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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager OUR VIEW Time to regroup and rethink Shrimp War he fight over using man-made chemicals to control burrowing shrimp in Willapa Bay has now been going on about three times longer than the Trojan War — close to three decades. Like that ancient conflict, the great Willapa pesticide controversy pits two diametrically opposed world views. On one side are the bay’s traditional shellfish growers. Essentially farmers who plant their crops of oysters and clams on Willapa’s privately owned tidal mudflats, they practice a farmer’s kind of conservation. Resistant to disruptions of established busi- ness practices, they have worked hard to keep commercial development away from the waterfront and contaminated runoff out of the water. They played a key role in pushing ing, as do some very large ones. Taylor Shellfish, by concentrating on the spe- for better septic treatment in Pacific cialized half-shell market and by oper- County and led the charge against inva- ating across a large geographical area, sive spartina — which threatened to was able to walk away from spraying in transform the bay into a vast expanse of the face of intense political pushback in worthless grass. They regard chemical 2016 to the proposed replacement for sprays like that used to eradicate spar- carbaryl. A chemical similar to nicotine, tina and the one proposed to curb a bur- imidacloprid was tested and found to rowing shrimp population explosion as be considerably less impactful than car- an unavoidable necessity, no different baryl. It initially won state approval for than a farmer spraying weeds or harm- use against shrimp. A Seattle newspa- ful pests. per columnist fired up opposition to it On the other side are a growing num- — fairly predictably, considering it has ber of Pacific Northwest residents who been implicated in honeybee die-offs. sincerely believe there is no safe level of The bay isn’t a hangout for bees, but artificial pesticide, especially in water. anything that can be labeled a “neuro- The Washington Toxics Coalition suc- toxin” was certain to stir an urban back- ceeded in obtaining a 2003 settlement lash, even if those neurons belong to to phase out use of the pesticide carba- shrimp. ryl by 2012. Used in the bay since the In many ways, the facts are the side 1960s, carbaryl remains an option for of Willapa’s mainstream shellfish grow- controlling fleas on pets, but came to be ers. Environmentally, imidacloprid is a regarded as too harsh in an aquatic set- big improvement on carbaryl. It doesn’t ting. That set off a scramble for a dif- contaminate oysters or clams. Tideland ferent way to control shrimp, which treated with it recovers a healthy and smother oysters by churning up sed- nutritious biological film, a founda- iment while digging and maintaining tion of the bay’s natural food chain that burrows. To use a farming analogy, it is wrecked when there are too many is like planting tomatoes only to have shrimp. The state ecology agency was them buried beneath countless gopher all for imidacloprid, and then wilted like mounds. a sprayed dandelion in the face of urban Shrimp galore politics. There are literally billions of these native shrimp in the bay. Inedible by Gut reactions humans, they are far out of balance in This is a case when the facts appar- ently don’t matter. It’s clear that the the environment. state’s top elected leaders, starting Some craft-scale oyster operations with the governor, are unlikely to ever manage to get along without spray- T Under a now-rejected plan, Willapa Bay shellfish growers would have experimented with controlling ghost shrimp with a nicotine-like pesticide. go along with spraying. They believe such a decision would cost them sup- port from a segment of the population to whom all pesticides are evil. So, what’s next? State Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz has cob- bled together potentially helpful fund- ing to increase experiments on other control mechanisms, such as mechan- ical harrowing of infested tidelands. Considering the softness of the sur- face, successful use of heavy equip- ment is hard to envisage. But every idea deserves to be explored. As Taylor and others have shown, there are ways to rear oysters off the silty bottom. However, these meth- ods typically involve greater labor costs and use of man-made materials — often plastics — that come with their own practical, economic and regula- tory drawbacks. Most Willapa oysters are sold to be prepared in recipes, not on the expensive half-shell. Any alternative growing method has to keep prices at a level acceptable to the class of consum- ers for whom oysters are an occasional meal option and not a splurge while standing at a bar. A few pesticide opponents are sanc- timonious know-it-alls, but others have the potential to offer constructive sup- port to keep Willapa’s farmers on their tideland. The industry must do a much better job of building alliances, finding new ways to survive until better answers are found. staff our classrooms, the answer is now clear. The vampires in Salem are sucking the very life-blood from our communities. Why do we pay more taxes for less ser- vices? Answer: so that public retirees can earn pensions of $76,000 per month. I strongly urge this newspaper to get the rights to re-print that article and publish it for all to read. BARRY PLOTKIN Astoria responsibility, and go to the dump and dispose of your trash the right way, and the respon- sible way. There are plenty of ways to recy- cle, reduce, and reuse, and not spread trash throughout the woods. We should be trying to preserve the forest and the wildlife in it, and not be destroying it by spreading our garbage around, and polluting the forest and the creeks. ANDREW BAIRD Astoria No more trash in the woods School lunch reform needed ave you ever been driving through the woods and just think to yourself, “When did this place become a dump?” It’s pretty pathetic to go dump your trash in the woods, and not take responsibility for the trash you have created. I understand if you are short on cash, and can’t afford to take your garbage to the dump, but you can reduce the amount of garbage you produce by recycling the waste you create. When you dump your trash in the woods, you are ruining opportunities for other peo- ple, whether that’s hunting, fishing, or just sim- ply going on a hike or camping. Sooner or later, gates to the logging roads will be closed because of people dumping their trash in the woods. So before you go dumping your trash, just think of other people, and how your actions will affect others, and the wildlife. Take F LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Vote Mitchell for House District 32 had the great privilege of meeting Tiffiny Mitchell at a good friend’s house recently. This young woman is a lovely, conscientious, strong person, with beliefs like every caring humanitarian should have. She is passionate about health care, good paying jobs, affordable housing, and is a strong advocate for the envi- ronment, like every good earth citizen should also be. How fortunate we are, indeed, that this wonderful individual turned up on our shores. If you’re looking for an honest, caring, fact-finding state representative, Tiffiny is your candidate. Make sure your vote is headed in the right direction, vote for Tiffiny Mitchell. JOYCE CARRELL Warrenton I Vote Orr for state representative will be voting for John Orr for House Dis- trict 32. John understands the importance of consideration for our environment, and he sup- ports a balanced approach to the economic and environmental values of our forests. John’s Til- lamook opponent has worked for decades to harvest, harvest and harvest more, and demon- strates no understanding of the costs of short- term thinking and species extinction. As an experienced lawyer, John will apply critical thinking to proposed legislation on a wide variety of matters, and act in the best interests of his constituents. If you care about the future of this place we call home, please support John Orr for state representative on the May primary ballot. HELEN WESTBROOK Astoria I Vote Mitchell for state representative n electing Tiffiny Mitchell as state represen- tative of District 32, our community has a tremendous opportunity before us. Tiffiny is the champion we need for all levels of educa- tion, and she knows how important the com- munity college is to our local economy. She will fight for students of all ages and back- grounds who are pursuing a better future. She’s smart, hard-working, and passion- ate about serving our community. She knows I higher education is of particular importance to us, because it offers students a wide range of opportunities in preparing for the careers of the future. In electing her to the Oregon State Legis- lature, our community ensures that Clatsop County concerns and priorities receive a strong voice in Salem. She will be our advocate, and fight tirelessly for our students and families. I urge my fellow community members to sup- port her candidacy. MELISSA OUSLEY Warrenton Call before you dig esidents of the Pacific Northwest are eager for sunshine and yard and garden projects. Unfortunately, more outdoor work can also mean damage to underground utility lines. April is National Safe Digging Month, and NW Natural reminds anyone who plans to dig to call 811 to have underground utilities located first. Reaching utility notification centers in Ore- gon and Washington is simple and free. Two days before the start of a project call 811, regis- ter online or use NW Natural’s new safety app to have underground lines marked. Read more at nwnatural.com or digsafelyoregon.com Always report line damages — no matter how small — even a nick or gouge could affect a pipeline. If a natural gas line is acciden- tally hit and there’s a smell of rotten eggs, or the sound of gas escaping, be sure to leave the area immediately and then call NW Natural’s 24-hour emergency line at 800-882-3377. Enjoy the sunshine and spring flowers, and remember to call 811. TERESA BROWNLIE NW Natural Astoria R PERS sucking communities dry consider myself pretty well-informed, but an article in The New York Times, “A $76,000 Monthly Pension: Why States and Cities Are Short on Cash,” was eye-opening. This arti- cle detailed how Oregon counties and cities are being sucked dry by obligatory contributions to the state’s Public Employees Retirement Sys- tem (PERS). If, for example, you have ever wondered why there is never any money to fix roads, treat the mentally ill, assist the homeless, or I H or many students, school lunches are the only real meal they get throughout the day. I have been going to school for 13 years now, and have seen how much school lunches have changed. They used to be handmade meals, by the wonderful cafeteria ladies, but soon enough everything changed. After a lunch reform, everything had to be whole wheat, and healthy. But to me, homemade meals are more healthy than disgusting, frozen whole wheat chicken burgers, or burritos. Half the time we don’t even have fresh fruit or vegetables to eat, we have canned, sugary fruits and frozen, old vegetables. We need a new lunch reform that provides healthy and homemade meals to students, so we can go home happy and full of good food. KAITLYN TRUAX Astoria
