Here’s the San Juan “Puget Sound Champions”!

Accepting the award: (from left) Barbara Rosenkotter, Alan Chapman, Kit Rawson, Kimbal Sundberg, Ray Glaze, Diana Gale, Anthony Wright (not pictured – Judy Meyer, Gene Helfman, Bob Warinner)

San Juan “Puget Sound Champions” honored for protecting and restoring Puget Sound

The Puget Sound Partnership honored the San Juan Salmon Technical Advisory Group as a “Puget Sound Champion” for exceptional work protecting and restoring habitat and implementing the Action Agenda—the regional plan for restoring the health of Puget Sound. The ceremony occurred at the Mullis Center located in Friday Harbor on August 12, 2012.

The San Juan Technical Advisory Group was honored for providing leadership, funding and technical expertise for developing and implementing the Salmon Recovery Plan in the San Juans. Volunteers on the San Juan Technical Advisory Group (TAG) bring decades of expertise from academia, business, resource management and tribes to help ensure the highest return on investment for salmon recovery funding in the San Juan watershed. TAG volunteers contributed more than 1,000 hours since 2008, the equivalent of more than $33,000 in-kind donation.

“Collaboration is the key to making Puget Sound healthy again,” said Colonel (Ret) Anthony Wright, Executive Director of the Partnership. “We’re making progress because of the many talented and dedicated people committed to this regional effort.”  The Puget Sound Partnership is the state agency leading the regional recovery of Puget Sound.  Wright and Diana Gale, a member of the Partnership’s Leadership Council, presented the award.

“These awards recognize some of the many excellent examples of businesses, scientists, residents and governments working together to effectively cleanup Puget Sound and keep it healthy for future generations,” said Sen. Ranker, Chair of the Senate Energy, Natural Resources and Marine Waters Committee (D-40th District).

“Protecting the San Juan Islands and the Puget Sound waters that surround them is vital to our region’s economy and quality of life,” said state Rep. Kristine Lytton (D-40th district). “The Legislature passes laws and offers guidelines on how we can do this, but laws and guidelines by themselves can’t do the job. That takes passionate, motivated individuals and groups like the ones being recognized as Puget Sound Champions. I applaud them all, and I thank the Puget Sound Partnership for shining a well-deserved light on them.”

For more information regarding local San Juan County salmon recovery efforts: http://www.sjcmrc.org/Projects/Salmon-Recovery.aspx

Learn more about other Puget Sound Champions:
http://www.psp.wa.gov/champions.php

Puget Sound Partnership website:
http://www.psp.wa.gov/

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