I was one of nearly 300 Wild Olympics supporters who came out on short notice to celebrate the recent introduction of the Wild Olympics legislation into Congress. If you didn’t know otherwise, you would have thought the crowd was cheering on a Seahawks trip to the Super Bowl. 

At the center of this group of passionate supporters of protecting our remaining Wild Olympics was Rep. Derek Kilmer. I am thrilled that after much thoughtful deliberation, he expressed his support for the current Wild Olympics legislation because of its balance and place in the peninsula’s economic future.

Two members of Port Townsend High School’s Students for Sustainability attended the celebration to meet with Kilmer and make a connection before they head to Washington, D.C., in March. Their trip involves lobbying for climate action so they will be taking public transportation round trip to use less CO2, including eight days on the train. They were excited to know that the Wild Olympics will have a number of benefits, including sequestering CO2 to help bring our warming planet back to a livable level for them and their children.

They were delighted to speak with Rep. Kilmer and found him to be engaging, warm and supportive. They said he gave them an entirely new image of our congressional representatives. 

We are so fortunate to have individuals like Rep. Kilmer and Sen. Patty Murray representing us in Congress.

LAURA TUCKER

Port Townsend