The People of ELAW: Cheryl Coon

Cheryl Coon ELAW Board Member

On a chilly Sunday in March 2002, Cheryl Coon was reading her hometown newspaper, the Oregonian.  She came across a story about ELAW and was immediately intrigued.  Cheryl had a thirty-year career as an environmental attorney, including stints in the U.S. Virgin Islands and as a committee staffer on Capitol Hill before moving to Oregon to join the Attorney General’s office as a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Natural Resources Section.  She was transitioning from that position to consulting work, so she called ELAW to offer her time as a volunteer attorney.  Jen Gleason matched Cheryl up with an ELAW partner in Chile, Miguel Fredes, because of her background with endangered species issues.  Miguel was fighting to save ancient forests in Chile, and stop the illegal harvesting of the endangered “alerce” tree, a majestic conifer that is related to the Giant Sequoia.

When Cheryl contacted Miguel, she learned that Chilean authorities had been using an exception to CITES, an international convention to stop the trade of endangered species, to export alerce to the U.S.  The CITES exception allowed export of alerce logged before 1973 (when alerce was added to the endangered list) or trees damaged by fire or disease.  Miguel believed that this CITES exception was resulting in illegal logging of healthy trees, but he needed to document a clear link between the exported trees and the wrongdoers.  Cheryl was able to use her familiarity with the Freedom of Information Act to help Miguel obtain critical information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Customs about import of alerce into the U.S.  Miguel followed the trail of documents and laid the groundwork for a criminal investigation by authorities in Chile.

Through her close work with Miguel, Cheryl came to understand and appreciate the importance of ELAW’s network approach to providing assistance to public interest environmental lawyers.  Soon, in addition to donating her time, she became a donor to ELAW.

After Miguel won a landmark victory when Chile’s government announced it was closing the longstanding CITES loophole, and ordering no further export or trade of alerce, Cheryl remained committed to assisting other ELAW partners.  Cheryl saw first-hand how providing strategic legal support can yield huge benefi ts for ecosystems and communities.

Her next big opportunity came when ELAW Associate Director Lori Maddox invited Cheryl to travel to Honduras with her for a series of meetings and public education seminars regarding the Mesoamerican Reef.  Cheryl met with a group of ELAW partners working in the region, participated in official government meetings, and spoke to members of the Honduran Bar Association about the role of private attorneys in environmental enforcement.  She came away from the experience even more committed to working with ELAW and to helping protect the Mesoamerican Reef.

So, what is the next logical step for a person with the depth of enthusiasm for ELAW that Cheryl has shown?  Why, an invitation to the Board of Directors, of course!

Cheryl joined the ELAW Board in the spring of 2008 and she and her husband Jim continue to support ELAW and our partners enthusiastically.