On this episode of Action Hour, WEAN Executive Director Marnie Jackson and Engagement Director Amanda Bullis chat about the Comprehensive Planning process, WEAN's history with Island County's Comprehensive Plan, their experience during this current planning cycle, and what they hope the outcome will be for their island communities.

Learn all about wetlands! Wetland ecologist Allison Warner teaches us how to identify a wetland, how wetlands can bolster our communities' climate resilience, and how Island County could improve its wetland buffers. Plus, she makes a pitch for beavers and gets nerdy about soil composition.

When Trillium Corporation purchased almost 3,000 acres of land on Whidbey Island from Georgia Pacific in the 1980s, the community had no idea who they were — until they started clearcutting a property on Coles Road. The logging company went on to clear-cut a parcel right outside the front door of WEAN founders Marianne Edain and Steve Erickson. The duo sprang into action, organizing the community to blockade the logging, and Whidbey Environmental Action Network (WEAN) was born.

For the next couple of decades, WEAN would track Trillium Corporation's activity on Whidbey Island and beyond, a practice that would ultimately lead to WEAN helping to protect 1.5 million acres of land in Patagonia.

On this episode of Action Hour, Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society (OHGOS) board member Kyle Renninger teaches us about Garry oaks, their historical significance in Oak Harbor, and the current protections for these trees in the Oak Harbor city code. Listen to learn about this keystone species and potential upcoming Oak Harbor code changes that could impact Garry oaks and the urban tree canopy in general.

Want to help preserve this special tree for future generations? Plant a Garry oak. Learn more at https://ohgarryoaksociety.org/.

On this episode of Action Hour, Engagement Director Amanda Bullis and Executive Director Marnie Jackson discuss WEAN's programmatic priorities, including their work advocating for Whidbey and Camano Islands at the county and state levels, as well as current pending litigation against the City of Oak Harbor.

Sea level is projected to rise by one foot in the Puget Sound region by 2050, and Island County is at particularly high risk of hazards such as coastal flooding.

Water activist John Lovie returns to this episode of Action Hour to discuss the complexities of land use in the face of sea level rise, emphasizing the need for a coordinated, sound-wide adaptation strategy to plan for the inevitable.

Check out Dr. Ian Miller’s study, “Projected Sea Level Rise for Washington State."

Read John’s blog post on the 2022 king tide, “An Imperfect Storm."

On this episode of Action Hour, Amanda discusses drinking water sources and water systems in Island County with water, environmental, community activist, and writer John Lovie.

John's insights and musings about water, mostly, can be found on his blog, Mostly Water, at https://johnlovie.substack.com/

On this episode of Action Hour, Amanda and Marianne unpack Marianne’s process for taking action against unpermitted development in our neighborhoods, following up with jurisdictions regarding permitted activity, and navigating the enforcement challenges. As always, persistence is key to success.

Find our "See Something, Say Something" guide here.

Report environmental violations to WEAN here.

Marianne and Amanda demystify the step-by-step process foundational to Marianne’s years of successful environmental activism. Societal problems are complex, government agencies are complex, and local communities that engage with this complexity repeatedly are imperative for making lasting change in the world.

Learn how to tackle an issue, share the workload, and keep showing up for each other and our planet.

Framework guide here: https://tinyurl.com/makingpositivechange

Take action: https://www.whidbeyenvironment.org/act-now

What exactly is a conservation easement? How do they work? Why would a landowner decide to put one on their property? Whidbey Camano Land Trust's Executive Director, Ryan Elting, joins us on an episode of the Action Hour podcast to discuss the many benefits of conservation easements, bringing conservation values to affordable housing, and WCLT's vision for protected contiguous habitat on Whidbey and Camano Islands.

Conservation Easement Q&A

Learn more about Whidbey Camano Land Trust at https://www.wclt.org/