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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2017 Puffins: Team hopes to research population trends Continued from Page 1A our own way, but we need to make people aware of what’s going on first.” Identifying the problem There are about 2.4 mil- lion puffins who breed in North America. While the Haystack Rock colony has stabilized the past few years in the low 100s, the popula- tion has been steadily declin- ing for the past 20 years, said Shawn Stephensen, a wild- life biologist with the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Ref- uge Complex. Twenty years ago, 5,000 of the birds were nesting on the Oregon Coast. Now it is just a few hundred, he said. Stephensen has been mon- itoring puffins at Haystack Rock for the past six years. The way he does this is by observ- ing the number of burrows puffins use to nest in, which between 2010 to 2016 dropped from 368 to 99, according to his study — a significant drop from the 612 counted in 1988. It’s still too early to esti- mate this year’s population, Stephensen said, but the initial counts have not be high. While he said formal research has yet to be con- ducted as to why the popula- tion is declining, he and other researchers believe it is due to a food shortage. Because of various factors such as rising ocean tempera- ture and acidification, smaller fish like herring are either becoming less plentiful or swimming deeper in the water to where puffins can no longer Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Bird-watchers at Cannon Beach were recently afforded the opportunity to take a guided tour around Haystack Rock with experts on the habitat of nesting seabirds and the perils certain populations face. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Members of the public recently took a tour around Haystack Rock as part of an educa- tional effort by personnel with a group dedicated to preserving the habitat of nesting seabirds such as puffins. dive to retrieve them, he said. Even if there are other fish available, puffins could still be malnourished from eating less nutritious fish. “They are a great indicator species of climate change. If they can’t find food, what else is changing?” Stephensen said. ‘A warning’ Roy Lowe is a retired proj- ect leader for the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and spent much of his career conducting coastal surveys of seabirds like puffins. He said while the decline is most notable in easily accessi- ble places like Haystack Rock, there are nesting sites that have been hit even harder. Finley Rock by Oceanside in 1979 recorded almost 4,000 puffins. Today, he said, there are fewer nested there than at Haystack Rock. “If puffins aren’t able to live in natural environment, it should be a warning,” Lowe said. “Birds evolve over mil- lions of years, and if they can’t make a go of it in their envi- ronment something is seri- ously wrong.” For years, seabird biolo- gists have had the goal to add the tufted puffin to the fed- eral endangered species list. Two years ago, the Washing- ton Department of Fish and Wildlife voted to put the puf- fin on the endangered species list, and Oregon has it listed as a sensitive species. This led Stephensen and other scientists from the Pacific Seabird Group to form a special technical commit- tee dedicated to devoting time and dollars to researching why these birds are disappearing. The team hopes to research population trends, genetic studies, wintering patterns and detailed food analysis — all types of data not being collected about puffins in Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A nesting seabird can be seen through a scope used by personnel with the Hay- stack Rock Awareness Pro- gram to monitor the popu- lation of puffins and other species that use the iconic place in Cannon Beach as a nesting ground. the region. There is a list of criteria a species must meet before being considered endangered. He said doing more expan- sive research will hopefully help qualify the puffin as a candidate. They will seek funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but might have to look at grants to con- tinue the expanded projects, he said. “We’ll probably find it’s not just one issue,” Stephensen said. “It will be many issues, whether it be ocean acidity, human disturbance, lack of fish, what have you.” But a place to start is by funding volunteer groups like the Haystack Rock Aware- ness Project, Stephensen said, which state and national enti- ties rely on heavily to help pre- serve and record local seabird populations. For Underwood, he hopes to work with Keyser to fund research projects like the ones proposed in the Pacific Seabird Group through the sale of his sweatshirts. “Hopefully we’ll have to order some more sweatshirts,” Underwood said. Elk: ‘I can’t believe it’s up to us to come up with a plan’ Continued from Page 1A human safety reached a head this month when an elk cow protecting its calf charged a bicyclist in Gearhart, days after menacing beachgoers, children and dogs. The elk was tranquilized and brought to safety by police, firefighters and officials from the Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife. The elk calf was also tranquilized and reunited with its mother at God’s Valley in Tillamook State Forest. The incident stirred public sentiment and led to a call to action. “You can tell from the last two weeks of elk inci- dents, someone is going to get killed,” Goodling said. “There are plenty of people pushing strollers. If a bicycle spooks that herd and it goes around the corner, there’s no stopping them. I’ve seen them jump over a 6-foot concrete fence one after the other.” Bangild said the Gearhart herd has at least “doubled or tripled” in the six years he has been here. “That’s way too many for a small town,” he said. “I used to take my son down to the estuary for walks, but now I am much more cau- Jeff Ter Har/For The Daily Astorian A herd of elk look both ways before crossing a street in Gearhart in 2014. While some Gearhart residents love them, managers of the Gearhart Golf Links want them removed. tious. You are stuck out there.” Transport urged Bangild, Earl and Good- ling each said they don’t want to kill elk — hunting is pro- hibited in Gearhart — only to move them out of the city to reserves like God’s Valley or Circle Creek. “We are not seeking to eliminate the entire herd, but at least get the herd down to where it is safe for the town residents,” Goodling said. But transport has its lim- its, Dave Nuzum, acting wild- life biologist of the Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife, said Tuesday. Nuzum has been coming to Gearhart for several years, meeting with city leadership, the public and golf interests. In 2014, the city asked the department to come up with a cost estimate for the transport of 75 percent of the herd. The total cost for trapping was estimated at $14,000 for a one-month effort, which could bring in “an optimistic number of 50,” more likely 30, Nuzum said. One day of darting, which would tranquilize the elk, is $1,472 per animal. Fewer than 10 elk could be darted and transported per day. A ‘suite’ of responses A public workshop and subsequent meetings with the department identified “a suite” of responses, including hazing, fencing and exclusion. “Transplanting was part of that,” Nuzum said. What complicates mat- ters is the dichotomy of inter- ests between those who want to get rid of the elk and “an even more greater number of people who love the elk,” he said. “They don’t want any- thing done.” Trap and transplant, as sug- gested by the golf course offi- cials, is a popular suggestion, he said, but of limited value. “Population control through trap and removal has been widely shown not to work for any species caus- ing trouble anywhere, whether it’s Canada geese, urban deer, whatever,” Nuzum said. “And of all the methods discussed, it is by far the most expensive.” Elk are baited, usually using alfalfa hay, before being trapped in a flat-paneled cor- ral. The traps are remote-trig- gered and the panels then drop a canvas covering so the ani- mals don’t get spooked by anyone walking by. It would be impossible to remove all the elk, Nuzum said. A realistic number might be 30 before trapping becomes ineffective. “Thirty elk is not going to make that much of a dent in the population,” he said. “If you were able to remove a higher percentage, they breed. You would be back in the same boat in a very short amount of time.” And in a city like Gearhart, where elk occupy an almost mythic role, residents may tamper with traps. “Inevitably your traps are going to get vandalized by folks who are opposed to it,” Nuzum said. “Somebody always has to mess with them.”’ ‘Stalag 17’ Fencing is the only “100 percent sure way” of keep- ing elk out of any area, he said, whether a dairy pasture, orchard or a golf course. “The downside of that is aestheti- cally, you don’t want the place to look like Stalag 17.” There are a number of ways to make fencing more attrac- tive, but exclusion has conse- quences, he added. “Say you were to put up an impenetrable fence around the golf course — problem solved. Well, there are still elk going around town.” Nuzum’s response may not satisfy Bangild, Earl or Good- ling, who say they have been down this path before. “I can’t believe it’s up to us to come up with a plan,” Bangild said. “We’re trying to run a golf course. I spend more hours than I ever thought I would coming up with a solution.” Eclipse: ‘We have people coming from Australia, Belgium’ the Middle of it All.” Conway said a benefactor donated 100,000 safety glasses designed for the city and proceeds are going to local museums and charities. Sales have been “amazing, phe- nomenal,” she said. “It’s just blown our minds.” Continued from Page 1A “It’s a life experience,” Jerit said during an interview at his compa- ny’s office in the Memphis suburb of Bartlett. “When that 2 minutes is over, or however long you’ve got, the question that you really want to hear is, ‘When is the next one?’” Path of totality His company is one of many busi- nesses — hotels, campgrounds and stores — taking advantage of the total solar eclipse — when the moon passes between Earth and the sun. The moon’s shadow will fall in a diagonal ribbon across the U.S., from Oregon to South Carolina. The rest of the U.S. will experience a partial eclipse, along with Canada, Central America and a bit of South America. Cities and towns along the path of totality — where there will be about 2 ½ minutes of darkness — are gear- ing up for the crowds. St. Joseph, Missouri, population 76,000, is in a prime location and officials are brac- ing for tens of thousands of eclipse watchers to descend on the city, said Beth Conway, spokeswoman for the St. Joseph Convention & Visitors Bureau. Eye protection Wikimedia Commons The path of totality over Oregon for the upcoming solar eclipse Aug. 21. The city’s restaurants, gas sta- tions and stores are preparing for the onslaught — the city’s largest arts and music festival with the nick- name “Total Eclipse of the Arts” is scheduled on the weekend leading up to the eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21. “This is essentially our Super Bowl,” Conway said. “If we see anywhere near the amount of peo- ple that they’re telling us, it will probably be the biggest event in our history.” The city has gotten into the act as well, selling eclipse glasses, post- ers and blue and yellow T-shirts decorated with a drawing of the city’s skyline and an iconic railroad bridge, and with the slogan “Right in At the Tennessee factory, a con- stant whirring sound fills the factory as large sheets of paper are fed into machines. One cuts out the eyeholes in the preprinted frames, another inserts the protective film lenses. Then the glasses are punched out of the sheets and packaged. About 50,000 glasses can roll off the assembly line per hour, Jerit said. Paper glasses cost about 20 to 25 cents to make, and they are sold to distributors for about 45 cents, but prices vary depending on order size. They’re sold retail for about $2. The plastic versions are about $15. Staring at the sun during an eclipse — or anytime — can cause eye damage. The only safe way is to protect your eyes with special filters in glasses or other devices. NASA lists four companies, includ- ing American Paper Optics, whose glasses meet international standards. “It’s eye protection for enjoy- ment,” said Jerit, whose main busi- ness is making 3-D glasses. Besides retail outlets, the com- pany sells the glasses to cities, uni- versities and space-related entities like NASA and the Adventure Sci- ence Center in Nashville. Some are custom-designed, like the ones for St. Jude Children’s Research Hos- pital which are decorated with chil- dren’s drawings. Under the wacky category: glasses to make the wearer look like an astronaut, space cowboy or a green alien. Green Acres farm near Casper, Wyoming, is one of the many farms and parks welcoming eclipse watch- ers. The farm, which normally fea- tures a corn maze and other chil- dren’s activities, has been turned into a campground with 300 campsites in prime eclipse viewing territory. “We have people coming from Australia, Belgium, sev- eral from Canada. I have a guy from England coming that’s seen 17 eclipses,” said manager Dwain Romsa. “We’re a little more remote than some areas. It takes more effort to travel here.”
