3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015
To keep water safe, task force is vigilant
Surfrider
helps monitor
water quality
By DANI PALMER
EO Media Group
CANNON BEACH —
Clean water is crucial to
ecological health. It’s why
Jesse Jones with the Surfrid-
er Foundation’s Blue Water
Task Force talked about the
Ecola Creek Watershed’s
health during a Haystack
Rock Awareness Program
lecture last week at the Can-
non Beach Library.
Jones has worked in many
aspects of water, both scien-
ti¿c and artistic. She grew up
on the Nehalem River.
“The quality of water de-
pends upon who needs it to
live,” she said. “Salmon need
cold water to reproduce, so
testing is done to determine
the temperature. That is
done here in Ecola. Humans
need clean water to drink
and bathe, so testing is done
to determine bacteria levels.
Plants, people and animals
need clean water to grow, so
testing is done to determine
all sorts of things.” Scientists
look at factors like oxygen,
algae, metals and sediments.
Monitoring limited
what’s in the water, so we
have to continue to do it,” she
said. “But I think we can do it
a lot more ef¿ciently.”
She added there should be
conversations about how to
do so and who should do it.
The Oregon Department
Volunteers needed
of Environmental Quali-
Surfrider needs more
ty only monitors four sites
in Clatsop County and the volunteers to assist in water
Beach Action Value used to testing. The Blue Water Task
determine whether water is Force has four regular volun-
teers and 12 total,
safe to swim in or
Jones said.
ingest will be low-
Many are retir-
ered in 2017, add-
ees. She said coor-
ing more strain.
dinators like their
Jones said the state
knowledge,
but
just doesn’t have
also need youth to
the money to do
carry on the tasks.
more — that com-
“I think educa-
munities need to do
tion is a big part of
more work.
it,” she said.
Jones said she
Jesse
Some in the au-
thinks
Timothy
Jones
dience suggested
Morton’s
book
partnering
with
“Ecology Without
Nature” makes a good point: local schools. If they had
humans need to focus on do- more volunteers, Jones said,
ing more. But she disagreed they could do additional
with him on data being a testing.
Some want the stormwater
waste of time.
“If we aren’t looking in running into drains and rivers
the water to see what’s there, tested, but it takes many re-
then we aren’t going to know sources.
back in Ecola Creek looks
different from the outfall
water. Outfall water has ani-
mal feces, trash deposits and
more that’s run into it. Pesti-
cides are also a water quality
concern.
Creek pretty cold
Submitted Photo
Salmon swimming in Ecola Creek. Many streams are too
warm for salmon spawning, but Ecola Creek appears to
be healthy.
Bob Lundy samples for
enterococcus bacteria in Eco-
la Creek and both the Blue
Water Task Force and Ore-
gon Beach Monitoring Pro-
gram test at the outfalls and
in shorewater.
Lundy said water farther
The Ecola Creek Water-
shed Council does the mon-
itoring of water temperature.
Many streams are too warm
for salmon spawning, but
Ecola Creek appears to be
healthy, Jones said.
“Ecola Creek is pretty
cold, which is great,” she
added.
There are some spots
above 70 degrees, but testers
aren’t sure of the causes.
They are working on cor-
relation studies.
Jones said there are multi-
ple steps the public can take
to assist. In addition to vol-
unteering for the Blue Water
Task Force or joining the wa-
tershed council, she said res-
idents could help protect the
creek by paying attention to
physical characteristics and
buying reusable water con-
tainers.
Gillnetters: Managers hopeful for next year
Continued from Page 1A
Fishermen earlier this year
called the new policy a “nail
in the cof¿n,” anticipating
that it would soon make lit-
tle economic sense for them
to continue ¿shing Willapa
Bay under the policy, which
is supposed to become more
restrictive in coming years.
Season curtailed
Of the 27 commercial ¿sh-
ing days scheduled on Willapa
Bay’s river systems this fall,
gillnetters ended up only ¿sh-
ing 10. Landings of Chinook
salmon were also higher than
anticipated, contributing to
this reduction of ¿shing days.
8nder the new policy, ¿sh-
ermen were given a 20 per-
cent harvest rate on natural
origin Chinook — salmon
that have not had their adi-
pose ¿ns clipped by hatchery
employees and could be wild
¿sh or the descendants of for-
mer hatchery ¿sh that have
“strayed” and no longer return
to the hatchery, according to
state ¿shery managers.
Once this percentage is
neared, ¿shery managers typ-
ically re-evaluate how and
when gillnetters ¿sh, often
shifting the focus of the ¿sh-
ery to another salmon species.
On Willapa Bay, and espe-
cially under the new policy,
the focus would normally shift
to coho, but the problem was
that this year coho came back
at only 42 percent of what was
forecast. And, with the already
high impacts to natural-origin
Chinook, ¿shery managers did
not want to risk further acci-
dental catch of Chinook by
shifting ¿shermen to another
species. So commercial gill-
netting closed in November in
the Willapa Bay area. Fishery
managers also closed the ma-
rine recreational ¿shery and
restricted a freshwater ¿shery
to hatchery streams.
According to preliminary
data released by the state, gill-
netters caught a season total
of 4,858 Chinook, 1,935 coho
and 2,803 chum in the Willa-
pa Bay Non-Indian Commer-
cial Gillnet Salmon Fishery
from Sept. 6 through Oct. 10.
Gillnetters blast
policies
Willapa Bay Gillnetters
Association President Bob
Lake ¿shed only a handful of
days this season, with poor re-
sults. He believes the policy is
wrong, both in its scope and
for the area.
The new policy’s stated
goals are to reduce impacts
to natural-origin Chinook and
shift commercial ¿shery im-
pacts to coho while minimiz-
ing chum mortalities. In fu-
ture years, this will also mean
further reducing the percent-
age of natural-origin Chinook
gillnetters can catch while
also reducing the number of
¿sh produced by the Naselle
Hatchery.
While the policy was
out for public comment this
spring, Department of Fish
and Wildlife Commissioner
Miranda Wecker and other
state ¿shery managers said
these steps were critical to
rebuild wild runs of salmon
in Willapa Bay. But ¿sher-
men and processors protested,
saying the salmon ¿shing in
the bay is dependent on high
hatchery production and that
no true wild runs exist.
Lake recalls past efforts to
restore wild runs in these sys-
tems — and how they failed.
“We’re at the mercy of
people who don’t know any-
thing about Willapa Bay,” he
said.
A lawsuit ¿led against the
Department of Fish and Wild-
life by the gillnetters associ-
ation claiming the policy is
misguided and adversely af-
fects ¿shermen is still moving
forward after being re¿led in
Thurston County.
to try to record the scope of
the die-off. Elsewhere, in
southern Oregon and eastern
Washington, hatcheries ex-
perienced massive die-offs,
well beyond the fall run die-
offs recorded near the Naselle
Hatchery.
This year’s count of
10,000 was highly unusual,
indicative of unusual condi-
tions, Thiesfeld said. It does
Better luck next year
Meanwhile, state ¿shery
managers are hopeful for next
year’s seasons on Willapa
Bay.
In an average year they
expect to see around 1,000
— maybe less — dead ¿sh
below the Naselle Hatchery.
The number of ¿sh noticed by
passers-by led to the depart-
ment doing a detailed count
Consult a
PROFESSIONAL
has been a long
Q: It time
since I last
visited the
dentist. What
should I do?
EO Media Group/File Photo
JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR
DMD, FAGD
Salmon return to the Nemah Hatchery on Willapa Bay.
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
503/325-0310
1414 MARINE DRIVE,
ASTORIA
www.smileastoria.com
NORTH COAST SYMPHONIC BAND
and the Liberty Theater present
A N orth Coa st Ch ristm a s:
H ome for the H olidays
D A VE B ECK ER M U SICAL D IRE CT IO R
W IT H N O RTH C O A ST C H O RA LE
AN D C A N N O N B EA CH C H O RU S
S ATU RDAY
LEO FINZI
Need help setting your favorite
home page in Edge?
Just bring your computer by.
We will be glad to help, no charge!
D ECEM BER 19 • 4 PM
Lib erty Thea ter • Asto ria
Tickets: 503-325-5922, ext. 55
Astoria ’ s Best
Gu est Soloists:
NETWORK AND
COMPUTER SALES,
SERVICES & REPAIRS
M ark G o o d en b erg er,
PE RCU SSIO N
Den ise Dillen b ack ,
VIO L IN
not signi¿cantly change how
coastal hatcheries will operate
in coming years, he said.
“Ideally,” he added, “we
won’t be looking at a record
drought next year.”
M-F 10-6 Sat 12-5
1020 Commercial #2
503-325-2300
A :
First, acknowledge
yourself for considering
your dental health. Most
importantly, understand that you
will be welcomed and given
respect, understanding, and
accurate information to help you
determine your course of action.
Dentistry has lots to offer to all
who are ready.
Q:
A :
A :
BRIM’S
Farm & Garden
34963 Hwy. 101 Business
Astoria • 503 - 325-1562
For beautiful gardens
& healthy animals
www.brimsfarmngarden.com
eggs. What
causes this?
Most likely it’s a combination of
factors, like old age and time of year.
Chickens “molt” this time of year, losing feathers a
few at a time and egg production slows or ceases
during this period of short days, about 12 to 18
weeks. A break for your hens is good for them and
nothing to worry about. A light timed to give the
birds 14 hours of daylight in the winter will keep
them producing after they have finished the molting
phase. Extend predawn light so they will naturally
roost at dusk. Why not let them free range on sunny
days and clean up garden pests? You won’t have to
worry about eggs being randomly deposited in the
yard during this time. Stop in today for hobby farm
books, heat lamps, chicken doors, fencing, bedding
and all your poultry supplies including organic feed
and yes, chicken treats. If your birds are past their
prime (four years) this is a good time to start
thinking about replenishing your flock with baby
chicks. They will start arriving next month.
it possible to
Q: Is advertise
in The
How do I set my own
home page in the
new Edge browser?
Go to your favorite page,
and close all other tabs.
Click the three dots, top
right corner, then “Settings.” Click
dot in front of “A Specific Page or
Pages,” then the down arrowhead,
in the rectangle just below that, and
click Custom.
Enter the information for the page
you are on (Look in the address
bar.. either type that in or copy and
paste it) into the rectangle that says
“Enter a web address.”
Then click the plus to the right.
chickens have
Q: My
stopped laying
Daily Astorian
with a limited
budget?
BRANDY STEWART
Advertising Consultant
T HE D AILY
A STORIAN
949 Exchange St., Astoria
503-325-3211, x217
A :
Yes, I have a number of
packages and special offers
that I can tailor to your specific
needs. I can help you come up with
a successful marketing plan
without emptying your pockets.
Contact me today to learn more
about what I can do for you!