The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, December 20, 2018, Image 21

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The daily Astorian., December 20, 2018, Page A2, Image 21

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Newspaper Page TextA2 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2018 Oregon State could use Elliott State Forest for research A vote by the State Land Board By JES BURNS and DIRK VANDERHART Oregon Public Broadcasting After years of struggling to ﬁ gure out what to do with the Elliott State Forest, Ore- gon ofﬁ cials now have a pro- posal they like. Members of the State Land Board voted Tuesday to start work on a plan to transfer the 80,000-acre for- est near Coos Bay to Oregon State University. The university’s idea is to create the Elliott State Research Forest. Oregon State President Ed Ray told Land Board mem- bers that the university’s “unmatched” experts would be available to assist with the Elliott regardless of who was tapped to own the forest. “The question is, ‘Do you want to stop there, or do you want to go further?’” Ray added. “Do you want or do you aspire for Oregon, the nation and the world to have a leading research capabil- ity that helps all of us under- stand around this globe how to manage forest resources going forward?” The plan would include a mix of uses on the forest Oregon Department of Forestry The Elliott State Forest could be used for research. including, Ray said, “active management.” Other uses would reﬂ ect public val- ues identiﬁ ed by the Land Board, like recreation, pub- lic access and conservation. “We envision this being the source of critical information that we use to inform conser- vation management now and as we work through the ongo- ing changes driven by our cli- mate,” Oregon State Interim Forestry Dean Anthony Davis told the board. Size advantage It would be one of the largest forests devoted to experimentation and research in the United States and the size advantage would allow scientists to ask questions that couldn’t be answered on smaller tracts of land. “They see a strong research component that will inform the future of not only timber manage- ment, but of climate change adaptation and response,” said State Treasurer Tobias Read, who voiced enthu- siastic support for the plan. “(There would be) signiﬁ cant potential for tribal partnerships and, of course, support for rural communities.” Gov. Kate Brown also voiced support for the research forest proposal. “I do think we can move forward on this path and keep the forest for the ben- eﬁ t of Oregon schoolchil- dren. Probably in a differ- ent way — maybe less of a ﬁ nancial resource, and more of an educational resource for the next seven gener- ations,” Brown said.“This would be a unique oppor- tunity for Oregon to lead the nation, if not the entire world.” The state has been con- sidering what to do with the Elliott State Forest for years. It started when endangered species court rulings lim- ited logging and the forest stopped generating money, as required, for Oregon schools through the Com- mon School Fund. Most recently the Land Board, comprised of Read, Brown and Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, asked for proposals that would keep the forest in public ownership. Several other entities had expressed interest in the forest, including two local counties, two tribes, the Ore- gon Department of Forestry and a nonproﬁ t Christian ministry group. Last year, the Legisla- ture approved $100 million in bonds to hold the school fund over while a new for- est owner could be found. And on Tuesday, the Land Board approved a declara- tion allowing the bonding to move forward. But an additional $121 million is needed to com- pensate the Common School Fund for the appraised value of the Elliott State Forest. Uncertain path As with every applicant, Oregon State’s path to ﬁ nd- ing the necessary $121 mil- lion is deeply uncertain. The university “can’t foresee cir- cumstances in which the university could purchase the forest outright,” Ray told the Land Board. Part of that uncertainty, he noted, comes from the two-year budget Brown pro- posed earlier this month. The proposal would hold funding for state universities ﬂ at — effectively creating a budget cut as higher edu- cation costs rise. The gov- ernor has promised funding increases to universities if state lawmakers are able to ﬁ nd some $2 billion in new funding for her education priorities. “Under the currently pro- posed budget, OSU faces a funding challenge of budget reductions of perhaps $20 million of operating funds,” Ray said, noting that the uni- versity was unwilling to bor- row against “forest harvest- ing that cannot be sustained, or add more controversy to the university.” That left a question of where funding might come from — something that will have to be answered in months to come. Both Ray and Read expressed a desire for details of the plan to be worked out by the end of 2019. FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT FRIDAY SATURDAY 49 40 38 Partly cloudy with a couple of showers Tillamook 37/48 Salem 35/48 Newport 38/48 Last New Dec 29 Coos Bay 40/50 First Jan 5 Baker 28/39 Burns 23/34 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 5:39 a.m. 6:45 p.m. Low 3.0 ft. -0.7 ft. City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend Hi 42 51 54 54 54 47 49 53 53 53 Today Lo 28 27 40 35 41 22 34 35 38 39 W c r r r r r r r r r Hi 39 37 51 47 49 38 45 45 48 51 By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian period of painful, uncertain transition to a budget that reﬂ ects the true costs of run- ning the parks department. Before Cosby announced she was leaving, the department planned to spend this year focusing on rebuilding and stabilizing internal operations. “I am excited to be join- ing the Astoria community and working with the Asto- ria Parks and Recreation Department staff,” Williams said in a statement. “The leadership here in Astoria is excellent.” City Manager Brett Estes said the city is looking for- ward to having Williams. “He brings a lot of expe- rience and passion for parks and recreation,” Estes said. Astoria has struggled to replace a number of depart- ment leaders over the past two years after a string of expected retirements and unanticipated resignations. Estes is still searching for a community development director since former direc- tor Kevin Cronin left the city in October 2017. The city is working with a recruiter to ﬁ nd candidates for ﬁ re chief, a role being ﬁ lled by interim Fire Chief Richard Curtis following Ted Ames’ retirement this year. Lakeview 25/35 Ashland 34/43 REGIONAL CITIES Tonight's Sky: Orion's Belt stands almost straight up from the horizon. Fri. Lo 19 23 37 31 43 16 27 35 40 37 W pc c c pc c pc pc pc c c City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 54 55 55 52 54 54 45 54 54 47 Today Lo 34 35 36 37 35 39 30 37 36 30 W r sh r r r r r r r sh Hi 47 44 47 48 48 48 37 47 45 44 Fri. Lo 34 30 36 32 34 42 25 31 36 26 W pc pc pc pc pc c pc pc pc pc Blustery weather downs trees, causes outages The Daily Astorian High winds toppled trees and power lines and caused power outages this morning on the North Coast. More than 1,000 custom- ers lost power, according to Paciﬁ c Power. Outages have been reported in Astoria, east of Astoria, south of Sea- side and in Cannon Beach. Emergency person- nel have also responded to downed trees and power lines, including on high- ways. State Highway 202 was closed at milepost 6 for downed lines. A tree cover- ing both lanes of U.S. High- way 26 has been cleared. ton police on U.S. Highway 101 and Ensign Lane and charged with driving under the inﬂ uence of intoxicants, reckless driving and reck- less endangerment. An ofﬁ - cer allegedly found mari- juana in the car. TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi Lo 54 47 49 43 46 31 49 28 39 24 44 37 60 36 -11 -21 81 69 49 38 42 26 65 47 75 53 53 38 82 68 52 40 59 44 46 45 54 30 49 48 49 33 48 33 57 51 55 39 49 48 La Grande 29/37 Ontario 31/44 Klamath Falls 22/38 Astoria hires new parks director Astoria has hired a new parks and recreation director. Tim Williams, the parks and recreation director in Roswell, New Mexico, will replace former direc- tor Angela Cosby, who left Astoria this summer to take a parks job in Colorado. Jonah Dart-McLean, the parks maintenance super- visor in Astoria , served as interim director during the city’s search. Williams’ ﬁ rst day is Jan. 8. He joins the city after a Roseburg 37/48 Brookings 40/51 Jan 13 John Day 29/35 Bend 27/37 Medford 34/45 UNDER THE SKY High 7.8 ft. 10.0 ft. Prineville 28/40 Lebanon 37/46 Eugene 35/47 Sunset tonight ........................... 4:32 p.m. Sunrise Friday ............................. 7:55 a.m. Moonrise today .......................... 3:19 p.m. Moonset today ............................ 5:18 a.m. City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Periods of rain Pendleton 35/44 The Dalles 37/46 Portland 36/47 SUN AND MOON Time 12:19 a.m. 11:34 a.m. Periods of rain Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 38/49 Precipitation Wednesday ....................................... 0.04" Month to date ................................... 5.79" Normal month to date ....................... 6.15" Year to date .................................... 59.18" Normal year to date ........................ 63.52" Dec 22 51 39 REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Wednesday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 53°/48° Normal high/low ........................... 48°/36° Record high ............................ 61° in 1981 Record low ............................. 17° in 1924 Full MONDAY 51 42 Mostly cloudy, a little rain in the p.m. Clouds and breaks of sun ALMANAC SUNDAY 50 43 W r pc r s c r s pc s r c s s r t r r r s r r s pc r r Hi 48 62 36 62 40 41 65 -11 82 40 44 64 69 45 73 46 56 61 55 64 39 43 58 48 61 Fri. Lo 35 52 24 27 27 30 43 -15 70 26 30 45 50 31 54 30 39 48 33 47 26 30 44 38 45 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W r r c s s r pc pc pc sn s c pc pc pc r s r s r c pc c pc r DUII • At 12:13 a.m. Thurs- day, a Hammond boy, 17, was arrested by Warren- MEMORIAL Sunday, Dec. 23 FAIRLESS, Curtis Robert — Informal memorial gathering at 11 a.m., Seaside Ameri- can Legion Post 99, 1315 Broadway in Seaside. A military service is planned, and will be announced at a later date. PUBLIC MEETINGS Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. CLATSOP POWER EQUIPMENT , INC. SALES SERVICE RENTALS • ON THE RECORD THURSDAY Cannon Beach Design Review Board Meet- ing, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Seaside Transportation Advisory Commis- LOTTERIES OREGON Wednesday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 3-3-1-1 4 p.m.: 4-7-1-6 7 p.m.: 5-9-1-0 10 p.m.: 1-0-5-4 Wednesday’s Lucky Lines: 4-7-9-13-20-22-26-31 Estimated jackpot: $21,000 Wednesday’s Megabucks: 12-15-26-27-37-43 Estimated jackpot: $5.8 million Wednesday’s Powerball: 15- 29-31-37-43 Powerball: 16 Estimated jackpot: $281 million WASHINGTON Wednesday’s Daily Game: 4-4-4 Wednesday’s Lotto: 3-13-30- 35-41-47 Estimated jackpot: $1.9 million Wednesday’s Hit 5: 4-26-28- 33-34 Wednesday’s Keno: 8-10-14- 17-23-24-28-31-34-35-38-39- 40-43-51-55-62-63-67-72 Wednesday’s Match 4: 4-5- 6-16 Subscription rates Eﬀ ective July 1, 2015 • Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325- 6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 34912 HWY 101 BUS • ASTORIA 503-325-0792 • 1-800-220-0792 sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Astoria City Council, 6:30 p.m., special meeting on Fairﬁ eld Inn and Suites, City Hall, 1095 Duane St. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. SUBSCRIBER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. 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