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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016 White-tailed deer move toward recovery Federal status upgraded to ‘threatened’ By CASSANDRA PROFITA Oregon Public Broadcasting After nearly 50 years on the endangered species list, Columbian white-tailed deer are moving up in the world. Their numbers along the Columbia River have more than doubled since the species was listed in 1967. On Thurs- day, the U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service upgraded their status from “endangered” to “threatened.” Oficials are celebrating the occasion in Ridgeield, Washington, where the Ridge- ield National Wildlife Refuge has played a key role in the deer’s recovery. In 2013, a dike at the Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Ref- uge was faltering, putting the refuge that was created specif- ically to harbor white-tailed deer at risk of looding. Oficials moved 88 deer from the Julia Butler Han- sen refuge to Ridgeield’s protected habitat with help from dozens of community volunteers. “We had Boy Scout troops, families. We had hunting and ishing groups,” said Megan Nagel, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice. “We had all these folks from the surrounding com- munities investing in the recovery of this endangered U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Volunteers work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biol- ogists to capture and relocate endangered Columbian white-tailed deer. K. Meyer/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Columbian white-tailed deer have settled into the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge since 2013 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relocated 88 deer to the protected habitat. The species is on the rebound and moves from endangered to threatened status. species.” Since then, staff and vol- unteers with the Ridge- ield National Wildlife Ref- uge have planted more than 30,000 trees to create ideal habitat for the white-tailed deer, and the population there has grown to at least 110, according to refuge Deputy Project Leader Eric Anderson. The relocated deer have been tagged so biologists can track them and their offspring. “It’s exciting. They’re doing great,” Anderson said. “Last weekend I was here and literally saw a female that was fawned on the refuge with her fawn. So, it’s kind of like a grandparent moment — actu- ally seeing your young having young on the refuge.” Hunting and habitat loss Columbian white-tailed deer populations declined as a result of uncontrolled hunting and habitat loss from farm- ing, logging and development that took over the river valleys and bottomlands the deer call home. Their numbers along the Columbia River were down to around 450. Now they’re up to more than 900 deer. To rebuild the population, oficials have moved deer into wildlife refuges and relocated elk that compete with the deer for food. Wildlife ofi- cials have even killed coyotes to protect the deer from their natural predators while their numbers rebound. Oficials say the success thus far is the result of collab- oration by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, the states of Washing- ton and Oregon, conserva- tion groups, volunteers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Major milestone The new “threatened” sta- tus is a major milestone for one of the original endan- gered species, said Paul Hen- son, state supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice in Oregon. “In 1967, when the irst version of the Endangered Species Act was passed by Congress, this deer, along with many other iconic spe- cies like the bald eagle and the brown pelican and the Cali- fornia condor, was originally listed as endangered,” Hen- son said. “They were in very low numbers and now they’ve come back.” The deer are no longer on the brink of extinction. But they’re not fully recovered yet, either. “It’s like a patient being released from the hospital after pretty serious surgery,” he said. “They still have to come back and check in with the doctor.” The plan for easing pro- tections on the deer includes implementing a new rule that will allow landowners to manage deer on their prop- erty. Henson said he hopes that will make people less ner- vous about having the deer on their land. The current population numbers are nearly high enough to consider removing the species from the endan- gered list altogether, Henson said. But he said he wants to see more deer populations in more places before delisting. The current range of the Columbia River population of Columbian white-tailed deer includes areas on the Wash- ington and Oregon sides of the river, including islands in the river. Another population in southern Oregon has already been deemed recovered and was removed from the endan- gered list in 2002. Brown, Pierce square off in fourth debate of the year By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau MEDFORD — Gov. Kate Brown and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bud Pierce courted southern Oregon Thursday in their fourth debate. The debate, hosted by KOBI-TV/NBC5, challenged the candidates for solutions to the region’s most critical problems, such as inadequate police protection in Josephine County, painkiller abuse and sex traficking in the Interstate 5 corridor. Panelists also probed can- didates about how they would address southern Oregon’s longstanding sense of discon- nection from state leadership. The complaint dates back to at least 1941 when residents of several counties in southern Oregon and Northern Califor- nia plotted to start their own state, the State of Jefferson, now the namesake for south- ern Oregon’s public radio station. “We hear from our view- ers that they see their feder- ally elected oficials far more than they see their state public oficials,” said panelist Patsy Smullin, owner of KOBI-TV. U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley each hold a town hall in every county of Oregon every year, while governors typically have not. “If elected, would you com- mit to doing an annual town hall meeting in each county of Oregon?” Pierce, who has visited Medford eight times during his campaign promised that he “absolutely” would. “I’m committed to stay- ing three months out of every year in the rural communities and actually living probably a week at a time,” Pierce said. “That’s key so you can be gov- ernor of all of Oregon.” Brown said she would con- tinue to “reach out and be in all of the communities throughout the state of Oregon.” “I will continue to work to ight to make sure that we make Oregon a place where everyone can thrive, and I will do that by being out in the communities on a regular basis,” she said. Pressed by Smullin to answer the question, Brown said that she would love to make that commitment,” but she knows from her expe- rience as governor that cri- ses come up. For example, she said she had to focus her energy on responding to the Umpqua Community College shooting and recovery effort a year ago in Roseburg. Experience Brown’s experience in state government and knowledge of the realities of the ofice dom- inate her arguments for reject- ing Pierce, who has never held elected ofice. She brought up her lon- ger experience in answer to question about how the can- didates would combat human traficking along Interstate 5, which passes through Medford. Brown worked on policy that the Legislature passed in 2007 to tackle the problem and created a task force to lay the groundwork for solutions. She said she would treat the prob- lem similarly to domestic vio- lence and sexual assault by increasing access to services and funding adequate shelters for victims. “It is absolutely critical that this state play a role,” she said. “I am the one who has leader- ship experience on this issue over the last 20 years.” Pierce said he supports pre- vention programs to identify vulnerable individuals and providing an easy way for vic- tims to reach out for help. Law enforcement “Obviously, we need to have aggressive law enforce- ment getting involved in miti- gating and identifying the peo- ple who are being abused,” Pierce added. Inadequate law enforce- ment protection remains a con- cern for Southern Oregon’s Josephine County, where vot- ers have rejected tax increases to pay for sheriff’s services. Oregon State Police has had to step in to cover cases. Asked what the candidates would do to keep Josephine County safe, Pierce said he would look for ways for coun- ties to boost their revenue from state forests. “We need a massive stimu- lation of the economy by that and other measures such as tax credits and enterprise zones,” Pierce said. “Once people make enough money they tend to be willing to pay for those services.” He said he would commit to making sure basic law enforcement services are maintained in counties. Brown said the state has an increasing population and decreasing federal money. She said she also would like to boost the number of Oregon State Police troopers. “As governor I will ight to make sure we have additional troopers on the front lines to make sure communities around Oregon remain safe,” she said. Measure 97 The candidates also sparred Thursday over issues they’ve covered in past debates, such as Measure 97’s corpo- Deborah Boone Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A State Representative HD 32, Democrat Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 GAME MEAT PROCESSING OCTOBER 15 TH Native Oregonian Rural homeowner in HD 32 since 1974 TH & 29 , 2016 BooneforStateRep.org Debbie D’s will be at Cash & Carry in Warrenton at 10:00 a.m. to pick up and deliver meat for processing. 20 lb. min • Each batch individual Starting Saturday, Nov. 5 th we will be at Cash & Carry every Saturday at 10am for processing Paid for by: Boone for State Representative, P.O. Box 637, Cannon Beach, OR 97110 PLEASE ADOPT A PET! Mickey Please call or leave message by Friday so we know to expect you! Ad u lt M a le Am erica n Sho rtha ir DEBBIE D’S Jerky & Sausage Factory 2210 Main Avenue N. • Tillamook, OR • 503-842-2622 At the to u ch o f lo ve, M ystery a n d reticen ce Give w a y to a pprecia tio n a n d a ffectio n . C elebration of L ife for Christine “Tina” Stanley S ATURDAY O CTOBER 15 1 TO 3 PM of Gov. John Kitzhaber’s four- year term. As former secretary of state, Brown became gov- ernor when Kitzhaber stepped down in February 2015 amid an inluence-peddling scandal over contracts awarded to his iancée, Cylvia Hayes. Re-elect W A NTED TH See his u n iq u e sto ry o n Petfin d er.co m www.dogsncats.org CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS 1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm THIS SPACE SPONSORED BY BAY BREEZE BOARDING PM E LKS L ODGE • 453 11 TH S TREET • A STORIA 4th P LANNING T ODAY FOR A SECURE T OMORROW ! J OIN U S ... AND GET THE ANSWERS YOU NEED ! Dawn McIntosh rejoins Campbell & Popkin Judge-elect Dawn McIntosh has rejoined Campbell & Popkin to work closely with Chris Palmer, in whom she has great conidence. Dawn and Chris are both well-known for skillfully representing clients in di- vorce, seperation, custody and other family law mat- ters. Campbell & Popkin also provides services in business law, litigation, real estate, estate planning and probate. Dawn and Chris are both taking new clients. Dawn McIntosh rate sales tax on the Novem- ber ballot and the $22 billion unfunded liability in the Pub- lic Employees Retirement System. Pierce, a Salem oncolo- gist, is trying to unseat Brown to complete the last two years www.campbellpopkin.com Service organizations are joining together to bring you and your family a variety of community resources including information booths, presentations, individual sign-ups, and details on how to prepare for the future, your retirement years, Medicare, Medicaid and much, much more. November 3, 2016 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Grays River Valley Center (Johnson Park) 30 Rosburg School Rd., Rosburg, WA Chris Palmer 503-738-8400 • 1580 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside For additional information or Vendor registration contact Carole Glowacki Wahkiakum County Community Outreach 360-795-8630 press option #4
