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Tualatin Riverkeepers - Your Voice for Clean Water
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Greetings!
A wise person once said, "If you're not at the table, you're probably on the menu." When it comes to protecting the Tualatin River and our neighborhood streams, there a lot of tables to be at.
This past year Tualatin Riverkeepers had an unprecedented presence at the legislature in Salem. Sue Marshall was down there every day, talking with our Senators and Reps, attending important committee hearings, putting out alerts for key legislation and speaking up for our watershed.
The results were phenomenal. Despite a extremely difficult economic environment, key legislation important to protecting our river was passed:
- Establishing the Attorney Generals Environmental Crimes Unit
- Increasing maximum fines for environmental violations
- Bans on pollutants including decabrominated diphenol ether.
Despite our success, we still have much work to do including legislation to protect the public from toxic cyanobacteria outbreaks like the one that hammered the Tualatin River in the summer of 2008.
We also spoke up for our watershed at a number of other "tables" this year:
- Environmental Quality Commission for protection from toxic cyanobacteria outbreaks
- Land use hearings at Washington County and Metro to protect important natural resources from urbanization
- Meeting with funders and allies for acquisition of natural areas
- State Court of Appeals challenging stormwater permits that don't meet water quality standards
- Hagg Lake Dam planning meetings to restore salmon & steel head passage and habitat
- DEQ to protect our neighborhood streams from urban runoff and pollution
- Clean Water Services to assure that changes to wastewater plants protect our river
...and the list goes on.
Because of the continuous challenges to protecting our river, we need to step up our efforts to be at various new tables including the Board of Forestry, which threatens increased logging in the Tualatin headwaters. Your contribution helps us be at that table and to keep our members and volunteers informed for effective grassroots action.
Please consider a year-end gift to Tualatin Riverkeepers for our Campaign for Clean Water. Many of you have already mailed in your contribution. We thank you and urge you to forward this e-mail to others who share your love of the Tualatin River and our neighborhood streams.
We have taken steps to make your giving, safe, quick and easy. If you received our appeal letter in the mail, you can use the return envelope to mail in your contribution. You may also give to our campaign online through Network for Good. Facebook users can donate safely and securely through through our online facebook cause.
Thank you for your support. Please join us 2010 at the table for protecting the Tualatin River watershed.
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Sincerely,
Vicki Julis
Sue Marshall
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Tualatin Riverkeepers
12360 SW Main St - Suite 100
Tigard, Oregon 97223
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