At Audubon, we know that protecting birds means protecting the earth through promoting clean air, clean water, healthy habitats, and resilient communities. Guided by Audubon’s Healthy Birds Healthy Planet framework, our 2026 legislative priorities respond to an increasingly complex moment, with a state budget shortfall and growing climate impacts.
With your help, Audubon will advance policies that protect birds in 2026, while supporting climate solutions, ecosystem resilience, and communities across Washington.
Read our priorities below and check out the progress and actions you can take in our Bill Tracker.
Audubon Washington’s 2026 Policy Focus Areas:
Protecting Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
Toxic contaminants in our marine waters build up through the food web and effect the health of local seabirds like Rhinoceros Auklets. Ships calling on Washington state ports are currently required to use low-sulfur fuels, yet many bypass this regulation by using cleaning systems known as scrubbers to clean the toxic contaminants out of their exhaust using seawater. More than 80% of scrubbers dump the polluted seawater back into the ocean and inland waters. This discharge contains heavy metals and other toxic contaminants that threaten water quality, public health, marine economies and fish and wildlife. Audubon Washington is supporting legislation that would close this loophole and reduce air and water pollution from ocean-going vessels and improve marine ecosystem health.
--->Policy Focus: HB 1652 / SB 5519 Reducing environmental impacts associated with the operation of certain ocean-going vessels
Climate and Clean Energy Infrastructure
Audubon’s 2023 report, Birds and Transmission: Building the Grid Birds Need, lays out why we need to rapidly upgrade the transmission grid to transition to a clean energy economy and avoid the worst impacts of climate change for birds and people. We understand the risks birds face from a rapid transmission build-out, but there are well-tested solutions that can be implemented to alleviate these. Audubon is supporting legislation first introduced in 2025 aimed at improving the capacity and reliability of Washington’s electric transmission system.
--->Policy Focus: SB 5466 Improving reliability and capacity of the electric transmission system in Washington state
Sustaining Wildlife Conservation Through Stable Funding
Bird conservation depends on sustained investments in habitat management and wildlife research and monitoring, which is why are a long-time champion for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) budget. Audubon Washington is working with partners to explore long-term funding solutions for the Department that provide stability for wildlife management and habitat protection. In the meantime, we will continue to track opportunities to support these goals in the 2026 legislative session.
--->Policy Focus: Short- and Long-term funding solutions for WDFW
Working in Coalition: Environmental Priorities for 2026
Audubon Washington is a proud member of the Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC), a partnership of more than 25 statewide environmental organizations. In 2026, the Coalition is working together to advance the following legislative priorities:
Protecting Climate and Environmental Health Funding
With the state budget shortfall, dedicated climate and environmental funding sources are at risk. These investments represent a small share of the overall state budget, yet they deliver outsized benefits like cleaner air and water that benefit people and backyard birds like Dark-eyed Juncos, lower energy bills, and create well-paying jobs. Audubon Washington is working with our partners to ensure climate and environmental funds are used for their intended purposes: reducing pollution and protecting communities.
---> Policy Focus: Protect dedicated climate and environmental funding from cuts or diversions
Restoring Wildfire Resilience Funding
Wildfire is a natural part of our landscape, but increasingly large and severe fires are not. Washington’s investments in wildfire resilience are working to improve forest health, bolster support for firefighters, and invest in more prepared communities. However, recent budget cuts have reduced the Legislature’s prior funding commitment, threatening to reverse progress even now as wildfire risk grows. Audubon Washington supports restoring full funding to ensure forests, habitat, and communities remain resilient.
--->Policy Focus: Restore full funding to the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account.
Data Centers, Environmental Protection, and Affordability
The rapid expansion of data centers presents both risks and opportunities. Without safeguards, these facilities can strain energy systems, raise costs for ratepayers, and impact air, water, and habitat. With the right policies, Washington can hold data centers to high environmental and community standards while fostering innovation.
--->Policy Focus: Advance data center policies that:
• Protect climate and clean energy goals
• Safeguard ratepayers and grid reliability
• Minimize impacts to communities and natural resources
• Maximize community benefits
Bottles and Cans Recycling Refund Act
Increasing our recycling rates is a win-win for birds and people. Reducing the amount of waste in our landfills is good for the planet and recycling also helps wildlife by reducing their risk of ingesting unsafe materials. Beverage containers are a major source of litter across Washington and only 30% of them are recycled. Bottle bills are an effective way to boost these rates - a refundable deposit on beverage containers promotes recycling, which in turn reduces waste and keeps plastics and aluminum out of habitats.
--->Policy Focus: The Recycling Refund Act establishes a 10-cent refundable deposit on most beverage containers to reduce litter and increase recycling.
These priorities reflect Audubon Washington’s commitment to protecting birds while advancing climate solutions, resilient ecosystems, and thriving communities. To succeed, we need people like you across the state to contact your legislators. Join Audubon Washington’s Action Network to receive timely updates and opportunities to take action on the policies that matter most.
Follow our progress in the Bill Tracker!
