2026 March Newsletter!

It’s March, and we want to pause and acknowledge that there are numerous and immense tragedies happening locally and globally.

We also want to share some sorely needed positive news. Yesterday, the Oregon Senate passed HB 4134, the “1.25% for Wildlife” bill. “This landmark legislation is a labor of over a decade, and its success positions Oregon as a national leader in addressing species and habitat decline,” said Sristi Kamal, Deputy Director at Western Environmental Law Center.

Thank you to all who helped make this happen.

Before jumping into policy and team updates, we do have some sad news about our workshop space in the Rebuilding Center. After making it our home for the last 5 years, we just learned that the building is being sold and we will have to leave by June. We’re so grateful for the many, many, many amazing art builds, Action Nights, meetings, and parties we had in this space, and are now onto our next chapter. We’re looking for a new space in inner/central Portland (near transit) for Action Nights, art builds, a roost for our puppets and community gatherings.We’re on a nonprofit budget and love sharing space with aligned groups.

Have a lead? We’d love to hear from you. Reply to this email or reach out to us at Jessicavaughan@350PDX.org. Let’s build our next home for climate justice!

Climate Justice Policy

No Immunity for Big Oil Petition 

While we’re working with the Make Polluters Pay campaign to pass a Climate Resilience Superfund bill here in Oregon, some Big Oil lobbyists and members of Congress are trying to preempt these efforts and give fossil fuel companies total legal immunity from any laws or lawsuits that could hold them accountable for their role in the climate crisis.

The American Petroleum Institute — the largest oil and gas trade lobbying group in the U.S. — has announced that stopping state climate lawsuits and climate superfund laws is one of their top legislative priorities in 2026.

Sign this petition to tell our Oregon Congresspeople to protect our right to hold fossil fuel companies accountable!

Final Week of the Legislative Session

We’ve been keeping you updated with weekly emails about actions you can take in Oregon’s short legislative session. We’ll send out an end-of-session wrap up email next week. For now, check out our 2026 State Policy Priorities page to see what you can do to encourage positive climate bills this session.

Some PCEF Threats Thwarted…for Now

We can celebrate this month because PCEF supporters won a lawsuit, and Portland City Council approved community-driven PCEF funding choices! Should PCEF funds be used for Moda Center renovations? Not really, but that’s something we may have to address. Read more here!

Forest Defense Team

Coffee + Public Engagement Art

The Forest Defense Team has created an art exhibit of gorgeous state forest photos that can travel to coffee houses. To see the first installation, stop by Rose City Coffee Company (3370 SE Milwaukie Ave, Portland, OR 97202). The goal is to raise public awareness and remove timber companies’ social license to clearcut 100-year old state-managed forests – critical for habitat, carbon management, and human health. Visit the exhibit and tell your friends!  About the exhibit: photos were taken by 350PDX Arts Team volunteer Zoe Foxe on 2025 in the Clatsop State Forest near Astoria. Volunteers thrifted frames, and drafted prose to accompany the pieces. If you have an idea of where this exhibit should travel next, reach out to Tyler@350pdx.org

Interested in learning more about the clear cutting done on state forest land? Join the Forest Defense team on Sunday, March 22nd at 9:00am for an easy 1 mile walk through the mature forest on Powell Butte. This is a mostly flat trail, suitable for kids or those less keen for a hike. Meet at the Powell Butte Trailhead for the Dogwood and Huckleberry trail near SE Gladstone Street and SE 148th Avenue. More info on the 350PDX calendar.

Fossil Fuel Resistance Team

Our next meeting is in person at the 350PDX office on Tuesday, March 10 at 5:30pm. Join us to learn about our campaigns to fight for a drawdown of fuels at the CEI Hub and to fight the expansion of energy-hungry data centers. RSVP to the meeting by emailing Dineen: dineen@350pdx.org.

Rumble on the River: Rigged for Ruin – Methane: An Accelerating Threat to Health and Climate

The 29th Rumble on the River community forum is happening on Tuesday, March 24 at the Portland Association of Teachers Office (345 NE 8th Ave).

For the past two decades, communities in the Northwest have defeated fracked gas export terminals. Despite these successes, the “natural” gas industry continues to push their product. Come learn about methane’s many harms and alternatives to its use.

Doors and Info Tables at 5:30pm, Panel at 6:30pm. No need to RSVP, just come and join us!

Earth Day Celebration! 

Save the date for Portland’s cornerstone celebration of planet earth: the Earth Day Celebration and Parade! Saturday, April 25  at Sunnyside Environmental School.

Join 350PDX, Making Earth Cool, Sunnyside Environmental School, SOLVE, and others for a vibrant, inclusive, and impactful day. We will begin with a gathering on the grounds of Sunnyside Environmental School for music, speakers, tabling, action stations, face painting, and a costume competition!  Then we parade: a colorful procession winding through the Sunnyside neighborhood, featuring giant puppets, marching bands, singing, and dancing. Sign up to volunteer to help make this event another huge success!

Arts Team

photo: Irene Tejaratchi Hess

On February 17, the 350PDX Arts Team, Puppets for Climate Justice, and 50 wonderful puppeteers took to the streets to parade for climate justice and awareness in North Portland’s Mardi Gras parade. See pictures and video here!  The crowd cheered on our heron, beavers, butterflies, salmon, new spotted owls, and a giant white owl. Our trees danced and the river puppet zigzagged in an epic celebration of our Earth.

And there will be more, of course. If you come to our Sunday Art Build on March 8, 1:00-4:00pm, you can see how we can use art to create awareness of climate issues. We’ll finish some puppets, do maintenance on others, and begin new important projects for the Earth Day parade on April 27.

Please let Donna know if you can attend Sunday’s Art Build: Murph1949@aol.com

Book Club

The 350PDX Book Club meets every month on the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30pm. Every other month is in person and the others are virtual. Reach out to books@350PDX.org with any questions or to join our list, and please RSVP so we can inform you of any meeting changes! Note: We are not meeting in March. See you in April! Details below.

Join our next gathering on Wednesday, April 1 at 6:30pm at the 350PDX Office. We’ll discuss Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.

Save the date for our next meetings:Wednesday, May 6 at 6:30pm (Virtual) – Book to be selected in April

• Wednesday, June 3 at 6:30pm (350PDX Office) – Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future by Gloria Dickie

• Wednesday, July 1 at 6:30pm (Virtual) – Book to be selected in June

 

350PDX Washington County Team

Our next gathering will be our regular monthly online meetup at 6:30pm on Tuesday, March 10. We’ll be reporting on bills in the 2026 Oregon Legislature and are in conversation with the City of Hillsboro with regard to putting on a second Electrification and Sustainability Fair in Hillsboro/Washington County in July.

We always welcome newcomers to our events and to our monthly online meetings (6:30pm on the second Tuesday of the month). For the link, join us here or contact us at 350washco@gmail.com.

Some Extra Cheer! 

Celebrate: heat pumps in new homes!

Thanks in part to our advocacy in 2023 with the Building Resilience coalition, the building code was just upgraded to require heat pumps for heating and cooling in all new homes in Oregon. We’re making a difference together! Read more!

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Thank you for reading our monthly newsletter. We hope to see you soon!

With gratitude,

Cherice, Dineen, Irene, Jessica, and Noelle

p.s. If you couldn’t make it to last week’s Action Night: The Dangers of Tear Gas, you can read about it here!