Thank you to the 186 businesses and organizations and 3,220 individuals who Supported the Our Sound, Our Salmon petition to the Board of Natural Resources
Our Sound, Our Salmon coalition members celebrating at the Natural Resources building in Olympia, WA on January 7, 2025 moments after the Board cast a historic vote to ban commercial net pen aquaculture in all state-managed marine waters.
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We, the undersigned, respectfully urge you to approve the proposed rule to permanently ban commercial net pen aquaculture in Washington’s marine waters.
We strongly support Commissioner Hilary Franz and the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) 2022 decision removing all commercial net pens from Puget Sound. In 2024, Puget Sound is free from the daily pollution and damage caused by this industry for the first time in over forty years. We urge you to permanently prohibit this practice to ensure Puget Sound will continue to be protected for current and future generations.
As Board Members, you are entrusted with overseeing DNR’s mission to protect our environment, uphold Tribal treaty rights, and promote responsible stewardship. By adopting this rule, you will reinforce DNR’s leadership in preserving Washington’s public waters and resources for the benefit of all residents and Tribes.
In particular, the proposed rule is crucial for the protection of wild salmon, an iconic species vital to Washington’s environment, economy, and cultural heritage. While operating in Puget Sound over the last 40 years, this industry discharged massive amounts of daily untreated pollution, including fecal waste, feed, and pharmaceuticals; amplified and spread native and exotic viruses harmful to native wild fish; and caused chronic and catastrophic escape events, including the 2017 Cypress Island collapse that released over 260,000 nonnative, viral-infected farmed fish into Puget Sound. These negative impacts severely undermine state, Tribal, and federal commitments and investments in the recovery Washington’s wild salmon and their ecosystems.
With wild salmon and orcas in crisis, combined with the ever-growing threats of climate change, we cannot afford any more delays— now is the time to take action. This rule represents the culmination of over a decade of advocacy by communities, environmental groups, businesses, fishers, Tribal Nations, scientists, and others working together to safeguard Puget Sound and terminate commercial net pen aquaculture in our state waters. Most recently, 10,000 individuals, over 100 businesses, and numerous Washington Tribal Nations collectively appealed to Commissioner Franz and DNR to cease commercial net pen aquaculture and restore Puget Sound for the benefit and use of all.
Voting to permanently ban commercial net pen aquaculture will guarantee the public that Washington’s iconic wild salmon, Tribal food security and cultural practices, and the natural beauty and ecological integrity of Puget Sound will be protected for future generations.
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The petition was delivered to the following members of the Board of Natural Resources on January 6, 2025:
Hilary Franz, Chair of the Board, Commissioner of Public Lands— VOTED YESLisa Janicki, Vice-Chair, Commissioner, Skagit County— VOTED YES
Dan Brown, Director, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington— VOTED YES
Jim Cahill, Senior Budget Advisor, Designee for Governor Jay Inslee— VOTED YES
Chris Rekdal, Superintendent, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction— ABSTAINED/ NO VOTE
Wendy Powers-Schilling, Dean, College of Agriculture, Human & Natural Resources Sciences, Washington State University— ABSTAINED/ NO VOTE
A copy of the petition was also delivered to the following Advisors to Governor Jay Inslee (Non-voters):
Robert Duff, Executive Director of Policy & OutreachRuth Musgraves, Senior Policy Advisor, Natural Resources
Carrie Sessions, Senior Policy Advisor, Environment & Water
Complete list of business and organizations:
4M SIGMA Corp
Amazing Space
Annie Roberts' Cello & Piano Studio
Around Again
Artisan SIP Plans
Atwa (Air Trees Water & Animals
Bainbridge Beach Naturalists
Bainbridge Island Watershed Council
Barnacle
Bateau
Blakely Island Maintenance Commission
Blue Heron Farm and Nursery,LLC
Blum Environmental Consultants, Inv
Boat Bar
Boxwood LLC
Bridge Partners
Broad Leaf Farm
Canalside Gifts & Liquors
Canyons Gate Vineyard LLC
Carole Dawes Art
Cascade Comforts LLC
Cascadia Landscape Design
Charro Restaurant
Clayoquot Action
Clearwater Fly Casters
Coastal Watershed Institute
Comeback Farm Organic Produce
Comedians On The Fly
Coopers Fly Fishing Guides
Country Glass & Door Inc.
Crescent Environmental PLLC
Deep Dive, Bar At The Spheres
Dive Into Your Imagination
Duke'S Seafood
Duna Fisheries
Earthscapes
Eco-Friendly Bnbs
Emerald Water Anglers
Emerger Strategies
Endangered Species Act Coalition
Enumclaw Plateau Community Association
Eric A Kessler Photographer
Fairy Congress LLC
Fauna Films, Inc
Fauntleroy Watershed Council
First Water Fly Goods
Fish Creek Consulting, LLC
Fly Fishers International, Washington Chapter
Freesia Therapy Collective
Freesol Photos
Friends Of Burley Lagoon
Friends Of Oakland Bay
Friends Of The San Juans
Frosty Hollow Ecological Restoration
Fulcrum Structural Engineers, PLLC
Full Bloom Farm
Fundacion Centinela Patagonia
Gardenculture Design
General Porpoise Doughnuts
Glenn Franko, Reator And Broker, Windermere Real Estate, Port Angeles
Global Federation Of Animal Sanctuaries
Golden Gate Market
Great Old Broads For The Wilderness, Polly Dryer Seattle Chapter
Green Vibes Plant Sitters
Greenhome Solutions
Gyrene Engineering
Hair Stylist, Salon Rise
Hapke Law Office
Harbor Ophthalmology
Herbal Elements
Indianola Good Neighbors
Intrinsic Design
Jacques Lacroix Design
Jd High Country Outfitters
Jd Phillips Finish Carpentry
Jefferson County Trash Task Force
Keystone Harbor Consulting LLC
Kitsap Environmental Coalition
Lactationtlc.Com
Law Office of Patrick E Pressentin
Law Scholars For Change
Leadscorz Inc
Leanos Lens
Legal Rights For The Salish Sea
Life Safety Systems, LLC
Lioness
Madrona Cafe
Magickal Wellness
Mangrove Action Project
Matts Moments Photography
Mercy For Animals
MT FLATBED, LLC
Multitude Insights
Native Fish Society
Nettles Farm
New Roots Institute
North Cascades Audubon Society
Northwest Design
Northwest Watershed Institute
Oceanic Preservation & Advocacy League
Od Pacific Consulting
Olympic Environmental Council
Olympic Forest Coalition
Olympic Penensula Audubon Society
One Fish Foundation
One4salmon.org
Orca Conservancy
Orca Network
Orca Tile And Stone
Organic Marketing Innovations Group, LLC
Our Wild Puget Sound
Owen Perry Interactive Design
Owner, Fishing Vessel Cynthia'S Chum
Pacific Northwest Social Scientists, LLC
Pacific Whale Watch Association
Parke Creek Farm
Patagonia Provisions
Patagonia, Inc.
Paul Beck, Realtor, Professional Realty Services, Port Angeles
Peace Lutheran Church, West Seattle
Peaches Hair & Body
Penn Cove Outfitters
Pilchuck Audubon
Pilchuck Business Consulting
Planttdaddii LLC
Prairie Road Farm
Protect The Pennisula
Puget Soundkeeper
Raincoast Conservation Foundation
Ravenna Gardens
Redefine You LLC
Rich Passage Homeowners Association
Richard Royal Studio
Rigby Architects
Rise2Live Transformational Wellness
Run Wild Artistry Photography
Salish Center For Susatinable Fishing Methods
Salish Sea Snapshots
Sea Creatures
Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club
South Seattle Climate Action Network
Speckled Trout Consulting
Spottswoode Winery, Inc.
Stoecker Ecological
Sunde &c Co., LLC
Sustainable Bainbridge
Tacoma Renovation & Remodel
Tait Contracting Inc
Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC
The Conservation Angler
The Humane League
The Salish Sea School
The Walrus And The Caparenter
The Whale Wins Larder And Café
The Wildlife Trust
Topknotch Drone Solutions
Trails End Brewery
Trimaran Capital LLC
Trip Hart Law Office
Trout Habitat Specialists
Trout Unlimited California Council
United Women on the Fly LLC
Upkeep
Warm Valley Farm
Washington Fly Fishing Club
Washington Wildlife First
Watershed LLC
Watershed Watch Salmon Society
WedgeLife Lifting LLC
West Bottom Dogs
Western Ecology, LLC
Westerncap Associates
Westward
Whale Scout
Whidbey Audubon Society
Whidbey Environmental Action Network
White River Forest Protection Assoc.
Wild Fish Conservancy
Wild Human, LLC
Wild Orca
Wild Salmon Nation
Wildlife Carvings & Castings by Cavin Richie
Willmott'S Ghost
Willow & York Photography
Witch4Hire
World Salmon Forum