WOW!

So many of you wrote to me on the heels of yesterday's Beet Box asking how you could help, given the slew of challenges we're facing at the local, state and national level right now. Thank you to each and every one of you for caring, and for reaching out to help!

Here are three things you can do right now at the county, state and national level:

County Level:

Join or support the Kalmiopsis Audubon Society (KAS). This is our local Audubon chapter, but it's not all about birds. Led by the incredible Ann Vileisis (volunteer mayor of Port Orford, author, and tireless conservation activist), KAS has served as the primary conservation advocacy group in Curry County for the last 40 years, educating and organizing for the wise stewardship of our rivers, forests and natural resources here on the Southcoast. Four-hundred members strong, KAS helps inform and rally people around critical issues affecting this place we all love. Ann sends out a monthly "Hoot Out" email, which is full of excellent info, events, and calls to action. It's the best way to stay in the loop on important County issues, and to become part of a strong network of locals who care deeply about the Southcoast. There are a lot of concerning things going on at the county level right now (budget shortfalls, a missing $2.2 million dollars of federal grant money, and a proposal to unconstitutionally take over all the federal lands in the county). We need more voices and hands on deck. There will be a slew of new info on the KAS website in the next two days detailing the Curry County Board of Commissioners federal lands takeover proposal, and next steps to move the county in a more productive direction. Ann, who puts in 80 hours a week between mayoral work and KAS, is toiling as we speak to get the website up to date with the all the latest, so check in there this weekend  (and join KAS while you're at it: https://kalmiopsisaudubon.org/)!

State Level:

Support Friends of Family Farmers. They are the statewide organization doing the most to advocate for farms like ours, lobbying for legislative solutions to some of the most pressing issues farmers face in Oregon right now - water, small scale meat processing, and access to land and capital. You can donate and/or sign up for their newsletter. They are holding their annual "Small Farms Mean Business" Rally Day at the capitol next TUESDAY, MARCH 4th! If you can get yourself to Salem, it will be a great opportunity to learn about the issues, adovocate for family farms, and meet with our legislators. Register here!

National Level:

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is taking action on the federal funding freeze on behalf of farmers and the communities we feed. NSAC is collecting our stories and has an action button to make it easy to email our representatives in DC about this issue right now. It takes less than 3 minutes! Congress is failing our farms: tell your Reps to take action now!

Thanks everyone for making our voice stronger!