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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2014)
DAMNATION FILM HOPES TO BRING ACTION The Elwha Dam, illegally built without fish passage in 1913, blocked native salmon and steelhead from spawn- ing in 70 miles of pristine habitat along Washington’s El- wha River. In 1987, Mikal Jakubal drew attention to the dam, tucked away in Olympic National Park, when he anonymously painted a large crack on it and the words “Elwha be free.” In 2013, the dam came down. The documentary film DamNation chronicles the success of dam removals, including the Elwha, Condit and Marmot dams, and calls for more action on high-cost, low-value dams such as those on the lower Snake River. DamNation screens 7 pm Thursday, June 19, at Bijou Art Cinemas. Jakubal, who appears in the film and is himself a documentary filmmaker, also painted a crack on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir dam in Yosemite National Park in 1987. Dean Coffey, general manager with the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power District told media at the time, “It was really a work of art — it wasn’t just graffiti.” Ironically, Jakubal tells EW that despite the national attention his dam-cracks drew to the issue of dam re- moval, he himself didn’t become involved in the issue until recently — after he watched DamNation. He is now working to remove “salmon-killing” dams on the Eel River near his home in Northern California. He says the dams are “really old” and divert water from fish and the native ecosystem to “fuel subdivision sprawl and vine- yards in Sonoma County.” Dams are also a hotbed issue here in Oregon, where Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) attorney Pete Frost says Cougar Dam in the Willamette National Forest still needs work. A temperature control unit has been installed, and fish are currently trapped and hauled around the dam to reach their spawning grounds, but Frost says that of the young wild salmon that try to negotiate the dam’s turbines on their way out to sea, “not a lot survive.” Dam removal feels very different from other types of environmental activism and advocacy he has been in- volved with, Jakubal says. “You take out a dam — getting out of the way and allowing these fish to return to ances- tral spawning grounds, allowing the evolutionary clock to restart for them and for a watershed that’s been emaciated for 100 years, 150 years, however long it’s kept these fish from coming back.” Taking out a dam means humans stop controlling that watershed, he says, and you know the dam won’t come back any time soon. The DamNation screening, hosted by the WELC and Save Our Wild Salmon, will feature a panel discussion and audience Q&A session with Frost. Organizers say “the film is sponsored by Oregon-based Mountain Rose Herbs, the first business in Eugene to be Salmon-Safe Certified.” Tickets are $10. — Camilla Mortensen P HOTO BY MIK A L JA K UBA L ACTIVIST LERT • An Interfaith Peace Walk is planned for 6:30 to 8 pm Sunday, June 22, beginning at the Ebbert United Methodist Church Community Garden at 6th and D Street in Springfield and marching to The Learning Garden at Brattain on C Street. “The purpose of this walk is to build relationships in our neighborhood,” say organizers. “Community gardens are one way we in Springfield promote peace and goodwill in our community.” For more information, call June at 603-8706. • “Addressing Sexual Violence on College Campuses” is the topic of a meeting with national campus activists Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino from 5:30 to 7 pm Monday, June 23, at the Wesley Center, 1236 Kincaid St. The two will share information about what is happening on campuses across the nation and at the federal level to address sexual violence. Suggested donation of $20 will support Sexual Assault Support Services. • The Eugene City Council will hold a public hearing on extending the Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) suspension at 7:30 pm Monday, June 23, at Harris Hall. This would be the third extension. Council will also have a work session on City Manager Jon Ruiz’s performance evaluation at 5:30 pm June 23; and at noon Wednesday, June 25, the council will take action on the MUPTE extension and have a work session on Police Auditor Mark Gissiner’s performance. Find the council’s tentative working agenda at wkly.ws/1rx. • A discussion on Lane County strategic planning is on the agenda of the Lane Board of County Commissioners from 9 am to 3 pm Wednesday, June 25. The public isn’t invited to participate or speak at this long meeting, but it is open to the public to attend and monitor. • Coming up is a benefit concert for David Oaks from 6 to 8 pm Thursday, June 26, at Cozmic, 199 W. 8th Ave., featuring music by Steel Wool. Oaks is a longtime advocate locally and internationally for people with mental challenges. He was paralyzed in an accident last year and is now confined to a wheelchair. Contact Tim Mueller at gwproj@pacinfo.com for more information. LANE COUNTY AREA SPRAY SCHEDULE SKATEBOARDING IN STREETS PROPOSAL HITS ROADBLOCK Skateboarders should be allowed to ride in streets and bike lanes like bicyclists, according to Lee Shoemaker, Eugene’s bi- cycle and pedestrian coordinator. He has not gone to the Eugene City Council with the proposal because he has heard mixed opinions about it, he says. Eugene city law currently allows skateboarders to ride in the streets only while crossing them. Downtown, skateboarding on sidewalks is also illegal. “Some people supported it — they wanted a viable way to get around,” Shoemaker says. “The people that were opposed were concerned about safety of skateboarders in the street.” He says the Eugene Police Department (EPD) has voiced concerns about skaters’ ability to control their boards and stop because they don’t have brakes. “We’re currently working with Eugene police officers on a proposal that we may bring back in the future, but it’s not ready for that now,” Shoemaker said dur- ing a May 27 City Council meeting. EPD declined to comment about whether it supports Shoe- maker’s proposal. EPD gave out 34 tickets for skateboarding in a prohibited area in 2013 and have handed out 24 in 2014, according to EPD spokesperson John Hankemeier. Each cita- tion costs $50. Shoemaker says the proposal is aimed at making skateboard- ing a more feasible transportation option. “You would have to have lights on at night, yield to pedes- trians, would have to ride on the right side of the street like a bicycle,” Shoemaker says. Skateboarding in streets and bike lanes is legal in Portland and three other Oregon cities — Salem, Corvallis and Ashland. Tessa Walker, skateboarding advocacy group NW Skate Co- alition board member, says skaters using streets and bike lanes is a good solution for all road users when skaters have the same responsibilities as bicyclists. “Skateboarders travel at speeds similar to bikes, and they can steer and negotiate traffic just fine,” says Tessa Walker, skate- boarding advocacy group NW Skate Coalition board member. Walker studies skateboarding from an active transportation planning perspective and is an asset management assistant for the city of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation. She says the street is the safest place for skateboarders to ride. “Being off the sidewalk keeps skaters safe because it pro- tects them from hazards like broken pavement that can cause trouble for their small wheels,” Walker says, “and it keeps pe- destrians safe because they’re not sharing space with a much faster mode.” All skateboarders under age 16 are required to wear a helmet in Oregon. Shoemaker is also behind two other active transportation proposals. One would allow electric-powered bicycles on bike paths and the other would modify the downtown areas where riding bicycles and skateboards on sidewalks is illegal. The City Council will host a public hearing about these two proposals July 21 and may take action July 28. — Missy Corr • Oregon Department of Transportation is currently spraying roadsides. Call Tony Kilmer at ODOT District 5 at 744-8080 or call 1-888-996-8080 for herbicide application information. Highways I-5, Beltline and 99 were sprayed recently. • Roseburg Resources Co. plans to ground spray 109 acres near Green River with imazapyr, triclopyr ester and/ or oil surfactant. See ODF notice 2014-781-00593, call Jim Hall at 997-8713 with questions. • Lane County has contracted with Wildish to apply an asphalt overlay to Horton Road. The paving project is currently scheduled to begin June 16 and run through July 1. Hydrogen sulfide may be emitted from hot asphalt. Compiled by Jan Wroncy and Gary Hale, Forestland Dwellers: 342- 8332, forestlanddwellers.org. POLLUTION UPDATE Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) hit Pacific Recycling with a $327,686 fine on Friday, June 13, for stormwater pollution problems dating back to 2008 at its facility on Cross Street (near Roosevelt Boulevard) in Eugene. Pacific Recycling has repeatedly discharged harmful levels of industrial pollutants (specifically copper, lead, zinc, suspended solids, and oil & grease), and promised to install additional stormwater treatment in 2011, but never did so. DEQ also cited (but did not fine) Pacific Recycling for repeatedly tracking sediment off of the site since 2008. DEQ has fined Pacific Recycling on two other occasions in recent years, both times for hazardous waste law violations. DEQ is currently accepting public comments on erosion plans for three local construction projects: Phase 1 of Hayden Homes’ Pinehurst project at Ivy & S. 55th in Springfield; Bailey Hill Holdings, LLC’s Bailey Hill Apartments at 13th & Bailey Hill in Eugene; and Weyerhaeuser NR Company’s Truck Road Landfill project south of Springfield. Comments on the first two are due by 5 pm Monday, June 23, while comments on the third one are due by 5 pm June 24. Visit goo.gl/Yp4iAK for info on commenting. Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project eugeneweekly.com • June 19, 2014 7
