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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2015)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 Cannon Beach takes next step to add to Ecola Creek reserve ‘We think it’s a good addition to the ECFR because we already adjoin it, the creeks pass through it on the ECFR park.’ By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — The Cannon Beach City Council Tuesday night approved a plan to pursue a grant to partially fund the acquisition of a 28- acre addition to the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve. The council unanimously agreed to seek the grant admin- istered by the Oregon Water- shed Enhancement Board. The funds originate from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We think it’s a good addi- tion to the ECFR because we already adjoin it, the creeks pass through it on the ECFR park,” Project Manager Mark Barnes said after the meeting. “Tonight the council agreed to take the next step.” The project cost is $287,514, of which the city’s share would be $65,838, or 23 percent of the total cost. If the grant application is successful, the state would kick in more than $75,000, or 27 percent of the project, and the federal government would put in about $146,000, or about half the proj- ect cost. Potential contributing partners include Trout Mount Forestry, Biosurveys LLC, Trout Unlimited, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce, the Ecola Creek Watershed Council and North Coast Land Conservancy which are already engaged in discussion regard- ing this project. The city may also seek commitments from — Mark Barnes Project manager stream and tributary to Ecola Creek that no longer functions DQGLVDEDUULHUWR¿VKSDVVDJH Part of the grant would pay for the culvert’s removal. The par- cel would also improve access to the reserve. The property could be partially developed in the future if it is not protected by as part of the reserve. Courtesy of Dan Haag A rustic footbridge takes hikers across a stream along a trail in the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve. The City Council has approved a grant request to add 28 acres adjacent to the reserve to protect it from development. the Clatsop-Nehalem Confed- erated Tribes and the Haystack Rock Awareness Program. The parcel is owned by Terry and Carmen Swigart. The property’s assessed value hovers at about $60,000, City Manager Brant Kucera said at a January meeting. The L-shaped parcel, on the east side of U.S. Highway 101, abuts the 1,040-acre forest re- serve and spans Ecola Creek in the lower watershed area of the city’s old treatment plant. Within the parcel lies an old steel double-culvert in Wa- WHUKRXVH &UHHN D ¿VKEHDULQJ from protected habitat. If the grant application is successful, it would provide protection for Ecola Creek wet- lands by improving freshwater ÀRZV DQG KDELWDW FRQQHFWLRQV The plan also includes a pro- posal to scrape down a road section to adjacent wetlands and to plant spruce and cedar. The project would be owned and managed by the city as a Draft proposal The draft proposal prepared subgrantee of the Oregon Wa- by the city to the National tershed Enhancement Board. The city is in discussion Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program was present- with the Swigarts on the acqui- ed at Tuesday’s meeting. Ac- sition of the parcel. The application includes cording to the application, the streams and wetland habitat to a proposal for education and be protected by the project in- outreach programs. The resto- clude coho salmon and other ration would include removal ¿VKRIVWDWHRUIHGHUDOFRQFHUQ of invasive plants including Lack of off-channel habitat and Himalayan blackberry, English large woody debris are limit- holly and Scotch broom. “This is the second step ing factors to the Ecola Creek watershed’s coho population. of a multistep grant process,” Coho and winter steelhead — Barnes said. “This is still a considered a federal species of draft. Importantly, this is going FRQFHUQ²ZRXOGERWKEHQH¿W to be going to the Legislature with several other grant appli- cations in the package in the next couple weeks.” Barnes said the proposal would serve to make sure that the application doesn’t come to representatives as “a surprise out of the blue.” According to Barnes, the tentative budget calls for city costs that would cover staff- ing and cash costs that may be lost if the grant is unsuccess- ful. These include reimburs- able costs such as survey and appraisal, which would be re- turned to the city if successful, but not if the grant application was rejected. Project management is proposed at $40,560, and the appraisal would cost about $10,000, according to the draft budget in the grant application. If the project moves for- ward, due diligence could begin in 2016 and the project closeout could reach completion by Sep- tember 2019. Nehalem River geology is topic MANZANITA — The Lower Nehalem Watershed Council welcomes U.S. Geo- logical Survey Hydrologist Mackenzie Keith during its upcoming Speaker Series event Thursday at the Pine Grove Community House, 225 Laneda Ave. in Man- zanita. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments; the presentation, “Geolo- gy Shapes the Character of the Lower Nehalem River,” starts at 7 p.m. The council’s regular business meeting and project updates will follow. Keith joined the Oregon Water Science Center geo- morphology team in 2009. She received her bachelor’s degree in geology from Ore- gon State University in 2006, and a master’s degree in ge- ology from Portland State University in 2012. She was a key part of the USGS as- sessments of Oregon coastal rivers, including the Nehalem River, from 2010 to 2012. Ongoing projects include an assessment of the upstream geomorphic response to the removal of Marmot Dam on the Sandy River and mapping WKH ÀRRGSODLQ JHRPRUSKROR- gy on the Willamette River. For information about the USGS Oregon Water Science Center’s research on the coast and around the state, go to http:/or.water.usgs.gov This event is free and open to the public. For information, call 503-368-7424, email LNWC@NehalemTel.net or go to http://lnwc.nehalem.org or www.facebook.com/lnwc1 Is Your Financial Institution Changing? 0DNH7KH6ZLWFK.HHS<RXU0RQH\/RFDO Your 5HDOO\ \ Local Credit Union Make The Switch Now *Earn Up to $90 Cash! And Maybe One of Our Limited Edition soft & fuzzy Bald Eagles! waunafcu.org 800-773-3236 *Membership with Wauna Credit Union is required to qualify for the special rewards and bald eagle. 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