Oregon News Herald
January 2026
Page 3
Library Notes from Lower Umpqua Library District
Lower
Umpqua
Library
District (LULD) is having a bingo
library borrowing program for all
ages. Participants in Library Bingo
will earn raffle tickets throughout the
year by borrowing items from the
library such as books, movies, and
magazines, which will be used towards
quarterly and annual prize drawings.
Library Bingo is a similar
concept as the Summer Reading
Program, except that it is year-round,
includes movies as well as books,
and is open to adults in addition to
kids. The generalized bingo card will
cover the breadth of the library’s
collection in adult, young adult (teen),
and juvenile age categories and there
will also be specialized bingo cards
focused on specific subjects, such as
cards for subgenres of romance and
speculative fiction. For example, if
you are interested in reading books
in a specific genre such as romance,
you could earn raffle tickets by
reading up to 25 different types
and specializations of that genre,
such as 25 kinds of romance novels
(romances set in different time
periods and regions, with different
types of plots, paranormal romances
vs. historical romances, etc.). Effort
has been made to meet a wide range
of interests so that there are bingo
cards available that appeal to as
many different people as possible.
LULD is participating in the
countywide One County, One Book
contest in which middle schoolers can
read a specific book, create a project
about it and submit their entries to
the library. Participants will compete
with other kids from throughout
Douglas County. Submissions are
due by January 23rd. This year’s
book is Dealing with Dragons by
Patricia Wrede, which is a fantasy
novel involving a princess and a
dragon. LULD has two copies of
this book available for checkout.
Six neighborhood library
modules (weatherproofed bookcases)
are available throughout LULD’s
service area. A new module was
recently installed outside the Oregon
Coast School of Art in Gardiner.
It joins the neighborhood library
modules at Highland Pool in uptown
Reedsport, at the fire stations in
Winchester Bay and Wells Creek, at
Smith River store on Lower Smith
River Road, and in Ash Valley near the
junction of Elk Ridge Forest Road and
Loon Lake Road. Books and DVDs
may be borrowed from neighborhood
library modules on an honor system
basis and are kept stocked by LULD
staff and by volunteers.
As a reminder, preschool storytime
continues to be held at LULD every
Wednesday at 11 am.
Alex Kuestner,
Library Director/District Manager
Lower Umpqua Library District
395 Winchester Ave,
Reedsport, Oregon 97467
(541) 271-3500 www.luld.org
Invasive Pests a Major Impact in Oregon
Continued from Front Page
by the Oregon Department of Forestry and
research partners indicate the insect is now
widespread across the northern Willamette
Valley. Traps placed between Portland and
Salem captured more than 500 beetles
across roughly 30 monitoring sites, spanning
counties including Clackamas, Washington,
Marion, Polk, and Yamhill.
Those numbers matter because
they indicate the beetle is established rather
than newly introduced. Invasive species
specialists say early detection can sometimes
allow eradication, but once populations are
widespread, management shifts toward
mitigation and damage control.
Unlike insects that defoliate trees,
the Mediterranean oak borer causes harm
from the inside out. The beetle burrows into
oak trees and introduces a fungus that disrupts
the tree’s vascular system, limiting its ability
to transport water and nutrients. Over time,
affected trees experience dieback, declining
health, and eventual death. The process can
take years, making early symptoms easy to
overlook.
Oregon white oak is considered
particularly vulnerable. Once common
across valley savannas and foothills, white
oaks support hundreds of plant, insect,
bird, and mammal species. They are also
valued for their drought tolerance and
role in wildfire resilience. Many of the
remaining stands already face pressure from
development, habitat fragmentation, and
prolonged drought.
Foresters report that stressed trees
appear to be most susceptible to infestation.
Drought conditions, soil compaction, root
disturbance, and prior disease all increase
vulnerability. That means oak stands near
roads, homes, and agricultural fields may
be at higher risk than trees in intact natural
areas.
What concerns land managers
most is the lack of proven treatment options.
Insecticide applications can be effective on
individual high-value trees, such as those
in parks or historic sites, but results have
been inconsistent and are not practical at a
landscape scale. Removing infested trees can
slow local spread but does not stop beetles
already established in surrounding areas.
While the Mediterranean oak borer
does not appear to kill trees as rapidly as the
emerald ash borer has devastated ash species
in the Midwest and East, officials caution
against complacency. The ecological impact
of losing mature oak woodlands would be
significant, affecting wildlife habitat, soil
stability, and long-term forest diversity.
At the same time, Oregon’s
waterways are facing a very different
invasive threat. The Chinese mitten crab,
a freshwater-capable crab native to East
Asia, was recently confirmed twice in the
Willamette River. These sightings represent
only the second and third documented cases
of the species in Oregon, but officials say
even limited detections warrant attention.
The mitten crab is easily
identified by the dense patches of hair on
its claws, resembling mittens. Unlike native
Dungeness or estuarine crabs, mitten crabs
spend much of their lives in freshwater rivers
and streams before migrating downstream to
brackish water to reproduce. This life cycle
allows them to move far inland, using river
systems as highways.
In other parts of the world,
particularly California and Europe, mitten
crabs have caused significant ecological
and infrastructure damage. They prey on
fish eggs and aquatic insects, compete with
native species such as crayfish, and disrupt
food webs critical to salmon and steelhead
recovery. Their burrowing behavior
weakens stream banks, levees, and flood
control structures, increasing erosion and
maintenance costs.
Oregon wildlife officials say it is
too early to know whether the mitten crab
has established a breeding population in the
Willamette system. However, the species’
history elsewhere suggests that even a
small number of individuals can lead to
rapid population growth if conditions are
favorable.
Monitoring efforts for both
invasive species are now intensifying.
State agencies, universities, and federal
partners are using a combination of trapping,
shoreline surveys, and environmental DNA
testing to assess spread and population
density. Environmental DNA, or eDNA,
allows scientists to detect genetic material
left behind in water or soil, offering early
clues even when physical specimens are
rare.
Public reporting is also a key
component of detection. Officials encourage
Small-Town Libraries
Become Community
Anchors Again
Lane • Douglas • Coos Counties
For many small towns across
Western Oregon, the local library is
quietly reclaiming an old role — not
just as a place for books, but as a
community anchor.
Rural libraries from the
Umpqua to the Willamette now host
job-search help, résumé workshops,
veterans’ meetups, kids’ story time,
art events, and basic tech support for
seniors. Recent grant programs aimed
at rural libraries emphasize that they
are “vital community hubs” where
residents can get online, apply for
jobs, research housing or benefits,
and simply connect with other people
— often at no cost.
In Lane County, for example,
libraries have added Wi-Fi hotspot
lending and stronger broadband to
serve people who don’t have reliable
internet at home.
In Douglas County, Master
Gardeners and food-security groups
use library meeting rooms to run
classes and seed libraries, tying
literacy and food access together.
Librarians say the biggest
shift isn’t a new building or a flashy
program. It’s the understanding that,
in a town where other institutions have
thinned out, the library may be the
last truly public indoor space left: no
purchase required, no membership, no
agenda other than service. Staff now
spend as much time connecting people
to social services and local resources
as they do shelving books.
Funding
pressures
and
staffing shortages haven’t gone away,
and some branches still rely on short-
term grants to keep newer programs
going. But foot traffic is steady, and in
many places it’s up. Patrons are using
computers, asking for help with online
forms, attending small events, and
— just as importantly — getting out of
the house.
For
Western
Oregon
communities that value both privacy
and neighborliness, the local library is
once again becoming the place where
those two can peacefully overlap.
Coastal High Schools
Bring Back Skilled
Trades Pathways
Coos • Coastal Lane Counties
residents to report unusual crab sightings
or oak trees showing signs of unexplained
decline. Photos, locations, and dates help
researchers build more accurate maps of
infestation and movement.
The economic implications extend
beyond environmental concerns. Oak
woodlands contribute to property values,
tourism, and agricultural shelterbelts.
River health affects fishing, recreation,
and flood management. Invasive species
often carry long-term costs that fall on local
governments, landowners, and taxpayers
long after the initial introduction.
Experts note that global trade
and travel increase the likelihood of new
Continued on Page 15
Along the coast, several high
schools are rebuilding something that
quietly slipped away over the last
few decades: hands-on skilled trades
programs.
In towns from Florence and
Reedsport down to Coos Bay and North
Bend, schools are partnering with local
employers, ports, and community
colleges to bring back classes in
welding, carpentry, basic construction,
and even maritime maintenance.
Students learn how to use tools safely,
read plans, and complete real projects.
Some programs are already aligning
with community college certificates
so graduates can walk across the stage
with both a diploma and a credential
employers recognize.