This update was posted in the San Juan Islander, January 7th, 2019.
The group, Community Rights San Juan Islands, met with islanders in December on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan islands to discuss the possibility of a Rights of the Salish Sea (RoSS) initiative in 2019. Following is a summary of the meetings, goals, and information on how to join the group.
The idea of rights of nature resonated with most of the people we interacted with and support for broader protections for the Salish Sea was nearly universal. Our group remains committed to pursuing the Rights of the Salish Sea but we have decided that we will aim for the 2020 ballot.
We circulated the RoSS draft initiative among some former council members and people with experience in county and marine policy. Again, there is strong support for what we’re doing but questions arose about the specifics of the draft. We recognize that the processes for implementation and enforcement of rights of nature laws are a work in progress and that we need more time to create an initiative that reflects the concerns and inclinations of our county.
We also met with students with the University of Victoria’s new Joint Common Law and Indigenous Law program. The group is well engaged in indigenous communities and are hoping to build on our meeting toward cross border efforts. Additionally, we realized the need to become familiar with the varied meanings and implications of ‘rights,’ specifically, in this case, in indigenous communities. Again, the message was to slow down, something that is hard to do, given the urgent need to protect our region, our waters. MORE…