County Government stands up up for your safety and civil rights Most recently, the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officials in Minnesota have prompted many questions about immigration enforcement in Washington State and Pierce County. At the County level, Pierce county government took action last to: create new protocols for County […]
By Kirk Kirkland and Gemini AI A New Wave of Resistance hits Department of Justice Have you lost hope that the current administration can be stopped from creating chaos and returned to the Rule of Law in our economy, our schools, and our nation’s response to climate change? Each month, I use Gemini, an Artificial […]
by Kirk Kirkland How does the Supreme court decision affect the 2026 congressional budget and how will the automobile industry and the major car brands Honda, Nissan and Toyota be affected by the refund of their tariffs? On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the administration’s use of the International Emergency […]
For the Friends of Burley Lagoon, it has been a challenging year opposing the Conditional Use Permit to allow Taylor Shellfish to plant one of the largest, 25.5-acre, geoduck farm in the County. After a challenging appeal before the Hearing Examiner, they group filled an appeal to the Shoreline Management Board. Neighbors and volunteers spent […]
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 […]
by Kirk Kirkland The secret is out! An obscure Department of Natural Resource program called Trust Land Transfer now can be used to protect DNR forests from being logged — which local communities want to use for recreation, and preserving wildlife habitat. The Trust Land Transfer (TLT) method uses state capital budget funds to buy […]
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 […]
Until earlier this month with the December storms, living in the Northwest in the last 5 years, the Puget Sound area has not experienced many of the extreme weather conditions that cause flooding or extreme heat’s impact on Agriculture production. Many areas of the world are spending their government’s funds cleaning up from hurricanes, flooding […]
Since 1979, Washington Wild has played a key role in protecting nearly three million acres of Wilderness throughout Washington State. They bring people together in the defense of our remaining wild forests, waters, and wildlife area. Chris Chappell frequently asks the Environmental Coalition to join their list of groups that ask Congress, the Forest Service […]
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 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 […]
Fall has arrived with a windy, wet, and brilliantly colored bang! As the landscape soaks up the long-awaited rain, mushrooms are popping up, and the big leaves of maple trees, osoberry, and vine maple seem to have turned bright yellow overnight. When the first heavy rains hit in early October, visitors spotted an incredible variety […]
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 Marianne Lincoln; photos by Al Schmauder It is the end of October 2025 and salmon are coming up Chambers Bay. Some have even been allowed over the fish ladders to span naturally rather than be taken at the hatchery. Sadly, there is no water in Clover Creek. The fish cannot get any farther than […]
Running Against the Odds TACOMA, Wash. — Cyrus Donato is defying expectations in his campaign for Port of Tacoma Commission, Position 4, running a people-powered race against an opponent who has vastly out-raised him. Despite being outspent, Donato has proven that grassroots support can make a real difference. In the primary election, Donato finished […]
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 “Last week NY Times reporters found a policy change made in the spring by the Department of Defense (DOD). This policy change was made without public notice. The change removed $200 million for PFAS remediation in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Budget. The cities of Lakewood and DuPont use these funds to […]
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 […]
