The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, April 12, 2018, Page 3A, Image 26

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    3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018
Interior
secretary
downplays
drilling
By TOM BANSE
Northwest News Network
Warrenton
The mast of a large commercial fishing boat that sank at the Warrenton Marina docks last year is now a flagpole in front
of the marina offices and bath facilities. Marina staff towed Western Skies onto land and demolished it last year after the
abandoned 70-year-old, 43-foot long vessel sank and leaked more than 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the water. They
planned to salvage a few of the vessel’s features, including the mast and porthole windows. Mayor Henry Balensifer
said repurposing the mast as a flagpole not only saved the city the cost of a new pole, it also involved extra work and
creativity on the part of marina staff. ‘I think it just shows the pride our employees have in the work they do,’ he said.
SKIES HIGH
Federal agency wants to protect butterfly
Associated Press
SAN JUAN ISLAND, Wash. — Fed-
eral wildlife officials want to protect a
rare white and green butterfly found only
on Washington’s San Juan Island.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
on Wednesday announced that it is pro-
posing to list the island marble butterfly
as an endangered species and designate
about 813 acres of mostly public land
on San Juan Island as critical habitat for
them.
The island marble butterfly has been
declining since it was rediscovered on
the island in 1998 after decades of no
documented sightings. Their small pop-
ulation makes them vulnerable to habitat
loss and predation, the agency said.
The last remaining known population
is in an area that is part of San Juan Island
Historical Park. Surveys in 2017 found
fewer than 200 adults.
“After years of delay, the service must
move quickly to implement conserva-
tion measures to reverse declines,” Scott
Hoffman Black, executive director of the
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conser-
vation, said in a statement.
The butterflies were once found on or
near Vancouver Island in the 19th cen-
tury. But they weren’t observed again for
90 years until 1998 when a Washington
state zoologist discovered the butterfly
on San Juan Island.
Later surveys found them on San
Sheriff’s office
will get new roof
Project to be
done by June
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Employees at the Clat-
sop County Sheriff’s Office
will get a new roof over their
heads this summer.
County commissioners
approved a $77,293 contract
Wednesday with Longview,
Washington-based Weath-
erguard, Inc. to replace the
10,000-square-foot roof. The
material and labor warranty
for the roof will be 30 years.
Weatherguard has com-
pleted similar projects at the
Oregon Film Museum as well
as the main county offices.
The roof was installed in
2006 and the sheriff’s office
moved there in 2016, but
county staff discovered dete-
riorating roofing material
during the remodel. Because
the roof was still under war-
ranty, the county reached an
$11,725 settlement agree-
ment with the original
manufacturer.
The project is scheduled
to be completed by June.
In other business Wednes-
day, commissioners:
• Adopted new fees begin-
ning Thursday. One of the
fees is $450 property owners
must pay for a vacation rental
application.
Commission-
ers approved vacation rental
safety regulations in January.
The fee will go toward safety
inspections.
An enterprise zone appli-
cation fee will cost $75. The
Community
Development
Department will also charge
$30 more for changed address
or street name applications.
• Continued a hearing until
April 25 on an ordinance that
would impose a 3 percent tax
on retail marijuana sales. At
that meeting, commissioners
may refer the tax to voters on
the November ballot.
Juan Island and Lopez Island, but many
of those populations have not been
detected in recent years. The species is
now observed only in a single area cen-
tered on south San Juan Island known as
American Camp.
The Xerces Society and other groups
first petitioned the federal agency in 2002
to list the butterfly as an endangered spe-
cies. The agency declined to do so then.
The group petitioned the service
again in 2012. The federal agency in
2016 ultimately found that protection
for the island marble butterfly was war-
ranted but that there were other candi-
dates that had higher priority.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is tak-
ing comments through June 11.
Karen Reagan/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service says the island mar-
ble butterfly has been declin-
ing since it was rediscovered
on San Juan Island in 1998.
In congressional testimony
Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of the
Interior Ryan Zinke said he has
heard the strong opposition from
the West Coast to the Trump
administration’s plan for offshore
oil and gas drilling. He expressed
doubt drilling would ever hap-
pen along the Pacific Northwest
coast.
Zinke appeared before a
House Appropriations subcom-
mittee for a review of the Inte-
rior Department’s budget. U.S.
Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Washing-
ton, quizzed Zinke on offshore
drilling.
“I’m hoping I can ask you
today if you are prepared to
announce that you’ll withdraw
our state from consideration,”
Kilmer said.
Zinke said he would keep all
states in the planning process
until it plays out. But then he
basically said don’t worry about
it.
“There is little or no resources
of oil or gas off the coasts of
Oregon or Washington,” Zinke
said. “There is no infrastructure
to support an oil or gas industry
off the coast of Oregon or Wash-
ington. And there is, I would say,
passionate opposition to do so.”
Zinke said he’s hoping to pro-
vide resolution when his agency
completes its plan for offshore
leasing by the fall.
Back in January, the Trump
administration announced a pro-
posal to open up almost the entire
outer continental shelf of the con-
tiguous United States to new oil
and gas leases. The idea immedi-
ately drew wide, bipartisan oppo-
sition from state and local elected
officials in the Northwest. Wash-
ington Attorney General Bob Fer-
guson warned the state would sue
if the proposal moved forward.
Early on, Gov. Kate Brown
and Washington Gov. Jay Ins-
lee, both Democrats, asked Zinke
to withdraw their states’ waters
from consideration as drilling
territories after Zinke quickly
removed Florida at the request of
Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
“Drilling off our coasts risks
our economy and way of life,”
Kilmer reiterated Wednesday.
“A spill would threaten fisheries,
shellfish growers, tourism, and
jobs across our region.”
In January, Zinke framed the
rationale for expanded offshore
oil and gas drilling as “unleash-
ing” America’s potential.
“Responsibly developing our
energy resources on the Outer
Continental Shelf in a safe and
well-regulated way is important
to our economy and energy secu-
rity, and it provides billions of
dollars to fund the conservation
of our coastlines, public lands
and parks,” Zinke said in a pre-
pared statement.
College hikes tuition $3 per credit
The Daily Astorian
Tuition at Clatsop Commu-
nity College will go from $99
to $102 per credit, effective
summer term.
The Clatsop Commu-
nity College Board voted 6-1
Tuesday to approve the tui-
tion increase. Rosemary Bak-
er-Monaghan, the lone “no”
vote, had vowed not to support
any more tuition increases.
Board members had
weighed the financial burden
on students against the funding
challenges the college faces.
The college developed a
budget this year assuming tui-
tion and fee revenue would
increase by 8 percent with the
addition of new programs and
the opening of the redeveloped
Patriot Hall. But staff reported
last month that the college is
down nearly 8.5 percent in tui-
tion and fee revenue from the
same point last year, equal to
around $200,000.
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Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
The college last raised tui-
tion in 2014 by $1, from $98
to $99 per credit, to fill a gap
left by state funding. Each $1
increase in tuition is estimated
to equal $25,000 in additional
funding. Tuition and fees paid
by students have increased
statewide by more than 30 per-
cent over the past decade on
average.
Baker-Monaghan
had
vowed not to vote for another
tuition increase, citing numer-
ous tuition hikes in the past.
College President Christo-
Clatsop Post 12
Sheppard’s
Pie
Friday
Apr. 13 th
pher Breitmeyer has said the
college will look at ways to
mitigate the tuition increase,
such as focusing financial aid
toward lower-income students
and lowering textbook costs.
5:00 pm
Downtown Astoria
Every month, year ‘round!
With Salad & Bread
Apri
Jan l .
13 th
14
th
4 pm until gone
$
8. 00
6PM
“Karaoke Dave”
ASTORIA
AMERICAN LEGION
Clatsop Post 12
1132 Exchange Street
325-5771
Visit Downtown Astoria on the
2nd Saturday of every month for
art, music, and general merriment!
Presented by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association
astoriadowntown.com
facebook/astoriadowntown.com