PROPERTY LINES: A HOME IN A PARK INSIDE
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2018
146TH YEAR, NO. 65
ONE DOLLAR
Razor clam
digs delayed
on Clatsop
beaches
Clams too small to harvest
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Oregon fishery managers have delayed the start
of the fall razor clam harvest along Clatsop County
beaches after a recent stock assessment found the
clams are too small.
In a situation that state shellfish biologist Matt
Hunter called far from normal, razor clams are
“moderately abundant” but the majority had shell
lengths between 2 to 3 inches — too small to be
harvested by commercial clammers or desired by
recreational clammers.
Clatsop beaches are already closed seasonally to
diggers from mid-July through September to give
young clams a chance to grow. They will remain
closed to diggers while fishery managers collect
public feedback in October on how digs should be
managed in the future.
“We hear it all the time on the beach, informally,
anecdotally,” Hunter said.
The meeting in October will be a chance to for-
mally gather feedback from stakeholders that will
inform a staff presentation to the Oregon Fish and
Wildlife Commission in December.
“We don’t have a management plan per se for
the razor clam fishery and that might be the first
thing we’re tasked with, creating a management
plan,” Hunter said.
A date has not been set for the meeting in Octo-
ber, but it will be held in Clatsop County, in either
Astoria or Seaside.
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commissioners and
fishery managers said this summer it may be time
to review how razor clam seasons operate. They
suggested the possibility of shifting seasons to fit
when razor clams are bigger. Currently, Oregon’s
beaches are open year-round to clammers with
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Tourists from a cruise ship wait to board a bus at the Port of Astoria.
Tourism studio seeks ways
to manage future growth
Summit part of
multiyear process
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
See CLAMS, Page 3A
Army Corps in
second phase
of cormorant
control plan
No longer shooting birds
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Instead of shooting birds to control a large cor-
morant colony on East Sand Island, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers will move into the second
phase of its management plan and begin changing
the landscape of the island itself.
The Army Corps’ efforts to check a growing
double-crested cormorant colony and reduce pre-
dation on young threatened and endangered salmon
included shooting adult birds and active hazing to
push birds toward the western end of the island.
Phase two is more passive.
G
ARIBALDI — Around a large
table, tourism leaders from
Clatsop and Tillamook counties
were asked what words came to mind
when they thought about what would
happen to the North Coast if visitation
continues to grow without any changes.
“Crowded,” one person said.
“Water quality,” another person
said.
“But we’d have more resources,”
another added.
The answers were at the crux of a
larger question people were attempt-
ing to tackle at the North Coast Tour-
ism Summit in Garibaldi: At what
point does tourism drive more costs
than benefits, and how should that be
managed?
The summit, attended by about 100
business owners, tourism and non-
profit leaders on Tuesday, was a part
of a rural tourism studio — a multi-
year project where Travel Oregon leads
workshops and offers guidance on how
to make tourism sustainable environ-
mentally and economically.
At the end, Travel Oregon offers a
grant that must be used to finance a tan-
gible change or product, like connect-
ing a trail system or launching a new
stewardship program.
Last October, a steering commit-
tee set goals, including finding ways
to reduce congestion during peak
seasons, spreading the economic ben-
efits of tourism, and doing more to
ONE OF THE
GOALS IS TO
PROTECT OUR
NATURAL AND
CULTURAL
RESOURCES,
BECAUSE MAN,
IF WE NEGLECT
THEM, WE’RE
SUNK. IT’S
WHAT MAKES
US UNIQUE. WE
DON’T WANT
TO BECOME A
PLACE WHERE
PEOPLE JUST
STOP TO GET
GAS.
Nan Devlin |
Visit Tillamook Coast
encourage better stewardship practices
in natural areas and parks.
“We’re here to talk about stew-
ardship,” Marcus Hinz, the execu-
tive director of the Oregon Coast Vis-
itors Association, said. “This industry
has matured. The marketing has been
so successful we’ve now encountered
new challenges.”
Quality over quantity
As the number of visitors continues
to grow, so does the impact to Oregon’s
economy. Revenue generated from the
tourism industry has grown from $6.5
billion in 2003 to $11.8 billion in 2017.
And projections don’t show any signs
of slowing.
With more than 100 million peo-
ple anticipated to move to urban areas
around the world by 2050, David
Beurle, of Future iQ, a research and
consulting firm, anticipates more tour-
ists will seek the rugged Oregon Coast
experience.
“People are moving to Portland.
They are moving to Seattle. They’re
going to want their recreation space,
and you’re on their list,” Beurle said.
But growing the industry does
not always have to mean increasing
the number of visitors. Travel Ore-
gon CEO Todd Davidson said that the
North Coast should focus on getting
visitors to stay longer.
“If you stop and think about it, if
we can turn a day trip into a weekend
trip or midweek trip, we can increase
spending without increasing our vol-
ume,” Davidson said. “We have so
much to offer. Let’s convince people to
spend a whole week here.”
See TOURISM, Page 3A
See CORMORANTS, Page 7A
ELECTION 2018
Brown calls herself
a consensus builder
Buehler rejects
‘partisan labels’
Governor highlights
transportation deal
Republican stresses
his independence
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
Gov. Kate Brown — the nation’s first
openly bisexual governor and the face of
progressive policies such as no co-pay-
ments for reproductive health care — is
seeking a final term as Oregon governor.
Despite running for governor on the
Republican ticket, state Rep. Knute Bue-
hler has increasingly used the word “inde-
pendent” to describe himself.
Buehler says he rejects the “narrow
See BROWN, Page 7A
Photos by Jaime Valdez/Portland Tribune
LEFT: Gov. Kate Brown is running for re-election.
RIGHT: State Rep. Knute Buehler is the
Republican candidate for governor.
See BUEHLER, Page 7A