9 Ways Communities Are Resisting

Plus three upcoming events

Economist Ernie Nemie speaks about the monetary benefits of passing Measure 20-373, the Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights, on January 21st.

This is Truth and Reckoning, a newsletter from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). We are organizers, lawyers, and revolutionaries who educate and agitate to confront systemic injustice and restore humanity’s relationship with the Earth.

For more than 30 years, we’ve helped communities resist corporate power, reject regulatory false promises, and assert their right to self-governance grounded in ecological balance. Subscribe to learn about rights of nature, environmental movement strategy, and stay updated on our work.

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Here are 9 ways that communities are working to resist the destruction of the planet, build self-determination around principles of ecology and grassroots democracy, and build a new culture to support these efforts.

1. Water Protectors in Lane County, Oregon

Community Rights Lane County and the Oregon Community Rights Network are organizing now to support Measure 20-373, the “Lane County Watershed Bill of Rights,” which goes to voters next month. CELDF is providing legal and media support for the incredible organizers on the ground who are spearheading this campaign.

2. Supporting Border Wall Opposition in Arizona

Brave land defenders on the US-Mexico border have been fighting for years to protect these fragile desert ecosystems from industrialization and habitat fragmentation of border militarization. As the current US regime pushes forward with border wall construction through sacred sites and critical wildlife habitat, we’re working to support as much as possible from afar through strategic consulting and publicity assistance. CELDF Executive Director Kai Huschke traveled to the area to work with local organizers last year.

3. Advancing State-Level Rights of Nature in New York

CELDF has provided legal assistance to local advocates, community groups, and lawmakers around Assembly Bill AO5156A, the Great Lakes and State Waters Bill of Rights. The bill was originally authored with CELDF’s assistance and introduced to the legislature in 2022. After undergoing a round of revisions to incorporate constructive feedback from the community, the bill was reintroduced last year.

4. Forest Defense Across the Pacific Northwest

Last May, we helped break news of a forest defense treesit established in Washington State to defend a mature forest on state lands from imminent logging. We supported that campaign to its eventual victory, spread the word about an ongoing forest defense campaign in western Canada, then early this year helped raise awareness of a threat to old-growth forests in southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. We continue to organize behind the scenes in support of forest defense efforts across the region.

5. Unschooling Students in Cleveland

Last month, CELDF and local partners organized a gathering in Cleveland, OH focused on the topic of education, miseducation, the problems in the school system, and paths forward. This was part of our ongoing “Truth, Reckoning, and Right Relationship” cultural and educational series of events and community-building activities. Here’s a teaser - full video coming soon.

6. Supporting Communities Protecting Wetlands in Virginia

Nearly a year ago, we helped break the story of a greenwashed “restoration” project in Virginia Beach destroying a large patch of native forest and habitat for terrapins (freshwater turtles) by bringing you the voice of a conservation biologist blacklisted and ignored by local environmental groups. That report galvanized local community members and led to the formation of a protest movement and opponents of the project filing a pro hac vice lawsuit. CELDF has provided pro-bono legal information to the litigators as they fight for the terrapins and the trees.

7. Amicus Brief for FDR Park

Community members in Philadelphia, PA are fighting to protect the urban sanctuary FDR Park from a plan which would replace vegetation with wide swaths of toxic plastic astroturf. CELDF has been asked to assist and is preparing an Amicus Brief which will be filed in the ongoing litigation. We’ve been asked to intervene in several cases in recent years in this way and whenever possible have worked to provide assistance.

8. Grant Township

CELDF has been working for more than a decade to support Grant Township, PA. The community rallied originally to stop a fracking injection well in their community because they were worried that it would break and leak. With CELDF’s assistance, they passed a law banning fracking injection wells. The well had already been drilled, and while legal battles continued, the company hid that the well had broken and leaked — exactly what the community was afraid of.

Now, despite the community and CELDF successfully getting the well shut down and capped, the company is suing the township and CELDF for having the audacity to regulate environmental harms within their town limits. They’re asking for sanctions against our lawyers for daring to pursue the “trivial” matter of community defense and self-determination. CELDF was already forced to pay more than $60,000 related to this case, and has provided ongoing legal representation and organizing support pro-bono to the Grant Township community. Stay tuned here. They’ll be more news on this situation soon.

9. Fighting for Local Democracy in Ohio

The Columbus, OH community has tried four times to get a charter amendment recognizing the rights of nature on the ballot. Their latest effort, which is ongoing, is a direct challenge to the State doctrine of “preemption.” CELDF is providing legal information and consultation to these organizers.

Here’s What’s Next:

This list isn’t comprehensive. CELDF is supporting many other communities across the country, from folks fighting data centers to those considering bringing rights of nature to their local area to communities pushing back against the military-industrial complex. We’re also always engaged in educational events and programs, working with academics and journalists, and coordinating with other activist groups.

Here are three upcoming events we want to share with readers:

MAY 7TH: What Revolution? Systemic Racism, Sexism, and Genocide from America’s Beginning

CELDF invites you to join us for a conversation with Keala Kelley (Kānaka Maoli) and Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) as part of our “America 250” series!

As the Federal government celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we are exploring true history. Did you know that the Declaration of Independence asserted that the king “has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions”? Or that the Union’s first president, George Washington, was given the name ‘Town Destroyer’ by members of the Iroquois confederacy?

Keala Kelley is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer and activist living on Hawai‘i Island. She is the author of “Our Rights to Self-Determination: A Hawaiian Manifesto” (2022). Her documentary, “Noho Hewa: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai’i,” has received international film festival awards, and is widely taught in courses focusing on Indigenous Peoples, colonization, Hawaiian sovereignty, and militarism.

Dina Gilio-Whitaker is Assistant Director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at California State University San Marcos. Dina is co-author with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz of “All the Real Indians Died Off: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans” (2016), “As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock” (2019), and “Who Gets to be Indian? Ethnic Fraud and Other Difficult Conversations about Native American Identity” (2025).

Join us on May 7th at 4pm EST. This event will be live streaming on the following platforms:

• YouTube event

• Facebook event

• LinkedIn event

• Instagram and Substack live streams will be available when the event begins

MAY 9TH: Panel Discussion on Forest Protection

CELDF’s Executive Director Kai Huschke will be speaking as part of a panel on forest defense at the Global Earth Repair Conference in Port Townsend, Washington alongside Paul Lynn, James Jewell, and others TBA. The panel will take place on Saturday, May 9th from 10:30am - 12pm.

More information and registration here: https://www.globalearthrepairconvergence.com/

MAY 20TH: Learning Nonviolent Direct Action Skills with Lina Blount

Register now, and join CELDF’s live presentation, featuring Lina Blount. This will be an accessible learning experience for beginners and seasoned veterans.

When: Wednesday, May 20^th 7:00pm to 9:00 pm eastern

This virtual training session is designed to equip you with the essential tools and strategies of powerful nonviolent direct action. Whether you consider yourself new to taking action or a seasoned action taker with expertise to share, this webinar will deepen your understanding and sharpen your skills. We will discuss applications relevant to specific campaigns, but the lessons from this training will be applicable far and wide.

Why take direct action? In the work for climate stewardship and other campaigns for dignity, connection, and human rights, non-violent direct action has played an important historical role, and is called for again today. In this webinar, we will explore how to identify key decision-makers and understand the crucial role of rebels within a movement ecosystem. We’ll dismantle the conventional understanding of power and discover how to leverage consent and influence for change.

About our Presenter

Lina Blount is an organizer and writer working on environmental justice campaigns in the Philadelphia area since 2011. Lina currently works as the Director of Strategy and Partnerships for the Earth Quaker Action Team, a grassroots group including Quakers and people of diverse beliefs who use nonviolent direct action to work towards a just and sustainable economy by targeting corporate power. Lina’s view of people power is most shaped by her experiences in the streets, in actions, in meetings, and in multi-year campaigns with everyday people fighting to make a better world for themselves and their communities.