The Legislature has provided an additional $8 million in the 2025-27 Capital Budget for continued work on the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project for the coming two years. The funding was provided to the Department of Ecology, as part of a plan to transfer management of the Deschutes estuary/lake aquatic ecosystem to a state agency with natural resource expertise. The Legislature directed the $8 million to Ecology solely for continuation of the long-term Deschutes Estuary restoration, in consultation with the current project manager, the Department of Enterprise Services (DES). The Governor vetoed an additional $4 million that was provided to Ecology to develop and implement a near-term Capitol Lake management plan. He also vetoed an additional $2 million for land acquisition. His veto message stated that additional plans and land acquisition are " not necessary due to the availability of past reports and studies that contain elements of a lake management plan."  His veto message continued that, "in light of future uncertainty with federal funding, I am directing the Department of Ecology to continue with a fresh look at cost effective options for the estuary restoration and to identify any other short-term actions needed, including improving the water quality of Capitol Lake."  The Governor left intact an additional $750,000 in the budget for project management over the next two years.

This newly released report from Restore America's Estuaries provides insight into the critical role that estuaries play in our economy. In times such as we find ourselves in now, environmental projects are too often de-prioritized as we focus on economic health at federal, state, and even family levels. But the the health of our economy is inextricably linked to the health of our coastlines.

"Spending money on estuary restoration is a strong return on investment because it delivers long-term economic, environmental, and social benefits that far outweigh the initial costs. Restoration projects create jobs in construction, science, and engineering while boosting industries like fisheries and tourism that rely on healthy ecosystems. Every dollar spent on restoration can generate multiple dollars in economic activity by supporting coastal businesses, increasing property values, and reducing damage from storms and flooding."

The report highlights job creation benefits in agriculture and restoration, while underscoring the economic benefits of healthy estuaries in providing protection from storms, recreation opportunities, and supporting robust fisheries.

Whew! It's been a celebratory spring! We wrapped up our Community Envisioned Deschutes Estuary (CEDE) workshop series at Spring Art's Walk outside of Soul Cafe, where Carrie Ziegler unveiled her painting from the series. It has been such a treat to work with Carrie again! Thank you to all who showed up to greet us at Art's Walk, chatted with us, and picked up some trees to plant. Also a HUGE THANK YOU to all those who showed up and participated in the CEDE series. The participation we saw throughout the series is a testament to what a great community we live in.

We look forward to planning and hosting future CEDE workshops, and will keep you all posted. We shared some of our takeaways in last month's newsletter on our website, which is now fully up to date with our archived newsletters! Do you have ideas for what you'd like to see in the CEDE series? Please e-mail mack@deschutesestuary.org to share topic, speaker, and content ideas!

From the series, we will leave you for now with this poem that Carrie beautifully wove into her painting of our collective watershed discussions...

Future braided from Source to Sea

Deschutes waters weave us back to each other

Entwined with Access, Learning, Work, & Play

Belonging

Building only what our Watershed can Hold

Place is Memory in Motion

Stewardship a Shared Song

Relationships Tended

Roots Running Deep   

With st̓əč̓as Wisdom, a Living River Flows

You can read more about her experience working with us on this series here.

We had such a blast putting this together, getting to know and to work with newfound friends and estuary supporters. Thank you to all who joined us-- from the sidelines or the frontlines! Here are some pictures to commemorate the experience.

Your continued support ensures our ability to stay up to date and engaged with issues impacting the Deschutes Estuary and watershed.

Please consider donating today to support our advocacy efforts.

We were so pleased to partake in this year's Climate Convention hosted by Thurston Climate Action Team last Saturday, May 17. DERT's Program Director Mackenzie Kleiva presented in the morning section Climate Impacts to the Salish Sea & South Sound Waterways, and What We Can Do to Address Them alongside Pamela Braff, City of Olympia Director of Climate Programs and Chris Wilke, Founder and Director at Climate Water Action- a new organization working to conduct bold and meaningful action to protect the waterways, communities & climate of Cascadia and Salish Sea from pollution, habitat loss & carbon emissions.

Want to get involved in climate action?

Join Thurston Climate Action Team in this workshop centering community voices in climate change planning!

"The City of Olympia (City) is updating its Comprehensive Plan to prepare for expected growth in accordance with the requirements of the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) and preparing the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)."

"Affected agencies, Tribes, and members of the public are invited to comment on this draft EIS for the Comprehensive Plan from May 13, 2025, to June 13, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. PST. To view the draft EIS or learn about public participation opportunities, please see the project website at www.olympiawa.gov/compplan. "

Civics 101 Workshop Series at Olympia Timberland Library

Join the Olympia Timberland Library for Civics 101, a nonpartisan interactive workshop series designed to demystify how government works and explore various methods and practical tools for engaging with the government at the federal, state, and local level.

Guest speakers will include folks from the Secretary of State, WA State's Open Data Program, Thurston County, and the City of Olympia. It all culminates with a Trivia Night (offsite at The Bus Stop) that will test your knowledge from the workshops. All Timberland Library events are free and open to the public. You can attend any or all of the four events! Check out their events page here.

DERT'S mission is to realize a fully restored Deschutes Estuary that reflects and respects the history and culture of the south Salish Sea, and advocate for a community managed Deschutes watershed that provides for all inhabitants for generations to come.

Do you have watershed news to share?

Send it to us at

 info@deschutesestuary.org

DERT'S mission is to realize a fully restored Deschutes Estuary that reflects and respects the history and culture of the south Salish Sea, and advocate for a community managed Deschutes watershed that provides for all inhabitants

for generations to come.

SQUAXIN ISLAND TRIBE

COMMUNITY SUSTAINING FUND



CLIMATE COMMITMENT ACT

THE FREAS FOUNDATION

ROSE FOUNDATION

FOR COMMUNITIES & ENVIRONMENT

THE RUSSELL FAMILY FOUNDATION



AMAZON SMILE

INSPIRE OLYMPIA

PUGET SOUNDKEEPER

NISQUALLY INDIAN TRIBE



WA STATE COMBINED FUND DRIVE

THE PARC FOUNDATION

THE MARIA RUTH FUND

Support for Deschutes Restoration and Community Engagement and the Microplastics Sampling Event was provided by the Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund, a grantmaking fund enabled by Waste Action Project and other Clean Water Act advocates’ program to protect the health of Puget Sound and its residents by enforcing federal water quality laws against serious violators. The Fund’s goal is to mitigate past pollution runoff by supporting community-based efforts to protect or improve the water quality of Puget Sound. The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment administers the Fund to enable community-based watershed stewardship in close nexus with the specifics of the enabling settlements.