Eastside Audubon offers a variety of engaging volunteer opportunities for people of all experience levels. Volunteers are important and valued members of the organization and our volunteer positions can enhance your knowledge of conservation, birds, communication, leadership and nonprofit organizations.
Are you a parent, grandparent or teacher who wants information on the best places to bird on the Eastside? Is your student intrigued by birds and keen to read about them? Then check out the Youth Education Committee (YEC) pages on the EAS website where you will find a plethora of information for the young and not-so-young.
The Audubon in Washington Advocacy Day is scheduled for December 7th, 2021. Audubon Washington will be working with local chapters to schedule virtual meetings with legislators that will provide the opportunity for you to join other chapter members in speaking up for the birds. No need to go to Olympia, instead we’ll talk to the legislators from the comfort of home! Register here if you’d like to join.
Speaking to your representatives is one of the most powerful actions you can take to help steer the future of our region. The legislature meets for a short 60-day session in 2022, which means it’s even more important to take the opportunity to make sure Audubon’s priorities are top of mind before our legislators head into the new year. We’ll be looking to advance policies that support bird-friendly clean energy, Puget Sound recovery, and carbon-friendly agriculture.
Join us in making sure our state legislators do everything they can in the upcoming legislative session to protect the places birds and people need to thrive in a changing climate.
To help you prepare, local Audubon leaders will be hosting preparatory meetings in late November and early December. Our state’s Audubon Washington office will also host sessions to go over our policy agenda and answer any questions you may have. Together we have the power to make sure our elected officials are ready to get to work in 2022, protecting birds and people, now and into the future.
Claire Waltman
The City of Bellevue is currently updating their 20-year Watershed Management Plan. Recognizing that the watersheds have been significantly degraded, the city is developing a plan to “improve the health of our streams for people and wildlife.” Over the last two years, a detailed analysis has been made of all 80 miles of streams within the City of Bellevue. For this analysis, four watershed areas were designated: Kelsey Creek Watershed, Coal Creek Watershed, Lake Sammamish Watershed, and Small Lake Washington Watershed.
Reports of the current status each of these watersheds will be published independently by the city. These reports will detail current status, previous improvements, and challenges for further restoration. Currently, the Coal Creek Watershed Assessment Report is the only one available. Not surprisingly, Coal Creek which was designated a priority habitat by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife has a better maintained riparian corridor than other streams within Bellevue. With its headwaters in Cougar Mountain and significant tree canopy along much of its course, this stream likely has the best potential for wildlife and return of salmon though there has been significant degradation from I-405 to its mouth on Lake Washington.
Importantly, the next stage for the city is eliciting community input to determine priorities of residents for recreation and/or wildlife habitat. The city will weigh heavily these preferences in determining future restoration/management options. To this end, the city is asking for input through a simple on-line survey. The survey does let you indicate whether you are a citizen of Bellevue or not, so nonresidents can also participate. Please take a moment to complete the survey. Your input may determine the outcome for watersheds in Bellevue for the next 20 years.
More information about the planning process, the Coal Creek Assessment Report, and the survey can be found at:
