State and federal hearings over a proposed gas pipeline in Oregon were packed with so many ranchers, farmers, climate activists, Tribal members, anglers, and others that it was often “sitting room only.”
Matt Witt/Courtesy Photo
Communities in the rural West can stand up to giant outside gas companies, if they work together despite their differences. That’s how the Jordan Cove gas pipeline project was finally killed in Oregon by a coalition of conservative ranchers and farmers, climate activists, Indigenous tribal leaders, anglers, and coastal residents.The victory occurred last December, when a Canadian energy company called Pembina announced it would halt plans to build a 230-mile pipeline through rural southwestern Oregon, crossing more than 400 streams and rivers along the way. The pipeline was to carry fracked…