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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017
Western snowy plover chick
hatches at Nehalem Bay
First in more
than three
decades
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
The first western snowy plo-
ver chick to hatch on a beach
at Nehalem Bay State Park in
more than 30 years could be a
sign of better times to come for
the threatened species.
Oregon Parks and Recre-
ation Department wildlife biol-
ogists recently learned about
the hatchling, a press release
announced today, and the event
follows three years of increased
sightings and evidence of nest-
ing attempts by snowy plovers
at this particular beach. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice says older records sug-
gest there may have been nest-
ing activity in Nehalem back in
the 1950s and ’60s, “but you
have to go back to 1921 to find
a reference that’s solid,” said
Chris Havel, associate director
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
The western snowy plover is a threatened species.
with the Parks and Recreation
Department.
“But you never can tell
what will happen next,” said
Havel, “and this could be the
start of a more wild, more natu-
ral Nehalem Spit, or something
could interrupt the process and
we’ll need to reset our sights on
next year.”
Still, it’s an encouraging
sign. State biologist Vanessa
Blackstone says plovers have
“high site fidelity.” The pres-
ence of this chick mean the par-
ents are very likely to come
back to Nehalem again next
year, she says.
The department monitors
portions of beach in and around
Clatsop County where the hab-
itat plovers prefer for nesting
exists: Necanicum Spit, Clat-
sop Spit near Fort Stevens
and Nehalem Spit. In Tilla-
mook County, the department
monitors Sitka Sedge Natural
Area and Netarts Spit at Cape
Lookout.
“The Nehalem Spit used
to have nesting plovers, so we
picked this area knowing it had
potential,” Havel said.
The birds are a threatened
species, listed under the fed-
eral Endangered Species Act.
They are protected in all West
Coast states. In Long Beach,
Washington, biologists with
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice require vehicles, dogs and
people to stay on the wet sand,
away from the dunes during the
plover’s nesting period. Cali-
fornia also closes portions of its
beaches during this period.
Plovers can be hard to spot
— they are small, about the
size of a sparrow, and their light
brown and white plumage is a
perfect camouflage against the
sand. Their nests are even eas-
ier to miss: shallow scrapes in
the dry sand that are almost
invisible.
The Parks and Recreation
Department asks beachgoers
to keep a “cautious eye out”
for nesting birds, saying plo-
vers will abandon their eggs if
they are repeatedly disturbed
from their nests. Chicks are
mobile soon after they hatch.
If they perceive danger, they
will freeze in place or hide
in small depressions such as
footprints.
The nesting area at Nehalem
Spit is marked with signs and
remains off-limits until the
nesting season ends.
Oregon Air National Guard
The Oregon Air National Guard is proposing an expanded
training area for F-15 Eagles along the Oregon Coast.
Review proposed for
coastal air training sites
The Daily Astorian
The Oregon Air National
Guard has released the final
version of the environmental
impact statement on the Ore-
gon Airspace Initiative, which
includes expanded training
areas above the North Coast.
The proposed initiative
expands and creates new train-
ing areas for the Air National
Guard’s F-15s. One of those
expanded training sites would
be the Eel Military Operations
Area from 11,000 to 18,000
feet along the Oregon Coast
from Astoria to Lincoln City.
The National Guard argues
that the expanded training
areas are necessary because
of frequent foul weather ham-
pering training. The coastal
training area would be for the
142nd Fighter Wing based
in Portland, which is respon-
sible for missions from the
Canadian border to Northern
California.
Two Port of Astoria com-
missioners raised concerns in
2015 about potential conflicts
with private aircraft.
The final environmen-
tal impact statement is avail-
able for public viewing over
the next month at www.142fw.
ang.af.mil or at the Astoria
Library and Astoria Masonic
Temple.
Bill to expand self-service gas heads to governor’s desk
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
County
jobless
rate at 3.7
percent
in April
SALEM — A bill to
expand the hours of self-serve
gas stations in rural counties
in Eastern Oregon is headed to
Gov. Kate Brown’s desk, after
the state Senate passed it Tues-
day with a 26-1 vote.
Oregon is one of only two
states that prohibits customers
from pumping their own fuel
at gas stations. New Jersey is
the other state.
State Senate Major-
ity Leader Ginny Burdick,
D-Portland, voted against the
proposal.
“She is a strong believer in
the Oregon way when it comes
to gasoline service,” said Rick
Osborn, a spokesman in the
Senate Democrats’ Office.
Two years ago, the Leg-
islature passed a bill to allow
self-fueling between 6 p.m.
and 6 a.m. in certain rural
counties to prevent trav-
elers from being stranded
overnight.
“In many of these smaller
communities, people would
get stuck without a full tank
of gas” because no gas sta-
tions were open, said Sen. Rod
Monroe, D-Portland, who car-
ried the bill to the floor.
The bill passed Tues-
day expands that period to
24 hours in 15 counties with
populations of less than
40,000. Stations would still be
required to have at least one
attendant between 6 a.m. and
6 p.m., but customers could
pump their own gas if the
attendant is busy and a card-
lock machine is available.
In Eastern Oregon, some
locally owned gas stations
have been at risk of closure
due to the expense of hiring
fueling attendants to pump
customers’ gas, said Rep. Cliff
Bentz, R-Ontario, the bill’s
chief sponsor.
“We are trying to preserve
these stations out in the mid-
dle of nowhere so that we
have fuel available,” Bentz
said during a hearing on the
bill in March.
The proposed change
affects 15 counties in East-
ern Oregon: Malhuer, Union,
Wasco, Hood River, Jefferson,
Crook, Baker, Morrow, Lake,
Grant, Harney, Wallowa, Gil-
liam, Sherman and Wheeler.
The original proposal
included Clatsop, Curry and
Tillamook counties. How-
ever, opposition to expanding
self-service hours prompted
coastal areas.
The Capital Bureau is a col-
laboration between EO Media
Group and Pamplin Media
Group.
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The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County’s sea-
sonally adjusted unemploy-
ment rate in April was 3.7
percent, down slightly from
March and more than 1 per-
cent from a year ago.
Clatsop
and Wasco
counties are tied for the
ninth-lowest
unemploy-
ment rates in the state. The
counties matched the state’s
unemployment, and were
significantly lower than
the 4.4 percent national
average.
State economists had
expected a gain of 530
jobs in April, but Clatsop
County only added 290.
Over April, the leisure and
hospitality industry gained
280 jobs; and professional
and business services added
80.
“The lack of employ-
ment growth for the month
may have been related to the
wet weather, and it suggests
a slow start to the summer
travel season,” a release
from the state Employment
Department said.
The lackluster change
left
nonfarm
payroll
employment at 18,160, 30
less than the year prior for a
-0.2 percent growth rate.
Regional
Economist
Erik Knoder said it was the
first negative yearly growth
rate recorded since Sep-
tember 2014. He said the
lackluster growth can be
attributed to the economy
reaching full employment,
with little room for upward
movement.
Over the past year, lei-
sure and hospitality has
added 120 positions, and
construction 80. Retail trade
is down 120 positions over
the past year, manufactur-
ing 90 and local government
education 110.
proponents to carve out those
coastal counties. Opponents
feared the change would
threaten the jobs of those who
pump fuel for a living in those
Astorias
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Store Hours
Mon. - Fri. 9:30 to 5:30
Saturday 10:00 to 5:00
More Locations:
Tillamook • (503) 842-7111
1126 Main Ave
Lincoln City • (541) 996-2177
6255 SW Hwy. 101
Newport • (541) 265-9520
5111 N. Coast Hwy.
Florence • (541)997-8214
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BTUs?
The most simple
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output. In culinary endeavors,
both high and low BTU ratings
are very desirable for optimum
cooking performance.