Hey tweets, I both agree and (respectfully) disagree with Terry (see below). WSDOT is very hard of hearing, especially when it comes to citizens' concerns, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't let them hear from us. In fact, as I have said all along this tortuous path of restoring shorebird habitat to Montlake Fill, the more of us who speak up, the more likely we are to prevail. And we shouldn't necessarily think that speaking up once is enough. Why not send two letters to WSDOT, or more?

Having said that, it is also important to let the UW know that there is a substantial population of people who do care about this issue. Finding the right person to contact at the UW is a bit murky, however. Theresa Doherty is leaving (or has already left) her post as community liaison. Sally Clark now fills that position. However, when Rep. Gerry Pollet put together a meeting on June 12 with WSDOT, UW, Seattle Audubon, the Laurelhurst Community Club and aides to Sen. David Frockt and Rep. Jessyn Farrell, Sally Clark refused to attend (though by then she had assumed her UW post). She said Theresa Doherty was more conversant with this issue and should be the one to attend the meeting, which she did. At that meeting, by the way, Rep. Pollet asked that WSDOT and the UW agree to attend *another* meeting, this one with *all* the relevant agencies and property owners in attendance (including US Army Corps of Engineers and WA Dept. of Ecology, among others) so that we could all be on the same page with regard to what is and is not doable at the Fill to restore shorebird habitat. No more saying the equivalent of, "Sure I'd like to help but Joe over in xx department says my hands are tied."

Now that more than two months have passed since that meeting (and not a peep to us out of WSDOT or the UW), perhaps Sally Clark would be the one to contact at the UW. Or perhaps we need to step up our letter-writing to all these people, including our elected representatives, again. Wouldn't hurt. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com <mailto:constancesidles at gmail.com>


> On Aug 27, 2015, at 6:54 PM, madalama at comcast.net <mailto:madalama at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Joshua, WSDOT is a dead end for letters of this type. Your concerns should go to the UW, Theresa Doherty. I have been down this road myself and I hope you have better luck than me.The UW was part of the planning of the work and approved the final plans. They seem unwilling to believe that anyone could have a more "correct" view of the situation than them.
> Terry Dunning
>
> From: tweeters-request at mailman1.u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters-request at mailman1.u.washington.edu>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2015 20:42:59 -0700
> From: Joshua Glant <josh.n.glant at gmail.com <mailto:josh.n.glant at gmail.com>>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Letter to WSDOT - who do I address it to?
> To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
> Message-ID: <E738357F-F910-41AD-B24D-BC24B398EE80 at gmail.com <mailto:E738357F-F910-41AD-B24D-BC24B398EE80 at gmail.com>>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Hello Tweets,
>
> For an assignment in my Washington State history work, I have to write a letter to an appropriate official requesting action taken in an issue, and actually send it to them. Naturally, I decided to choose the shorebirds at Montlake Fill, because that is an issue that is personally meaningful and about which I am sufficiently knowledgeable.
>
> Question is, who do I address it to? And where do I send it? I will also check the petition site and skim through Tweeters for the info, but I would really appreciate a direct answer from a Tweeter who knows! Thanks!
>
> Good birding, Joshua Glant