Cascadia today: Mass evacuations of Skagit valley as floods hammer WA + wasting money on bridge over Columbia + preserving native seeds
Mass evacuations as WA governor declares flood emergency
As Washington governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency and activated the National Guard to assist as widespread floods hammered western Washington, a mass evacuation order is in effect in the Skagit River floodplain, which is expected to impact about 75,000 people, according to Cascadia Daily News. Find more information on Skagit River evacuation orders here. Rivers across Washington are at flood stage, KING-5 reports. WSDOT has a real time map of road closures here. In British Columbia, Abbotsford and other border areas are under flood evacuation orders, especially from the Nooksack River. The Tyee recently reported on the lack of an agreement on flooding of the Nooksack, which is a perennial problem that the US government has ignored.
British Columbia and Washington need to work on a Cascadia-focused agreement on how to manage the Nooksack River without meddling from the United States or Canada, which are apathetic to the real issues facing our region.
Seattle chief of police will stay
PubliCola reports that Seattle chief of police Shon Barnes will not be fired by incoming mayor Katie Wilson, despite concerns about his management style and staffing decisions. This, after the city council approved a contract for officers that severely limits alternatives to police response, such as the new CARE team. In other political news, the Urbanist reports that outgoing King Council member Girmay Zahilay, who was elected executive, appointed Rhonda Lewis as his interim replacement. Lewis is the first Black woman to serve on the council.
Yet more oil tankers in the Salish Sea
The Tyee reports that Canadian prime minister Mark Carney is all in with pushing more climate-killing oil from Alberta to British Columbia and Washington. The Tyee reports that a recent memorandum of understanding on a proposed new pipeline to northern BC also calls for an expansion of the expansion of the TransMountain pipeline for an additional "300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day."
Costs balloon for new I-5 bridge over Columbia
OPB says a new cost estimate expected Monday for the massive I-5 bridge replacement over the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington is expected to rise. Some are even suggesting cutting light rail out of the climate-killing project to save money. The last freeway bridge estimate, in 2022, was a staggering $5 - 7.5 billion.
Tired of your tax dollars going to wasteful projects that destroy our planet? Visit No More Freeways to learn how you can help activists in Portland and Vancouver, WA to say NO to this boondoggle.
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Preserving native plant seeds
KNKX has a fascinating profile of a 150-year-old company near Olympia, WA – Silvaseed – that grows and cultivates native plant seeds and seedlings, helping preserve biodiversity across Cascadia.
“As climate change continues to cause devastation in our forests, whether it's from fires or whether it's from insect outbreaks, that it's really important that we maintain this resource." --Kea Woodruff, Silvaseed
Thanks for reading! -Andrew
