GRASSROOTS COMPAIGN TO SAVE OREGON DEPT. OF GEOLOGY AND MINERAL INDUSTRIES IN 2021 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

When Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) was threatened with elimination in the governor’s budget, a grassroots campaign to save the agency was led by an 86-year-old group of amateurs and professional geologists: the Geological Society of the Oregon Country (GSOC). An outpouring of support from geoscientists, emergency managers, members of the general public, legislators, industry representatives, and the NAACP, restored the agency, albeit at a suboptimal funding level. Despite playing a leading role in seismic resilience efforts for more than twenty years, in a state facing a potentially catastrophic Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, DOGAMI has seen its dedicated staffing in that area cut and only partly restored. This process offers a compelling example of the role of individuals and professional societies in advancing geoscience policy and the importance of engaging in local and state policy, as well as the links between hazards policy and environmental justice.