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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 217 ONE DOLLAR County manager apologizes for missing meeting Moore said he plans to attend in the future By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Clatsop County Manager Cameron Moore apologized Tuesday for skipping last week’s Board of Commissioners meeting and said he would attend in the future. But the county manager, who last year offered to resign amid conflicts with commis- sioners, has in recent weeks discussed a poten- tial payout to leave his post, according to sources familiar with the situation. to the citizens of Clatsop County, the In an email to Commissioner Scott Clatsop County commissioners and the Lee — the board’s chairman — and county employees that I have the priv- ilege of working with every day. But I County Counsel Heather Reynolds also believe it is important that people hours before last week’s meeting, Moore understand why I took this step.” cited repeated criticism from Commis- sioners Kathleen Sullivan and Lianne Moore offered a more detailed expla- Cameron nation of why Sullivan’s and Thomp- Thompson in his decision not to attend Moore son’s words and actions led to his deci- and cautioned he would not show up for sion. “Inappropriate” contacts and meetings for the foreseeable future. County managers have traditionally been “rude, unprofessional treatment” of county staff expected to attend commissioner meetings, and others at meetings have violated the county charter and board policy, Moore said. present reports and answer questions. “These actions have inflicted unfair stress on Moore said in a statement Tuesday that his decision was a mistake, “and for that I apologize county staff as well as disrupting county opera- North Fork 53 hopes to plant seed for agritourism tions. For well over a year I have been asking, begging, pleading and demanding that these commissioners acquaint themselves with the rules that govern them and consistently comply with them,” Moore said. “My only motivation has been to protect county staff and ensure effi- cient county operations.” “Frankly I reached the point where I felt something drastic needed to happen and thought that missing a (board) meeting might finally get these two commissioners to take their roles and the rules that govern them seriously. We shall see.” See MOORE, Page 7A Army Corps lands permits to destroy bird eggs Cormorants feast on salmon in the river By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian G inger Edwards and her husband, Brigham, have made their North Fork 53 bed-and-breakfast and homestead along the Nehalem River an immersive foodie experience surrounded by organic gardens. But as they try to become one of Clat- sop County’s pioneers in agritourism, they face zoning hurdles and a slight uneasiness from some neighbors. The couple requested a change of use with the county to become resort lodging, hosting workshops, retreats and other events based around growing food. They had wanted to apply for agritourism. But unlike Tillamook County, its neighbor to the south, Clatsop County has no agri- tourism written into code. The Edwards’ plan to triple the garden areas around a farmhouse, offering walk- ing tours through the 3.6-acre lot. They recently traveled to India to learn about Ginger and Brigham Edwards enjoy a cup of tea while discussing the plans for North Fork 53. ‘THE WHOLE THING WILL BE AN EDIBLE WALK-THROUGH EXPERIENCE, AND WE’RE GOING TO LEAN ON TEA. WE’LL BE ONE OF THE FIRST FARMS IN THE REGION TO GROW TEA.’ Ginger Edwards growing the evergreen shrub, Camellia sinensis, and hope to become one of the region’s first tea farms. “The whole thing will be an edi- ble walk-through experience, and we’re going to lean on tea,” Ginger Edwards said. “We’ll be one of the first farms in the region to grow tea.” The couple hope to restart a farm stand to sell what they grow, and a mobile food truck tea bar. North Fork 53’s conditional use per- mit recently came before a county hear- ings officer. Although the proposal received more than 30 letters of support from growers, chefs and fellow farmers, it also drew resistance from several nearby property owners worried about the noise and traffic associated with a resort. Restrictions County staff proposed eliminating events, camping and the food truck, while Amid calls for an investigation into how a colony of double-crested cormorants on Oregon’s East Sand Island is being man- aged, the U.S. Army Corps successfully secured a permit to destroy cormorant eggs at nesting sites. The agency has yet to act on the permit. Several thousand cormorants were seen on the island in mid-April, but no nests have been observed yet, according to the most recent weekly monitoring report available on the Army Corps’ website. Breeding season “is in full swing” at the Astoria Bridge, however, according to the report. Over 6,000 cormorants were counted by the end of one survey that occurred at sunset and over 1,000 were counted by the end of an early morning period the next day. “Nesting materials were being delivered continuously with many birds engaged in breeding displays and copulation,” accord- ing to the report. Nests were visible on the bridge itself and on a protective wooden bar- rier on one of the bridge supports. A depredation permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the Army Corps received earlier in April allows the agency and its contractors to take up to 500 dou- ble-crested cormorant eggs and destroy asso- ciated nests on East Sand Island. The per- mit also allows the take of an additional 250 double-crested cormorant eggs from sites on the Columbia River estuary in either Ore- gon or Washington state, where the Corps deposits material dredged from the naviga- tion channel. The agency stated in March that it will not shoot any adult birds this year, explain- ing that this kind of intensive lethal take is no longer warranted. This year, the Corps estab- lished a 1.3-acre nesting area on East Sand Island. Outside of that area, cormorants will be hazed and discouraged from establishing nests. Next season, the Corps plans to further modify nesting habitat on the island. The Audubon Society of Portland asked Fish and Wildlife not to issue the depreda- tion permit or allow any more activity on East Sand Island without an investigation into why cormorants abandoned the island in 2016 and 2017. During both breeding See NORTH FORK 53, Page 7A See CORMORANTS, Page 7A Port of Astoria could outsource dredging Antiquated dredge may be ineffective By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian The Port of Astoria could outsource dredging along its piers and western marina after learning its dredge might have only been removing about half as much soil out of the water- ways as previously thought. The Port uses a 46-year- old Navy surplus suction dredge, the Felkins, to keep the waterways around its piers deep enough for log, cruise and other ships to dock. The dredge works only during out- going tides, with a hose from the dredge running into the main stem of the Columbia River to carry away sediments. The Port still uses lead lines, an ancient method of measuring depths by lowering a line with a pointed weight at the end into the water. The Port received some unsavory news about its dredging after under- water surveying company Ter- raSond recently provided the agency with computerized depth reports and dredge vol- ume estimates. “We were dredging prob- ably half of what we believe that we were dredging,” said Jim Knight, the Port’s exec- utive director. “We didn’t have the evidence until we could use new bathymetry measurements.” The efficiency of dredging has gone down with the age of equipment and the use of flow-lane disposal, said Matt McGrath, the Port’s director of operations. Knight presented the Port Commission three options: continue operating the Felkins, buy a new dredge for around $5 million or outsource. He The Daily Astorian See DREDGING, Page 7A The Port of Astoria has discovered issues with its dredg- ing, done by the 46-year-old suction dredge Felkins.
