Last week, Standing for Nature had the honor of joining the Tulalip Tribes for their Earth Day celebration, held in the lead-up to American Wetlands Month. We are deeply grateful to the Tulalip Natural Resources team and the broader community for welcoming us to participate, share our work, and learn alongside so many dedicated stewards.
Walking the room was a quiet reminder of how much expertise lives in this region. Each table offered something substantive: wetland monitoring methods, hydrology basics, plant identification, the ecological role of beavers, the carbon-storing power of peatlands and mangroves, and the simple, striking framing of wetlands as “the kidneys of the Earth.”
Forty percent of the world’s species live or breed in wetlands. Restored wetlands act as sponges against flooding. Healthy wetlands filter the water that sustains fisheries, communities, and ecosystems alike. These are the systems our region depends on, and the Tulalip Tribes have long been at the forefront of protecting them.
The hospitality matched the substance. The wild salmon served throughout the day was a tangible expression of what is at stake when we talk about clean water, intact habitat, and ecological infrastructure. Salmon are the through-line of this region’s ecology, economy, and cultural life. Sharing that meal in a room full of people working to protect the conditions that make it possible was a moment we will carry with us.
This is the kind of gathering that grounds the rights of nature movement. The legal recognition of ecosystems as rights-bearing entities is a relatively new framework in Western law, but the underlying understanding has been carried by tribal nations across this continent for generations. Wetlands, rivers, and salmon runs are living systems with their own integrity, and the law is slowly catching up to what tribal scientists, leaders, and communities have always known.
Thank you to the Tulalip Tribes for the hospitality, the generosity, and the example you continue to set. Standing for Nature is honored to stand alongside you in this work.
We can’t wait for next year!
About Standing for Nature: Standing for Nature is a Washington-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing public education and legal advocacy for the rights of ecosystems and natural entities. Learn more at standingfornature.org.
