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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2017 Gearhart dune management plan misses window Committee to meet Saturday By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian GEARHART — Earlier this year, the city developed a plan to cut noxious weeds on Gearhart’s foredunes, with the goal of maintaining public safety, protecting fi refi ghters and beach habitat. But after concerns from residents that a proposed amendment to the city’s beach and dunes overlay zone was over-reaching, information incomplete and ill-timed, city councilors agreed to postpone Wednesday’s public hearing. “The city fi nds the oppor- tunity to address the fi re haz- ard and noxious weed growth in the subject area has passed until later this year,” City Plan- ner Carole Connell wrote in a report delivered to councilors. EO Media Group Safety, habitat at issue In January, residents fi lled the Gearhart Fire Station for an education forum and town hall meeting on an amendment permitting the removal of nox- ious weeds. The panel of city offi cials, state parks representatives and other experts was organized by Margaret Marino, a resi- dent who had expressed con- cerns about the vegetation at city meetings and reached out to state departments and ecol- ogists for assistance. The amendment would have permitted the “removal, destruction or uprooting” of vegetation in areas of Gear- hart’s foredunes. The amend- ment would have required revegetation of native plants or grasses after removal. Letters on behalf of the amendment stressed the risk of fi re from overgrown vegetation. “As a child in the 1980s, I witnessed the power and speed of a large dune fi re that started close to the northern end of Ocean Avenue and spread down the dune to nearly in front of our home,” Gearhart property owner Joe Gregoire wrote. “Had there been the R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian The invasive plant Scotch broom proliferates in the Gearhart foredunes. The city is working on a plan to cut the weeds. high fuel-load currently in place in the dunes with the added height … I believe the outcome would have been much worse.” “I am in support of clearing and cleaning the safety lane for fi re and police access to Little Beach,” Gearhart’s Ted Amato wrote in late-April. Fire Chief Bill Eddy pro- vided testimony that a wild- land fi re in the area would be left to burn itself out because of the amount of fl ammable fuel load. “As the dune area now exists, there is a real public safety concern, with the lim- ited access for emergency vehicles,” Police Chief Jeff Bowman wrote in March. “We have responded to incidents such as unattended camp- fi res, unlawful lodging, illegal fi reworks, minors in posses- sion, parties and other minor disturbances.” Threatened species Future council decisions will also be driven by not only public safety but on impacts to threatened or endangered wildlife. Any proposed land use action may negatively impact bird habitat in the area, Con- nell said in her staff report. Saturday, May 6 th , 10 AM TO & More Blazing Deals PR Sal e ay 9 AM - 4 PM e nt Pla Saturday May 6 th ak OLYMPIA, Wash. — Clam digging is over for the season on the Long Beach Peninsula after test results for domoic acid. “Based on the most recent toxin tests, razor clams will not be safe to eat for the remainder of the month at Long Beach or Twin Harbors,” said Dan Ayres, a state coastal shell- fi sh manager. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had opened areas for clam digging briefl y at the end of April, coin- ciding with Long Beach’s annual Razor Clam Fes- tival. The state allowed a bag limit of 25 clams per person, the highest the department has permitted since the 1940s, according to Ayres . Oregon’s beaches have yet to open this sea- son. On Clatsop County beaches, toxin levels in the razor clams’ tissues have remained well above the thershold of 20 parts per million since Octo- ber. Near Coos Bay, lev- els have spiked as high as 120 ppm. Volunteer Pick of the Week Howie American Short Hair Adult Ilwaco - 133 Howerton Way (8AM-8PM) Located at the Port of Ilwaco WARNING: This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. There may be health risks associated with the consumption of this product. For use only by adults 21 and over. Keep out of reach of children. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. Spend time with a cat and forget the din of the world. See Howie of Facebook! (More on http://Petfi nder.com/ ) C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER Sponsored By 1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS www.dogsncats.org Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat Mothers Day Brunch th Sunday, May 14 , 10am to 4pm 3 PM • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ther’s o M D E- en, and B The Sand Dune Vegeta- tion Committee, created to help the city identify a strat- egy to manage the vegetation on the dunes, will meet Sat- urday at 10 a.m. at Gearhart City Hall. Flower Concentrates Edibles Beverages Paraphernalia 2500 S. Roosevelt Dr., Seaside, Oregon www.avamereatseaside.com • 503-738-0900 ard Five bird species — mar- bled murrelets, northern spot- ted owl, short-tailed albatross, streaked horned lark and west- ern snowy plover are threat- ened or endangered species nesting in critical Gearhart foredune habitat, according to correspondence from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Leatherback, olive ridley and loggerhead sea turtles may also be found in the Gearhart dunes. 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