Beginning on page 1, line 11, strike all material through "Resources." on page 3, line 11, and insert the following:

"WHEREAS, The Skagit River watershed is shared by British Columbia and the state of Washington, with the headwaters high in the mountains of the province where the watershed north of the border supplies thirty percent of the waters flowing into the Salish Sea; and

WHEREAS, The Skagit headwaters provide enormous environmental resource values to the whole watershed and the Pacific Northwest, including habitat for wildlife such as the grizzly bear, and spawning habitat for the endangered bull trout; and

WHEREAS, The state of Washington and the province of British Columbia both have roles to play in conserving the valuable resources and habitat in the Skagit River Watershed; and

WHEREAS, That concurrently with the United States and Canada High Ross Treaty in 1984, the province and the city of Seattle entered an agreement to enhance the recreational and environmental opportunities within the watershed on both sides of the border, and created the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission to work toward these objectives; and

WHEREAS, The Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission is led by four commissioners appointed by the province and four commissioners appointed by the city of Seattle; and

WHEREAS, Among the purposes of the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission is to seek the acquisition of mineral or timber rights consistent with conservation and recreational purposes, including the area of the "donut hole," lying between two parks created by the province to protect the upper watershed's conservation and recreational resources; and

WHEREAS, The potential of copper mining waste runoff poses severe danger to fish populations throughout the Skagit River, which supports the largest populations of threatened steelhead and Chinook salmon in the United States portion of the Salish Sea; and

WHEREAS, The company holding the mineral claims has a record of noncompliance with mine discharge standards; and

WHEREAS, The Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission seeks to acquire the mineral claims in order to ensure the permanent conservation of the upper Skagit watershed; and

WHEREAS, Numerous First Nations, tribes in the United States, the city of Seattle, and numerous conservation organizations have opposed the threat to the upper watershed's conservation and recreational values posed by mining in the donut hole; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature recognizes that mining is one of several activities that take place on both sides of the Canada – United States Border that potentially impact water quality and the health and recovery of salmon populations;

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the province work with the city of Seattle, tribes and First Nations, and the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission to prevent mining in the donut hole of the upper Skagit watershed, in order to ensure that the area's environmental and recreational resources are permanently protected.

BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable John Horgan, Premier of the province of British Columbia, to the Honorable Dr. Darryl Plecas, Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, to the Honorable Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, to the Honorable George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and to the Honorable Michelle Mungall, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources."