Board of Directors

Dedicated people willing to unmask the corporate corruption in our communities.

 

 

 

John Hunter - Douglas Co. (The Umpqua, Coos and the Rogue)

John moved from Calif. to Oregon almost 50 years ago. He as always preferred being outdoors and consequently has worked as a reforestation contractor as well as general contractor.
Preventing the dominate culture from destroying the natural world has always been his priority. It was the clear cut logging of Dave Busenbark Park in 2015  that provided the spark for his activism. Since then he has been active in local county political issues and was on the Board of Directors of the Umpqua Watersheds for  2+ years. He is Pres. of Community Rights Douglas County and has been on the ORCRN Board since the spring of 2020.

David Tvedt - Lane Co. (Kalapuyua lands)

David has been active in forest and environmental campaigns since the 1970s and human rights and social issue campaigns since the 1980s. In 2012 he went to Democracy School (sponsored by CELDF- Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund) and attended Community Rights events as they began in Lane County a little later.  He first started on the Steering Committee for Freedom from Aerial Herbicides Alliance, helping write the initiative, gathering signatures and working on getting the initiative on the ballot.  Then in 2016, he joined the Steering Committee of Community Rights Lane County (CRLC) and has been on it since.  David became more involved with the Oregon Community Rights Network in the last several years and joined the Board of Directors at the start of 2022.

Debra Fant - Lincoln Co. (she/her)

Debra moved to coastal Lincoln County from the midwest in 1980, raising family and providing community health nursing care amidst timber harvesting but was clueless as to the practices of toxic spray following clear cuting until awakened by seeing the film “Behind The Emerald Curtain.” The recognition of damaging and dangerous practices triggered anger, despair and a need to do something about it as many of her patients were living with and dying of chronic illness such as Parkinsons, Alzheimer and other dementias, cancers, diabetes and heart/lung issues.
Lincoln County Community RIghts was in active campaign mode (2016) for what was a successfully passed  citizen law to ban aerial pesticide spray in 2017 and Debra jumped in and began a steep learning curve about toxic chemical exposures and response, logging practices, tree plantations being quite different from true forest, and Community RIghts form of activism  by changing law to honor local decision making.  She has been active in the LCCR board, has animated The Lorax in local parades and events, learned much about legal systems and preemption as the ballot measure that passed by the will of the voters of Lincoln County made its way through appellate court and was rejected by Oregon Supreme Court as “un-interesting.”  She joined the ORCRN board in 2023 and persists in educating the public as to industry’s dis-information, research findings re: toxic exposures, engages in weekly protests to raise awareness of local timber activity and the impacts on watershed function for both quality and quantity for clear clean drinking water along the Oregon coast where communities of indigenous peoples (Alsi-a,Yakon, and Salish) lived and later
served as internment camp for displaced southern OR tribal people after the local Trail of Tears travesty.

 

In Remembrance....

audreyJosephine County

Audrey Moore (RIP - you're missed Audrey!!)

(Deceased 04/2015)

I’m simply a woman, who is a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother whose life took an abrupt turn in January of 2011 when I went from retiree to activist, advocate and defender of life. The shift took place when  learning Atrazine was going to be sprayed by helicopter on 70 private acres of timber land owned by our local mill,  less than two miles from my home. What began was a journey of research and discovery.  What was Atrazine? More importantly, how was it possible helicopters were allowed to spray toxic chemicals into residential neighborhoods in Oregon? Friends and neighbors formed a group and named ourselves Precious Dirt, our original goal being to bring public awareness to these practices.

After years of working ‘within the system’, what we now call the ‘Box’, we realized we the people have zero rights when it comes to these toxic applications. In Oregon the powers to be crafted a law called The Right to Farm and Forest Act, which is nothing more than yet another preemptive law taking away local rights of citizens. In this case to resist toxic applications, while giving the power to the corporations and our state to freely use these practices.
Thank goodness after three years of seeking help we discovered CELDF (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund) and created the Freedom from Pesticides Alliance. Our hope was to craft an initiative to give citizens the right to say no to these toxic practices. We lost our first attempt, but have by no means given up the fight to protect our right to say no to the toxic trespass this state has wrought against its citizens for far too long. The health of our air, water, and soil, and bodies is critical to the health of our communities and future.  The miracle of life is in urgent need of protection---hence our work.