Editor,
By this time in an election year, Whidbey residents have grown accustomed to hearing political candidates’ promises of protecting the environment or preserving the rural nature of our island. Most of us know by now that few, if any of these politicos, will ever live up to these expectations.
On the other hand, there are two of our citizens who have each worked for almost 40 years to retain the rural character and ecological diversity of Whidbey Island. Marianne Edain and Steve Erickson, through their organization Whidbey Environmental Action Network (WEAN), have monitored county applications for development and logging, challenged projects that violate state environmental law and led the way in science-based environmental public policymaking.
The effects of their work have extended statewide as the legal precedents of their campaigns have been applied in other regions of Washington. On April 1, 2022, in response to a WEAN lawsuit, the Thurston County Superior Court ruled that Washington State Parks cannot allow military training in state parks.
With the citizens of communities up and down Whidbey Island, Edain and Erickson have helped keep trees standing and protected sensitive island ecosystems. The lush, open fields of Greenbank Farm, the forest trails of Saratoga Woods, the re-population of native plants at Pacific Rim Institute near Coupeville, and the reduction of toxic roadside spraying are just a few of the results of WEAN’s work and its collaboration with other island groups.
Thanks to the efforts of South Whidbey filmmakers Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin of Moving Images, there is now a new documentary entitled “EVER GREEN, A Community Conservation Story,” that highlights Edain and Erickson’s profound influence and extraordinary work.
The film premieres at 2 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 23 at The Clyde Theatre, 213 First Street, Langley. The public is invited to this free screening as well as a discussion of this half-hour film.
For a dose of optimism in this time of skepticism about what can be done politically, I urge everyone to see and experience firsthand what local citizen activism can accomplish.
Marshall F. Goldberg
Oak Harbor
