"Be Famous for 15 Miles"

“Do you think it could be a general rule that the only place one is urgently needed is at home?”

This is the second of a pair of posts I promised back in Earth and Ocean Month where we're looking at local community and activism. In the last post, The 30-Minute Territory, we looked at how a sense of place shapes community. In this post we'll look at how that strong local community in turn provides a base for activism.

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I first heard of the title phrases, the first attributed to Gary Snyder, and the second by Wendell Berry, in Where You Are Is Where You Are a moving essay by

Hadden Turner

on the importance of local activism. They’ve stuck with me because they perfectly articulate the way activism is working in my own community. I was going to tell you about it, but I'd rather show you by looking at what's been going on here recently. It's been a really busy month, with a lot of works in progress, but nothing finished, so I'll end the post with a look forward on what I hope to report on later in the year, both locally and further afield. But first, here are some examples that I think show local activism at work.

The view from home. 📷 John Lovie

Politics is Local

With so much going on nationally, it's easy to forget that local political decisions can have a great impact on our lives. In November, two of our County Commissioners are up for reelection, while the third is running for State Senate. In that context, its worth noting that the 30 minute or 15 mile territory coincides with most of our County Commissioner district as well the whole of the School and Parks and Recreation districts and the coverage area of our local paper. As if the elections weren't enough, the county is also gearing up for the 2025 Comprehensive Plan update with a public comment period currently open. The "comp plan" is the county's master planning document, mandated by the state's Growth Management Act, which this time is charged with figuring out where to put a predicted extra 15,000 people on top of the 85,000 we already have. These factors have thrust many of the issues we cover in this newsletter, such as drinking water, climate change, land use, and community, onto the regulatory and political stage. They'll both get a full post at an appropriate time, but for now they're keeping many of us busy attending Commissioner work sessions, Board of Heath and Planning Commission meetings, and private meetings with commissioners, candidates, and county staff.

Bicycling

A couple of posts ago, I briefly mentioned that a group of local cyclists is advocating for better cycling infrastructure on the island, such as a boat to bridge trail paralleling the main island road, wider shoulders, better signage, and bike racks. It's a great example of 15-mile local activism. Many of us ride together as part of an informal Sunday group that meets outside the local taproom. A 15-mile radius covers everywhere we ride. The advocacy group itself meets about once a month inside the taproom, which itself is an example of local activism. The taproom was funded initially by loans from a community local lending group, while the historic building that houses it was rescued by a group that has gone on to be one of the cornerstones of our community, spearheading initiatives such as affordable housing, rescuing our community grocery store and even organizing summer street dances. We've considered making the bike advocacy group an all-island group, but it's likely to work better if we just build links to our north end friends who have their own weekend ride group, and then find a way to come together to talk to the county.

The Pool

I've written before about the effort to pass a bond measure for a community pool here, in Putting the community in community pool, and on the success of that effort here in Celebrating the power of community, but I didn't stress the local part. The bond issuer is the Parks and Recreation district, which, as we pointed out at the top, serves an area within — you guessed it — 15 miles. The high turnout for the pool bond likely also helped pull the school bond over the line. The School and Parks Districts coincide, and both bond measures were on the same ballots. The volunteer group that worked to support the bond all live and swim within 15 miles.

Fish

For many years, I was a volunteer member of several State and County committees tasked with reviewing applications for Puget Sound salmon and ecosystem recovery grants. Finding myself spread a little too thin among too many boards and committees, I moved on to focus more on my writing. However, I can check out, but I can't leave. So, when one of our small towns asked me to help write a grant application for removal or replacement of four fish passage barriers on one of our streams, I didn't hesitate in saying yes. It's been fun heading out on a site visit and reaching out to old friends at the state, the county, and local tribes, but a little strange being on the other side of the table! The application is due in a week, and I should be able to let you know in June how it went. Fingers crossed.

Beyond 15 Miles

We can scale local activism. Groups of people, each working within their own 15 miles, coming together and each bringing their local knowledge and passion, can make a difference at a larger scale that they would be able to achieve separately. For example, a group of activists from four communities across the state affected by PFAS in drinking water now has a date for a meeting with the director of the Department of Ecology. I'll be reporting on that later in June also.

The summer is shaping up to be a busy time for travel through the lens of water. In June, there's a trip to Colorado for another instalment of the ongoing triathlon saga, followed by a swing through New Mexico, while the summer will bring a couple of trips to central Washington.

With so much bad news at the national and international level it's easy to feel powerless. By acting locally, it's still possible to affect real change. I'm curious what activism looks like in your community, and what wins or good news you have to report?