Heather took part in a demonstration to protect the L.A. River, and footage of her kayaking to prove its navigability ended up on YouTube, leading her superiors to propose a career-crippling suspension.
PEER mounted a First Amendment defense (the kayaking protest as symbolic Free Speech) for Heather that ended up on the front page of the LA Times. The Corps quickly settled.
EPA then overruled the Corps by declaring the LA River a navigable waterway entitled to full Clean Water Act protections, thus vindicating Heather’s actions.
PRESS RELEASES
Army Corps Kayaker Case Settled
Corps Biologist Faces 30-Day Suspension for Kayaking LA River
