Rooted in resistance: How Willow Kasner became the Siuslaw’s savior

Rooted in resistance: How Willow Kasner became the Siuslaw’s savior

An overwhelming terror engulfed Willow Kasner. In 2023, the state of Oregon threatened to douse her beloved home, the sprawling Siuslaw National Forest, with the toxic herbicide 2,4-D. She had a PTSD attack, broke down and cried, reliving the desolating pain her tight-knit coastal community had suffered decades ago. “I thought this was done,” Kasner said. Growing up among the towering old-growth trees of the Coast Range, Kasner became tautly bou…