We Advocate Thorough Environmental Review (WATER)

We Advocate Thorough Environmental Review, more commonly known as W.A.T.E.R., formed in 2013 to demand a thorough environmental review for a proposed beverage bottling plant just outside Mount Shasta City in Siskiyou County.  After ten years of W.A.T.E.R.’s community organizing and participation in the CEQA process, the company pulled out of the project and sold the property, and the appellate court ruled the Final EIR invalid, ordering the county and city to rescind all approvals related to the project.  In 2021, with the lessons learned from the CEQA process for the beverage bottling project and input from the community, W.A.T.E.R.’s Board of Directors updated the organization’s vision and mission statements and set the stage for our current projects.

Our Vision: We envision a society that stewards and equitably shares in the care of our planet’s ecosystems now and for future generations.

Mission:  The primary objectives and purposes of this nonprofit organization shall be to:

     •     Embed the climate crisis front and center in our work, given the urgent, existential threat it poses to humanity;

     •     Advocate for the restoration and preservation of the biosphere to ensure a healthy environment, with a primary emphasis on 

            advocating for the ecosystems of the regions encircling Mount Shasta and its watersheds, while recognizing the connections 

            between surface, spring, and groundwater;

     •     Advocate for and participate in long-range community planning and regenerative practices to promote healthy and

           sustainable communities;

     •     Encourage community-wide participation and volunteerism through education and action;

     •     Engage with government officials and agencies in advancing these issues with active participation, social activism and, 

           if necessary, litigation that benefits public interests.

Our Current Projects:

W.A.T.E.R. participates in local, regional, and national efforts to ensure forest management practices revolutionize from the current ones designed to prioritize timber harvest to much needed ecological approaches that are designed to prioritize carbon sequestration, protect water resources, and allow the return of fire to the landscape as an important part of forest ecology and as a driver of abundant biodiversity.  Research shows that logging of forests releases many times more carbon dioxide than forest fires.  Moreover, global forests are the world’s largest carbon sink providing the dominant avenue for drawing down carbon dioxide at the scale required to address global warming with a vast potential to further increase sequestration.

In an effort to confront the huge environmental impact of war, and more critically, the social justice challenges, moral dilemmas, and existential threat war represents, W.A.T.E.R. is challenging environmental groups to take a stand against war.  With a local community forum and e-newsletter articles, W.A.T.E.R. has worked to raise awareness of the hidden causes and huge environmental impacts of war, and we are pleased that these efforts have been released on national media outlets.

Plastic pollution continues to be a scourge on the planet and is much evident in our local area.  We continue to raise awareness of plastic pollutions issues and what citizens can do about it.

Expanding our collaborations has been a major theme in our work this past year.  In working to protect our forests and watersheds we are collaborating with many other groups including EPIC, MSBEC, KFA, CBD, NRDC, John Muir Project, Battle Creek Alliance, Center for Sustainable Economy, KS Wild, SEA, and the Upper Sacramento RWAG.  Working in larger collaborative efforts enhances the outreach, influence, and impact we can create.

We want to express our deep gratitude for all of our contributors who have given us their support, both moral and financial, for the last decade.

We have the following volunteer opportunities:

Social media and internet outreach:  We utilize a website, email newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to reach out to our community and beyond.

Volunteer skills needed:

• Interest in and ability to manage social media accounts on a regular basis and update website
• Willingness to work with the Board of Directors in identifying appropriate materials to post

Public Forum Series:  W.A.T.E.R. facilitates community forums to education and engage the public in various topics.  

Volunteer skills needed

• Organizational and communication skills to coordinate forum location, on-site technology, topics, recruit speakers, and advertising
• Willingness to coordinate messaging with the Board of Directors

Join the Leadership Team:   W.A.T.E.R. is recruiting new board members by inviting interested community members to apply to join our core leadership team on a trial basis.

If you're interested in any of these opportunities, please contact us at mountshastawater@gmail.com.