A3
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2018
U.S. Senate passes bill making Tiny Micro-Chip Now
it easier to kill sea lions
In The Ear: Available!
A move to protect
salmon runs
Now
You See
It...
By PHUONG LE
Associated Press
SEATTLE — A bill that
would make it easier to kill
sea lions that feast on imper-
iled salmon in the Columbia
River has cleared the U.S.
Senate.
State wildlife manag-
ers say rebounding numbers
of sea lions are eating more
salmon than ever and their
appetites are undermining
billions of dollars of invest-
ments to restore endangered
fi sh runs.
Senate Bill 3119, which
passed Thursday by unan-
imous
consent,
would
streamline the process for
Washington state, Idaho,
Oregon and several Pacifi c
Northwest Native American
tribes to capture and eutha-
nize potentially hundreds of
sea lions found in the river
east of Portland.
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch,
an Idaho Republican who
co-sponsored the bill with
senators from all three
states, said the legislation
would help ensure healthy
populations of salmon for
years to come.
“As endangered salmon
face extinction, we must
take steps to protect them,”
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a
Washington Democrat, said
in a statement.
The Senate bill is simi-
lar to one passed by the U.S.
House in June and spon-
sored by Reps. Jaime Her-
rera Beutler, a Washington
Republican, Kurt Schrader,
an Oregon Democrat, and
others.
The House will have to
consider the Senate’s bill, or
vice versa, before it heads
to President Donald Trump
for consideration. “We have
reason to believe they will
by the end of the year,” said
Kaylin Minton, communica-
tions director for Risch.
Supporters, including the
governors of Oregon, Wash-
ington state and Idaho, fi sh-
AP Photo/Don Ryan
Now
You
Don’t!
A California sea lion that was trapped at Willamette
Falls in the lower Willamette River waits to be released
into the Pacifi c Ocean near Newport.
ing groups and tribes, say the
bill will give wildlife manag-
ers greater fl exibility in con-
trolling California sea lions
that dramatically increased
from about 30,000 in the
1960s to about 300,000
under the 1972 Marine
Mammal Protection Act.
Critics called it ill-con-
ceived and say it won’t
solve the problem of declin-
ing salmon, which also face
other problems such as habi-
tat loss and dams.
“This bill changes the
core protective nature of the
Marine Mammal Protec-
tion Act by allowing for the
indiscriminate killing of sea
lions throughout the Colum-
bia River and its tributaries,”
Naomi Rose, marine mam-
mal scientist for the Animal
Welfare Institute, said in a
statement.
Washington state, Idaho
and Oregon wildlife man-
agers have federal authori-
zation to kill problem sea
lions that eat salmon in the
Columbia River near Bonne-
ville Dam east of Portland.
But they must fi rst go
through a lengthy process
to identify and document
specifi c sea lions that cause
problems, including observ-
ing them eating a salmon
and using nonlethal hazing
measures on them.
Both the House and Sen-
ate bills would remove
those requirements, so states
and several Native Ameri-
can tribes could get a fed-
eral permit to remove any
sea lion east of the Interstate
205 bridge that connects
Vancouver with Portland, as
well as in tributaries of the
Columbia River where there
are federally protected fi sh.
Several Native American
tribes, including the Yakama
Nation, Warm Springs, Uma-
tilla and Nez Perce tribes,
also would be granted author-
ity to manage sea lions.
Under both bills, the
total number of sea lions
removed cannot exceed 10
percent of a specifi ed level,
called the potential biologi-
cal removal. For California
sea lions, for example, that
limit would be no more than
920 animals.
Nate
Pamplin,
pol-
icy director of Washing-
ton Department of Fish and
Wildlife, said the actual
number of animals removed
would be much lower
because there aren’t that
many eligible to be removed.
While there are sev-
eral thousand California
sea lions in the Columbia
River estuary, only about
200 to 300 swim more than
100 miles upriver from the
Pacifi c Ocean and would be
eligible for removal, state
wildlife offi cials say.
An orca task force con-
vened by Washington Gov.
Jay Inslee also backed the
legislation to boost the fi sh
for the struggling popula-
tion of southern resident killer
whales.
Tiny micro-processor
• One of the smallest custom hearing
aids ever made
• 48 channel digital signal processing
• Digital engineering allows 1,000’s of
custom settings
• Controlled by state-of-the-art software
Spaces are Limited Call Today for your
FREE* Hearing Evaluation!
And a FREE* Turkey on US!
Miracle-Ear Center
Miracle- Ear Center
Youngs Bay Plaza
173 S. Hwy 101
Warrenton, OR 97146
(503) 836-7921
2505 Main Ave N, Suite C
Tillamook, OR 97141
(503) 836-7926
Mention Code:
18DecMicro
One More Thing
Washington State Department of Transportation
The interstate bridge connecting Oregon and Washington state.
Lawmakers to discuss replacing I-5 bridge
A meeting is set
for Tuesday
By MOLLY SOLOMON
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon lawmakers are
ready to return to the table
and restart discussions with
Washington state to replace
the Interstate 5 bridge. In
a press release sent out on
Friday, state Sen. Annette
Cleveland,
D-Vancouver,
said the meeting “signals a
new level of collaboration
between the two states.”
The bipartisan group of
lawmakers will meet for the
fi rst time at 2 p.m. Tuesday
at the Oregon Association
of Minority Entrepreneurs
in Portland. The Joint Ore-
gon-Washington Legislative
Action Committee was cre-
ated last year in the Wash-
ington L egislature.
“We all agree on the over-
due need for a new bridge
and a process that maintains
the public’s trust and sup-
port,” Cleveland wrote in a
statement, thanking her Ore-
gon counterparts for par-
ticipating in next week’s
meeting. “I’m not going to
suggest this undertaking will
be simple or easy, but we
are determined to fi nd a path
that leads us to a solution
in order to build the much-
needed replacement bridge.”
In 2013, Republican law-
makers from southwest
Washington walked away
from the Columbia River
Crossing project, effectively
killing the last attempt to
replace the I-5 bridge. The
project would have replaced
the
century-old
bridge
across the Columbia River
and extended light rail into
Vancouver.
Since then, Oregon has
been wary about resuming
talks of a new bridge.
“I want to know what
they have to say this time
around,” said state Sen. Cliff
Bentz, R-Ontario, one of fi ve
Oregon lawmakers who have
agreed to be on the commit-
tee. “And why we should
trust this process.”
Lawmakers from both
states agree that a new bridge
is long overdue, and point
to increased traffi c con-
gestion and concerns over
safety in the event of a large
earthquake.
“There’s a lot at stake here
and I think everyone recog-
nizes that,” said state Sen.
Ann Rivers, R-La Center.
Rivers, a previous oppo-
nent of the Columbia River
Crossing project, says she
now supports a replacement
bridge. “So many people in
Washington state actually
work in Oregon,” she said.
“For their quality of life, this
is an investment that has to
be made.”
In an Oct. 1 letter to Ore-
gon’s transportation commit-
tee co-chairs, House Speaker
Tina Kotek and Senate Pres-
ident Peter Courtney said
they welcomed restarting
discussions about replacing
the I-5 b ridge.
“Oregon has a long his-
tory of leadership in pursu-
ing a replacement project,”
Kotek and Courtney wrote.
“Now is the time for a bipar-
tisan group of Oregon legis-
lators to re-engage with our
colleagues in Washington to
pursue congestion relief and
ensure structural security
between our two states.”
Recently, several local
governments,
including
Vancouver, Clark County
and local ports, have passed
resolutions supporting a
bridge replacement.
Washington
lawmak-
ers include Sens. Cleve-
land, Rivers, Lynda Wil-
son, R-Vancouver, and Steve
Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens; and
Reps. Sharon Wylie, D-Van-
couver, Brandon Vick, R-Fe-
lida, Jake Fey, D-Tacoma,
and Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama.
Oregon’s
delegation
includes Sens. Bentz, Lee
Beyer, D-Springfi eld, and
Brian Boquist, R-Dallas;
and Reps. Caddy McKe-
own, D-Coos Bay, and Susan
McLain, D-Hillsboro.
Some parts of the evaluation include the
use of a familiar voice, so please bring a
spouse or family member with you. Call
us today to confirm your appointment
time!
The Miracle-Ear Advantage:
2 for
$
*
995
Receive 2 AudioTone™
Pro Hearing Aids at $995
for a limited time only.
*limit one coupon per patient at the promotional
price during event dates only. Not valid with any other
discount or offer. Does not apply to prior purchases.
Fits up to a 35 db loss. Offer expires 12/14/18.
100% Satisfaction Guarantee* • 3-Year Limited Warranty**
FREE Lifetime Service • Over 65 Years in Business
• Over 1,200 Locations Nationwide
Miracle-Ear Center
Miracle- Ear Center
Youngs Bay Plaza
173 S. Hwy 101
Warrenton, OR 97146
(503) 836-7921
2505 Main Ave N, Suite C
Tillamook, OR 97141
(503) 836-7926
Most Insurance Plans Accepted
Including Blue Cross Blue Shield
* - To receive a FREE turkey voucher you must undergo a full hearing evaluation and have a minimum 40dB hearing
loss. Voucher is good toward the purchase of Butterball Turkeys or many other brands of your choice, up to a
maximum value of $10
* - If you are not completely satisfied, the aids may be returned in satisfactory condition within 30
days for a full refund. Fitting fee may apply.
** - Not valid on Audiotone Pro.