Action Alert: We Need Your Help to Uphold Washington's Historic Ban of Industrial Net pen Aquaculture in Puget Sound

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We Need Your Help to Uphold Washington's Historic
Ban of Industrial Net pen Aquaculture in Puget Sound

Take action to protect Washington’s historic executive order banning industrial net pen aquaculture from our public waters.

In 2022, we celebrated a major environmental victory when Washington's Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz announced a groundbreaking executive order prohibiting industrial net pen aquaculture in Washington state marine waters.

As a result of this decision, Cooke Aquaculture was forced to remove their farmed fish, pull up anchors, and leave Puget Sound behind. This is the first year in over four decades that Puget Sound has been protected and free from rampant daily pollution, the risk of viruses being amplified and spread to wild fish, and the threat of another catastrophic escape event.

Now, we are just one vital step away from cementing that transformative executive order into Washington state law, an action that will prevent industrial net pens from threatening the health of Puget Sound ever again.

On January 7th, 2025, the Board of Natural Resources, with Commissioner Franz at the helm, will cast a decisive vote on whether to adopt the public’s hard-fought ban on industrial net pen aquaculture into statute.

It’s critically important the Board hears from you today. Cooke Aquaculture and their allies are using this rulemaking process as a last-ditch attempt to re-establish net pen aquaculture in Washington state.

It’s time for our unstoppable movement to come together under the banner of Our Sound, Our Salmon one final time to preserve all we’ve accomplished together and to protect the health of Puget Sound for generations to come.

Make Your Voice Heard by Sending an Email to the Board of Natural Resources

We've made it as easy as possible for you to take this action. When you fill out the form below we'll make sure your email gets to the members of the Board of Natural Resources and is also submitted as an official public comment in the rulemaking process.

STEP 1: Fill out the form with your contact information.

First Name*

Last Name*

Organization or Business Name

Email Address*

Address, line 1*

City*

State*

Zip Code*

I'd like to receive updates from Wild Fish Conservancy.

Organization Name
ORG ADDRESS LINE 1 ORG ADDRESS LINE 2 | Org City, Org State Org Zip
ORG CONTACT PHONE | Org Email

Email the Board of Natural Resources

STEP 2: Send an Email to the Board of Natural Resources

Below is an email we've drafted to make it as easy as possible to contact the Board of Natural Resources and to include your comment as part of the official rulemaking process.

We strongly encourage you to add at least 1-2 sentences to this email message sharing your unique perspective on why you support the executive order banning industrial net pen aquaculture in Washington state waters.

These types of personal messages are the most powerful and will help demonstrate to the Board the diverse ways which commercial net pen aquaculture has ecologically, economically, and culturally harmed our communities and ecosystems.

Please note, you do NOT need to add a salutation or an email signature. The intro 'Dear Members of the Board of Natural Resources' and your signature (name and address) will be automatically populated and added to the email sent after you press 'Send Email'.

The Board of Natural Resources, Chaired by Commissioner Hilary Franz, sets policies to guide how the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages our state’s lands and resources.

Subject: Please vote to protect Puget Sound from the Dangers of Industrial Net Pen Aquaculture

Message:

I want to express my strong support for Commissioner Franz's proposal to change regulations to prohibit industrial finfish net pen aquaculture in Washington's marine waters. As the Board of Natural Resources, you have the important job of protecting Washington's public waters and lands for everyone today and for future generations. I urge you to approve this rule that will ensure our public waters will be protected from the dangers associated with this industry, including daily rampant pollution, the spread of harmful viruses and diseases, and catastrophic escape events like Cypress Island collapse that released 260,000, viral-infected farmed fish into Puget Sound. Puget Sound and its ecosystems represent a finite resource of great social, cultural, and economic value and I am counting on you to protect this irreplaceable public heritage. Given what is at stake, industrial net pen aquaculture is an unacceptable use of our public waters that undermines the public's investments in the recovery of wild salmon, orcas, and the greater health of Puget Sound. Please follow Commissioner Franz's lead and make the right choice for wild salmon, orcas, tribal rights, Puget Sound, and the well-being of future generations.

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Organization Name
ORG ADDRESS LINE 1 ORG ADDRESS LINE 2 | Org City, Org State Org Zip
ORG CONTACT PHONE | Org Email

Make Your Voice Heard by Sending an Email to the Board of Natural Resources

Thank you for taking this important action!