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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 2015)
A spring break for adults? Gulls bounce back; WHS triumphs POINT OF VIEW • 2A SPORTS • 7A WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 142nd YEAR, No. 191 ONE DOLLAR Damian Mulinix — EO Media Group A double-crested cormorant rests atop of nest of eggs in the colony on East Sand Island. Corps moves to cull PINNIPEDS BY THE SCORE birds Photo courtesy of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Washington state biologist Steve Jeffries estimated more than 6,400 harbor seals hauled out on the Desdemona Sands during an aerial pinniped survey Feb. 11. Jeffries estimated them to mostly be from between Netarts to Grays River, Wash. Sea lions abound seeking smelt in local places By KATIE WILSON EO Media Group CHINOOK, Wash. — Despite objections from bird advocates, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving forward with a plan to kill thousands of double-crested cormo- rants on a small island at the mouth of the Columbia River near Chinook. A record of decision was signed March 19, approving the Corps’ management plan. Now the agency must apply for a depredation permit from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services DOORZLQJFRQWUDFWRUVWRNLOODVSHFL¿F number of birds this year. It is a move the Corps says is nec- essary to protect threatened and en- dangered young salmon, but critics, including the Oregon State Univer- sity researchers who were hired by the Corps to study the bird popula- tions on the island, say the Corps is not using the best available science. Also, they say, East Sand Island is one of the few places where these cormorants are thriving. Elsewhere, populations are not as robust. By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian F lying over the Desdemo- na Sands during a teleme- try survey, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife caught a photo of what looked like ¿VKZDVKHGXSDWORZWLGH%XWLW was actually more than 6,400 re- gionally based harbor seals. It’s not unusual, WDFW bi- ologist Steve Jeffries said, to see 4,000 to 5,000 of them hauled out on Desdemona, between the Astoria Bridge and Hammond in the Columbia River, a fraction of the 15,000 regional popula- tion from Netarts north to Grays River, Wash. “They’ve been mov- ing seasonally into the Columbia River in response to smelt runs forever.” During a Feb. 11 aerial survey, WDFW also counted more than 1,200 California sea lions at the East End Mooring Basin, along with nearly 600 Steller and Cali- fornia sea lions on the South Jetty. On Friday, spokeswoman Jessica Sall of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said, her agen- cy counted 2,340 California sea lions at the East End Mooring Basin. Increasing numbers of pinni- peds, driven by starvation in Cal- ifornia to the healthy smelt and salmon runs in the Columbia Riv- er, have put a strain on the Port of Astoria’s infrastructure and creat- HGHQPLW\EHWZHHQ¿VKHUVFRQVHU YDWLRQLVWVDQG¿VKHU\DJHQFLHV Plans move ahead to cut size of cormorant colony on island JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Sea lions and seals rest on the docks of the East Mooring Basin Tuesday. During a survey Feb. 11, it was estimated that more than 1,200 California sea lions were in the East Mooring Basin. By March 20, the count was more than 2,300. sea lions there Feb. 11; 1,649 Feb. 20; 1,211 March 2; and 2,340 on Friday, which Sall said was an all- Read about how sea lions are adapting to the changing climate time high. on Page 4A. “I think that will be telling once the smelt run is done, how many sea lions leave,” Sall said. “They’re under the federal Endangered Spe- And sea lions reserved their already tapering off.” cies Act. The past two years have spot at the dinner table. But even when the smelt are PDUNHGWKH¿UVWWLPHVLQFHWKHGHV Their seats are largely at the gone, an estimated 312,600 adult ignation that they’ve been allowed Port’s East End Mooring Basin, spring chinook salmon are expect- for commercial and recreational which has two docks for boats, and ed to provide a continuing food harvest. Fisheries managers esti- WZRXQRI¿FLDOO\IRUVHDOLRQVWKDW source. A National Oceanic and Here for smelt mated 200 million smelt returning also cover the rock breakwaters Atmospheric Administration report ,Q3DFL¿FVPHOWNQRZQDV to the Columbia in 2014 and a sim- surrounding the marina. Fisheries See PINNIPEDS, Page 4A eulachon, were marked threatened ilarly strong run this year. agencies counted 1,256 California MORE INSIDE See CORPS, Page 10A coast weekend THURSDAY Meet Jane Barnes Checkmate! Chess groups come back into play School clubs hope to spark a ‘renaissance’ By KATHERINE LACAZE EO Media Group SEASIDE — It’s deathly quiet in the Broadway Middle School library for a few mo- ments. An engaging competi- WLRQLVXQGHUZD\EXWWKHÀXU ry of activity is taking place entirely in the competitors’ minds. Every so often, they make hand movements, but even those are subtle and muted. At last, the silence is bro- ken when sixth-grader Sage KATHERINE LACAZE — EO Media Group Gearhart Elementary School students Olivia Mayhugh, front left, and Cara Foust, front right, play a game of chess during a chess club meeting. The club is in its second year under the guidance of Dan King, who has years of experience lead- ing a chess club at Seaside Heights Elementary School. 3DUN ¿QDOO\ “Checkmate.” DQQRXQFHV The game is over, but the excitement to play is not. Park’s opponent, fellow sixth-grader Crystal Rouse, immediately asks if Park wants to strike up another match, and the process starts over. That is one of the girls’ fa- vorite things about the game of chess: Even if you lose a match, you can play again, and there’s always something new to learn. “You’re just getting smart- er every time you play,” Rouse said. The two students, along with others at the middle school, now have ample op- portunity to play and learn, thanks to the school’s new chess club, one of very few in the county. Until recently, the offering of scholastic chess oppor- tunities in the area has been sparse, but that may change DVVHYHUDOÀHGJOLQJJURXSVDW local schools work to spark a renaissance. David Rouse, Crystal Rouse’s grandfather and the former Seaside Lady Gulls soccer team coach, started the middle school club. Although he led a club at the former Cannon Beach Elementary School for a time, he still is learning the ropes at Broad- way Middle School when it comes to student interest level and club objectives. “I’ve seen some kids in here who might want to play; we’ll see how that develops,” he said. See CHESS, Page 10A