On the afternoon of Friday, February 8^th nearly 200 Oregonians put on their finest red clothing and joined Bark and the Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge Coalition in Lower MacLeay Park to take a stand against Nestlé’s grab at public water resources in the Columbia River Gorge. After laying giant letters across the soggy grass to spell the word ‘Nestlé,’ the crowd came together to create a red circle around it. Then a line of people situated themselves across the circle, creating a clear message: “No Nestle!” Photographers were stationed on the bridge above the park to capture the image of this one of a kind, 60 foot diameter anti-Nestlé symbol.

The state of Oregon is responsible for processing the permits Nestlé needs to establish its proposed bottling plant in the Columbia River Gorge. Friday’s community action serves as a powerful message to state decision makers that the public is NOT in support of giving public water from Mt. Hood to Nestlé. Plus, we had a blast, and took some really amazing photos!

In addition to this ‘aerial art mob’ action in the park, Friday’s Day of Action also saw dozens brave the morning cold to hold signs along the Hawthorne Bridge and raise awareness among morning commuters. And hundreds of you sent messages to your legislators and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to explain your opposition to Nestlé’s  proposal. If you missed the fun on Friday, you can still take action here.

Thank you to the Portland Raging Grannies for providing us with musical entertainment, Kelli Pennington for her photography, and everyone who helped out by spreading the word, calling the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, holding signs on the bridge, bringing red clothing to share, or just taking the time out of your busy day to show up! You rock!

Make A Quick Phone Call to Stop Nestlé from Taking Our Water
Make the Call Now: 866-942-5138

One state agency can keep Nestlé from potentially bottling and selling our water but up until now, it has shut out Oregonians’ voices. Enough is enough.

Please call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) at 866-942-5138 right now and demand that it protects Oregon’s water from Nestlé?

Making the call is easy: simply dial 866-942-5138 to hear a short message from Food and Water Watch. Then, you will be connected to the ODFW main desk and you can share your version of the following message:

“As an Oregonian, I am very troubled by the lack of public comment you have attempted to seek on the Nestlé issue. I am deeply opposed to the water exchange that could allow Nestlé to bottle and sell our state’s water and I urge you to stop the water exchange process today.”

We know that ODFW has the power to keep Nestlé’s out of Oregon. We have been asking the agency to put the issue up for public discussion, but rather than hear from us, ODFW has canceled the past two opportunities for the public to weigh in. Will you join hundreds of Oregonians in calling ODFW at 866-942-5138 today to tell the agency to say no to the Nestlé water exchange?

Make the call to protect your water from Nestlé today: 866-942-5138

We’re taking a stand against Nestlé’s water bottling proposal for the Columbia River Gorge on February 8th in Portland! Join us for a day of action and Aerial Art Mob against Nestlé!

Create human-powered aerial art to send the message to the Governor and the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) to say ‘No’ to a Nestlé water bottling plant in the Columbia Gorge!

Call on your state agency, ODFW, to stop cutting the public out of its controversial decision to pursue a water exchange that would let Nestlé bottle public water!

Have fun with fellow concerned Oregonians who want to keep a Nestlé bottling plant out of Oregon!

Morning rush hour bridge action: 7:30 until 9:00am we will hold signs on the east side of the Hawthorne Bridge (at SE Madison and Grande Ave). Drop by, grab a sign, and help spread the word. Signs and donuts provided!

Then join us for an Aerial Art Mob at noon, at the Lower MacCleay Park (NW Upshur and NW 29th):

Take an hour of your day to help create some amazing aerial artwork, get updated on the campaign to keep Nestlé out of the Gorge, and call ODFW to demand they stop doing Nestlé’s bidding. We will arrange ourselves into a huge ‘No Nestlé’ symbol (that’s why we need you to wear red!) and take photos from above to help spread the word about this crucial issue.

For the noon action: come dressed in red – it will help make the image powerful! Bring an extra red shirt(s) if you can in case we need them.

Carpools can be arranged if necessary. For more information email or call jdegraw(at)fwwatch.org or 971-266-4528.

After learning that anti-Nestlé activists planned to testify at the December 7th Commission Meeting in opposition to the ODFW’s involvement with Nestlé, the Commission decided last week to bar us from speaking by canceling the public forum on the meeting agenda. We will not let them silence us! Take action today. Help us ensure that the Nestlé Water Bottling Plant is included in the ODFW Commission’s February meeting agenda and plan to join us in February 8th to hold ODFW accountable for its role in the Nestlé proposal.

Join us at the ODFW Commission Meeting
Tell them “Don’t take Nestlé’s bait.”

Friday December 7th, 7:30am-9am

Airport Holiday Inn
8439 NE Columbia Blvd, Portland

Nestlé is trying to bait the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) into “exchanging” publicly owned water (our water) so that Nestlé can bottle it and make millions.

The ODFW Commission is the boss of the agency’s director Roy Elicker, and can stop Nestlé by simply withdrawing the permits that would allow Nestlé to profit off of public water.

Join us to stand in solidarity as individuals testify to the Commission with this message: Nestlé Waters is NOT welcome in our state and ODFW should NOT get into the bottled water industry.

Bark will provide coffee and donuts and is organizing a carpool. RSVP at this link for more info or to help!

Spread the word on Facebook!

The runners began their trip at approximately 7:00 am in Cascade Locks and followed the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon up to the Chinedere Mountain. As they came back through Cascade Locks, a group of 40 supporters was there to cheer on their efforts near the Bridge of the Gods. The runners took a short break to have their pictures taken with the supporters holding signs and a 40-foot “Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge” banner discuss the issue with their allies, refuel on some snacks and refreshing tap water before heading back up the Washington side of the Gorge to the summit of Table Mountain. The run ended in Cascade Locks around 7:30 pm and the ultra-runners, along with some of the supporters, gathered in Stevenson Washington to celebrate their feat.

Run participants also sought to raise awareness about the many products owned by Nestlé including two running staples: bottled water and PowerBar. Bringing their own water, which they occasionally filled up in the springs of the Gorge, they proved that bottled water is, indeed, unnecessary for major run events.

The Keep Nestlé out of the Gorge Coalition hopes to continue supporting unique efforts by Oregonians opposing Nestlé’s water bottling plans. Groups will continue targeting Governor Kitzhaber, demanding that he put a stop to the potential giveaway of Oregon’s water.

Terry Swier, a lead activist on the campaign to fight Nestlé in her Michigan hometown, traveled to Oregon to attend the rally and encourage Oregonians to continue their fight. “From my own experience, I would tell the residents of Oregon to ask hard questions of Nestlé and their elected officials,” said Swier. “Don’t take Nestlé’s word on anything. Even though we’re winning in Michigan, irreparable harm has been inflicted by Nestlé on our water system. Our lakes and streams will never be the same.” Other speakers included:

• Barbara Willer—a former County Commissioner who was instrumental in getting the “Take Back the Tap” resolution passed in Multnomah County
• Tim Norgren—a resident of The Dalles representing Columbia River Gorge residents opposing Nestlé
• Sister Brigid Baumann—A representative from the Sisters of the Holy Names who advocates for Oregonians’ free access to good water, believing it is is a sacred right

Present at the rally was a 40-foot “Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge” banner on which activists pinned cloth water droplets with their messages to Governor Kitzhaber. Julia DeGraw, of Food and Water Watch, led rally attendees in a chant which was left on Governor Kitzhaber’s answering machine: “Water is a human right! Don’t let Nestlé win this fight!” To close, local bluegrass band Cedro Willie led activists in a sing-along featuring the songs “Roll on Columbia” and “This Land is Your Land,” with special lyrics and new lines written just for this campaign.

Through out the rally participants were encourage to call the governor’s office to ask him to protect our water from Nestlé, you can make your call to Governor Kitzhaber today at: 503-378-4582

The Coalition groups who organized the rally include Food & Water Watch, Sierra Club, Bark, Occupy Portland, Oregon AFSCME, Portland Alliance for Democracy, Sisters of the Holy Names, and Resources for Health.

We need to tell Governor Kitzhaber: Either you stand with Oregonians or you stand with Nestlé!

Stand in solidarity with a diverse coalition of groups and over 30,000 Oregonians who are demanding that Kitzhaber protect our water from a Nestlé water bottling plant in the scenic Columbia River Gorge! Join us for activities for all ages, music, special guest speakers, to add your own message to our banner and much more.

Guest speakers include:

• Terry Swier – an activist involved with a group famous for fighting Nestlé’s damaging water bottling in Michigan.
• Sister Brigid Baumann, from Sisters of the Holy Name

The event is brought to you by the Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge Coalition including: Food & Water Watch, Bark, Sierra Club, Oregon AFSCME, Occupy Portland, Sisters of the Holy Names, Resources for Health, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Environment Oregon, Oregon Wild and others.

Event Location

Following the event, members of Bark, Food and Water Watch, and Resources for Health gathered at the State Capitol on Monday, May 14th to deliver these messages for water protection to Governor Kitzhaber’s office. Joining them was an awesome group of motivated children who were also concerned about Nestlé’s plan to bottle water in the Gorge. These children launched the H2Origami Project, in which they collected over 1,000 pieces of origami containing messages asking the Governor to respond to the issue from kids all over the state. They delivered their origami to the Governor’s office alongside those delivering the messages from the Mother’s Day of Action. You can view KOIN news’ coverage of the event here:

http://www.bark-out.org/article.php?id=834

The Mother’s Day was just the beginning of the Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge Coalition’s effort to increase public pressure on the governor to say ‘no’ to Nestlé. Keep checking in to find out what we’re doing next to show Governor Kitzhaber that not taking a stance on this issue is not an option: either he stands for Oregonians or he stands for Nestlé. We need to show him that he must stand with Oregonians!

“It is the State’s job to safeguard Oregon’s public resources, especially our precious water resources for the benefit of all Oregonians, not multinational corporations. Allowing the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to move forward with this water rights exchange would permit a state-owned resource to be used for a private business model that is unsustainable,” said, Jackie Dingfelder, Oregon State Senator for District 23.

Kitzhaber is the one person that could advise the ODFW to pull out of the water exchange process. The coalition has been calling on Governor Kitzhaber to stop the controversial water exchange. Kitzhaber has heard from over 10,000 Oregonians urging him to stop the exchange and his Natural Resources Department staff has met with the coalition to get the facts on this controversial issue. Additionally, the governor has received Ecotrust’s economic study that outlines why extractive industries like water bottling are not the best path forward for economic development in Oregon. Even with all of the calls and letters from Oregonians desiring protection of their water and his Natural Resources Department meeting with the coalition to discuss the issue, Kitzhaber remains quiet. 

The Nestlé water bottling plant proposal is, as stated earlier, not in the best interest of the public or for Oregon. In fact, it is in direct opposition of Kitzhaber’s desire for a greener and more sustainable Oregon. “At a time when local governments in Oregon are discouraging wasteful plastic bottles, why are our state agencies encouraging Nestlé to develop a plant that could produce over 200 million plastic bottles every year? We should know better,” said Barbara Willer, former Multnomah County Commissioner. Allowing the transfer applications to go through and the bottling plant to be build would make a mockery of the state’s pledge to discourage wasteful practices (i.e. use of plastic water bottles).

Lastly, Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge will continue to oppose the water exchange proposal in conjunction with Crag Law Center, and also ramp up efforts to gain Governor Kitzhaber’s support in protecting Oregon water resources from Nestlé. Said Julia DeGraw, Food and Water Watch’s Northwest Organizer: “Nestlé’s search for water has stirred up controversy in California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin and other states… [T]ime and time again, Nestlé has demonstrated that it does not have the communities’ best interest in mind when it comes to bottling public water resources.” It is now time to show once again that Nestlé and their water bottling plant is not in the best interests of Oregonians and not in the best interest of the state of Oregon.