FRIDAY EXCHANGE
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015
PERS facts
Land conservation fund touches all
R
egarding the guest col-
umn, “The PERS earth-
quake: A damage assessment”
by Adam Davis: A little bit
of knowledge is dangerous,
especially when it is used by
Mr. Monday Morning Quar-
terback Davis.
Fact: The Public Em-
ployees Retirement System
(PERS) program was not an
option by educators, as we all
were signed up.
Fact: The PERS pick-up
and required 6 percent pay re-
duction was part of the salary.
Several times, it was our only
raise.
Fact: The state was sup-
posed to invest the money,
and not funnel it off into bud-
get balancing.
Fact: The state representa-
tives were told by the PERS
lawyers exactly what they
were signing
Fact: Our lawyer advised
that the state would come up
short when we started retiring
if they didn’t change their in-
vestment strategy, as we ne-
gotiated to have some control
over our money.
The state must honor
their obligations instead of
pretending to have a budget
surplus. Anyone investing 12
percent of their salary over 30
\HDUVLQDÀH[LEOHIXQGVKRXOG
have done well, especially if
they put their money in before
2000. The 1990s were fabu-
lous.
This is a contract issue,
and not a social issue.
STEVE CARLSON
Tygh Valley
W
e were very pleased to see the
recent editorial urging Congress
to support the Land and Water Conser-
vation Fund (“Most popular program
you’ve never heard of,” The Daily
Astorian, May 5). As one of the non-
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places along the South Washington
and North Oregon Coasts and the
Columbia River, the Land and Water
Conservation Fund is one of the most
important conservation programs we
have. And although few people have
heard about LWCF, it is very likely
that the program has touched all of
our lives through the parks, trails, boat
access, and wildlife areas it has helped
protect.
Right now, the most important
challenge facing LWCF is protecting
Sometime in the future, if you
want to watch the river pilots
in action, the private owners
of the river views can invite a
few friends over for spectacu-
lar front row seats, while the
majority of the citizens can
crowd into 40-foot corridors
and squint for a glimpse.
When there are river
events, who needs some sort
of sprawling river park for the
public? In Astoria we like to
gather in the parking lot of
the Maritime Museum. Who
wants grassy areas with pic-
nic tables and lots of benches,
when you can walk down to
the 14th Street 20-foot by 20-
foot river park and sit on the
one bench?
Today and forever, the cit-
izens of Oregon are indebted
Gov. Tom McCall, who
Riverfront in trouble to
signed into law the Oregon
hat a wonderful time Beach Bill. It was a bold de-
to be living in Asto- cision to preserve the Oregon
ria. You can walk down 11th Coast for the people. From
Street to the river and, pret- low tide to high tide, there will
ty much, stroll either east or be no buildings constructed to
west, with a lot of open space obliterate the Oregon view of
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lumbia River.
Sometimes I believe As-
There are many places toria is one of the most pro-
along this ancient waterway gressive little towns on the
that have views, but only West Coast, and then other
Astoria sits on the widest times I believe we are a lit-
breadth, as it clashes into the tle town, with too much lit-
3DFL¿F2FHDQDQHVWXDU\DQG tle-town-mentality, too much
special eco-system, with the greed, and no bold direction.
opportunity to witness the The city keeps having public
coming and going of com- hearings on the Riverfront Vi-
mercial vessels and the ritual sion Plans, but when the pub-
of riverboat pilots embarking lic shows up to unanimously
and disembarking to guide voice opposition to 35-foot to
these giants safely through the 45-foot buildings on the wa-
channel to their destinations.
terfront, they are dismissed
When we encourage tour- with “Not everyone in this
ists to come to one of our city ... feels that there should
many extraordinary events, be no development along the
they, too, can use the River- river.”
walk and enjoy what the cit-
Of course not. There are,
izens of Astoria get pleasure VXUHO\ GHYHORSHUV DQG SUR¿-
doing on a daily basis. Future teers chomping at their bits to
Astoria citizens will not have start construction as soon as
that opportunity or pleasure, the city administration gives
because this generation of them the green light by ignor-
civic leaders has decided ing public opinion.
that the part of the Columbia
LARRY ALLEN
shores within the domain of
Astoria
the city of Astoria should be
privatized.
“It’s a working water- Idea inspires action
’m inspired by the May 27
front,” but we will create “40-
Daily Astorian article about
foot corridors in between to
preserve views” and “40-foot beach balls gently scaring
setbacks to soften the impact.” sea lions away from our lo-
W
I
Oregon’s two-year tab for
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The Daily Astorian
The Oregon Department of
Forestry spent $200 million bat-
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seasons.
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the dozens of homes lost, the im-
pact to communities, or the loss
of valuable natural resources, ac-
cording to the department.
“We’re faced with a daunting
task,” Tom Fields, the depart-
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nator, said in a statement. “With
drought conditions plaguing
much of the state, it is crystal
clear that, as a society, we all
QHHGWRSXW¿UHSUHYHQWLRQSUDF-
tices front and center in our daily
lives.”
The department, which over-
sees nearly 16 million acres of
state forestland, reported that 70
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anything not started by lightning
and include outdoor debris burn-
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PHQWXVH¿UHZRUNVDPPXQLWLRQ
exploding targets and arson.
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are accidental, many result from
carelessness, such as burning yard
debris during warm, windy condi-
tions.
In 2014, the department re-
VSRQGHGWRGHEULVEXUQ¿UHV
that burned 1,900 acres and cost
more than $805,000 to suppress.
That’s an average of $4,711 per
¿UH,QPDQ\FDVHVWKHUHVSRQVL-
EOHSDUW\LVOLDEOHIRU¿UHVXSSUHV-
sion costs.
Each ODF District will go into
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their respective areas. The depart-
ment cautions people to prepare
for the end of unregulated outdoor
debris burning, already prohibited
LQVRPHDUHDVNHHSLQJFDPS¿UHV
in approved campgrounds; and
keeping vehicles on improved
URDGVWKDWDUHIUHHRIGU\ÀDPPD-
ble vegetation.
Other activities the department
IRUELGVGXULQJ¿UHVHDVRQLQFOXGH
WKHXVHRIVN\ODQWHUQV¿UHZRUNV
tracer ammunition and exploding
targets.
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restrictions, or check with the lo-
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RU¿UHGHSDUWPHQWIRUPRUHLQIRU-
mation.
Fields said the severity of this
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Mother Nature and people.
“There’s not a whole lot we
can do about lightning, except
EH SUHSDUHG ZLWK ¿UH¿JKWLQJ UH-
sources before the storm hits,” he
said. “People, on the other hand,
can make a huge difference in the
success, or failure of a challenging
summer.”
the fund itself from expiring. Unless
Congress acts soon, this 50-year-old
historic program will expire in five
short months. Congress needs to re-
authorize LWCF and keep its orig-
inal, intended purpose: to protect,
enhance, and steward parks and pub-
lic lands for the benefit of all Amer-
icans.
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one of Oregon and Washington’s most
special places. Our organization, along
with the Nature Conservancy, Forter-
ra, the North Coast Land Conservancy
and many, many others, feel pride in
working to maintain the coast’s beau-
ty and vibrancy. We are fortunate that
both U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley in Oregon, along with
Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray in
cal docks (“Can beach balls
banish sea lions?”). If only
beach balls would banish Or-
egon LNG from the Columbia
River.
The company’s executives
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stubborn as sea lions. They
mock Clatsop County’s re-
fusal to grant a permit for its
proposed pipeline. They re-
ject Oregon’s right to enforce
its own laws. They scoff at
Oregon’s land use, air quality
and water quality rules. They
ignore the risk of building in
an earthquake and tsunami
zone at the project’s Skipanon
5LYHUVLWH²DVDQGVSLWRQ¿OO
below sea level. They pooh-
pooh private property rights
and trespass on land they were
denied entry to.
Oregon LNG’s CEO said
the company would nice-
ly decorate the company’s
two proposed 17-story gas
storage tanks, each bigger
around than a downtown
Portland city block. He might
like playing with paint, and
we might want to play with
beach balls, but Oregon LNG
is playing with our lives and
our home.
Who can make this de-
structive greed-driven propos-
al go away? We can.
Urge Gov. Brown to tell
the Federal Energy Regulato-
ry Commission (FERC) that
this proposal doesn’t comply
with county and state law and
therefore needs to be denied.
Washington state, are strong champi-
ons for LWCF. They, along with many
RWKHUVDFURVVWKHFRXQWU\DUH¿JKWLQJ
to sustain the program, so that it will
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of us.
We thank The Daily Astorian for
highlighting the value of LWCF for
Oregonians. We can continue to thank
and encourage our senators working
back in Washington, D.C., to keep
America’s premier conservation pro-
gram alive, so they know how import-
ant the Northwest’s natural legacy is
for all of us.
GLENN LAMB
Vancouver, Wash.
Editor’s note: Glenn Lamb is the
executive director of the Columbia
Land Trust.
Contact her at www.oregon.
gov/gov/Pages/share-your-
opinion.aspx or (503) 378-
4582.
Testify at this summer’s
city of Warrenton public hear-
ing about Oregon LNG. You
need to be one of dozens —
even hundreds — of people
reminding Warrenton City
Commissioners that Oregon
LNG does not belong here.
The hearing won’t be a day
at the beach, but it could save
our communities.
Find out more about Ore-
gon LNG and the Warrenton
hearing at a free communi-
ty information workshop on
Thursday, June 18, from 6-8
p.m. at the Warrenton Com-
munity Center, 170 S.W.
Third St. The meeting is pre-
sented by Columbia River-
NHHSHU DQG &ROXPELD 3DFL¿F
Common Sense, the local NO
LNG group. For more infor-
mation, call 503-338-6508
or go to www.columbiariver-
keeper.org
LAURIE CAPLAN
Astoria
Cruelty to birds
A
gents of the law are ac-
tively searching for the
criminal who shot and killed
some seven sea lions over the
past few weeks. At the same
time, agents of the law have
been authorized to shoot and
kill hundreds, perhaps thou-
sands, of cormorants. Both
species feed on salmon. Am I
missing something here?
TESS CHEDSEY
Warrenton
Yes to carbon bill
Y
ou don’t have to look
too far to see signs that
climate change is not a dis-
tant threat, but hurting people
right now. Fifteen counties in
Oregon are in a drought emer-
gency, while California, al-
ready parched, has zero snow
pack to carry them through
the summer. Extreme events
like this are costly, and with-
out action are only going to
become more common.
We in Oregon have a great
opportunity, right now, to
take action and set a mod-
el for limiting the carbon
emissions that drive climate
change. There are bills in the
Oregon Legislature that will
put a price on emissions from
big-time polluters, and bring
the revenue directly back to
Oregonians. These polluters
can’t freely dump waste on
public land or in our rivers,
so why have they been able
to freely pump carbon into
our skies?
So far, we the people have
been paying the costs of their
emissions. It’s time for that to
change. We can put in place
a fair system that doesn’t put
the burden of emissions or
high energy costs on ordinary
citizens, and in turn, we can
5A
spur investment in renewable
energy. It’s a win-win.
Please contact your state
representative and tell them to
support carbon cap and divi-
dend.
KEVIN FITZGERALD
Portland
Support dividend
T
hese days, it is hard to
escape sobering news of
our climate crisis’ latest de-
velopments. As a high school
counselor and mother of two,
I witness on a daily basis the
fears and concerns felt by to-
day’s youth about our collec-
tive future. They feel helpless
when they see our lawmakers
deadlocked in heated politi-
cal, bantering while their fu-
ture hangs in the balance.
I am convinced that no vi-
able solution to our climate
crisis can occur until we in-
ternalize the cost of carbon
pollution. The Cap and Div-
idend being considered by
the Oregon Legislature this
session would do just that. It
puts a price on carbon through
a permit auction, distributing
equitable the revenue raised
to every Oregonian.
Cap and Dividend match-
es the gravity of our climate
issue and promises real
change. It puts in place sen-
VLEOH VFLHQWL¿FDOO\ JURXQG-
ed emission targets, curbing
carbon pollution at a pace
that climatologists advise
is necessary to stabilize our
climate’s 80 percent reduc-
tion of 1990 greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050.
The dividend offers Or-
egonians cash on an annual
basis — much like the Alaska
Permanent Fund. The divi-
dend will allow swift action to
remedy our climate crisis, be-
cause it promises widespread
support from across the politi-
cal spectrum.
More importantly, how-
ever, the dividend offers tan-
gible hope to our youth, by
offering them funds they can
choose to put towards their
future college dreams. For
the sake of future generations,
we must take bold and coura-
geous action now, to carve out
a viable, healthy life-sustain-
ing future for all.
PAMELA WOOD
Portland