Timber companies in Oregon routinely spray their forest lands with hazardous chemicals such as Glyphosate, Atrazine and 2,4-D (an ingredient in Agent Orange) to prevent competitive plant growth after a clear-cut. Due to drift from aerial spraying these chemicals “trespass”, contaminating surface and groundwater, livestock, crops, and people.
Spraying by ground and air has increased 17% since 2010, continuing to threaten wildlife, our precious watersheds, and the health of every Oregonian. Hope in the Oregon Legislature all but died due to the dominance of corporate-paid lobbyists. Forest spraying regulation leaves only a worthless 60ft buffer around homes and schools.
The Right to Farm and Forest Act shields timber companies against liability for the harm they cause as long as they are following what are “generally-accepted practices” including the aerial spraying of herbicides near populated areas. Because of this Act, Oregonians have no legal recourse to sue timber companies, or the State, for the impact on the health of community members or damage to their property.
To combat this ongoing practice by timber companies, the Citizens for a Healthy County has drafted a Community Rights-based charter amendment to ban the aerial spraying of herbicides in Lincoln County, Oregon. Our work benefits from the assistance of The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), which works with communities throughout the country to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their residents and the natural environment, and to establish environmental and economic sustainability.
Citizens for a Healthy County is an organization of concerned residents who have filed a citizen’s initiative to ban aerial spraying of pesticides in Lincoln county. Our initiative, entitled “Freedom of Lincoln County from Aerially-Sprayed Pesticides” will be on the May 2017 ballot. It will let the people of Lincoln County decide whether to allow this dangerous practice to continue where they live and breathe.
Still have more questions? Worried about what you have heard about the ordinance? Please get informed click on this link to view our Myths, Mistruths & Misinformation page.
If you still have more questions contact us we are real local people in your community and we are here to help you understand all of this.
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Video’s to watch:
Carol Van Strum, resident of the Five Rivers area of Lincoln County, is the author of A Bitter Fog. Her book is a poignant documentary about the suffering of herself, her family and neighbors and their land which occurred from poisons sprayed on them from the air in the 1980’s …and her research that followed affirming the threats to human and environmental health from industrial profiteering.
Drift was created in the Winter of 2015 by students enrolled in the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon. This film was created in collaboration with residents of Gold Beach, Oregon after a terrible incident of pesticide contamination of a community. This film examines the implications of statewide use of aerial herbicide spray on private timberland.
4 minute movie about clear cutting and aerial spraying in Oregon
video about coastal watersheds in Oregon
This is a great video that talks about recreation jobs / and water sheds being ruined in a small community in Oregon. This is in our northern coast of Rock Away Beach here is a link.
News Stories to read:
http://www.hcn.org/issues/46.19/timberland-herbicide-spraying-sickens-a-community
Timberland herbicide spraying sickens a community — a sad news story from Gold Beach Oregon. This is the story of a small community like ours that was sprayed from a helicopter right in the middle of the day. Such “accidents” are happening more and more around Oregon.
News Story about herbicide exposure.
There are many news stories about the issue here in Oregon. Here is a story of pesticide drift from a forester’s prospective.
Radio show to listen to:
Hear the latest Living on Earth radio report on Triangle Lake
powerful quote from the show:
“FENTON: There is a very small window of time during pregnancy during which these herbicides, atrazine and its metabolites, can actually affect the breast. And it can affect it into adulthood. It can affect lactation. So it can affect the ability of the mom to provide nutrients to her offspring. In a child and an infant, the gland, the organ in the body may not be well formed, or mature. And as it’s being exposed, it’s changing its life course, the path it’s going to take for the rest of its life.”
Here is a link to a website that has a lot of information on the problem. www.lincolncountycommunityrights.org
What can you do to help with the campaign?
Please sign up on our Join Icon so that we can keep you informed of our campaign.
▪ Please Donate! Our success will depend heavily on our ability to reach as many Lincoln County voters as possible. Please
spread the word. Your donations will help us reach our goal of urging and succeeding in getting people out to VOTE “YES” ON MEASURE 21-177!
▪ Volunteer to help out on the campaign. We need a lot of people to add power to our voice in this coming election. You can volunteer on our website!
▪ Attend CHC meetings and workshops. Meetings are normally held Thursday evenings in the rear conference room of the Newport Umpqua Bank, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Contact us prior to coming to be informed of occasional changes in location and time.
▪ Support/endorse our Freedom from Aerially-Sprayed Pesticides Ordinance of Lincoln County.
▪ Join our e-mail list for updates on our work and related information.
Please sign up on our Join Icon so that we can keep you informed of our campaign.