3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2015
Need a lift?
Of¿ cials plan to
spray in Portland
to stop Asian
gypsy moths
Bt spraying
will take place
next spring
The Daily Astorian
Asian gypsy moth
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
Warrenton Police are
searching for a pickup
truck driver who struck a
12-year-old boy Monday
morning at South Main
Avenue and Southwest 9th
Street.
The boy was crossing
South Main Avenue in the
marked crosswalk when
he was struck by the north-
bound pickup truck, ac-
cording to witnesses. The
truck then stopped and the
male driver and witnesses
went to aid the boy, who
limped to the west side of
the road with an injured leg.
The driver, a white man
in his 50s with a round face
and short gray hair wearing
glasses, told witnesses he
was going to move his ve-
hicle out of the roadway. It
was very dark and pouring
rain at the time of the crash
and he did not want to leave
his vehicle on the roadway,
he said.
The driver then left the
scene.
Warrenton Police Chief
Matt Workman, a Clatsop
County Sheriff’s deputy
and witnesses could not
¿ nd the pickup, described
as an older model, full-
sized, dark gray or dark
colored with little or no
damage on the driver’s side
front corner.
The boy was transport-
ed by Medix to Columbia
Memorial Hospital where
he was treated and released
to his parents having no
broken bones or serious in-
juries.
Those who were in the
area at the time of the crash
or have additional informa-
tion are encouraged to call
Warrenton Police at 503-
861-5622 or email Chief
Workman at mworkman@
ci.warrenton.or.us.
Adult male
Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org
PORTLAND — Ore-
gon farm regulators plan to
spray more than 8,000 acres
in Portland next spring to
prevent the establishment
of the Asian gypsy moth, a
destructive pest found in the
area this year.
The Oregon Department
of Agriculture plans to ¿ rst
conduct extensive outreach
before applying Bacillus
thuringiensis, a biological
pesticide that destroys the
insect’s ability to digest.
³This is a pretty signi¿ -
cant deal for us, especially
since we will have to ap-
ply the Bt aerially around
Portland,” said Katy Coba,
the department’s director,
during a meeting Wednes-
day of the Oregon Board of
Agriculture in Portland.
The treatment is sensi-
tive as it could provoke a
negative public reaction in
the populated urban area
that would interfere with the
ability to ¿ ght the pest, said
Clint Bur¿ tt, manager of the
department’s insect pest pre-
vention program.
“There’s a short oppor-
tunity to mitigate the AGM
threat before it spreads,” he
said.
Costly spraying
The cost of spraying will
likely involve several air-
craft and the Oregon portion
of the project is expected
to cost . million, Bur¿ tt
said.
Spraying will also occur
in southwest Washington at
a cost of $3 million, he said.
This year the moths were
found on the Washington
and Oregon sides of the Co-
lumbia River.
In Oregon, eradication
will likely begin in mid-
April and involve three
treatments one week apart,
pending an environmental
assessment and public out-
reach, Bur¿ tt said.
Oregon has asked the
federal government to fully
pay for the spraying, but the
Department of Agriculture
will also request funding
from the state L egislature
early next year in case the
federal funds don’t cov-
er the entire expense, said
Coba.
Third largest
eradication
Police on
the lookout
for driver
who hit boy
The eradication project is
the third largest in Oregon’s
history, said Helmuth Rogg,
Binomial name: Lymantria dispar
asiatica
Appearance: Adult males have
grayish-brown wings with darker
bands and a wingspan of 1 1/2
inches. Adult females are white
and much larger with a wingspan
of 3 1/2 inches.
Diet: More than 600 species of
trees and shrubs, including larch,
oak, poplar, alder, willow and
some evergreens.
Life cycle: Four stages; egg,
larva, pupa and moth. Eggs are
laid between June-September and
remain dormant through winter to
hatch the following spring.
Origin: Far East countries such
as China, Russia and Japan.
First observed in N. America:
1991 near Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada.
Rebecca Herren/EO Media Group
An elk looks with interest at a passing car in Gearhart earlier this month.
Free New Year’s Day hikes at state parks
Source: USDA APHIS
Capital Press graphic
director of Oregon’s plant
program area.
Asian gypsy moths have
previously been intercepted
in Oregon in 1992, 2000 and
2006 along the Columbia
River, likely due to Asian
imports at the nearby Port of
Vancouver, he said.
The Asian gypsy moth
is more of a danger to agri-
culture and the environment
than the European gypsy
moth, whose females are
incapable of À ight, Bur¿ tt
said.
Asian gypsy moth fe-
males can À y and produce
up to 1,000 eggs each, so the
species can become estab-
lished more rapidly, he said.
With about 600 host
plants, the Asian gypsy
moth also has more habitat
available, he said.
The Daily Astorian
Free “First Day Hikes”
will be held in 28 Oregon
state parks on New Year’s
Day, including in Fort Ste-
vens, Nehalem Bay and Cape
Lookout .
Park rangers or volunteers
will lead most of the hikes.
The usual day-use parking
fee will be waived on Jan. 1
only.
Participants should dress
in layers, wear sturdy shoes
and bring water as well as
a camera or binoculars for
wildlife viewing, according
to park rangers. In case of
inclement weather, partici-
pants should contact the park
directly to ¿ nd out about can-
cellation.
At Cape Lookout State
Park, the free hike will be-
Defoliate
wild-growing plants
gin at noon at the Cape
Lookout Trail parking lot.
The hike is 5 miles on mod-
erate terrain. Park rangers
say the Cape Lookout Trail
is one of the most scenic
on the Oregon Coast with
views of the shoreline to the
north and south. Over the
past four years, hikers have
seen whales on the First Day
Hike. Dogs must be on a 6 -
foot leash.
At Fort Stevens State
Park, the free hike will be-
gin at 10 a.m. at the North
Coffenbury Lake parking lot.
The hike is 3 miles on the
Coffenbury Lake, Sunset and
Burma Road trails.
The hike will be on areas
of unimproved trails, through
mature spruce, cedar and
shore pine forests, and along
an inter-dune freshwater
lake. Dogs must be on a 6 -
foot leash.
At Nehalem Bay State
Park, the free hike will begin
at 10 a.m. at the parking lot
behind the registration booth.
The hike is an easy 2 -mile
hike on the Nehalem Bay
Loop Trail. Binoculars and a
spotting scope will be avail-
able for bird watching.
For directions to each
park, visit the Oregon State
Parks website at www.ore-
gonstateparks.org.
This year, participants are
asked to share photos of their
First Day Hike via social
media by using the hashtag
OR¿ rstdayhikes on Twit-
ter and Instagram or tagging
“Oregon State Parks” on
Facebook. Images can also
be e-mailed to social.oprd@
oregon.gov.
Survey ¿ nds monarch butterÀ ies
prevalent in central Oregon
The pest can greatly
defoliate
wild-growing
plants, negatively affecting
stream temperatures, Burf-
itt said.
For agricultural products,
such as nursery stock, the
pest’s establishment would
cause increased pesticide
use and may impede ship-
ments to other states and
countries, he said.
In 2000, the Washing-
ton State Department of
Agriculture sprayed for the
insects on 725 acres in the
Ballard and Magnolia neigh-
borhoods of Seattle.
In 1992, Washington
sprayed 116,457 acres for
the Asian gypsy moths in
Pierce and King counties.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Associated Press
BEND — As Oregon con-
servationists turn their attention
to the monarch butterÀ y, ¿ eld
research has found that there are
more of the colorful insects in
the state than once thought.
The ¿ eld research last sum-
mer by the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice and volunteers found that
central Oregon is dotted with
butterÀ ies, The Bend Bulletin
reported. Researchers found
125 adult monarchs and more
than 300 caterpillars. Before the
data was collected, there were
only four or ¿ ve known spots
for monarchs. The survey found
about 30 sites.
“We basically put central
Oregon on the map for monarch
butterÀ y conservation,” said
Matt Horning, a geneticist with
the U.S. Forest Service in Bend.
The new ¿ ndings could help
efforts to revive the species,
which is being considered by the
Visit us online at
DailyAstorian.com
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
for protection under the Endan-
gered Species Act.
Monarchs are known for their
massive migrations, with the trip
south for winter taking multiple
generations. Some butterÀ ies
have been known to À y as far
as from Mexico to the Midwest.
The butterÀ ies eventually make
their way to coastal California
before a new generation returns
north. Monarchs are found in Or-
egon from May to October.
Horning said he plans to fur-
ther study monarchs in central Or-
egon, potentially marking some
to learn more about where they
migrate. Katya Spiecker, found-
er of the Monarch Advocates of
Central Oregon, said monarchs
are important because they are a
good poster child for pollinators,
such as bumblebees and wasps,
and the problems they face.
“A lot of pollinators, their
populations are dropping,”
Spiecker said.
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