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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
Founded in 1873
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
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Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
GUEST COLUMN
Deer belong in wild, not Astoria
F
ifty years ago when my wife, Carol, and
I visited relatives in Astoria with our
children, there was no deer population
in town to speak of.
Beautiful rose gardens in most parts of
town were every bit as beautiful as the famous
rose gardens in Portland. In
fact, people in the northern
Chicago suburbs where we
lived would spend thousands
to have flower gardens of the
kind the most modest house in
Astoria would have. In those
DON
days, the talk in Astoria about
HASKELL wildlife in town seemed to
revolve only around “all those
blasted raccoons.”
Today, there are so many deer around that
beautiful roses, tulips and other flowers that
used to be so plentiful and such a joy are now
just deer candy. Our once flower-filled city is
left with only a few flowering plant species,
such as rhododendron and the like, that deer
look down their noses at.
Not everybody thinks deer are a problem.
Our city’s kind mayor, Arline LaMear, once
told me half the city wants to get rid of all the
deer. But the other half loves them. Some folks
would like Astoria’s deer protected for tourists
— even those tourists who block streets to
point and gawk while the deer stare back.
Astoria deer wouldn’t make good eating
by any human standard. The fertilizer spread
around yards to keep grass and weeds green
makes the animals an unhealthy prospect for a
meal. And it takes lots of other kinds of fertil-
izer and toxic stuff to kill the bugs and encour-
age flowering plants that deer like to chew on.
I must admit my grumpiness about deer
softens in the spring. All those newborn fawns
merrily prancing around in back of the house
softens my heart and makes me wish they
wouldn’t grow up. But that wouldn’t be fair to
either them or to momma deer.
And speaking of momma deer, poppa deer
don’t seem to stick around much in the spring.
The bucks seem to make every effort to avoid
even the appearance of family life. “Impregnate
and leave all the work to momma” seems to
be the buck’s credo in the springtime. But hey,
that’s nature’s way.
Should we sterilize them?
My conversation with Mayor LaMear ended
my efforts to find an old-deer’s home out in
deer so short-lived?
Fish and Wildlife also says male deer have
a shorter life span than female deer. The depart-
ment attributes that to all the stress and fighting
wild bucks undergo during rutting season.
Not so wild anymore
Doe with fawn on Commercial Street.
‘Even this grumpy old man can’t
help but smile when all the springtime
fawns begin running around.’
the wild countryside many miles from town
to relocate the critters. I thought moving them
would solve an Astoria problem while helping
coyotes lead an easier life for a while. Those
few coyotes I’ve spotted over the years south
of Astoria always looked hungry and certainly
weren’t overweight. And the two cougars I’ve
spotted in the Olney area in recent years looked
positively emaciated and starved.
I must admit, though, I didn’t think through
the fertilizer issue. There wouldn’t be much
sense in providing deer for wild coyotes and
cougars that’d be toxic for humans to eat.
Actually, the more I think about Astoria’s
deer, the more I’m convinced modern veter-
inary medicine gives us the better solution.
Females can be made sterile with a vaccine
approved by the Environmental Protection
Agency, injected by darts fired by compressed
air guns. That would solve the deer problem
entirely in a few short years. That, no doubt,
would be far more compassionate to a lot of
folks than delivering the deer to predators
further up the food chain.
What puzzles me most about Astoria’s deer
population is where they all go to die. And
what happens to their bodies when they do die.
I have yet to find a dead deer in town, except
of course for the very rare roadkill. Nor have
I ever found deer bones, antlers, or other deer
remains anywhere in town. I find that odd,
although the young folks who hike the trails
around town may have spotted them.
I often wonder about the mortality rate,
because identifiable deer that roam around our
part of town seem to disappear after two or
three years.
The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife, in a study done years ago, said all wild
deer in Oregon (whether white-tail, black-tailed
or mule deer) on the average live anywhere
from nine to 15 years. So why are Astoria’s
Water
under
the bridge
Russell Bristow, executive secretary of the Columbia
River Fishermen’s Protective Union, said he had received
some calls recently from Indians saying they had been ques-
tioned by Oregon State Police about fishing in the river
without a license.
Bristow said he called the Washington Department
of Fisheries and was informed that Washington is giving
Indian permits, free of charge, to fish the lower Columbia
providing they fish in season.
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
The brief Columbia salmon season continues to
be “terrible,” in the view of Russell Bristow, exec-
utive secretary of the Columbia River Fishermen’s
Protective Union.
Bristow said one boat took 1,500 pounds of
salmon Monday night, but other catches ranged
from 25 to 200 pounds.
10 years ago
this week — 2008
What was described as an old-time-hippie outdoor festi-
val made a quick transition into an indoor rock show, when
downpours washed the Concert for Big Red out of the Clatsop
County Fairgrounds and into the Clatsop Community College
Performing Arts Center.
After battling with rain for a few hours, festival organizers
moved the final few bands playing in the Concert for Big Red
fundraiser into the PAC in the late afternoon. The indoor envi-
ronment provided a much more intimate atmosphere for some
of the event’s big-name acts.
A crowd of more than 200 roared for the Airplane Fam-
ily Reunion, a group of four original members of Jefferson
Airplane, including founders Marty Balin and Signe Ander-
son Ettlin. The musicians received multiple standing ovations,
and onlookers danced in the aisles as the band played classics
such as “3/5 of a mile in 10 seconds” and “High Flyin’ Bird.”
Though they have been known to cause head-
aches in the Columbia River estuary, dredge spoils
aren’t all bad.
In fact, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has
a list of beneficial uses for the sediment it removes
from the Columbia River shipping channel each
year to clear the way for river commerce.
Case in point: This week the federal agency is
spreading 125,000 of dredge material — approx-
imately 12,500 dump truck loads — behind the
North Jetty on Benson Beach in Cape Disappoint-
ment State Park in Ilwaco, Wash. The $1.7 million
project is a quick fix for December storm damage to
a protective sand berm behind the jetty.
In the long run, experts say ongoing erosion at
the site will continue to weaken the jetty and eat
away at the beach.
Labor Day Weekend is ahead and it’s one of the top boat-
ing weekends of the year in Oregon and the Oregon State
Marine Board wants to encourage boaters to hit the water-
ways and invite friends or family along for the ride.
Marine officers will be on the water to assist boaters and
keep the waterways safe. “The top violations so far this sum-
It seems to me Astoria’s deer are no longer
the wild creatures nature intended as part of the
natural food chain for the animal species. Being
so close around humans for so many years,
they’ve morphed into an extremely weak,
fragile, and vulnerable animal that no longer
can stand adversity — whether it be winter
weather, human harassment or other stressful
experiences.
The rutting season mentioned by Fish and
Wildlife for wild deer is a good example. I’ve
seen rutting fights among wild mature deer only
in videos or movies. But I’ve seen many rutting
“fights” by mature Astoria deer in the yard in
back of our house. I typed “fights” in quotes
because they’re not fights at all. Both bucks
always act more like they’re deer-dancing.
Neither is trying to be the strongest buck for
the privilege, as nature intended, to mate with
a female. And the result is that weak deer are
procreating ever weaker deer every year.
And just as all weak living things die much
sooner than strong living ones, so do Astoria’s
deer. It seems to me that’s not the right and
moral thing for us humans to do to an animal
species.
Astorians might be wise to show their
youngsters that wonderful early 1940s movie,
“Bambi.” That Disney movie about a wild deer
growing up enthralled us little kids back then.
That’s, of course, a lifetime before iPhones,
texting, selfies and video games. But Bambi
instills a meaningful idea of what nature
intended a wild animal to become. And it sure
isn’t Astoria’s deer.
The deer problem in town isn’t all about
flowers. Or only about a city that used to be
filled with gorgeous rose gardens and flow-
er-filled yards. What matters more is our sense
of responsibility toward animals in our neck
of the woods. Deer belong in the wild far from
town as nature intended.
But until they’re gone from Astoria, even
this grumpy old man can’t help but smile when
all the springtime fawns begin running around.
Don Haskell is a retired attorney and for-
mer Clatsop County commissioner who lives in
Astoria.
75 years ago — 1943
A movie poster from 1943. This film popularized the the-
ory that Amelia Earhart’s disappearance was connect-
ed with secret work for the Navy, according to IMDB.
mer involve not having life jackets, a boater education card
or current boat registration. Other violations include reckless
operation and alcohol,” says Massey.
50 years ago — 1968
Astoria’s greatest festival, the annual Regatta,
is coming this week, and there was increasing hope
that favorable weather will arrive along with it.
The festival will open with arrival of USS Colo-
nial (LSD-18), and USS Frank Knox (DDR-742) at
Pier 2 of the port docks. The two Navy ships will
remain for the Regatta and the Colonial will act as
Regatta flagship.
The subject of Indians fishing in the Columbia River was
under examination today in the Astoria area.
The first big circus, entirely under canvas, to play Asto-
ria for several years, will be presented at Tapiola park under
sponsorship of the Astoria Regatta association.
This is the first time that Tapiola Park has been used for
such an event. Use of Gyro field, customarily employed for
circuses, was refused several weeks ago by vote of the City
Council. The council denied Gyro field because a circus
would damage the turf.
Though most famous for its highly-trained elephants,
Arthur Bros. Circus also includes other specialty acts.
Among them are Captain Van der Wall and his black-maned
African lions; the great Sing Lee Sing troupe of Chinese
wonder workers who came to the United States from China
for the San Francisco world’s fair; the Olvera troupe of
head and high perch balancers; Miss Eleanor, trapeze art-
ist; Ryans Liberty horses; three rings of educated dogs;
Mel Henry and his Funsters; and many other famous cir-
cus names.
With 322 exhibits entered, the Clatsop County
4-H fair began this morning in the 4-H building.
Featured event of the day will be the pet show this
evening.
High among other events of the day is to be the
Mutt Dog and Pet show, sponsored by the Kiwanis
club.
The long-awaited directive order of the 12th regional
war labor board in the dispute of Columbia River Cannery
Operators and Cannery Employees was received here from
Seattle.
Features of the order are endorsement of the check-
off system for collection of union dues by cannery opera-
tors, denial of the workers’ representatives at hearing of the
board in Seattle for a 44-hour work week, and authoriza-
tion of a pay increase for fishing industry workers here of
approximately 15 percent, retroactive to May 1 of this year.