Lawsuits, orcas and Stephen Baldwin (?!)

Good news is coming in to Hylebos HQ this week. We received word that our West Milton project will receive a sizable grant from a settlement of a Clean Water Act third party lawsuit. I can't talk about the details until all the i's have been dotted and such, but the money will provide critical stewardship of the site.

In the past year, the Friends has received several of thes settlements for our projects. We are not involved in the legal side of the suits. The Friends doesn't sue and in general, doesn't approach conservation in an adversial. (Though I certainly recognize the value of groups that do this work). To do watershed conservation right, though, you have to be able to work with all stakeholders and so we do not get into enforcement issues or lawsuits.

However, some of the groups (plaintiffs and defendands) that do, have been generous enough to send settlement money to the Hylebos for Hylebos conservation projects. This has become an important source of income for restoration projects, particularly the maintenance phase, which is usually hard to fund.

I'll have more news about this in coming weeks, but suffice it to say, the West Milton project is getting a shot in the arm!

Recent news form the Puget Sound regarding Orcas has been dire. Reacting to the news of 7 missing, and thought to be dead Orcas from the Southern Puget Sound population, the Puget Sound Partnership decided to add Orcas to their newly released (still draft form) Action Plan.

And finally, thank God, but Stephen Baldwin will stay in America. I can't imagine an America without the talented thespianism of Stephen. In fact, when I'm feeling low I pop a DVD of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas into the player and suddenly, everything seems right again. Thank you, Stephen Baldwin. Thank you for keeping America's rank of third rate hack actors full.