Keeping Oregon green and fire free is what Kristin Babbs, president and CEO of Keep Oregon Green (KOG) strives to do. Babbs has been promoting the Keep Oregon Green agenda for two years, through the dissemination of information and education of the public to prevent human caused wildfires across Oregon. As the CEO and president, Babbs is tasked with creating long range plans to ensure KOG meets mission objectives annually.
With a two person staff, the annual operating budget for Keep Oregon Green is $180,000, says Babbs. The funding for the Keep Oregon Green Association comes from the Coos, Douglas, and Walker Range Forest Protective Associations, grants from the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Department of Forestry matched by the Oregon General Fund.
July 30th 2015, a 26,000-acre fire was started by started by a Douglas County man mowing his lawn in triple digit weather. It cost $35,000,000 to suppress and allowed Babbs to teach the public how it happened at the Douglas County Fair on August 5th. She used the fire, caused by a mower blade striking a rock, creating a spark and igniting as a teaching mechanism of the extreme danger the use of machinery in drought conditions presents.
Annually, Babbs sets up wildfire prevention booths at fairs, providing community education to attendees. The booth this year consisted of displays made out of LEGOS paired with fire prevention factoids, which Babbs believes to have been effective with children. “Some parents of autistic children mentioned to me that, ‘you presented something in a way that engaged my child; we’ve been trying to talk to them about fire prevention in all these other ways but this was something that was very tangible and engaging that could really draw their attention to an issue.’”
PH 