LOCAL TALENT READY TO DANCE IN
OFF-THE-WALL SHOW
146TH YEAR, NO. 178
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
The Washington S tate Fish and
Wildlife Commission is giving
commercial gillnet fi shermen time
on the Columbia River this year,
temporarily reversing a policy that
had banned them from the river’s
main stem.
The commission voted 3-1
Saturday in favor of the change,
which would allow gillnets during
the spring, summer and fall sea-
sons. Two commissioners, includ-
ing Larry Carpenter, the chairman,
abstained, saying they wanted
more time to collect public input.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Commission will consider the pro-
posal at a meeting March 15.
Under the policy change, gill-
netters will probably not get out on
the river until the summer.
Spring salmon seasons have
already been set and gillnetters will
be allowed to fi sh the main stem
this spring only if run sizes come
in well over what is anticipated
— an unlikely scenario given how
low the predictions are for upriver
spring Chinook, said Ryan Lath-
rop, Columbia River fi shery man-
ager for the Washington Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife.
The change, recommended by
a committee that included fi sh and
wildlife commissioners from Ore-
gon and Washington state , only
applies to this year’s river salmon
fi sheries. It was an effort to get
both states on the same page this
year.
Columbia River Reform, also
known as the Kitzhaber Plan after
former Gov. John Kitzhaber, was
enacted in 2013 with the goal to
phase gillnets off the r iver’s main
stem by 2017.
Oregon and Washington state
manage r iver fi sheries together,
but have diverged in recent years
over whether or not to allow gill-
nets back on the main stem. Ore-
gon has been interested in allowing
gillnets back on the river.
The joint Oregon-Washington
committee plans to continue meet-
ing to discuss a long-term overhaul
of salmon management policies.
“The major policy changes are
yet to come,” said Commissioner
Robert Kehoe, who served on the
committee and voted in favor of
the change for the season .
The discussion in Washing-
ton dismayed sport fi shing groups .
A representative of the Spokane
INSIDE »
ONE DOLLAR
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019
Washington
to allow
gillnets back
on Columbia
A temporary reversal
of a hard-line policy
COAST WEEKEND
A rare
blonde
elk cow
mixes
with the
brown
herd
during a
feeding.
JEWELL SCHOOL
FEEDS THE ELK
Last of a series of
public feedings
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
J
Photos by Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Autumn Kutts, 5, pushes off a block of alfalfa Wednesday onto the Jewell Meadows
Wildlife Area. BELOW: Students in Kai Davidson’s preschool class at Jewell School get
an up-close view of an elk antler after feeding a few herds at Jewell Meadows.
EWELL — Onlookers are usually
cautioned not to approach or feed
the elk herds that pop up along
highways and fi elds around the urban
centers of the North Coast.
But preschoolers at Jewell School
spent a snowy Wednesday morn-
ing riding through the Jewell Mead-
ows Wildlife Area, dropping bricks of
alfalfa off the sides of a tractor-trailer
for the 300 or so elk who inhabit the
refuge.
“The wildlife area was established
primarily for viewing and education
purposes, which this tour serves,” said
Charlie Chamberlain, a senior techni-
cian in the wildlife area who helped
facilitate the tour Wednesday.
See Elk, Page A7
See Gillnet, Page A7
Gearhart draws the line on elk feeding
Modeled after a similar
ordinance in Warrenton
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — Eight months
ago, inspired by an ordinance in
Warrenton, Bebe Michel asked
Gearhart to ban wildlife feeding
to discourage human interaction
with elk, deer, bear and other wild
animals.
Michel saw the ordinance as
one way to cope with an ongo-
ing concern over elk in Gearhart,
where at times it seems the
Feeding songbirds and
animals outnumber resi-
squirrels is permitted,
dents and every encounter
provided the food is con-
comes with risk.
tained in a feeder.
On Wednesday, Michel
Violations could bring
was in the audience at the
a penalty of up to $500,
City Council meeting as
but offi cials hope they’ll
Ordinance 917 received Bebe Michel fi nd compliance before
unanimous approval.
issuing fi nes.
“The attracting or feeding of
The ordinance will become law
wildlife within the city limits is in 30 days.
declared to be a public nuisance
After the meeting, City Admin-
and safety issue and is prohib- istrator Chad Sweet credited
ited,” the ordinance states.
Michel with “a lot of great work.
Along with elk, residents and vis- Not only does she come up with
itors may not feed bear, cougar, coy- ideas, she also helps us with the
ote or wolves, among other animals. solutions.”
For Michel, this is the fi rst city
ordinance she’s seen to fruition.
“Sitting here today, I was really
kind of amazed at myself that I had
proposed an ordinance and now
seen how it went from proposal to
work sessions and wended its way
through the entire process to get to
this point where we now have the
ordinance in place,” she said.
“Two years ago, if you had told
me that I would have done this, I
would have said, ‘No, that’s not
ever going to be something I’m
going to do.’ When people say
one person can’t do anything, I’m
proof that that isn’t the case.”