Begin the Process
Hanson, Cannon Beach and the Ecola watershed
In March o f this year the Association brought
watershed ecologist Rich Nawa to Clatsop Counts to meet
w ith county residents concerned about several south counts
watersheds Rich knows the north coast watersheds, having
done extensive work in the Sal monberry drainage o f the
Nehalem I he Association noticed Rich through his work
at O S l s ( >ak Creek I-ab R ich’s work w ith Chris f rissell.
B ill I.iss and J I bersolc at the <)ak Creek 1 aboratory o f
Biology stands as a m ajor advance in understanding the
effects o f logging and road building on fish habitat and fish
populations
Slope instability and
road failures during
major storms causing
the delivery of sediment
and bedload (rock &
gravel) into streams is
the 500 lb (iorilla 01)1
and the timber industry
refuse to see.
I 'nfortunately. much o f their work goes
unacknowledged
Recent im provem ents” in reparian protection
adopted by the Oregon Department o f forestry (01)1 »
completely tails to address the m ajor issue facing forestry
in ( )regon s Coast Range slope stability and road effects
during major storms through the delivery o f sediment and
bed load (rock & gravel) in to streams from non- reparian
area I his is the ^00 tb ( io rilla < )| )l and the industry
refuse to sec I he failure to recognize upslopc instability
and road effects during m ajor storms is why the industrv
says the < oast Range is the best place in the W o rld Io
grow trees and the Coast Range Association says the
< oast Range m ight be the w orst place to cut trees
In spue o f a ll the problems w ith Coast Range-
tim ber harvesting and the protection of salmon, we believe
there can be a tremendous lores! products industry H o w
ever, a sustainable forest products industry w ill be a much
transformed one I he forestry o f the future is not the
forestry being practiced by Hanson, (ieorgia Pacific or
I ongview fib e r I he challenge before Hanson, as they si,
down w ith the City o f Cannon Beach, is to demonstrate
their willingness to practice the forestry
before it's too late
>>, the future now
The industry says:
’’The Coast Range is
the best place in the
World to grow trees."
The Coast Range
Association says:
"The Coast Range
might be the worst
place to cut trees."
C oast R ange
A ssociation
PO. BOX 148
NEVVIX1RT, OR
97365
_______ ________ /
Ioday the task before us is saving the present
salmon stocks and the best remaining habitat I he I cola
watershed is one ot the best, having been recognized bv the
( fregon Chapter o, the Am erican I isheies Soviets t A l S i as
'critica l to the salmon's survival I, is fortunate that almost
the entire IO.(XM) plus acres ot the I cola watershed are
owned bv one company. Hanson Natural Resources I hev
have a choice and a decision to make regarding the future
o f the I cola salmon stocks Hanson needs to acknowledge
wha, is known about road building, north coast geology,
and logging as ,o there effects tin salmon ( )ne com panv,
Hanson, is responsible tor the watershed and only one
company, therefore, is accountablc-
ln March, alter Rich had finished his visit to the
county the Association asked him to recommend what
measures should be taken to insure an appropriate forestry
bv Hanson in the I cola watershed We wan, to present
those recommendations as the C ity o f Cannon Beach enters
into this remarkable dialogue over the fate o f the I cola
Watershed
I he
J ) I he C ity should investigate installing automated water
quail,v m onitoring devices in I cola Creek to make real
tim e data available at city hall A long-term baseline data
se, could be established to evaluate future ecological
trends Automated temperature gauges should be placed
near the mouth o f I as, fo rk o f I cola Creek and Wes, fo rk
o f Ecola Creek and at other locations Interpretation o f
turbidity data is d iffic u lt without flow data Stream flow
could be measured below the city's water intake I, is
recommended that the I S G eological Survev establish a
stream flow gauge and keep the records Most like ly,
funding would have to be provided bv the City o f Cannon
Beach I be ( begun Department o f I nv ironm en,al Quality
could lend assistance on the installation o f temperature and
turbidity monitors
In addition to the above Nawa recommendation for
the watershed the Association would add
recommendations regarding the fores, ecosvstem and
w ild life habitat I he Coast Range Association's 1992 studv.
bv Reed Noss
, • ,/n<rv mg I )n
< A n ) Range H m J iv e ru ti, identified
a great need tor Sitka Spruce & Hem lock late-successional
to re s , in the near-ocean portion o f Clatsop Counts Wc
believe it would be advisable to link anv I cola lower
watershed conservancv for fish and viewshed w ith broader
terrestrial reserve needs Possibly lin kin g protected areas
w ith those of the X(H) acre Clatsop Stale I ores, lands
It is the hope o f the Coast Range Association that
under the new State ol < >regon Northwest Area f orest Plan
(w hich includes Clatsop State fores, i an opportunity for
addressing laic succcssional Habn.it concerns w ill present
itself (), course all speculation regarding the conservation
and protection o f biological values in the I cola basin is
dependent on the current land owner Hanson Natural
Resource Co
Normal Annual Precipitation
recommendations arc as follows
1) Begin efforts to acquire control o f forested wetlands
interm ingled w ith I cola Creek in order to prevent the
logging low gradient valley floor areas
2) Initiate a process tor identifying the upslopc hazard
areas A geologic investigation o f slope stability hazard is
needed, especially lo r hazard areas ,ha, could result in
chronic or catastrophic landsliding I his studv would be a
refinem ent o f the I ngineering Hazard M ap for the Cannon
Beach Quadrangle produced bv the ( >regon Department o f
M inerals & Geology Such a study would lake a detailed,
site specific look a, the entire I cola watershed
Slum p-earth,lows and headwalls need to be mapped along
w ith recent and historic landslide activity Roads must no,
be built on the toes o f slump-earth,Iocs
Become a Coast Range Association
member & supporter.
Executive Director
Chuck Wilier
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
President
Bob Gerl
Vice President
Marie Cole
Secretary
Don Andre
Treasurer
Patrick Tempe,
12 tm im tb&t stpitno iw
Fill in the form below and mail to CRA Clatsop
chapter, P.O. Box 906, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
O u r w o rk on lan d o w n e rsh ip , b a n n in g w a te rsh e d
h e rb ic id e u se, a n a ly z in g forest o w n e r cut rates an d a rg u in g for
a new s u s ta in a b le forestry is only p o ssib le b ecau se p e o p le lik e
v o u rse lt have becom e A sso ciatio n m em b ers.
Becom e a m e m b e r today
Please make your check payable to:
The Coast Range Association
Thank You!
Your contribution is tax-deduct,ble
(
)$15
Individual
Membership
)$ 2 5 Ì
Family
Membership i
(