A2
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Rare swamp habitat changes hands near Knappa
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Just over 900 acres of
rare Columbia River spruce
swamp near Knappa is now
in the hands of a coastal land
conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy,
a global conservation orga-
nization, transferred owner-
ship of Blind Slough Swamp
Preserve to North Coast
Land Conservancy, which
manages land across Clat-
sop County, on Valentine9s
Day. The transfer enlarges
the coastal land conservan-
cy9s conservation footprint
from around 5,000 acres to
nearly 6,000, according to
Bonnie Henderson, commu-
nications coordinator for the
organization.
<Oregon9s land trusts play
a critical role in our state9s
future,= Derek Johnson,
director of protection and
stewardship for The Nature
Conservancy in Oregon, said
in a statement. <After many
years of partnership with
North Coast Land Conser-
vancy, we are proud to place
the long-term care of Blind
Slough Swamp Preserve in
their capable hands.=
The transfer came with
funds for long-term manage-
ment, so even with the major
increase in acreage that they
will be responsible for, the
land conservancy is well-
poised to take over steward-
North Coast Land Conservancy
Blind Slough Swamp Preserve, now under the stewardship of the North Coast Land Conservancy, is one of the few remaining
examples of a once common habitat along the Columbia River.
ship of the swamp habitat,
said Jon Wickersham, asso-
ciate director for the North
Coast Land Conservancy.
North Coast Land Con-
servancy staff had already
assisted with work at Blind
Slough before the trans-
fer and are familiar with
the site and its future needs.
Last year, Blind Slough was
one of the spots included in
a coordinated effort to pull
invasive purple loosestrife
from wetland habitats along
the Columbia River and
replace the interlopers with
native plants.
Blind Slough 4 a pre-
serve dominated by Sitka
spruce and other native trees
and plants 4 represents a
type of landscape that was
once common from Tilla-
mook County to Alaska. But
much of this original for-
ested û ood plain along the
Oregon side of the Columbia
River was diked for pasture
or logged long ago.
Blind Slough Swamp,
bordered on three sides by
Columbia River sloughs,
remains a unique outpost and
is considered one of the best
remaining examples in Ore-
gon of this type of habitat. It
provides refuge to a number
of û sh, birds and other wild-
life, including bald eagles,
river otter, coho salmon and
osprey. Some of the spruce
found at the site is 400 years
old.
<It9s diverse and very
complex, and very special,=
said Melissa Reich, steward-
ship director for the North
Coast Land Conservancy.
She is particularly familiar
with the site, having orga-
nized work parties there from
2009 to 2012 for The Nature
Conservancy before joining
the North Coast Land Con-
servancy in 2013. <It9s unlike
any other conserved land in
the area at this scale, = she
said.
The site is difû cult to
access and best viewed from
the water, said Wickersham.
For this reason, the Blind
Slough Swamp will not be
open to the public except for
events like volunteer work
days.
The North Coast Land
Conservancy plans to con-
tinue managing the swamp
in much the same way as it
has always been managed.
Land conservancy staff will
continue to monitor and
address invasive plant issues
and hold regular stewardship
days there throughout the
year.
<Anyone who lives adja-
cent will see no major
changes in management,=
Wickersham said. However,
he added, <We9re always
looking at our boundaries and
working with adjacent land-
owners on management.=
Connectivity across land-
scapes is one of the land
conservancy9s guiding prin-
ciples 4 an attempt to cre-
ate cohesive landscapes that
can function as whole habi-
tats. The acquisition of Blind
Slough, Wickersham said,
<deû nitely opens up another
opportunity.=
Feds requiring regional response Astoria to û ush and û ow test hydrants
teams for oil train wrecks
The Daily Astorian
By JOHN RABY
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
4 Federal transportation
ofû cials are requiring rail-
roads to establish regional
response teams along oil
train routes following a
series of û ery derailments.
The new rule announced
Thursday is aimed at having
crews and equipment ready
in the event of an accident.
It applies to oil trains in con-
tinuous blocks of 20 or more
loaded tank cars and those
having 35 loaded tank cars.
The U.S. Department
of Transportation9s Pipe-
emergency
management
ofû cials in oil train acci-
dents, including that emer-
gency responders were not
fully aware of resources
available from railroads
and other organizations that
would be helpful in prepar-
ing for such disasters.
Rail carriers now will be
required to provide infor-
mation about oil trains to
state and tribal emergency
response agencies and iden-
tify someone to oversee
each response zone along
with organizations, crews
and equipment that would
be used in a <worst-case
discharge.=
line and Hazardous Mate-
rials Safety Administration
issued the rule in coordina-
tion with the Federal Rail-
road Administration. The
pipeline safety agency said
a review identiû ed chal-
lenges that occurred during
previous responses to
derailments.
<This û nal rule is nec-
essary due to expansion in
U.S. energy production hav-
ing led to signiû cant chal-
lenges for the country9s
transportation system,= the
agency said.
In 2014, the agency
issued a report detailing the
concerns of û re chiefs and
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
45
33
37
Mainly cloudy with spotty
showers
ALMANAC
44
37
Partly sunny and chilly
Rather cloudy, showers
around; chilly
Last
New
Feb 26
Salem
36/46
Newport
38/47
Coos Bay
40/46
First
Mar 6
Mar 14
Baker
21/36
Ontario
29/42
Bend
24/37
Astoria / Port Docks
Low
3.6 ft.
-0.3 ft.
Klamath Falls
24/34
Lakeview
23/33
Ashland
35/42
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
40
39
46
50
47
35
46
47
49
49
Today
Lo
21
24
38
38
40
24
35
35
38
38
W
sn
sn
r
sh
r
sn
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Hi
36
37
45
45
45
34
44
45
47
47
Sat.
Lo
21
19
34
32
35
18
28
31
34
35
W
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City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
45
39
47
49
49
48
32
49
47
36
Today
Lo
32
26
35
38
36
38
23
38
35
20
W
sh
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sh
r
sh
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sf
sh
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Hi
42
36
46
45
46
45
31
44
45
33
Sat.
Lo W
28 sh
25
c
32
r
33
r
32
r
34
r
22 sf
31
r
33
r
19
c
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
W
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Hi
66
42
30
40
20
30
66
12
80
36
26
55
60
47
81
48
75
42
41
41
36
39
54
45
45
Sat.
Lo
50
25
23
18
16
18
39
6
65
25
20
38
43
40
66
39
66
28
25
26
27
23
42
33
30
In observance of Pres-
idents Day/Washington9s
Birthday on Monday, all
federal, state, county and
city ofû ces and services,
including Astoria, Warren-
ton, Gearhart, Seaside and
Cannon Beach city halls, are
closed. All U.S. post ofû ces
are closed, and there is no
mail delivery.
Astoria, Jewell, Knappa,
Wa r r e n t o n / H a m m o n d ,
Seaside (including Can-
non Beach and Gearhart
schools) and Ocean Beach
School District schools in
Washington state and Clat-
sop Community College are
closed.
The Astoria Library,
Seaside Library, Warren-
ton Library and all Tim-
berland libraries in Wash-
ington, including Ilwaco,
Ocean Park and Naselle, are
closed.
The Port of Astoria
ofû ces and services are
closed.
Garbage
collection
through Recology Western
Oregon (covering Astoria,
Seaside, Gearhart and Can-
non Beach), city of War-
renton garbage collection,
and Peninsula Sanitation
(covering the Long Beach,
Washington, Peninsula) are
not affected by the holiday.
Recology Western Oregon9s
transfer station and Penin-
sula Sanitation9s transfer
station are open.
The Sunset Pool in Sea-
side is open. The Astoria
Aquatic Center is open.
The Clatsop County Her-
itage Museum is closed.
The Oregon Film Museum
and Flavel House are open
from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
and the Carriage House is
open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Uppertown Fireû ght-
ers9 Museum is closed.
Lil9 Sprouts is open from
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fort
Clatsop is open from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. The Columbia
River Maritime Museum
is open from 9:30 a.m. to
5 p.m. The Seaside Museum
is open from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m.
Sunset Empire Trans-
portation (<The Bus=) is
running.
The Daily Astorian
ofû ces are open, and the
newspaper printed and
delivered as usual.
TUESDAY
Sunset Empire Park and Rec-
reation District, 5:15 p.m., Bob
Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A, Seaside.
Cannon Beach City Council,
5:30 p.m., work session, goal
setting, City Hall, 163 E. Gower
St.
Seaside School District Board
of Directors, 6 p.m., 1801 S.
Franklin.
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Shoreline Sanitary District
Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Hertig
Station, 33496 West Lake Lane,
Warrenton.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
OREGON
Thursday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 1-6-8-8
4 p.m.: 4-8-2-7
7 p.m.: 6-0-7-6
10 p.m.: 0-4-2-9
Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 03-
05-11-16-FREE-18-21-25-29
Estimated jackpot: $47,000
8-6-0
Thursday’s Keno: 01-03-12-
13-15-16-23-26-40-50-57-60-
61-63-65-66-67-71-72-73
Thursday’s Match 4: 07-11-
16-20
WASHINGTON
Thursday’s Daily Game:
REGIONAL CITIES
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Time
3:59 a.m.
5:18 p.m.
PRESIDENTS DAY CLOSURES
LOTTERIES
Burns
19/34
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Hi
63
51
22
53
12
30
71
1
80
31
17
58
57
48
81
50
73
55
37
58
26
51
54
46
65
John Day
26/38
La Grande
25/37
Roseburg
38/45
Brookings
37/45
Tonight's Sky: Galileo Galilei birthday (1564).
Today
Lo
55
33
13
26
2
18
47
-8
62
20
7
40
44
30
62
33
62
35
20
36
16
28
45
35
37
Prineville
24/40
Lebanon
37/44
Medford
35/44
UNDER THE SKY
High
9.3 ft.
7.6 ft.
Pendleton
26/36
The Dalles
26/35
Portland
35/46
sure or water discolor-
ation during the û ushing/
û ow testing process. If these
conditions continue after
3:30 p.m., call Astoria Pub-
lic Works at 503-325-3524.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Tillamook
37/45
Eugene
38/45
Sunset tonight ........................... 5:41 p.m.
Sunrise Saturday ........................ 7:18 a.m.
Moonrise today .......................... 1:17 p.m.
Moonset today ............................ 4:04 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
46
35
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
37/45
SUN AND MOON
Time
9:54 a.m.
11:46 p.m.
A morning shower; some
sun, chilly
TUESDAY
REGIONAL WEATHER
Precipitation
Thursday .......................................... 0.68"
Month to date ................................... 5.46"
Normal month to date ....................... 3.73"
Year to date .................................... 10.39"
Normal year to date ........................ 13.93"
Feb 19
45
30
Mostly cloudy with
showers around; chilly
Astoria through Thursday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 43°/39°
Normal high/low ........................... 52°/37°
Record high ............................ 64° in 1934
Record low ............................. 22° in 1990
Full
MONDAY
On Tuesday, Astoria p ub-
lic w orks begins the annual
û ushing and û ow testing
of 452 û re hydrants, which
takes place from 7:30 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m. and contin-
ues for approximately û ve
weeks.
Customers may experi-
ence temporary low pres-
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
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sn
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sh
pc
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sf
sh
sh
c
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
OBITUARY POLICY
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and, for veterans, a û ag symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 9 a.m. the
business day prior.
Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Death notices
and upcoming services will be published at no charge. Notices must be submitted by
9 a.m. the day of publication.
Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at DailyAstorian.com/forms/obits,
by email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at
The Daily Astorian ofû ce, 949 Exchange St. in Astoria.
For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext. 257.
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