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 Washington Biodiversity Project

: HOME : ABOUT THE COUNCIL : FROM THE CHAIR

Message from the Chair

Maggie Coon

Maggie Coon, Chair

As Chair of the Washington Biodiversity Council, I’m pleased to welcome you to our website. The Council passed a very significant milestone in December 2007, with the release of the Washington Biodiversity Conservation Strategy: Sustaining Our Natural Heritage for Future Generations.

The strategy, designed to conserve Washington’s native plant and wildlife communities, includes recommendations in six focus areas:
  1. Guiding Investments
  2. Incentives and Markets
  3. Land Use and Development
  4. Science and Information
  5. Education and Public Engagement
  6. Achieving Results.
We invite you to explore the strategy and consider its implications for both your personal and professional life, for the places where you work, live, and play. The Council will be working hard to move ahead quickly on selected recommendations, to meet the urgent challenge of reversing the decline of our state’s rich biodiversity.

We’ll be further developing partnerships with other biodiversity conservation efforts in the region, and reaching out to share the new direction and recommendations that the Council has crafted over the past three years. Our hope is that our vision will both heighten awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity and inspire many to join in the effort.

Established in 2004, the Washington Biodiversity Council has now successfully completed its initial charge. This includes: At the lively and well-attended conference where we released the strategy in early December, the final word belonged to Michael Moe, a Tacoma high school student. He exhorted the crowd to “Just stop talking and go do it!”

That is our challenge and our charge. In the coming months, we will be continuing our collaborative efforts and working to bring the strategy to life. Please revisit us here to learn about updates, events, and new resources. And please share your thoughts with us!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Maggie Coon,
Chair, Washington Biodiversity Council