T182 That Signpost up Ahead: At the Crossroads of Geoscience and Society—A Public Policy Perspective II

Tuesday, 12 October 2021
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
B112

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

Paper number: T182-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:25 PM – 3:40 PM

Authors

Abstract

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.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 53, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2021AM-371343

© Copyright 2021 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.