OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Deliberate planning
needed to preserve
our waterfronts
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
P
ortland’s decision last week to consider adding swim-
ming sites and other recreational opportunities along the
Willamette River (see tinyurl.com/Willamette-renewal)
deserves to spark additional discussions in Astoria and
Warrenton about the future of our own splendid waterfront.
Much thought already has gone into Astoria’s vision for our
miles of shoreline along the Columbia River and Young s Bay.
It’s fair to say city government and citizens share a consensus
that lands along the river and bay are a precious asset in diverse
ways — as a venue for vital heavy industrial activity, a com-
munity commons managed for views and recreation, and a stel-
lar tourist attraction. This realization puts us far ahead of many
communities that still fail to understand how water access
enhances quality of life and economic prospects.
Disagreements arise when development blocks views within
neighborhoods or when one use seems to be getting an upper
hand. Overall, however, there’s been impressive cooperation
that’s resulted in a vibrant interface between Astoria and its
waters. This success is a fundamental reason why in the past two
decades the city has gone from a place people drive through to a
destination in its own right.
Warrenton and Hammond have much more shoreline to man-
age, with the added factor that Fort Stevens State Park and lands
managed with the South Jetty comprise one of Oregon’s most
popular playgrounds. Warrenton has tended over the decades to
focus somewhat more on its other shorelines’ industrial poten-
tial than on recreational attributes. But incredible unpublicized
assets like the Warrenton Waterfront Trail, Lagoon Trail, Airport
Dike Trail, Seafarer’s Park and Carruthers Memorial Park
deserve to put the city high on the list of places where people
can commune with the Great River of the West.
Reasons for concern
There are numerous reasons to be concerned about north
Clatsop County shorelines. For one thing, it’s generally
expected that rising sea level will overtake our region’s slow
seismic uplift as the century moves forward, resulting in more
tidal fl ooding and coastal erosion. Eventually, this seismic
uplift will all be undone a few seconds whenever the Cascadia
S ubduction Z one pops — which might be today, or not for
many decades.
Less dramatically, increasing population pressure will make
Clatsop shorelines more popular among residents and visitors
alike. Although we certainly don’t face anything close to the
congestion in Portland, we nev-
ertheless need to constantly reex-
amine old assumptions and make
If we do
new plans for how our water-
front can best be put to a vari-
things
ety of benefi cial uses. None of
right, these
it is disposable; it all is valuable
old river
and requires careful thought and
stewardship. This entails protect-
towns will
ing private property rights where
be models
they exist, but also engaging
in the same kinds of processes
of 21st
under way in Portland.
century
On the private end of the spec-
trum, exciting shoreline devel-
success and
opment is underway or planned.
livability.
The new Mo’s Restaurant and
chowder kitchen on the Astoria
Riverwalk will soon bring more
business downtown. Though located a distance from the mod-
ern shoreline, the greatly expanded Astoria Co-op Grocery facil-
ity in the Mill Pond area will be an exciting addition, if fund-
ing and permits come through. A new hotel between Astoria and
Uniontown has the potential of upping the city’s profi le a notch,
while creating more jobs. And the list goes on …
Tempered with understanding
But enthusiasm about new investments must be tempered
with an understanding that everyone has an interest in the shore-
line. As the Oregonian reported about Portland, “People are
drawn to rivers, all living creatures are drawn to rivers.” We
should look for more ways to get people down to the water-
side, facilitating a variety of uses. In Warrenton, this may simply
be a matter of letting more know about its wonderful shoreline.
In Astoria, shorelines might require signifi cant structural alter-
ations to let people dip toes, rowboats and fi shing lines in the
Columbia.
Enhancing our connections with the Columbia and other riv-
ers and bays will require deliberate planning and actions. But the
dividends will be amazing. If we do things right, these old river
towns will be models of 21st century success and livability.
IN SEASIDE, A SEAL OF APPROVAL
Seaside Aquarium/Submitted Photo
Aquarium staff urge visitors to respect the habitat of baby seals.
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
T
he Seaside Aquarium cele-
brates its 80th anniversary
this year. The May 30, 1937,
Memorial Day weekend opening
— “unmarred by any accident or
diffi culty” — was described by the
Seaside Signal “far above the level
of the corresponding weekend of
the previous years.” The aquari-
um’s “unusual attractions” included
“an electric ray fi sh capable of
gathering enough
electricity to pro-
vide a shock.”
Keith Chan-
dler, the fourth
general manager
of the aquarium,
is a Seaside native
who started his career at the aquar-
ium in 1978 at the age of 21. The
aquarium has been attracting vis-
itors to Seaside since the time
founder George Smith and others
expanded their aquarium business
from Depoe Bay to Seaside.
Smith bought the former swim-
ming pool on the Prom, remodeled
it and reopened it as an aquarium.
Entry was priced at an admis-
sion families could afford at 10
and 15 cents. It was a time before
television and most Americans had
little acquaintance with marine
life. Local fi shermen brought in
deep sea creatures as exotic as the
magical worlds of Jules Verne and
adventure novelists. There was no
Jacques Cousteau or his under-
water cameras. The octopus, wolf
eel and anemones were among the
aquarium’s fi rst attractions.
But it is the seals people
remember most, so popular “Feed
the seals!” is the motto of the
aquarium on a billboard on the
south side of town.
“We don’t train our seals,
the public does,” Chandler said.
“The seals train the public to feed
them.”
Although baby seals don’t
live with their parents after being
weaned, they stay with the same
colony, up to 250 or 300 seals.
“We have 11,” Chandler said.
“They all have different personali-
ties. Some are more friendly, some
are more aggressive, some are
timid. It’s just like having 11 cats.”
The life span of a seal in the
wild is about 15 years; in captivity
about 20. He admits he likes some
seals more than others — “but I’ve
liked them all.”
One named Jenny, who lived
to a venerable 27 years, came to
mind as a special bond. Jenny was
expert at taking and hiding things
from Chandler.
Four generations of seals have
been born and raised in the aquar-
ium. And, of course, they all
have names: today’s cast includes
Casey, Pinni, Damian, Frankie,
Shireen, Vivian, Reagan, Lewis,
Cosmo, Scully and Greta.
Seaside Aquarium/Submitted Photo
Visitors come to the aquarium and love to feed the seals.
“There was a time visitors
reported this huge, long, fl at fi sh,”
she said. “I had no idea what it
was. I called Keith and said they’re
right, this is a very strange fi sh.
Even now I don’t know how to
describe it.”
She told Chandler the fi sh “is
really long and has a big eye.”
Chandler identifi ed it as a “king
of the salmon,” a 6-foot ribbon
fi sh, so named by Native Ameri-
cans for the way they “led” salmon
heading into rivers to spawn.
Stranding network
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Administrative Assistant Tiffany
Boothe and General Manager
Keith Chandler at the Seaside
Aquarium.
Brotula and greenlings
Along with the seals, the aquar-
ium is home to a veritable encyclo-
pedia of Pacifi c Coast marine life.
As recited by aquarium staff
member Tiffany Boothe, the list
includes, to name only a few, blue
perch, vermilion rockfi sh, wolf
eels, New England lobster, brown
rockfi sh, copper rockfi sh, red-tail
perch, white perch, urchins, key-
hole limpets, sand sole, English
sole, kelp greenling (“She’s a
‘meanling,’” Boothe said.) and
brotula (“He’s the coolest.”).
As other worldly as these ani-
mals appear, Chandler is an expert
at identifi cation.
In his fi rst years Chandler
acknowledged he was baffl ed a
few times, but with experience and
the internet as a tool, he was able
to determine even the most exotic
marine life, like the fi sh brought to
the aquarium by local fi shermen in
the wake of the Japanese tsunami.
Chandler is the go-to guy for
marine life identifi cation, Boothe
said.
Aquarium staff play a critical
role in the health and protection of
vulnerable sea creatures.
The aquarium’s range with the
Marine Mammal Stranding Net-
work stretches from Arch Cape to
Long Beach, Washington.
These include high-profi le
whale rescues, rare turtles and
seals.
When a whale washed ashore
in Cape Falcon this year, aquarium
staff were there.
When olive ridleys were
stranded along the coast last year
the team helped arrange transport
for specialized medical care at Sea
World in San Diego.
In February, when a loggerhead
turtle was swept onto the beach
near Chapman Point, Boothe hiked
a mile-and-a-half before wading
into water and with the help of a
volunteer, Mollie Schmidt, carried
the turtle down the beach and over
the dunes. When the tide came in,
Boothe found herself swimming
with the turtle through the icy cold
winter sea water,
“Swimming through the cave
was not part of the original plan,”
Boothe laughed in the aftermath.
“A lot of times you can walk
around Chapman Point. That was
what we were planning on doing. ”
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astori-
an’s South County reporter and edi-
tor of the Seaside Signal and Can-
non Beach Gazette.