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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2019)
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019 146TH YEAR, NO. 215 ONE DOLLAR Protecting the coho salmon Environmentalists want more restrictions By DAVID STEVES Oregon Public Broadcasting Twenty environmental groups are call- ing on Oregon to protect imperiled coho salmon with more restrictions on logging and roadbuilding in coastal forests. The groups delivered a rule-making petition last week to the Oregon Board of Forestry. It calls for designated resource sites for coho salmon on state and private forestlands. Nick Cady, legal counsel with one of the petitioners, Cascadia Wildlands, said the Board of Forestry needs to address the impacts of logging on habitat for a species at risk of extinction. “There are major ongoing conflicts between logging practices and coho salmon habitat that need to be resolved,” he said. Oregon coho are listed as threat- ened under the Endangered Species Act. Their numbers are thought to have ranged between 1 million and 2 million in Ore- gon before white settlement. But periods of poor ocean conditions, logging, agricul- ture, dams and road culverts are blamed for reducing their numbers to about 30,000 in Oregon coastal rivers by the 1990s. In their petition, environmental and fishing groups say these activities have degraded water quality, blocked fish pas- sage and led to the loss of favorable hab- itat, such as rivers with large wood debris, deep pools and connections to off-channel waters that rearing salmon need, such as beaver ponds, lakes and wetlands. Advocates argue for the protection of cold water and more salmon habitat by designating resource sites for coho. For- ests would be left in place within 150 feet of coho-accessible waters and 100 feet of non-coho-bearing headwaters. The proposal is expected to draw oppo- sition from the timber industry, since it would restrict logging and roadbuilding in these protected resource sites. Farmland declines in Oregon Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Eric Anderson, the new owner of the Hughes-Ransom Mortuary & Crematory in Astoria, talks about his plans for enlivening the historic structure. Astoria funeral home under new ownership Anderson plans rentals, events at Hughes-Ransom By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian T Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian he former upstairs showrooms of Hughes-Ransom Mortuary & Crematory are filled with cas- kets, display shelves and other gen- eral storage. New owner Eric Ander- son, who’s taking up residence above the mortuary, has also laid down blue tape to mark the two apartment rentals he plans to add by fall. Anderson recently closed the sale on Hughes-Ransom’s Astoria and Seaside locations from Todd and Joy Slack. He is hoping the new apart- ments and opening the chapel to wed- dings and other community gatherings will help enliven the historic building. Originally from Minnesota, Ander- son has a bachelor’s in mortuary sci- ence and 20 years in the business. He moved to Oregon and mostly worked in the Eugene-Springfield area, including for the Slacks, the own- ers of Hughes-Ransom since 2013. Used to small, Scandinavian-tinged towns growing up, he jumped at the opportunity to buy them out of Hughes-Ransom. E.B. Hughes established the mortu- ary in 1913 and moved into the Harvey and Mary Pike residence at the corner of 12th Street and Franklin Avenue in 1923, remodeling the building to its brick facade in the 1930s. The mortu- ary added a smaller Seaside chapel in 1933. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary & Crematory has been located in the former Harvey and Mary Pike residence at 576 12th St. since 1923. See Funeral home, Page A7 Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Urns sit on a shelf in a showroom at the Hughes-Ransom Mortuary & Crematory. Census conducted every five years By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press From his 56-acre family farm in rural West Linn, Richard Fiala has observed a worrisome trend. Land that Fiala, 62, remembers hay- ing 30 years ago is now crowded with houses, or awaiting development at the hands of investors as the region’s cities plan for urban growth. Figures from the newly released 2017 Census of Agriculture reveal that Oregon, See Farmland, Page A7 Astoria grad finds Capitol job An intern for Rep. Mitchell By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian As a high schooler, Jacob Hulti had been to one or two Astoria City Council meetings. Now the junior political science major at Willamette University in Salem and legislative intern for state Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell, D-As- toria, has more than 120 hours of experience working in the state Capitol. Hulti, who graduated from Astoria High School in 2016, wasn’t sure what he’d major in at Willamette. But he said political science appealed to him after a few classes and some reading of political philosophy and economic theory. For one of his classes, Hulti applied to be an intern for Mitchell, who this year replaced Deborah Boone representing state House District 32. “That was one reason why I applied for Mitchell’s office,” he said. “She’s my representative, so I thought it would be cool.” Hulti helps Mitchell’s office research and write summaries for bills, tracks and ensures she responds to constituent inquiries and sits in on committee hearings. He’s helped research bills that would tweak commer- cial clamming regulations and seek greater funding for education. Sitting in on con- tentious hearings, such as one to ban Styrofoam, have been the most educational, he said. See Hulti, Page A7 Jacob Hulti, right, is a legislative intern for state Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell, D-Astoria, center, along with fellow Willamette University student Jake Procino.
