Speakers
| Speaker | Date | Topic |
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| Joseph Bogaard of Save Our wild Salmon Coalition | Jan 24, 2022 6:40 PM |
Restoring abundant, self-sustaining fishable populations of salmon and steelhead
 Joseph Bogaard is the executive director of Save Our wild Salmon, a coalition of northwest and national conservation organizations, recreational and commercial fishing associations, clean energy and orca advocates, businesses and citizens committed to protecting and restoring abundant, self-sustaining fishable populations of salmon and steelhead to the Columbia-Snake River Basin for the benefit of people and ecosystems.
Joseph will provide Rotarians new perspective on the Columbia-Snake River Basin, once the most prolific salmon landscape on the planet – experiencing returns of adult wild salmon and steelhead exceeding 16 million fish annually. He will explain how populations have plummeted, due mainly to the scores of large dams built on the Columbia and Snake Rivers last century. Thirteen populations are listed under the Endangered Species Act. All four remaining salmon and steelhead populations in the Snake River Basin are at risk of extinction.
Joseph began working for Save Our Wild Salmon in 1996. He first got hooked on Northwest salmon restoration efforts while in graduate school where he authored a paper in the early-1990s, exploring the then-relatively recent Snake River salmon listings under the Endangered Species Act, and how it might impact the region and its federal lands and dams. Before joining the SOS team, Joseph spent many years teaching and working in the forests and mountains of the West. Today, Joseph lives on Vashon Island with his wonderful wife Amy and two children Liesl and Jeremiah.
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| Elizabeth McGovern of WSDOT | Jan 31, 2022 6:40 PM |
Learn why fish passage barriers need to be fixed to preserve fish populations
 Washington State Department of Transportation Northwest Region Lead Elizabeth (Eliza) McGovern will brief club members on the state’s work to improve fish populations by removing barriers to spawning habitats in the region. When rivers and streams are connected, fish can better access the habitat they need. This is an important component of protecting and restoring fish populations, which can in turn have multiple benefits - including for commercial and recreational fishing industries.
WSDOT notes that most of the culverts that must be remediated were installed decades before scientists fully understood the needs of fish. While WSDOT met all requirements for culvert installation and sizing at the time they were constructed, they may not today, and a culvert that was fish passable at the time of installation might have become a barrier over time due to changes in the landscape resulting from development, logging and fire. Rotarians can read the most recent fish passage annual report for deeper background.
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| Thomas Meyer of Food & Water Watch | Feb 07, 2022 6:40 PM |
An overview of the issues and campaigns on which Food & Water Watch works
 Thomas Meyer will provide Rotarians an overview of the issues and campaigns on which Food & Water Watch works, from stopping fracking to cleaning up our food system, to protecting water as a human right. He will also share the strategic approach that underpins Food & Water Watch’s successful campaigns and examples from his own organizing experience.
Thomas is the national organizing manager at Food & Water Watch, which is a national non-profit. Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. The organization works to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
Thomas grew up in Port Angeles, Washington and attended American University in Washington, D.C. where he first got involved in the climate movement. He co-founded and led a successful campaign to divest the University’s endowment from fossil fuel companies. Since 2015, he has worked as an organizer on a range of campaigns at Food & Water Watch, working to change policy at the local, state, and federal levels. He lives in Seattle with his dog, Stanley.
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| Presidents' Day (No Meeting) | Feb 21, 2022 |
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| Joel Pfundt with City of Kirkland | Feb 28, 2022 6:40 PM |
Local and regional transportation projects impacting Kirkland
 Joel Pfundt manages the City of Kirkland Public Works Department's transportation division, and will present to Rotarians information on a variety of local and regional transportation projects that are expect to impact city of Kirkland residents and visitors.
Joel joined the city of Kirkland in May of 2016. He grew up in Bellingham, Washington and is a graduate of Western Washington University. He has worked in the transportation field for city, county, and regional government agencies for over 25 years. During his career, Joel has gained a broad base of knowledge and experience in transportation planning, engineering, maintenance, and operations. His professional experience ranges from developing long range transportation plans to construction project management. He is particularly interested in creating transportation systems that work for people and that help create great places. Joel also served on the Kirkland Transportation Commission for nine years, including serving as chair in 2012 and 2013.
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