Several Different Facets To The Man Named Easy He’s Known As Dedicated, Intelligent, And Tenacious; Also Abrasive, Self-Righteous And Sullen
Who is the man who changed his name to Easy?
Some people describe the 47-year-old activist as one of most dedicated environmentalists in the region. Many marvel at his intelligence and tenacity.
Others say he’s abrasive, self-righteous and sullen.
He has written or edited at least two books about Spokane’s outdoor splendors.
Easy has been a member of the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs, the Washington Trail Association, the Hobnailers, the Pacific Crest Trail Conference, the Sierra Club and Common Cause.
He has worked to support Rails to Trails, Habitat for Humanity, the Centennial Trial, Hangman Creek and the Little Spokane River.
He currently is challenging as too lax the county’s development regulations governing environmentally sensitive areas.
Easy also is at the center of investigations to determine where $71,500 in public money for the Little Spokane Natural Area was spent in 1995.
He was born Brian Donald Dumont on July 9, 1949, in Portland and was raised in The Dalles, Ore. He is the oldest of three brothers.
After graduating from The Dalles High School, he attended Oregon State University and graduated in 1971 with a degree in mathematics.
Around that time, he became estranged from his family.
“We haven’t talked with him in about 27 years,” said Easy’s 77-year-old father, Donald Dumont, of The Dalles. “We don’t know why he changed his name. He doesn’t communicate with us.”
Easy worked as a VISTA volunteer before holding administrative jobs at Arizona’s Navajo Community College and Carleton College in Minnesota.
He moved to Spokane in 1983 to work for ISC Systems Inc., a computer hardware and software company. He left the company in early 1990 and enrolled in an urban planning program at Eastern Washington University.
In 1986 he formed a nonprofit organization, Adventure Trail. His current organization, the Little Spokane Watershed Council, is not registered as a nonprofit organization with the state, nor does it have a city business license.
John Osborn, president of the 1,000-member Inland Empire Public Lands Council, said nearly everyone involved with environmental causes in the Inland Northwest knows Easy.
“His life is solely devoted to trying to protect the environment,” Osborn said. “He’s tireless in his work and commitment to these places and their futures.
“It’s sad to see this happen to him.”
, DataTimes MEMO: See related story under the headline: Spokane County tries to find Easy money