Spokane Permaculture

SPOKANE URGENT ALERT: Action Required By Wednesday, Feb 18.

The City of Spokane intends to eliminate Environmental Review of developments to encourage infill in all parts of the city. The group Spokane Urban Nature asks that you send an email supporting protection of natural lands and wildlife habitat in the PlanSpokane 2046 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Comments must be submitted via email to [email protected] by 5 p.m. on February 18, 2026. Emails should include "PlanSpokane 2046 Draft EIS Comments" in the subject line.

This Draft EIS will guide our city’s growth for the foreseeable future and as written will harm neighborhoods, natural lands and tree canopy. Check it out: https://my.spokanecity.org/planspokane/draft-eis/

Talking Points:

1. Support Tree and Natural Land Inventory: Spokane has a tree canopy goal of 30% and strong support for natural land protection without adequate codes. An inventory of trees, natural areas, wildlife habitat is necessary to inform the critical areas code. The Growth Management Act requires protection of critical areas, forests, habitat and natural lands.

2. Support an enforceable critical areas ordinance is required to protect critical areas, trees, habitat, water quality, etc. There are unprotected natural lands throughout the City as shown in Exhibit 3.3-3 (See photo).

3. Oppose the blanket Environmental Review exemption in order to protect critical areas such as wetlands, forests, wildlife habitat and riparian areas in neighborhoods. Exhibit 7 (See photo) shows all neighborhoods will be exempted from environmental review in two phases.

4. Suport environmental review exemption only if 100% disturbed and impervious as identified in the Draft EIS Exhibit 3.1-3 (See photo). Existing Hard (Impervious) Surfaces included below.

5. Support the Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board’s recommended Policy Land Use & Zoning 2-4 [“Protect, restore, acquire, and maintain urban agricultural lands, urban forests, critical areas, shorelines, habitats, and open spaces as interconnected natural systems that provide flood protection, heat reduction, and carbon sequestration benefits, including through codes, capital investments, and regional partnerships.”]

Use your own words, or just copy the talking points and Comments must be submitted via email to [email protected] by 5 p.m. on February 18, 2026.

Yours Truly,
Karen Mobley, Kirsten Angell, Jeff Lambert
Spokane Urban Nature

LINC (The Local Inland Northwest Cooperative) is hiring a Food Hub Sourcing Manager.

This position will act as a support role for local producers, especially related to onboarding, availability communication, harvest planning, and software literacy to ensure a smooth experience for selling products through LINC. This is an exciting opportunity to work for a small, dynamic cooperative and help strengthen the local food system.

This position is hybrid-remote, starting at $25/hr.

Find more info and application instructions here:
https://www.lincfoods.com/join-our-team

Let Michelle Youngblom, Food Enterprise Director, know if you have any questions.
[email protected]
(507) 766 - 5518

This is about knocking the legs out from under industrial livestock production (protecting the environment) and giving farmers back their economic power (relocalizing the food system).

The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) advocates for independent farmers and ranchers. Last month, FARFA helped secure the introduction of the LOCAL Foods Act in the House (H.R. 5341) and hosted a successful Virtual congressional Fly-In of farm freedom activists to put pressure on lawmakers. Next week FARFA is heading to Washington, D.C. to meet directly with congressional offices about the LOCAL and PRIME Acts.

PRIME would allow farmers to sell meat processed at local state-inspected custom processors to consumers within the same state ending the USDA's dictatorial hegemony on meat processing. As filed, it covers even grocery store sales within the state – but the core focus is on getting a direct-to-consumer version into the Farm Bill.

LOCAL would make it easier for families who buy animals by shares to process on-farm with local or itinerant butchers, allowing farmers to have the animals processed on-farm without the cost or stress of transport.

Both of these bills will remove long-standing road roadblocks to building thriving local and regional food systems and economically viable small- and medium-scale producers.

You can help by making sure your lawmakers hear from you before the upcoming meetings. Follow the link below for instructions and congressional contact information.

Please don't be silent. The U.S. food system is broken. These bill would go a long way to fix that if Congress hears from YOU!

https://prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/EA/EA003/1/72405/9tspDPkCUAfAhdXUA6r3FGj6_IMC0rnUQq_7XftEY0A_archive