Hilary is a fierce defender of Washington’s coast and Puget Sound. When Donald Trump tried to open Washington’s coast to offshore oil drilling, Hilary refused to allow any pipelines or drilling equipment to cross our public coastline.
In 2023, Hilary banned aquatic net pens from our waters, including the net pen cages near Bainbridge Island and in Port Angeles Harbor. Today, despite years of corporate lawsuits, there are no more net pens in Washington’s waters, making Washington a global leader in the fight to restore our waters to wild fish and protect aquatic habitat.
As Commissioner, she has implemented bold solutions that put Washington at the forefront of salmon recovery, including restoring 5,000 miles of salmon habitat by removing fish passage barriers, securing funding and agreement to restore Whiteman Cove back to a tidal estuary; conserving and recovering 10,000 acres of kelp and eelgrass habitat; securing tens of millions of dollars to remove derelict boats (resulting in more than 900 abandoned vessels being removed from our waters), developing the first ever Kelp and Eelgrass Preserve, removing deep water derelict fishing nets in an innovative partnership with the U.S. Army, and creating the largest aquatic conservation easement in the world – a 2,400 acre zone on Hood Canal.
Hilary also worked with the state legislature to significantly expand water cleanup initiatives that have removed more than 25,000 tons of toxic materials and structures, including in the district at the Dickman Mill Park in Tacoma and the Lakebay Marina.
In Congress, she will continue to defend our waters by bringing home federal funding for salmon habitat restoration, infrastructure improvements, taking action against cancer-causing forever chemicals (PFAS), and protecting the Clean Water Act from congressional interference.
