Standing for Washington, a Washington state political committee formed in March 2024 with initial support from the Rights of Nature Initiative nonprofit, launched a multi-city initiative campaign to recognize the rights of watersheds within those cities and grant them legal standing. The campaigns began in Olympia, Tumwater, and Everett, based on an ordinance template created by RONI, despite limited funding and low name recognition.
Our goal was to spark interest and educate the public, hoping to lay the groundwork for future efforts. Despite the short timeframe, we garnered signatures, endorsements, and community support. However, we concluded that Olympia and Tumwater would not meet the required number of signatures by the deadline. We extend our gratitude to everyone in Olympia and Tumwater who collected signatures—your dedication is invaluable, and we appreciate your support in protecting our ecosystems. The community’s enthusiasm has been truly inspiring.
Our efforts in Olympia and Tumwater are far from over. Organizing, outreach, and education will continue as we prepare to restart signature gathering with a stronger campaign in February 2025.
Meanwhile, Everett shows great promise of qualifying for the ballot. For a city of Everett’s size, the required number of signatures is relatively small (around 1,000 required; 1,400 to be sure). After just a couple of months of gathering signatures, we are close to reaching our goal.
By postponing the Olympia and Tumwater initiatives and focusing our efforts on Everett, we believe we have a strong chance of getting at least one initiative on the ballot this November. Achieving this would send a powerful message about the feasibility of such initiatives, potentially inspiring Olympia, Tumwater, and other municipalities to support these initiatives to grant legal standing to their watersheds in 2025.
To learn more and support our efforts, please visit StandingforWashington.org.
Rachel Kurtz-McAlaine is an attorney and Co-Chair of Standing for Washington