Submit your letters via US Mail or email to:
The Honorable Patty Murray(STATE SENATOR)
448 RUSSELL
SENATEOFFICEBUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
Dear Senator,
The Honorable Maria Cantwell(STATE SENATOR)
311 HART
SENATEOFFICEBUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
Dear Senator
The Honorable Rick Larson(STATE REPRESENTATIVE)
108 CANNON
HOUSEOFFICEBUILDING
WASINGTON DC 20515
Dear Representative,
TEMPLATE #1 FOR WRITING TO SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE
[Date]
The Honorable Patty Murray
448 RUSSELL
SENATEOFFICEBUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
RE:SkykomishRiver – National Wild and ScenicRiver Designation – Protection from Hydropower Development
Dear Senator,
I am writing to ask your assistance to protect Western Washington’s SkykomishRiver from hydropower development through formal designation as a National Wild and ScenicRiver. The primary means of designating America’s rivers as Wild and Scenic is through congressional action, as provided by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (16 U.S.C. 1271-1287).
The SkykomishRiver is already designated as aWashingtonStateScenicRiver (79A.55 RCW); the legislative purpose of which is to “protect and preserve the natural character of such rivers and fulfill other conservation purposes.” Rivers in the system “shall be preserved in as natural a condition as practical and that overuse of such rivers, which tends to downgrade their natural condition, shall be discouraged.” The SkykomishRiver is also in a Northwest Power and Conservation Council Protected Area from hydropower development, is included in the US Park ServiceNational Rivers Inventory, and has been recommended for designation as a National Wild and ScenicRiver for its Scenic, Recreation, Fish, and Wildlife values by the USForest Service. The SkykomishRiverhas been designated as critical habitat for ESA listed Puget Sound Chinook salmon by the National Fisheries Service and it is vital to ongoing salmon recovery plans. The SkykomishRiver is currently free flowing and provides spawning habitat for four species of salmon, as well as steelhead and bull trout.
Despite all of these facts, Snohomish County PUD district #1 received a preliminary permit application for hydropower development on the Skykomish River in September 2011 (FERC P-14295). PUD’s application is inconsistent with State Renewable Energy Standards (WAC 194-37) because it requires a new diversion and impoundment. The project is ineligible for renewable energy portfolio credits and is counter-productive to achieving the voter approved (I-937) mandate. PUD’s filing requires State and Federal Agencies such as National Marine Fisheries, National Park Service , U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. EPA, WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, WA State Game Department, WA State Parks Dept., WA State Dept. of Natural Resources, WA State Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Tulalip Tribes to each spend many thousands of dollars to defend against the project at a time when agency budgets are tighter than ever. The SunsetFalls project is vigorously opposed by WashingtonState residents and environmental agencies including the Sierra Club, the Alpine Lakes Protection Society, AmericanRivers, American Whitewater, the Hydropower Reform Coalition, the North Cascades Conservation Council, The Mountaineers and Washington Wild.
Please consider the possibility of recommending the SkykomishRiver for further study under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act which would serve to help protect the river from hydropower development and preserve this priceless natural resource for future generations.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Street Address]
[Town], [State] [Zip Code]
[Phone][E-mail]