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Group vows comeback from scandal By Paul Fattig ASHLAND � Headwaters was down but never out after financial troubles rocked the organization, board members said. "Some people felt Headwaters was out of business," said Roger Butterfield. "And we were almost mortally wounded. But we are continuing and we will continue." Fellow board member JoAnne Eggers of Ashland agreed. "Headwaters has a role that no one else can fill," she said. But to do the job properly, say some former volunteers and staff members, the group must regain its hard edge. They say the group has become concerned more about money and less about the environment. Board members have demonstrated their commitment to Headwaters by contributing some $55,000 of their own money to help the group, Eggers said. Yet board members acknowledge the organization still has some hurdles to leap. It already has taken steps to avoid a repeat of its financial problems, they say. "We can avoid anything like this again by having procedures in place that assure the board and its membership that its monetary practices will be strictly regulated," said board member Jane Anderson, an Applegate Valley resident. The symbol of Headwaters shouldn�t be the theft of money, but the dedication of people who have worked over the years to further its environmental causes, she said. "We are still in a unique position to bring the whole environmental community together again," said Medford-born Butterfield. "I see Headwaters as an incredible jewel in Southern Oregon. It has a rich history, great people and staff. It has a dynamic focus and mission." Not everyone agrees. Some former volunteers and staff members feel Headwaters became more concerned in recent years about acquiring grants than about its original mission of protecting the environment. "They sold out," said former volunteer Leon Guillotte of Williams. Headwaters should return to its roots of local activism, added Alan Venet, also of Williams. Venet was the group�s treasurer from 1982 to 1990. "They are no longer on the edge of the movement," he said. "It lost the connection to those of us in the countryside. The whole environmental movement has to have a little more solidarity." It should also have the courage to take on those who disagree with it, added former Headwaters board member Spencer Lennard. "Headwaters lost its focus," Lennard said. "They lost the hard-line attitude I believe they should have." Lennard is now head of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, which rents office space in Headwaters� Ashland headquarters. The center was formed in 1996 by local activists intent on filling a niche formerly filled by Headwaters, he said. "A lot of what we do is modeled after what Headwaters developed in the 1980s," said Lennard, who served on the group�s board in 1987. "But they dropped the model. "We need Headwaters � we need more environmentalists," he added. "But if you are going to fight for the wild, not everybody is going to like you. Headwaters wanted to be liked by everybody." The Headwaters board understands it has to make changes as it rebuilds, said longtime board member Chant Thomas, who lives in the Applegate Valley. "We are narrowing and intensifying our focus," he said. "We are going to focus more on grass roots, and not be as dependent on foundation support. Because of that, we will have more flexibility in the future." Following a planning session this fall, the Headwaters board committed the group to forest conservation, protection and restoration. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.