Smith is an advocate for our fragile wildlife | Letter to the editor

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I am the secretary of the Environmental Committee for the Cape George Community and a volunteer for the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.

It is rare to find an individual who cares deeply about our native wildlife and our fragile environment, who has fought to protect them her entire life, and is willing to step forward and run for public office. Every day we read about another iconic species facing the real possibility of extinction. We read about habitat loss and fragmentation. Too few individuals are willing to step forward and testify in Olympia and Washington, D.C. to save our native species. 

Lorna Smith has spent a career doing just that, both as a professional and as a wildlife citizen advocate. 

Lorna has headed the nonprofit Western Wildlife Outreach working with farmers, hunters, legislators and wildlife advocates to promote tolerance and understanding for large carnivores, namely bears, and cougars. Her work includes promoting techniques for safely living and recreating where these animals live, promoting coexistence between people, wildlife and livestock. 

Her approach has been remarkably successful in bringing diverse parties together to better understand and appreciate these animals, and the essential role they play in ecosystems throughout the Northwest. It’s a side of Lorna I have not seen mentioned often enough, but deserves highlighting. 

A vote for Lorna Smith for county commissioner is a vote for healthy ecosystems and our native wildlife.

Ruth Ross
PORT TOWNSEND