by Kirk Kirkland On Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, the Trump era turns five years old. The anniversary will always be a mournful one for America. While Trump remains in power despite past legal challenges, he continues to test the limits of Congress, the Constitution, and the courts. Mr. Trump has also learned that many Republicans […]
by Kirk Kirkland Each month during the legislative session the Coalition publishes an update on the progress of state legislation that Futurewise and other environmental groups hope to pass before the session ends. For over 30 years, Futurewise has been our close ally, and they have been the consultant that has largely shaped our environmental […]
In October of 2025 the Forterra land trust facilitated the $3.49 million purchase of 113 acres in the Frederickson area. The property purchase from Tacoma Water (City of Tacoma) was made possible with a $2.7 million grant from Pierce County Conservation Futures. The acquisition protects critical forest and watershed lands in a fast-developing area while […]
by Kirk Kirkland In Minneapolis, the chief of police took a strong position regarding the federal administration’s handling of apprehensions of immigrants. He stated, “If ICE agents use unlawful force in this city, my officers must intervene.” To translate that into plain, street-fighting English: “The city of Minneapolis does NOT belong to federal bullies.” In […]
by Kelsie Clark The members of the Clover Creek Restoration Alliance made a list of their 2025 accomplishments during their November board meeting. It was an exciting board meeting where people reflected on how much the organization had accomplished together. We held work parties across the watershed in DuPont, Springbrook, Parkland and Chambers Creek. We […]
by Kirk Kirkland & Al Schmauder Before the 1970 housing boom in the Pierce County’s Urban Growth Area, Spanaway and Clover creeks had salmon in their streams. After 25 years of restoring the creek by adding fish ladders and implementing various restoration plans for Chambers Canyon and Clover Creek, this summer it was time to […]
by Kirk Kirkland Ten years ago, in a conference hall on the outskirts of Paris the leaders of almost every country agreed to try to slow down global warming. The new idea was for each country to set its own targets to reduce climate pollution in ways that made sense for them. So, here we […]
by Brett Johnson With most of the ballots now counted for the 2025 local election, turnout in Pierce County topped out around 34%–a strong turnout for an off-year election. We are incredibly proud of our endorsed candidates for running effective campaigns, and in many cases winning. Well done! Bryan Yambe secured over 57% of the […]
Protestors on Saturday October 18 were calling for No Kings in the kingdom of the once United States of America. In small and large towns on this Saturday the reigning King in Washington D.C was introduced to the U.S. Constitution and the Rule of Law and a government by the people. This was not a […]
by Kirk Kirkland During the first week of the shutdown of government by the Republicans in Congress, it was difficult to find successful ways to push back the polarization that has occurred between these two political parties. But in this dark hour several leaders in both parties spoke out about violence and called for people […]
By Kirk Kirkland The bad news is that the Chambers Creek Dam is not going to be removed until the bridge upstream is funded. With two county bridges closed and needing priority funding over the White River and the Carbon River, the Chambers Creek bridge is going to remain a low priority for the foreseeable […]
Voters shuffled the candidates around bringing some exciting people forward after the August primary election. The City of Lakewood will have some close races if the voters want to make some changes and turn out in force. Ellen Talbo in position 1 ran away from the field with over 41% of the vote in Lakewood. […]
After the first 500 salmon were released above the Chambers dam it has been a long wait to see them upstream. Summer drought has affected the creek. Will the fish make it, were our previous restoration efforts enough? Online comments discuss the past efforts describe the next phase of creek restoration. In August we learned […]
On August 16, the Guardian reported that President Trump declared at a White House press conference that Washington DC had been ‘overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals’” – a typical flourish untethered from reality – and announced he would seize control of the city’s police force. By Tuesday night, national guard troops were patrolling the […]
County environmental groups oppose the repeal of the EPA’s Endangerment Finding ordered by President Trump. During August two environmental groups in Pierce County joined forces to express their concern regarding the repeal the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” for greenhouse gases. Their letters urged the Federal agency to uphold its legal and scientific integrity by rejecting […]
By Kirk Kirkland At the final public hearing held in the Dupont City Council Chambers, over 70 people filled the room. For a Friday morning, this is a significant number. The proposal for mine expansion prompted a record of over 85 written responses to be submitted. The hearing began at 10 o’clock in the morning, […]
What has our state government done for people that counters some to the destructive things that President Trump has done to medical research in colleges, reducing staff and funding for the research arm of Environmental Protection Agency, and stopping the funding in 20 states that needed funding for FEMA Disaster Mitigation for hurricanes and floods? […]
The public hearing to review the Final Impact Statement on the expansion of the Dupont gravel mine turned into a circus The seventy-two members of the public in attendance had to wait four hours before given an opportunity to speak. By 2 PM, only a dozen or so people had returned after the lunch break. […]
by Kirk Kirkland For each issue of the newsletter I scan the New York Times and other internet sites for evidence that the tide of chaos created by Trump was turning and there was hope that the madness would be stopped by a well-organized resistance by our elected leaders. This week an e-mail from the […]
Futurewise gave Pierce County the “Excellence in County Planning” award at their annual meeting in May at their Spring Celebration. The award recognized the county’s stewardship of the land and celebrated on-going partnerships for habitat conservation and connectivity. In particular the award recognized Pierce County based on its innovative approach to land use, regional coordination, […]
