Next week in Portland, Wall Street investors, huge timber corporations, biomass & carbon offset companies, and other big polluters will gather for the annual “Who Will Own the Forest?” conference at the World Forestry Center. In Oregon, logging is the single largest source of climate pollution, and 70% of logging happens on privately owned forestlands. Increasingly, these forests are owned by big Wall Street investors, whose priority is to maximize shareholder profit. After a summer of record-smashing heatwaves, droughts, floods, and fires — it’s clear we need to protect our forests and manage them for the benefit of communities and climate, not shareholder profit.
Join us Sept 27 and 28 in protesting the “Who Will Own the Forest” conference and hosting our own event — Forests Over Profits!
PROTEST THE ‘WHO WILL OWN THE FOREST?’ CONFERENCE
Wednesday, Sept 27 @ 12:00pm
World Forestry Center (4033 SW Canyon Rd, Portland)
Join us in showing Wall Street elites that when they sacrifice our forests, climate, and communities just to increase their profits, we fight back.
There will be speakers, music, marching bands, theatrical performances, art & creative resistance, and more. Come out to show these Wall Street elites — and our political decision-makers — that Oregonians will rise up to protect our communities from corporate, profit-drive, extractive forest management.
JOIN THE ‘FORESTS OVER PROFITS?’ CONFERENCE
Thursday, Sept 28 @ 10:00am-5:30pm
First Unitarian Church of Portland (1211 SW Main St, Portland)
Join us for “Forests Over Profits,” a grassroots conference where we’ll talk about true, community-driven alternatives to corporate forest management. Speakers & panelists will share approaches to forest management that support ecosystems, empower communities, and grow climate resilience — including Indigenous land management systems, community forestry & land trusts, and other sustainable forest management practices.
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
TONIGHT, Wednesday, Sept 20, 6:00-8:00pm
350PDX office (3625 N Mississippi Ave, Portland)
September Action Night!
The Forest Defense Team will present on Forests Over Profits, and you can join sign-making for the conference. There will be also be food (from Cafe Yumm) and drink and opportunity to connect and learn more about 350PDX! Learn more here.
Sunday, Sept 24, 1:00-5:00pm
350PDX office (3625 N Mississippi Ave, Portland)
Make banners for the rally & conference
No artistic experience needed! We’ll have all the supplies (as well as snacks & refreshments), just bring yourself and help create banners to get our message out. Reach out to contact@forestsoverprofits.org for more info or with questions!
Can’t make it in person? Share this new video about the Forests Over Profits rally & conference on social media and with your networks to help spread the word! This outreach toolkit has flyers, background info, and sample email language, social media posts, and more to make it simple for you to help get the word out!
For the forests,
Brenna Bell, 350PDX Forest Climate Manager
Can you make a donation to support our forest defense work?
We couldn’t do any of our work without community support. We’re a local organization dedicated to grassroots movement building, so our work is by and for the community. Just as 350PDX volunteers and action-takers shape our campaigns, 350PDX donors are an important part of making our work possible.