THANKS TO YOU, WE MET OUR GOAL!

Happy New Year!  I hope that you and your loved ones are snug and warm, enjoying the holidays.  I am writing to report to you that due to the generosity of hundreds of members and supporters like you, People For Puget Sound has just passed the $200,000 mark in our year-end Save Our Sound campaign, and the donations are still coming in!  This means that we will also win an additional $100,000 challenge.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The year ahead looms large for Puget Sound. Hope and change are in the air. At the same time, our rocky economy and tight state budget present huge obstacles. Now, with our successful year-end drive, we are coming in strong. With loyal supporters like you, we must and we will ultimately prevail.

The legislature will be considering proposals to invest in clean water.  The Puget Sound Partnership's new Action Agenda's many words need to be turned into reality.  The 20th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill will find us still fighting to prevent spills here in Puget Sound.  Economic stimulus dollars may give a needed push to habitat restoration projects, possibly accelerating the removal of the Elwha River dams, where the legendary chinook salmon runs can at last return. A new Commissioner of Public Lands has the chance to protect our aquatic lands off Maury Island and around the Sound.

The New Year will bring lots of opportunities for you to enjoy, learn about and get involved in Puget Sound. You can sign up for activist alerts, come to Lobby Day on February 19, attend our outstanding lecture series, get out and encounter critters at night, or get your hand dirty restoring damaged habitat.  I hope to see you soon!Meanwhile, please accept my deepest thanks for your support. Time is short for Puget Sound, and our work is urgent. But all of us together can achieve a healthy Sound, for the salmon, for the orcas and for our kids and grand kids.

All the best for 2009,
Kathy 

P.S. If you missed the opportunity to support the year-end Save Our Sound challenge, you can still help with a donation.  Your gift will make sure that we weather these tough economic times with continued momentum and success.