Our longtime representative in Congress, Rick Larsen, represents many farmers who steward some of the most valuable and important farmland in the state. The Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda makes it clear that keeping our farms viable using productive farmland is one of the most important things we can do for the environment in Western Washington.

But over the past few years, our efforts to seek help from our representative seem to have fallen on deaf ears. We asked for help when farmers were confronted with the vicious, taxpayer-funded attack called “What’s Upstream.” Larsen refused to sign a bipartisan letter to the EPA director expressing concern that 145 of his Congressional colleagues signed. He even refused any public comment in support of farmers.

He worked for and took credit for getting Congress to support a nearly $500 million project called Puget Sound Nearshore Restoration Project. This called for farmers to sell irreplaceable farmland, but Larsen never bothered to ask farmers what they thought of this. He voted against a bill in 2016 aimed at preventing the EPA from spending money on another taxpayer-funded attack on farmers. When Skagit farmers were threatened by an effort of the Swinomish Tribe to greatly expand its jurisdiction, he curtly rejected our request for help.

Farmers and those who care about keeping our farmers need a representative in D.C. who is aware of our concerns, listens and does what he or she can to help. We still hope that can be our current representative.

Jason VanderKooy

Harmony Dairy

Mount Vernon