Oregon’s Environmental Justice Landscape

Produced by Alaí Community Consulting, LLC

As a partner of the Northwest Environmental Justice Center, Alaí Community Consulting developed a scan of Oregon’s environmental justice landscape. The hope is that this scan will enable us to conduct more effective outreach throughout the state and give communities who may have limited capacity to engage, yet would benefit the most, increased access to the Center’s services. The scan provides an overview of what environmental justice communities have identified as technical assistance, training, and storytelling needs via published reports, websites, newsletters, webinars, and other available materials. A scan that honors the specific priorities of tribal governments is in-progress.

We tried our best to be exhaustive and inclusive, and we gladly welcome suggestions from communities, organizations, and others regarding what we should include in future editions. We live in a state rich in environmental justice leadership and initiatives. We seek to do our best to document and amplify their work.

Here is a preview of our findings:

The ACC team at the Northwest Environmental Justice Center's launch event in April 2024.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) and coalitions are supporting environmental justice communities across Oregon in the following ways:

1. Supporting communities through economic development, housing access, and transportation reform;

2. Working to address systemic inequalities, sustain cultural connections, and provide direct support to communities;

3. Supporting Latinx communities through worker advocacy, regenerative agriculture, and community capacity building;

4. Helping communities execute a just transition to clean energy;

5. Helping communities navigate wildfire recovery and preparedness while providing funding, culturally competent outreach, and support during emergencies; and

6. Identifying and addressing water justice needs.

While many CBOs and communities are concerned about or actively working on climate and environmental justice initiatives, broader systemic challenges like economic inequality, housing insecurity, and other health challenges remain threshold concerns for many communities. Many of the needs expressed by organizations target basic needs (e.g., financial support, housing access, access to clean water, or safety during emergencies).

Many communities and associated needs are intersectional, involving multifaceted issues or identities. Assistance navigating and securing funding opportunities is a commonly expressed need, both for direct support or for organizational capacity building.

Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) working directly with environmental justice (EJ) communities throughout Oregon have identified or expressed needs in the following broad areas:

Oregon Water Justice Network, Annual Retreat, 2024

• Economic justice

• Worker rights and protections

• Tax prep and education

• Legal protection

• Advocacy capacity and community building

• Housing and transportation justice

• Healthcare and wellbeing

• Youth/education resources

• Climate resilience and clean energy

• Wildfire preparedness and recovery

• Water justice

Here are tools that have been productive for us to identify environmental justice communities in Oregon:

1. EJScreen

2. Inflation Reduction Act Disadvantaged Communities Map

3. Climate Change Resource Center

4. Climate and Economic Justice Screen Tool

5. Oregon Environmental Justice Council and Mapping Tool

6. Tree Equity Score

7. Tribal Climate Change Guide

Next Steps:

Our scan includes community-based organizations working with many environmental justice communities across Oregon in need of support securing resources to help community members meet basic needs (e.g., economic stability, food security, water, and housing access). Communities also need support preparing for environmental emergencies, especially wildfires, that are exacerbated by the climate crisis.

Several CBOs are focusing program work on wildfire preparedness and recovery, transitioning to clean energy, and urban gardening programs to gain climate resilience. Overall, CBOs express a need for greater capacity and organizational resources to ensure communities continue to receive the support they need. We are already connecting with CBOs and others named in the scan through one-on-one conversations, information sharing, and event attendance. Conversations with those individuals may help identify additional needs and individuals or organizations to engage. Conversations will bring to light priorities amongst communities, resources to develop, workshops to host, or other ways in which to help connect environmental justice communities across Oregon with technical assistance, training, and storytelling support offered by the NWEJC.