The Eureka Reporter

November 29, 2004

Patty Clary of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics was awarded the Sempervirens Award by the Environmental Protection Information Center at its annual meeting at the Mateel Community Center in Redway.

The Sempervirens Award was established in 2000 "to honor a member of the community who has given of themselves over and above the normal call of duty," said Dian Griffith of EPIC.

Previous honorees include Cecelia Lanman, Fred "Coyote" Downey and Lynn Ryan, all veteran North Coast conservationists.

EPIC lauded Clary for "perseverance for decades to expose the hidden danger of toxins in our environment. Her work on behalf of the frogs, flowers, fish and forests benefits us all and our future generations" and thanked her for "teaching us about the alternatives, and leading us towards making choices that preserve our web of life."

Patty Clary has been the executive director of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics since 1988. She become involved in toxics issues following her traumatic and nearly fatal exposure to Agent Orange-like herbicides that she said were sprayed in the Umpqua River valley in Oregon where she and her family lived in 1976.

In 1980, she was one of three victim witnesses in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's administrative review of the infamous 2,4,5-T herbicide prior to the decision to remove the chemical from the market.

After returning to California and settling on the North Coast, Clary was instrumental in organizing her community to stop local pesticide use on roadsides, by timber companies in the watershed and in the schools her children attended.

In her position as CATs' executive director for more than 16 years, Clary has become an expert in pesticides and their use, and has worked with top experts and scientists from around the world, according to a CATs' news release.

"She spent four years on a UN-sponsored technical options committee on methyl bromide for the Montreal Protocol," according to the news release. "She has served as an expert in federal court, has been lead author of several reports detailing how the public can be exposed to pesticides and continues to assist grassroots activists one-to-one throughout the region.

"She has coordinated many efforts to clarify, and when necessary, oppose government regulations and actions. Patty oversees program development and implementation at CATs, including the Pesticide-Free Schools and Endangered Species programs."