Pesticide Coalitions and Outreach - OPAWG

The Merck Foundation provided start-up funding for Oregon Toxics Alliance to form the organizational leadership for Lane County’s Oregon Pesticide Action Working Group (OPAWG). Our goal is to address the ecological destruction and injury to life caused by herbicide drift and run-off.

OPAWG has identified the following priorities for action:

1. framing pesticides as a human rights issue
2. schools and children's health
3. roadside spraying
4. finding alternatives to pesticides (IPM/IVM)
5. promoting last resort policies
6. rural outreach and coalition building

OPAWG members meet once per month. The meetings are open to the public and usually held on a Friday in the middle of the month. Contact Oregon Toxics Alliance for exact details.

In addition to Oregon Toxics Alliance, OPAWG's partners include:

1. Concerned Citizens for Clean Air
2. Forestland Dwellers
3. The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
4. Pesticide Action Network
5. and more than 20 individuals associated with key governmental and non-profit organizations.