Puget Sound protection called never-ending task

OLYMPIA – Like recycling, protecting Puget Sound is a job that will never end, one of the managers of the state’s new Partnership for Puget Sound said Friday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has requested an agenda through 2020, “but you’re never done protecting Puget Sound,” said Brad Ack, director of the Puget Sound Action Team in the governor’s office.

As quickly as water-treatment facilities are modified to deal with the latest crop of contaminants, a whole new batch joins the flow – lately including flame retardants, prescription drugs, deodorant, shampoo and cosmetics, he said.

“It’s about us learning to live in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment we live in,” Ack said. The problems – declining populations of killer whales, salmon and other species, the discovery of toxins in marine life and humans – make it clear that current efforts are not getting the job done.

While many people care about the Sound, most don’t realize how fragile it is. “We’ve got to find a way to inspire people,” Ack said. The partnership is looking into approaches used in other areas, such as Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, the Hudson River and other waters whose health was restored.

“If we can’t do it here, who can do it anywhere?” he said, noting the region’s reputation for innovation, wealth, environmental awareness and a highly educated population.

The battle has to be localized, with problems in bays, inlets and creeks addressed by those who live nearby. “It’s going to be won at that level,” Ack said.

While some rely on the Sound for subsistence, others celebrate it as a vibrant ecosystem. “You can see whales, seals, fish in the market – all kinds of wonderful birds,” Ack said.

And there’s the legacy issue. Public forums have drawn people who recall the Puget Sound of 40 years ago, he said. Forty years from now, “we don’t want to be saying that 40 years ago you could actually eat fish from Puget Sound, that you could catch fish in Puget Sound.”

And if none of those reasons engages the public imagination, there’s the bottom line: “Puget Sound health is our health,” Ack said, noting that the poisons getting into fish are also getting into people.

“It’s going to take some commitment,” he said of the task, and more “mindfulness” of northwest Washington’s 2,500 square miles of inland waters – especially as the region’s population growth continues.

The region already has a vibrant grassroots network, Ack noted. But the recovery effort also must engage the area’s 115 cities, 12 counties, tribes, the state and federal governments and the public.

The task also will require some federal dollars, he said. “We’re not going to solve this by ourselves, but we’re going to lead the way,” Ack said.

The partnership is charged with providing a strategy by November for easing back the pressures on Puget Sound, in time to link up with Gregoire’s budget and the 2007 Legislature.