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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2019)
in other words february21 2019 3 Salem Report By Representative Brad Witt During the week of Febru- ary 11 in Columbia Coun- ty, snowmelt and nearly five inches of rain com- bined to create extreme flooding conditions forcing Rainier Mayor Jerry Cole to declare a State of Emergency for the city. The commu- nity response was tremendous, with emergency responders from Columbia and Multnomah counties, along with personnel from the communities of St. Helens, Scappoose, Rainier, Clatskanie, Columbia City, and Vernonia all work- ing on disaster response. My office reached out to Gov- ernor Brown’s office, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, and the Oregon Department of Transportation, and I was very pleased with their sup- port and assistance during the crisis. But more than that, community organizations and individuals stepped up to help each other. For instance, the Columbia River PUD crews, unable to drive through a slide area, took their gear and traveled on foot to restore pow- er. The Columbia County Fairgrounds opened their stables for horses to get them out of flood prone areas. Students from the Columbia County Education Campus filled sandbags to shore up buildings and properties. These are just a few examples of the many people that reached out to help their neighbors. Thankfully the flood waters receded. Now recovery begins with damage repair, and some repairs will be more difficult and time consuming than others. For instance, a culvert on Gable Road completely failed, causing significant road damage. Engineers are looking at repairs, the County is allow- ing local traffic, but through travel on Gable Road will be restricted for at least a month. Rocky Point Road also start- ed developing a significant crack, and Multnomah County Public Works will be assessing the damage to determine the landslide risk before reopening the roadway. Fox Creek in Rainier needs daylighting, an engineering solution, to move higher volumes of water flow. There is flood damage to pub- lic and private property. If you suffered property damage caused by this flood- ing, you may apply for property tax pro-ration. To qualify, damage must drop the real market value below the as- sessed value, and the pro-ration amount is based on the number of months the property is damaged. Calculations are determined by the Columbia County Assessor’s office, you can contact them at (503) 397-2240 to speak with an as- sessor. Drivers should use caution and be alert for falling trees, landslides, and areas of standing water. Motorists should never drive through standing water, because it is impossible to deter- mine how deep the water is, and what damage may be hidden from sight. Climate change, and the trend for warmer, dryer summers is putting Oregon Forestlands at risk of more ex- treme wildfires. Recently my House Natural Resources Committee heard from State Forester Peter Daugherty who shared some dire information. Half of Oregon’s land base, or 30 million acres, is forested. The Ore- gon Department of Forestry (ODF) pro- vides fire protection on 16 million acres, and over the years, the length of the fire season has been increasing, along with the intensity of the damaging fires. The ten-year average of fire- fighting costs alone has more than tri- pled in the past decade, with gross large fire costs rising from $8 million to over $35 million. But this is just a fraction of the actual costs to the forest econom- ic sector, higher occurrence of wildfires increases the threat to firefighter safety, loss of forest resources and property, and compromises the economics of working forestland. Wildfire smoke imperils public health and the economy. In 2017, Oregon had a 65 percent in- crease in unhealthy air quality readings and a loss of over $50 million in visitor spending. As State Forester, Daugherty oversees ODF which manages 730,000 acres of Board of Forestry lands to se- cure the greatest permanent value by providing healthy, productive and sus- tainable forests that provide a full range of social, economic, and environmen- tal benefits for Oregonians. Lands are managed to provide timber revenue to the state, local schools and communi- ties, and local taxing districts. The good news is that Oregon State Forests are providing all kinds of increasing benefits for Oregonians. Harvest levels are up 22 percent over the past five-year average, generating nearly $80 million in revenue distribu- tion to the counties. Use of recreational opportunities including camping, hunt- ing, hiking, and off-road vehicle use has increased, and there has been a record number of visitors to the Tillamook Forest Center. All improvements were achieved while providing high quality habitat for native fish, and terrestrial species such as owls and marbled mur- relets. ODF continues to work with private and federal forest operators en- hancing resource protection and forest restoration. Since the 2017 Legislative Session we have been funding work with federal land managers to increase the pace, scale, and quality of restora- tion on Oregon’s federal forests, cre- ating additional harvest opportunities and putting more Oregonians back to work while generating millions of dollars of revenue. According to State Forester Daugherty, ODF has agree- ments in place for project work on 10 of the 11 National Forests in Oregon. For these, federal funds are used to pay ODF to implement projects on federal lands which Daugherty says is the fu- ture of our Federal Forest Restoration Program; much of the proposed project work would not happen without ODF stepping up to perform the work. So, while we need to be careful to protect our forestlands, I believe the Department of Forestry is on the right track with their approach to forestland management... protecting Oregonians’ $60 billion dollar forestland assets for a host of social, environmental, and eco- nomic benefits for all of us. Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Contributors Jamie Adams Chip Bubl Tobie Finzel Superintendent Aaron Miller Karen Miller Shannon Romtvedt Robb Wilson Representative Brad Witt Photography Scott Laird Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. One year subscription (24 issues) $35 Vernonia’s Voice, LLC PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 Want to advertise? Have an article? Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com Cedar Side Inn Full Dish Sports Package Big Screen, featuring Pac 12 games Taco Tuesday from opening until 4pm 3 hardshell or 1 softshell 54.25 Ladies’ Night every Thursday 6pm-close • Free Pool • Free WiFi • Specialty Pizzas iheck our Facebook page for daily specials and upcoming events 756 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-5841 NEW LOCATION FULL SPORTS PACKAGE! TREE SALE Saturday RAIN OR SHINE 22 species (1,000s of seedlings available) including Douglas fir, dawn redwood, 8:30 AM- flowering dogwood, red cedar, 1:30 PM mimosa, Pacific Pride and 17 others. (Lawrence Oil) Some bag Hwy 30, St. Helens quantities. Prices COLUMBIA COUNTY from $1.50 SMALL Arrive early. WOODLANDS March 9 Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7 “BIKER FRIENDLY” Fresh Roasted Coffee espresso • baked goods Open Every Day at 6:00 am 825 Bridge Street 503-429-0214 • Specialty hamburgers • 8 Draft beers & mixed drinks • 5 Craft beers on tap • Pool tables & satelite TV • Free Wi-fi • Beer & Kegs to go Sun - Thurs 11 AM - Midnight • 733 Bridge St, Vernonia EVENTS Sat, March 23 Texas Hold ‘em ASSOCIATION Fri - Sat 11 AM - 2:30 AM • 503-429-9999 Questions: (503) 708-9066 Proceeds support best manage- ment forestry practices in Columbia County.