Spokane Riverkeeper Bart Mihailovich’s speech at the City Forum
This is a great speech with many poignant observations and a strong reminder about the importance of the Spokane River. It was transcibed at the Center For Justice and I felt like sharing it in full here. Enjoy:
I would like to thank the Spokane City Forum and its sponsors for the opportunity to be here today. I take great pride in knowing that I’ll be part of a chapter in what is the great legacy of this series. So thank you for having me. I would also like to thank my colleagues from the Center for Justice for joining and supporting me today. I feel like the luckiest guy in Spokane to have been given the opportunity to work at the Center for Justice with people whom I’ve spent the better part of the last decade admiring and learning from. It’s inspiring to be around people with such passion for humanity and for social and environmental justice.
I’d also like to acknowledge Rick Eichstaedt who couldn’t be here today. Rick is an attorney at the Center working on Spokane River and land use issues. He’s been an incredible source of inspiration for me the last six months as I’ve grown into this new job and responsibility. And finally I’d like to acknowledge former City of Spokane Valley Councilman Dick Denneny who will be sharing this podium today.
I’d like to start by sharing a little bit about myself and how I ended up here today. I grew up in Butte, Montana, a hard-rock mining town with more than its fair share of environmental troubles, and even more than its fair share of pride and acceptance for what it is and who its people are. It is a place that has persevered and enjoyed epic highs and crushing lows. From Butte I took away a can-do attitude and a clear understanding that there are ecological balances that must be met. I’m a product of a large family with a deep appreciation for conservation and ecological respect. I was always taught to get the most out of two kinds of environment – the natural environment and the cultural environment.
Having done plenty of the former growing up in Montana, I chose to attend school out at Eastern Washington University for the later– a place I knew nothing about and with people I didn’t know at all – for an opportunity to try something totally new. I’ve always subscribed to the belief that one’s character is molded and strengthened by jumping right into the ring. I studied journalism in college and quickly discovered the power of words and my ability to get people interested in things I was interested in. Not looking for a traditional journalism career, I hatched a plan with a classmate and good friend Paul Dillon to start a blog about environmental issues in Spokane and the Inland Northwest. Having a single contact in the Spokesman-Review, we walked in there one day and pitched this idea with little more than a mission statement in our minds. We started the Down To Earth blog for the Spokesman-Review in May of 2007.
It’s impossible to be interested in environmental issues in Spokane and NOT fall madly in love with the story of the Spokane River. From its awe-inspiring discovery to neglect to resurgence, it’s a story and a purpose worthy of sticking around to see the next chapter. So that’s what I did. In August of 2010 I became the Spokane Riverkeeper, taking over a young program that Rick Eichstaedt started in 2009, and a program that still is very fresh in terms of Keepers associated with the international Waterkeeper Alliance. For me it was a dream job, an opportunity to work for environmental awareness and ecological justice; an opportunity to make the Spokane River, its tributaries, the watershed, the Spokane Aquifer and the surrounding cities and counties and tribes my main work objective. It was also an opportunity to give back to the environment for all it has given me and continues to give.?? And above all, it was an opportunity to join the now 190 other Keepers across the world who share one vision; and that is for fishable, swimmable and drinkable waterways worldwide. Together we are waterbody representatives, speaking for citizens who regard the river as public property and equate its protection with the protection of fundamental democratic values. We have faith in science and law and devotion to angling and recreation. We also have learned the important lesson that government cannot always be trusted to protect the environment.
The work of the Spokane Riverkeeper is the most fulfilling part of my life. Our country has problems with hate and crime and drugs and deception and war and injustice, but the way I figure it, clean water and clean air and a clean earth are the most important issues of all. It’s a matter of survival to protect what provides for us, THAT which is not renewable. And that is the Spokane River; my river, your river, our river.
A good friend of mine, Dr. Bill Youngs, who is the chair of the history department at EWU and author of the definitive history of Expo ’74 “The Fair and the Falls” recently told me that he has yet to lose an argument with anybody that the Spokane River is the most unique and beautiful city-surrounding river in the world. And Dr. Youngs is a well-traveled man. It’s a unique river in that offers so many variations in flow and surrounding landscape as it flows its 111 miles, a relatively short distance for rivers. Recreational opportunities on the Spokane River are extraordinary. Take it from someone who spent every Saturday and Sunday growing up on rivers in Montana. You can’t beat having a put-in spot ten-minutes from your home, 10 minutes from your work, and 10-minutes from first-class lodging, eating and entertainment.
But it wasn’t always this way. In the forties and fifties the Spokane River was an open sewer, a calculated loss for a growing community. There was no connection between the city and this resource that was the sole purpose for there even being a city. Fortunately things started changing. It took the vision of a group of business people who wanted to capitalize on the Spokane River, it took the energy and diligence of a one “King Cole,” it took the fortunate timing of the beginning of an environmental movement across the United States, and it took the will of business leaders and the community to make the Spokane River a political issue. It took Expo ’74, the World’s Fair.
From that moment on the Spokane River was celebrated. It was loved. Downtown Spokane was saved; it opened up, light shined in places that hadn’t seen light for decades. Expo ’74 attracted new energy to Spokane, new ideas. There was a direct and noticeable connection between the river and the city, the river and the community. There was great joy and revelation to the fact the Spokane River served both an environmental and economic benefit. And it still does.
Consider this. There was a designed decision to come up with a new motto for Spokane. The motto chosen by economic people in our community was, “Spokane: Near Nature Near Perfect.” The fact that business leaders in our community chose this is a perfect living example of what this resource means to our city. In short, the Spokane River became the city’s transformative natural resource, upon which it is currently building its cultural and economic future. And that’s the message I’d like to leave you with today. At first the river provided, then we took too much. We learned the moves for this fragile dance, then forgot and began to take too much again. What history clearly is telling us is that going backwards is not an option. Our investment in a cleaner, healthier river is an investment that pays us back ten-fold in terms of the economic, recreational and spiritual benefits that the river affords us. We know that now. We shouldn’t have to learn it again.
So how do I play a part in Preserving Spokane’s Natural Treasure? As the Spokane Riverkeeper I work to uphold and enforce the Clean Water Act. There are clean water standards in this country and those must be met, if they’re not, there needs to be accountability and compensation. So I strive to accomplish this. Whether that’s physically investigating potential pollution threats, reading up on facts and data of pollution sources, working with public and political figures to address issues, watchdogging meetings, discussions and committees, testifying in hearings so the Spokane River has a voice and always keeping my ears and eyes open for potential threats.??I have expectations, and I don’t think my expectations are unreasonable; environmental enforcement agencies should enforce environmental law and protect public health. The model of the Waterkeeper Alliance, and the model that all of the Keepers across the world adhere to is that when government agencies fail to act, citizens can seize the opportunity and take the law into their own hands to protect a public resource, such as the Spokane River. And that’s all it takes.??I’ve come to find that common sense and honesty, a willingness to read the law, and a strong sense of entitlement to a clean environment are the only necessary qualities for a good environmental advocate. Thankfully I know just where to look for those qualities. I work closely with Gonzaga’s Environmental Law Clinic, relying on their knowledge, experience and support, from the director down to the interns that work at the Center for Justice. I also rely on the experience of Rick Eichstaedt who I previously mentioned and the network of tireless river, shoreline and land advocates that I work alongside.
Then there is the community. I’m a public figure, a member of this community, and I’m not hard to find. I’m always available to take questions, hear concerns, and work as a conduit between the work that needs to be done and the citizens who want a clean river. My philosophy is that the protection and enjoyment of our community’s natural resources requires the daily vigilance of our citizens. The Spokane Riverkeeper and the Waterkeeper movement is an environmental neighborhood watch program, a citizen’s patrol to protect the nation’s waters. Keepers symbolize the ancient right of those owners to enforce the law and defend their home waters. A people’s inherent wealth lies in nature, fresh air, clean water and green places. Keepers are here to protect that wealth. I’m proud of the work we’ve been able to accomplish in our program’s short history. We’re working closely with the Department of Ecology on clean water enforcement strategies. We’re working with partners like Avista and Inland Empire Paper on current legislation that would go a long way in reducing phosphorus loads in our river. We’ve made connections with industry and policy makers to begin the long journey of cleaning up our Spokane River. And we’re working hard to make sure the community understands us and uses us a resource.
We can’t afford not to do this hard work. The Spokane River was here long before we all got here and I want to make sure it will be here long after we all leave. That’s all I’m trying to do. And though many victories have been won, the pressure from increasing population and development assures that the greatest battles lie ahead. I want to leave you with this saying to consider. It comes from Seneca Chief Oren Lyons.“It’s vanity to say we are protecting nature for the sake of the planet. The planet is four billion years old. Its crust is forty miles thick. It has survived freezing and warming and volcanoes and earthquakes. Nature will survive without us. But what will we be without nature.” I want to again thank the Spokane City Forum for the opportunity to speak here today. And I want to thank all of you for being here. If you want to continue this dialogue and learn more about the Spokane Riverkeeper program, the Waterkeeper Alliance, and clean water worldwide, please consider joining us on May 19th when Robert Kennedy Jr. will be in Spokane for a special evening for the Spokane Riverkeeper.
