The Suquamish people’s relationship with salmon dates back thousands of years. The stories of our ancestors tell us the reasons why we must take care of our salmon relatives who take care of us. Our responsibility to care for salmon populations and, more broadly, for the natural environment is why we are asking you to vote no on Initiative 2117.
In recent decades, we have increased our efforts to bring salmon back from the brink of extinction, investing in scarce species even when we had little. The government is making serious investments in habitat restoration, protecting the health of our forests, and cleaning up our waterways, and we are starting to see the results.
But Initiative-2117 threatens that progress. Please vote “no” on I-2117 so that this important work can continue.
Passage of I-2117 would stop projects that reduce pollution, clean up streams and waterways, and keep water cool enough for fish to live. It would cut money for building bike lanes, improving public transportation, electrifying school buses and rebuilding our shipping system. These projects and others that are now at risk reduce our state’s climate pollution, create jobs, and prevent pollutants in our environment.
I-2117 threatens to overturn a pollution abatement law based on a simple idea: if polluters want to dump emissions into the atmosphere, they should pay for that right. Funds go into the restoration of natural areas damaged by air and water pollution. They support fire protection efforts. And because the cost of pollution rises every year, it spurs businesses — in a consistent and predictable way — to invent alternatives to burning fossil fuels. This measure would repeal this new, market-based policy, which is why many businesses oppose I-2117.
I-2117 would not only stop these important projects, it would prevent us from restoring carbon markets and investing in the future. Instead of making progress on the challenge of climate change, this move will deprive future generations of an important market-based tool for pollution reduction.
Tribes are very involved in this project. The money that I-2117 would cut has already helped some tribal communities threatened by rising sea levels relocate their communities to higher ground. Some have received help installing solar panels and providing heat pumps to elders, and many are getting the support they need to protect their communities from the frequent fires that accompany climate change. the sky. That money would be wasted by I-2117.
It’s not just the races that stand to lose. Across Washington state, schools are getting help with energy efficiency upgrades. Households get help with their bills and support to buy heat pumps that not only reduce air pollution but save money and provide cooling air during the increasingly hot summers.
Farmers and ranchers receive support for planting native plants near salmon-bearing streams. These are the projects that bring hope to our community, and they are the projects that I-2117 would pay for.
Electric charging stations, electric school buses and boats, free rides for under 18s – all could be stopped by I-2117.
Support for making homes, schools and businesses safer from increasingly dangerous wildfires could be undermined if I-2117 becomes law.
These are projects that create jobs while reducing pollution and restoring habitat. Why would we throw that away?
I-2117 is a threat to our health, our safety, environmental restoration, the jobs that build a clean and efficient economy, and our nation’s leadership in reducing climate pollution. These are some of the reasons why local tribes along with firefighters, businesses, labor unions, health workers, and religious groups, along with hundreds of organizations and thousands of petitioners people in Washington to vote No on I-2117.
In 1855 the leader of our ancestors, Lord Seattle, said, “Every part of this land is sacred to my people” before signing the treaty to give our lands. Please join us in honoring Lord Seattle by protecting the natural world and future generations who, like us, need a livable world and a sustainable climate to thrive. Selections will be posted soon. Please join us in voting “No” on Initiative 2117.
Leonard Forsman is chairman of the Suquamish Tribe.
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