May primary ballot measure in Lane County would give legal rights to watersheds

Next Tuesday, voters in Lane County will decide the fate of Measure 20-373, also known as the “Watersheds Bill of Rights,” in the May primary election. Organizers of the measure say it is in response to years of aerial spraying of pesticides in the county they claim has polluted drinking water and sickened residents. The measure also appears to be inspired by a global rights of nature movement, by claiming that watersheds –  including rivers, creeks and the lands they flow through –  possess “inalienable rights” that any resident in Lane County can sue on behalf of in order to protect those watersheds and their ecosystems from pollution by corporate, business or government activities.  Opposition to the measure is being led by Protect Our County, a coalition that includes current and former elected officials and Lane County business groups such the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. Brittany Quick-Warner, the chamber’s president and CEO, joins us for a debate with Rob Dickinson, a grassroots organizer of the Yes on Measure 20-373 campaign who helped draft the ballot measure.