Washington’s Women Warriors
The Puget Sound Waterkeepers
This summer Rick Dove traveled to Washington to spend some time with the three Waterkeepers who are working to clean and protect Puget Sound.
First of all, Puget Sound is huge. It extends 90 miles from Olympia in
the south to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, just below Vancouver Island, in
the north. Four million people call it home, as do abundant species of
fish, whales, seals and two majestic snowcapped volcanos, Ranier and Baker.
Puget Soundkeeper
When I touched down in Seattle from my cross-country
flight, it was raining. I quickly learned that rain was something I should
soon get used to around Puget Sound. But my spirits weren’t dampened. I was in
Seattle, on Puget Sound, and I was anxious to see Sue Joerger, the
Puget Soundkeeper. I had met Sue a number of times before, but this
was different. Now we were in her backyard – on her sound.
Being with Sue on her sound is like being with a proud mother of a
cherished child. She was at home, completely. As she skippered her
Soundkeeper boat along the Seattle skyline, she spoke of her water
in poetic terms. Gales and whales, blue skies and tides, seals and
keels. Make no mistake, this is a genuine love affair. But her capturing
smile vanished and her mood completely changed when I asked about pollution
threats. “The
sound is in declining health. It’s a living resource in grave trouble.
Orcas, rockfish, marine birds and other wildlife are in grave jeopardy
and the state of Washington knows it.”
Sewage treatment plants and industrial discharges continue to release
their toxic pollutants into the sound. On top of that, a great deal of
pollution reaching the sound is washed off city streets, industrial areas,
cars and lawns. Stormwater runoff alone, she said, pollutes more than
30 percent of the state’s waters.
Listening to Sue was mesmerizing. “Look, we’re not taking
this lying down. We’re suing one county under the Clean Water Act
for failing to reduce stormwater pollution. We have brought 13 illegal
stormwater dischargers, including auto recyclers and scrap metal yards,
into the permitting process. They are now required to prepare and implement
stormwater pollution prevention plans. In another case,” Sue continued, “we
litigated against stormwater discharges from 1,200 industrial facilities.
Now, for the first time, they must comply with water quality standards,
conduct water quality sampling and implement best management practices
to reduce their pollution.”
There was more to report, but the sun was setting and our fuel was running
low. With a truly spectacular sunset behind us we reluctantly headed
for the dock.
Day two found my wife Joanne and I near the top of Puget Sound, in the town of Bellingham, on Bellingham Bay. There to greet us was Wendy Steffensen, the North Sound Baykeeper. Like Sue, Wendy works to restore and protect Puget Sound by patrolling, identifying problems and eliminating pollution. Wendy’s work is concentrated in the north end of Puget Sound and Georgia Straits. I was anxious to see these waters. Yes, even though it was still raining.
On the way to her Baykeeper patrol boat, Wendy bragged about her sponsor, RESources. Now in its 20th year, this organization is one of the premier non-profit environmental education organizations in the Northwest. Marine water quality protection and recycling are two of its many missions.
Wendy’s guided tour of Bellingham Bay was awesome. As we drew close to a family of seals resting on log booms, Wendy broke into a wide smile. “I can’t imagine this place without them. It’s their home, but it’s mine too. For a long time I had a real fear of water. As a very young child I nearly drowned. This bay took that fear from me.” Pointing in one direction, then another, over and over again – I got dizzy just trying to keep up with her as she described one site after another.
“We have the same pollution problems here as in other parts of the sound – discharge of persistent bio-accumulative toxins from industrial sites, pollution from stormwater, out-of-control development and the buildup of contamination from years of uncontrolled industrial operations. It’s my job to put an end to that and to get these problems fixed, and I’ll use every tool at my disposal from education to litigation. “
She has made significant progress. A few of her many accomplishments include shepherding two successful legal appeals against British Petroleum (BP) and the Army Corps of Engineers over the significant impact of a dock expansion. In 2005, she published an expose on construction stormwater problems and gained a seasonal construction clearing and grading ban in a sensitive watershed. Later in 2005, she led a critical fight to protect Whatcom County’s environmental “critical areas.” It is impossible to imagine someone better suited to be the North Sound Baykeeper.
Commencement Baykeeper
The next day, we traveled to the southern end of the sound to the City
of Tacoma where we were greeted with a clear sky and warm sun, and
Commencement Baykeeper Amy Bates.
Amy gave us a quick education on Commencement Bay. The bay is an important
deep-water seaport. Dredging and filling has destroyed much of the original
mudflat and estuarine habitat. Years of pollution have left the bay’s
sediments highly contaminated with organic pollutants and heavy metals.
In 1983, EPA declared Commencement Bay a Superfund site.
Amy is sponsored by Citizens for a Healthy Bay (CHB), the
organization leading the way in the bay’s restoration. Amy is relatively
new on the job, but she has jumped right in the deep end, confronting
the many water quality problems of Commencement Bay. Amy spends a lot
of her time out patrolling her bay. But she is also concentrating her
attention on building the Commencement Baykeeper program into one of
the best in the Waterkeeper movement.
“Success in restoring and protecting Commencement Bay is directly
linked to the health of the Commencement Baykeeper Program. Fortunately,
I have the full support of CHB, as well as my fellow Puget Waterkeepers.”
Our patrol with Amy included areas of mudflat restoration, shipping and
dry-dock facilities, inappropriate housing developments and industrial
pollution sites. “It is exciting to see the program move forward,” Amy
explained. “Commencement Bay needs a Waterkeeper, and my goal is
to build an exemplary program that is deliberate, progressive and sustainable.” Joanne
and I had no doubt – this is one tough warrior who will get the
job done. Puget Sound is lucky to have her on the team.
I went out to Washington hoping to find what it is about water that engenders such passion in these Puget Sound Waterkeepers, and to describe what it is that drives Waterkeepers like Sue, Amy and Wendy to such lengths to protect it. Needless to say, I didn’t find an easy answer. But my time with the Puget Sound Waterkeepers confirmed that the waters of the world are better off because of that passion, and that generations to come will benefit from it.
Bios
Wendy Steffensen
North Sound Baykeeper
Born in Tacoma, Washington in the “shadow of Mount Rainier,” Wendy was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. But it was on vacations in Florida with her family that she formed her attachment to the environment and her desire to see nature flourish.
With a Bachelors degree in biology from Northern Illinois University and a Masters in environmental toxicology from Cornell University, Wendy moved to Pensacola to be closer to the water she loved. Working for Sierra Club and as a researcher at the University of West Florida, Wendy honed her skills in her chosen field.
Wendy later moved back to Washington to serve as an Environmental Health Specialist for the Pierce County Department of Health. She continued to gain experience in both science and advocacy, working as a college instructor and as a laboratory analyst, while volunteering her time and expertise analyzing pollution permits for the Puget Baykeeper. When the North Sound Baykeeper position opened, Wendy was a shoe-in.
Amy Bates
Commencement Baykeeper
Amy was born in Holly, Michigan. Growing up in the middle of five children, she was characterized by her family as having a “rebel syndrome” – never content with an easy or uninformed answer, and always questioning (traits that would serve her well as a Baykeeper.)
After working for a year and a half following high school, Amy joined the army. With her family busy taking bets on how soon she’d be sent home from basic training, Amy dug in, determined to prove them wrong. Not only did she make it through basic training, she spent two years as a military police officer.
Following her discharge from military service, using the GI Bill, she enrolled in Pierce Community College and later transferred to Washington University at Tacoma where she graduated cum laude with a degree in environmental studies. She later completed a Masters degree in Public Action. For a person who chose environmental studies because of its “peaceful nature,” Amy has become a warrior for her community, patrolling and defending Commencement Bay from pollution.
Sue Joerger
Puget Soundkeeper
Sue originally hails from Winston-Salem, NC, and loves to tell the story of coming home from school one day with an “accent,” whereupon her parents (originally from Pennsylvania and New York) decided to move her to the “no accent” state of California. This move proved to be pivotal since it was in California that she first fell in love with sailing and even today lives on her sailboat “Sputnik.” Why this name? Sue smiles and answers that it translates to “traveling companion of the world.”
In 1999 Sue saw an ad for the position of Puget Soundkeeper. She immediately wrote her resume, pedaled her bicycle to the Soundkeeper office and deposited it in the mail slot. An interview and job offer soon followed for Sue’s “perfect job.” When asked why she thought she was chosen for the job, Sue modestly answered, “I had experience running a non-profit organization, had management skills, could do all kinds of boat maintenance and hold a Coast Guard license for 50 tons in inland waters.”
Puget
Waterkeepers Amy Bates, Sue Joerger and Wendy Steffensen