine all that with WEC’s partnership with Washington Conservation Voters

and you have a very significant organization indeed.

The challenges we face and the deadlines associated with them are daunting

indeed. We’ve spent 150 years creating the problems we face now on climate and

Puget Sound and many other issues. To have any hope of meeting our goals in

time we need an effective, mature and sophisticated environmental community

pushing and pulling society along. Having the wisdom and sophistication of

WEC at the helm of that community will be absolutely critical to success.

– Jay Manning, Director of the Washington State Department of Ecology

Forest canopy, Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park

Washington Environmental Council extends our most sincere thanks to

all of the partners, members, board, staff, volunteers, and supporters who,

over the years, made our success possible. Special thanks to the sponsors of

our 40th Anniversary Celebration featured on the following pages.

Fabulous at Cascadia Law Group is delighted to join WEC’s member organizations and

our community at large in celebrating your long history of hard work to protect

our natural heritage. It has been our great privilege and pleasure to work so

closely with WEC for so many productive years. We are delighted to mark the

occasion of your 40th anniversary tonight, and look forward to continuing our

work with WEC to face the environmental challenges of the coming year.

Congratulations to the Washington Environmental Council

Cascadia Law Group PLLC specializes in environmental law, providing clients

with the most effective representation available in our region. The lawyers

in our firm, in offices in Seattle, Olympia, and Winthrop, represent clients in

litigation and regulatory matters that include complex, sometimes controversial

environmental, land use, and natural resource issues.

www.cascadialaw.comlawyers@cascadialaw.com

40Seattle Rodney L. Brown, Jr. Joshua M. Lipsky Kurt B. Peterson Stephen J. TanEric Giles, Executive Director

OlympiaTanya BarnettTom McDonaldJoseph A. Rehberger

WinthropMary McCrea

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

DAN EVANS CONSULTING

Grateful for 40 years of environmental leadership and protection.

lawyers working to protect the environment

Bricklinnewman

DoldllP

Congratulations and

thank you to Washington

Environmental Council,

its staff, members and

volunteers for the efforts

of the past 40 years.

2008 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Member SIPC. Smith Barney is a division and service mark of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and is used and registered throughout the world. Citi and Citi with Arc Design are trademarks and service marks of Citigroup Inc. or its affiliates, and are used and registered throughout the world.

601 Union Street, Suite 5200 Seattle, WA 98101 206-343-2933

Congratulations to Washington Environmental

Council: 40 years leading the way

on environmental protections.

The Donnelly Gray Group at Smith Barney

Congratulations to Washington

Environmental Council for 40 years

of creating our state’s landmark

environmental victories. We need WEC

now more than ever, to lead our state in

advancing strong, smart protections for

our land, air, and water.

Joe Ryan and Lee Nelson

Cong

ratu

lati

ons

Thank you for 40 years helping make Washington environmentally conscious.

www.wecprotects.org

Beargrass Blooms in Spray Park

Special thanks to Art Wolfe for the generous use of his beautiful photos of Washington.

www.artwolfe.com