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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016 Elk: To stay safe, keep your dog on a leash, no elk selies Continued from Page 1A Everywhere there are elk, “people should have their dogs on leash,” naturalist and pho- tographer Neal Maine said. “A modern-day dog really doesn’t understand an elk, and most people think the elk are going to run away from a dog. Elk can chase them, much like people take their dogs to the beach to chase birds around for exercise. Coyotes and wolves are two of their past enemies, so they’re all set up to take them out.” The behavior may be brutal. Once they get a dog down, “they pound on them with their feet,” Maine said. “It’s part of their reaction to a predator.” “If your dog is cornered — you wouldn’t want to intervene, unless you’re really foolhardy,” Maine added. John Dudley has a home by Little Beach in Gearhart, ground zero for the elk popu- lation, where he chronicles the path of the elk with his camera. “The difference lately has been there have been calves in the herd, week-old calves,” Dudley R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Elk in a Gearhart driveway. said. “It’s postpartum time for the cows.” One “alpha bull,” recogniz- able by a small but visible scar on his right shoulder, in the herd is particularly aggressive, Dud- ley said. Sometimes the bull becomes “rather agitated,” herding the others, corralling them, and ighting off young bulls who consider themselves “pretenders to the throne.” Dudley said he witnessed an encounter when a kayaker in the estuary was pulled toward the shore by the tide. The kay- akers drifted closer to the herd and they pulled out cellphones to ilm the encounter. “Suddenly something spooked the elk and en masse they galloped south,” Dudley said. “They could have just as eas- ily stampeded over the kayakers.” Taking cues Normally, Gearhart’s elk herd “kind of moseys,” Bow- man said. Hikers and visitors should take heed when “their heads come up from their feeding and they’re staring at you and they’re not turning,” he said. “Turn around and go back,” Bowman said. “They’ll leave you alone. They aren’t going John Dudley/For The Daily Astorian “Big Daddy” alpha bull keeps its eye on a kayaker in Little Beach. More photos of elk online at DailyAstorian.com to chase you down. Their heads are going to go back down and they’ll continue eating.” Elk eat 50 pounds a day — “and they don’t care if it’s your garden, off the golf course or through the woods,” Bowman said. People should not attempt to approach the elk for cell- phone pictures. “If they want to do photography, get a cam- era,” Maine said. “Elk photog- raphy with a cellphone is not productive.” “The two times I’ve seen chase-downs, they’d been trying to get close enough to get a cell- phone shot,” Maine said. Observing nature Maine advised the best way to enjoy the elk is to appreciate “an amazing creature that’s been here for thousands of years.” “We should learn to become observers of wildlife, he said, and take 15 minutes to watch the interaction between the cows and the calves and the spikes,” Maine said. “Keep your distance and watch the phenomena of them moving, feeding, interact- ing, so you’re observing some- thing, not just trying to get a pic- ture. Watch their behavior and be intrigued and interested in that part of it. That gets missed by the drive-by folks.” Prior to European settle- ment, more than 10 million elk roamed nearly all of the United States and parts of Canada, with about 1 million today. Maine said at one point, less than a century ago, the elk were virtually extinct in Clat- sop County from overhunting. Hunting was closed for about 10 years as elk were reintroduced into the area. “There are people who say their grandpa had a pic- ture of elk being unloaded from a train in downtown Seaside to transplant here.” To stay safe, keep your dog on a leash, no elk selies and observe, don’t interfere, Maine said. “The reason this area is so rich and so beautiful and so wonderful is because there’s still wildlife in the habitat. So observe it, enjoy it and have it make your day richer.” Code violators: ‘I don’t need someone dying in Long Beach’ Continued from Page 1A Safety and ire issues are the primary concern, but livabil- ity and property values are also affected by owners that aren’t pulling their weight. As the mayor drove slowly past a private residence in a Long Beach neighborhood of small lots and single-level homes, he didn’t have to point out the problem. Nearly a dozen cars, all of which appeared to be in some state of disrepair, were jammed together like massive jigsaw pieces on a lot over- grown with waist-high weeds. To each side of the mess, manicured lawns and spotless lots were the norm. “If I went to sell my house next to him, what do you think I’d get?” asked the mayor rhetorically. The owner has been con- tacted and ined, but there’s been little improvement to the property. Phillips admits that some ordinances may need to be revised and made more spe- ciic about what’s allowed and what isn’t. Some residents, the mayor said, are taking advan- tage of “loopholes.” Somebody’s gotta do it Phillips says problematic properties can strain staff and inancial resources. When own- ers don’t comply and the city is forced to step in, taxpayer money ends up being diverted for cleanup costs and legal fees. Plus, a small staff and a lim- ited budget mean everyone has to do what they can with what they have. That includes the mayor. Phillips says lingering code enforcement issues can grow into serious hazards to public safety. He’s worried that kids playing or transients crashing overnight are all at risk. “I don’t need someone dying in Long Beach,” said the mayor, who isn’t afraid to make a few house calls to make sure that doesn’t happen on his watch. “Sometimes being the mayor and coming up and talking to them can help,” Phil- lips said. The mayor refuses to call code enforcement a chal- lenge. Instead, he prefers to keep his eye on the prize even if resolution sometimes takes years, or even decades to accomplish. “It’s just a big opportunity,” he said. Sometimes a success The Gray Parrot, an aban- doned and failed brew pub, had steadily devolved into a health hazard and a haven for drug users and transient activity. The property and main structure front Paciic Ave- nue, while the deep lot retreats hundreds of feet back from the road. Abandoned cars, rust- ing mobile homes and several outbuildings added to a scene of mounting violations and lawlessness. The owner was uncoopera- tive, the mayor said. The bank inally took it over, and the city inally had its opportunity. A neighboring propane business was eager to see the site cleaned up and also needed room to expand. The city helped arrange a deal that saw Active Enterprises purchase the property. The cars and trailers have all been removed and the once cluttered site has been cleared of brush and its most immedi- ate hazards. A bill for $10,000 in dump fees alone highlights the chal- lenges that face buyers of long-neglected lots. Phillips says the whole proj- ect, nearly ive years in the making, still has plenty left to be done. Still, he considers it a success, and commends Active Enterprises for seeing the investment as an opportunity. Almost always, resolution comes in stages. In another case, the city was successful in achieving autho- rization to demolish an aban- doned gas station that loomed for years at the corner of Sid Snyder and Paciic Avenues. The tanks were drained and the lot was cleared. The site now boasts signage for the city and local businesses, as well as a bright red buoy. “The eyesore is gone,” Phil- lips said. But the problem isn’t, entirely. Facing the potential of growing health and environ- mental issues, the city took out a lien on the property and had to invest nearly $100,000 for the cleanup. Phillips hopes to see that money back in city coffers when, and if, the property ulti- mately sells. “The biggest issue is trying to get people to take ownership and pride in their property, or business they have, and to stand up and do the right thing,” Phil- lips said. July 24 th , 2016 July 24 th , 2016. July 24 th , 2016 Miracle-Ear Center Youngs Bay Plaza 173 S. Hwy 101 Warrenton, OR 97146 (503) 836-7921 miracle-ear-warrenton.com Miracle-Ear Center 2505 Main Ave N, Suite C Tillamook, OR 97141 (503) 836-7926 miracle-ear-tillamook.com July 24 th , 2016