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. Some restrictions apply, including must be 18 years of age
or older, must be a new membership only, and new membership must be established only at the Astoria, Astoria Safeway, or Warrenton Branches. Please visit
our website or your nearby Wauna CU Branch for membership eligibility & complete special promotion details. This special offer ends June 30, 2015.