LARRY PAULSON APPOINTED TO GOVERNOR’S CLIMATE ADVISORY TEAM (4/5/07)

For Immediate Release

VANCOUVER, Wash.-The Port of Vancouver’s efforts in the area of responsible environmental stewardship have not gone unnoticed by Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire.

The governor has appointed Port of Vancouver Executive Director Larry Paulson to her Climate Advisory Team, which met for the first time on March 30, 2007. This team is charged with providing guidance to the governor and her staff in terms of policy and strategy in order to achieve the goals she established in Executive Order 07-02.

“We have all seen the science and we must increase our efforts to respond,” Gregoire said. “We have an opportunity in Washington to work together to find solutions that reduce our state contribution to climate pollution, move away from our dependence on foreign oil and grow a clean energy economy. I am grateful for the commitment of the advisory team members and look forward to the Climate Change Challenge recommendations.”

In February 2007, the governor outlined the challenges – in the form of an executive order – that climate change poses for Washington, and steps already being taken to limit it. The departments of Ecology and Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) were directed to build the Climate Advisory Team as the lead on this effort.

The Port of Vancouver has adopted a mission to provide the community with family-wage jobs through global trade and commerce, while pursuing aggressive local environmental protection. The port has made a concentrated and effective effort to make improvements where possible and mitigate those areas that have suffered from port activities. The Port performs environmental stewardship with due diligence before it becomes an issue or requirement.

Paulson is the only representative of ports on the 21-person panel, and the only Southwest Washington member. Before joining the Port of Vancouver, he served as the primary attorney to the Port beginning in 1992 when he was with the law offices of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, where he focused his practice on public agency and workers’ compensation law. In addition to his law career, Paulson rose from the enlisted to ranks to that of Brigadier General in the Oregon Air National Guard where his last position was Chief of Staff and Commander for the Air National Guard State Headquarters. He retired from the Oregon Air National Guard in 1999, after serving over 31 years.

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The Port of Vancouver, USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

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