7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2017
Fishery: ‘We’re at a spot where we’ve never been before’
Continued from Page 1A
But fishery managers are
also looking at extremely high
flow levels on the Columbia
River as well as cooler water
temperatures — basically the
opposite of what they were
dealing with in 2015 when
drought conditions in the
Pacific Northwest worsened
in the summer and affected
fish all along the Columbia
River, with water tempera-
tures at Bonneville Dam rising
to almost 5 degrees over the
10-year average.
Fishery managers believe
the salmon are out there this
spring; an early recreational
fishery and test fishing yielded
plenty of fish, according to
Tucker Jones, the Department
of Fish and Wildlife’s ocean
salmon and Columbia River
program manager. It could be
that the run is late, or it could
be that the heavy flows are
holding fish back, fishery man-
agers say.
“We’re at a spot where
we’ve never been before,”
Jones said.
“This is a very atypical
year,” he added. “Environmen-
tally, I think that’s ultimately
going to be a good thing for
fish but it’s certainly playing
havoc with our counting and
our predictive ability.”
Heavy rains and a full
snowpack in the mountains
caused river flows to surge this
spring. Recently, fishery man-
agers observed that when the
flow was especially high, the
number of fish seen at Bonne-
ville decreased.
To set a fishery and declare
it open, fishery managers look
at total run size predications.
They put a buffer around that
number, allow some openers
and then, before they open fish-
eries further, look to see how
much of the predicted run has
started to pass through Bon-
neville Dam. Since the 1970s,
they’ve usually had a good
sense of where the total upriver
spring Chinook run is at — or
at least the first big chunk of it
— by early May.
“Since we’ve been look-
ing, back into the late ’70s,
it’s never been later than May
12,” said Jones. This year, only
about a quarter of the fore-
casted run had passed Bonne-
ville by today. “But we have
also seen flows down the river
that we haven’t seen in 50-plus
years so we’re kind of outside
the bounds of normal.”
Either way, the early recre-
ational fishery has already hit
its allowed impacts — the per-
centage of listed salmon spe-
cies fishermen are allowed to
handle in the course of trying
to catch other salmon. Even
though fishermen would have
been required to release any
adult salmon they caught in
the postponed fishery, a cer-
tain number of released fish
likely die — a percentage fish-
ery managers must factor in
when they’re regulating fisher-
ies from year to year.
According to the Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife,
it is common to close steel-
head fishing whenever Chi-
nook fishing is also closed. If
it were to be left open, Jones
said, “people might inadver-
tently (or purposely) impact
one species when fishing for
the other.”
So until there are more fish
in the water, fishermen must
wait. Jones thinks it could be
another week or two “before
we really know the full story
on this year’s returns.”
Commercial
fishermen,
meanwhile, operating under
separate allowed impacts, have
landed 2,194 spring Chinook
in Youngs Bay as of Wednes-
day, according to preliminary
totals recorded by the state. In
other select areas — the areas
gillnet fishermen have been
restricted to fishing in since
state polices began phasing
them off the Columbia River’s
mainstem following a fisheries
reform policy passed by former
Oregon Gov.John Kitzhaber in
2012 — commercial fishermen
landed 634 spring Chinook
in Blind Slough and Knappa
Slough, and only seven in
Deep River.
Kittens: All 41 charges are considered felonies Gearhart: Owner
says he subsidized
the former grocery
Continued from Page 1A
trips there once or twice a
week since the arrest. He also
treated the animals seized from
Kittles’ bus two decades ago.
Kittles’ dogs were infected,
in some cases, with parasites
and heartworms, but the vast
majority were later adopted.
St. Clare’s cats most likely
will not be as lucky, Pope said.
“That’s what makes this
one more heart-wrenching
for everyone, knowing that
a large number of these cats
aren’t going to make it,” Pope
said.
Continued from Page 1A
Burden on shelter
The arrival of St. Clare’s
cats has nearly quadrupled
the number of felines housed
at the small animal shelter in
Warrenton.
The shelter has been forced
to purchase more cages, litter
boxes and dishes. Part-time
staffers have been working
more hours to care for the ani-
mals, resulting in higher labor
costs. Animal Control Super-
visor Stephen Hildreth said
it’s unclear exactly how much
costs will rise as a result of the
case.
“It’s going to be a substan-
tial amount, but the animals
will get the best care they can
get,” Hildreth said. “Between
the volunteers and paid staff,
we will do it.”
The shelter staffers have
been caring for St. Clare’s
cats, while volunteers have
worked with the 31 other cats
and dogs. The past few weeks
have been emotionally and
physically draining, Hildreth
said.
“It’s just the time and
energy, seeing those animals
wait,” he said. “It just stresses
everybody out.”
The animal shelter is con-
siderably bigger than the one
that held Kittles’ animals, but
it still is experiencing space
issues.
Many of the cats have
been housed in a room usually
designed for quarantined dogs,
as well as an overflow room,
their cages stacked from the
floor to the ceiling. Ventilation
in both rooms is designed to
prevent the spread of airborne
diseases, Hildreth said.
Though Hildreth was not
the animal control supervisor
during the Kittles case, he has
seen five or six cases of animal
hoarding in 14 years, includ-
ing one in which 107 cats and
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Dozens of cats rescued from a suspect’s vehicle in April are now in the hands of the Clatsop
County Animal Shelter. Dozens of cats will stay in custody until their fates are decided.
Warrenton Police Department
The surviving cats were given water and food at the Clat-
sop County Animal Shelter.
one dog were removed from a
home.
“I’ve seen worse. I’ve seen
better,” Hildreth said.
Hildreth did note a sil-
ver lining to the animal shel-
ter’s experience with animal
hoarding. “We’ve fine-tuned it
more, which makes it easier to
handle,” he said.
Donations can be made
through cash or check to the
Bayshore Animal Hospital or
via credit card or check at the
Clatsop County Animal Shel-
ter. Also, “there is never, ever
an abundance of volunteers,”
he said.
National headlines
St. Clare, who has pleaded
not guilty to all charges, is
scheduled for an early resolu-
tion conference next week. If
her prosecution lasts as long
as Kittles’ case, St. Clare’s
cats may remain at the shelter
for the foreseeable future.
Kittles filed numerous
appeals and switched lawyers
and judges repeatedly to pro-
long her case for nearly two
years. Eventually representing
herself, she asked witnesses a
plethora of questions and took
2 1/2 days to offer her own
testimony.
As the trial chugged along,
it grabbed national headlines.
Kittles was eventually con-
victed on 42 misdemeanor
charges and sentenced to more
than six months in jail.
The Kittles trial turned out
to be a crux in Oregon’s ani-
mal cruelty laws.
Clatsop County District
Attorney Josh Marquis, who
A TTENTION A LL F AMILY , F RIENDS AND L OCAL B USINESSES
The Daily Astorian is creating a graduation publication for our
local high schools to honor and congratulate the
Class 2017
of
This will publish on
Friday, June 2 nd .
D EADLINE :
M ONDAY
M AY 15 TH AT 5 PM
To participate in this publication:
Knappa · Astoria ·
Warrenton · Hammond
503-325-3211
Gearhart ·Seaside ·Cannon Beach
503-738-5561
prosecuted Kittles, joined law-
yers, politicians and activists
to lobby for legislation that
would upgrade a number of
animal cruelty charges from
misdemeanors to felonies.
In 1995, Oregon adopted
what is often referred to as
the “Kittles Bill,” becoming
the 12th state in the county
to have felony provisions as
part of its animal cruelty laws.
Now, 46 states have adopted
similar laws.
“There was a massive
change of consciousness in
America. These were consid-
ered nuisance cases,” Marquis
said. “The attention the Kittles
case brought to animal cruelty
clearly brought more attention
to the issue.”
Felonies
Because of the stron-
ger law, all of St. Clare’s 41
charges are considered felo-
nies, meaning she may face up
to two to four years in prison
if convicted. Like Kittles,
she has a history of animal
hoarding. She was convicted
in Washington state last year
of animal cruelty after being
found with 111 cats in a trailer
in 2014.
The cats at the animal shel-
ter could be made available
for adoption if prosecutors file
a petition with the court or if
St. Clare signs a written docu-
ment legally releasing the ani-
mals from her care.
For now, both St. Clare and
the dozens of cats will stay in
custody until their fates are
decided.
Citing losses, Lowenberg
went before the Planning
Commission in March 2016
seeking approvals for a brew
pub and deli on the site of
the 4,100-square-foot Gear-
hart Grocery. Lowenberg
said the business was unable
to compete with larger gro-
cery stores. Commissioners
approved the plan.
But when Lowenberg
presented building plans to
the city, drawings designated
an area of four video poker
machines isolated from the
main seating area by an
8-foot wall display. Lowen-
berg was told by city staff his
revised plans would require
additional review.
In January, Lowenberg
submitted a request to place
video poker machines in an
enclosed area of his cafe.
Lottery dollars support
many resources in Oregon,
he wrote in an accompany-
ing document, and if custom-
ers want to participate in lot-
tery while waiting on a meal,
“this is good for Gearhart and
good for Oregon.”
At that meeting, Lowen-
berg said he has been sub-
sidizing the former grocery
store for the community for
a “very long time” and the
store has never supported
itself since he purchased it.
Lowenberg told commis-
sioners 30 to 40 percent of
his income would need to
come from the lottery to help
his business.
Commissioners
deter-
mined the request was
inconsistent with the city’s
comprehensive plan and
neighborhood commercial
zoning.
According to city staff,
the narrow definition of a
neighborhood cafe does not
include or allude to lottery
machines, gambling or gam-
ing. City staff determined the
inclusion of the video poker
machines “was not included
in the original application for
a neighborhood cafe.”
His request was denied by
the Planning Commission by
a 5-2 vote.
Lowenberg’s appeal to
City Council challenged
t
c
e
l
Re-E
Terry Lowenberg
the Planning Commission’s
denial, contesting what he
called “biased statements”
and arguments against the
machines by linking gam-
bling and drinking.
In his appeal to the City
Council, Lowenberg said
city code does not exclude
lottery machines, gambling
or gaming in any section.
He said the city’s decision
fails to provide any support-
ing evidence linking gam-
bling and drinking, “and
characterizes the Oregon
Lottery as something other
than the entertainment the
lottery is.”
The council affirmed
the Planning Commission’s
denial at its April meeting,
stating that the request “is
not in compliance with some
of the comprehensive plan
policies,” and there is “no
evidence of demand for the
machines in the central city
core.”
“It’s hard for me to see
a public need was proven,”
Mayor Matt Brown said in
casting his “no” vote.
Brown signed the deci-
sion on April 14. Accord-
ing to city’s zoning code, the
owner may appeal within 21
days of the final order. The
notice of intent was submit-
ted to the state on May 5.
“One of the primary
issues is whether or not state
law literally trumps local
land use law is going to be an
issue that will be before the
land use board of appeals,”
Hathaway said. “The city
also determined the use was
not allowed in the underlying
zone for cafes. And I believe
that that use is allowed as an
accessory use that’s regu-
lated by the state. Those are
the issues we will definitely
address at LUBA.”
JAMES
CAMPBELL
PORT COMMISSIONER #1
Integrity
Civility
Experience
Support
Airport Bond Measure
4-187
PAID FOR BY
FRIENDS OF JAMES CAMPBELL FOR PORT COMMISSIONER #1