7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016 SMART program volunteers honored The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — On May 18, certiicates of appreciation were presented to the volunteers of the Start Making A Reader Today (SMART) Program. The awards and social event, held by the Veterans Speaker Bureau (VSB), took place at the War- renton Christian Church. SMART volunteers work with irst, second and third grade students at Warrenton Grade School during the school year to help enhance the students’ learn- ing and reading abilities and provide encouragement. Speakers at the event were the vice principal of the school, Robbie Porter, and SMART Northeast Area Program Man- ager Paula Seid. Volunteers who received an award and a personal gift were local SMART coordinator Jeanne Feds reject request to lift Snake River fall Chinook listing By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE, Idaho — The irst attempt to delist one of the 13 species of Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead pro- tected under the Endangered Species Act has been denied by federal authorities. The decision made public Thursday by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion Fisheries cites concerns Snake River fall Chinook wouldn’t remain viable with- out continued protections. Scott Rumsey, NOAA’s branch chief for the protected resources division, said the agency wasn’t surprised that the irst petition to delist came for what he called one of the healthiest of the listed stocks in the basin. “We’re encouraged that we’re getting close, but in this determination we’re saying we’re not quite there yet,” he said. An Alaska commercial ishing advocacy group called Chinook Futures Coalition requested the delisting in Jan- uary 2015. The group is concerned that protected Snake River fall Chinook limit quotas of king salmon because of incidental catching of the protected Snake River ish that travel to waters off Alaska. The group was hop- ing to get the species delisted ahead of Paciic Salmon Treaty negotiations between the U.S. and Canada. The current treaty runs through 2018. The coalition, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, said it was disappointed in the decision and believes that the best available science sup- ports a decision to delist. “The Coalition contin- ues to be committed to pro- moting sustainable, responsi- bly-managed salmon isheries in southeast Alaska and will be discussing how to proceed in coming weeks,” the group said. Researchers estimate 500,000 Snake River fall Chi- nook returned in the late 1800s but that fell to 350 by 1992 when the salmon were listed as threatened. Biologists say the species is limited to about 20 percent of its former range, spawn- ing in a 100-mile section of the Snake River above Lower Granite Dam up to the Hells Canyon Complex of dams in the Snake River Canyon. The ish also spawn in the Clear- water River. Oficials say the ive-year average of ish spawning for 2010 to 2014 is about 38,000 ish, with about 70 percent of those of hatchery origin. Certificates of appre- ciation were given to Start Making A Reader Today volun- teers by the Veterans Speaker Bureau. Pic- tured, back row, from left, Bill Logsdon, Marjorie Landburg, Helen Dessen, Jeanne Moha, Carol Snell, and Mel Jasmin. Seat- ed, M’Liz Crawford. Moha, along with M’Liz Craw- ford, Linda Cox, Helen Des- sen, Mel Jasmin, Carol Snell, Karen Ruscheinsky, Karen Layton, Majorie Landburg and Lydora Clark. Refreshments were served and a photo ses- sion held. In addition to the volunteer event, VSB provided “Awe- some” award certiicates for each of the 40 students enlisted in the program. Submitted Photo Mushroom hunting Former Oregon heating up in wake of irst lady must cover Northwest wildires newspaper’s legal costs By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE, Idaho — From lames come fungi. That means mushroom hunt- ers are checking maps outlining last year’s many Northwest wild- ires before heading into forests this month searching for the eas- ily identiiable and woodsy-tast- ing morels. “It’s going to be a good sea- son for inding morel mush- rooms, there’s no doubt about that,” said Brian Harris, spokes- man for the Payette National For- est in Idaho. The spongey-looking delica- cies have deied commercial cul- tivation and can retail for $20 a pound. “They’ve got a kind of cult following,” Boise Co-op North End produce manager Tommy West said. “When they do come into season they usually move pretty good.” Nearly a million acres of U.S. Forest Service land burned last year in Idaho, Oregon and Wash- ington, the National Interagency Fire Center said. Maps of speciic wildire perimeters are available online at the Forest Service’s InciWeb. On the Payette National For- est, harvesters who want the mushrooms for personal use can gather up to 5 gallons a day with- out a permit. A 21-day commer- cial permit from the U.S Forest Service allowing more than 5 gallons costs $200. While the tastiness of morels is well understood, the dificulty of studying them in the wild makes them something of a mys- tery and pinpointing where they might appear dificult. Mushroom spores by the mil- lions can spread over an area. The spores germinate and cre- ate delicate underground growths that look like spider webs. The growths eventually include nutri- ent storage areas. Experts say these formations, called sclerotia, can exist for years, but the fruit- ing bodies desired by mushroom pickers only appear when condi- tions are right, and that might not be for decades. “After a moderate ire moves through an area these ‘ready to go’ sclerotia form fruiting bodies referred to as post-ire morels,” said Merlin White, a Boise State University assistant professor, in an email to The Associated Press. “Post-ire morels commonly start fruiting a few weeks after a ire and continue to fruit for about two years before seemingly dis- appearing from the landscape.” Prime picking areas can be hard to identify even with a good understanding of morel repro- duction. Some scouting could pay off, especially if a small lower called the western white trillium is spotted, an early indi- cator morels might pop up, Har- ris said. Associated Press PORTLAND — A judge has ordered former Oregon irst lady Cylvia Hayes to pay The Oregonian/OregonLive $127,760 to cover the news organization’s legal costs in her failed public-records lawsuit. Hayes had tried to block the paper from obtaining her emails in the wake of an inlu- ence-peddling scandal that lead to Gov. John Kitzhaber’s resignation. Marion County Judge Tracy Prall notiied attorneys about her decision Wednes- day. It came nearly 18 months after the paper irst requested Hayes’ emails. Federal agents are still investigating the former governor. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum ordered Hayes to turn over messages from her private account that concerned public business. Hayes refused and iled a lawsuit in Febru- ary 2015 to block the email release. She contended she wasn’t a public oficial and not subject to the Oregon Public Records Law. Judge Prall ruled in news organization’s favor in August. 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