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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 2019)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, JuNE 25, 2019 Doug Gorsline/Columbia Land Trust Timber stands rise from South Tongue Point, just south of Mott Island in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. Tongue Point: ‘It’s a sacred place, and it should be considered that’ Continued from Page A1 River Estuary Study Taskforce, a local hab- itat restoration group, and transferred to the college as a living laboratory for an environ- mental science program. The college recently closed on more than 20 acres at the north end of South Tongue Point, where it has rented land since the mid-1990s for the Marine and Environ- mental Research and Training Station. The career-technical training campus hosts automotive, welding, firefighting and mar- itime science programs. For the past six months, faculty and the administration have been planning an environmental science program. Christopher Breitmeyer, the college president and a former environmental sci- ence teacher at Yavapai College in Arizona, touted the unique opportunity for real-world research connected to the local environ- ment. He plans to teach one of the environ- mental science courses. “The best way to learn science is to do science, and that’s what we’ll do at South Tongue Point,” Breitmeyer said. The college’s last attempt at an environ- mental science program about 15 years ago fizzled because of a lack of enrollment, said Michael Bunch, a longtime biology teacher at the college. The new program will be closely tied to the community, Breitmeyer said. Edward Stratton/The Astorian Austin Tomlinson, a land steward with the Columbia Land Trust, describes South Tongue Point to Janet Gifford, a board member with the group. South Tongue Point is home to wildlife, including blue heron, left, and osprey. The college plans a degree track for field biologists and another for environmental policy and law, along with yearlong cer- tificates in forestry, fisheries, environmen- tal remediation and other areas that can put graduates directly into the local workforce, Breitmeyer said. With its location along one of the larg- est estuarine environments in the world, the North Coast hosts researchers, stewards, restorationists and others in the environ- mental field with the government, nonprof- its like the Columbia Land Trust and inter- ests like the task force. The first step for the college is to assess the resources of South Tongue Point before creating field assignments for students, Bre- itmeyer said. His students at Yavapai Col- lege received similar field experience. “Students got publications,” he said. “They got job offers. That’s exactly what we’re expecting here.” Lamb invoked the historical stewardship of the region by the Chinookan people as an overarching reason why South Tongue Point needs to be preserved and used as a way to empower the next generation of land stewards and conservationists. Tony Johnson, chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation, addressed the group of stake- holders on the importance of preserving the land. Photos by Doug Gorsline/Columbia Land Trust The ability to spend millions preserving land is a privilege the land- and cash-poor Chinook Indian Nation doesn’t have, John- son said. The group recently spent around $200,000 buying 10 acres at Tansy Point, a historical village where tribal members negotiated a treaty with the Oregon Terri- tory to avoid relocation east of the Cascade Mountains. The $200,000 represented the most money the group had ever assembled, he said. Johnson touched on the importance of Tongue Point, a stopping point for Chi- nookan historical figure Coyote and the site of a graveyard. “It’s a sacred place, and it should be considered that,” he said. So you have the power to connect we’ll keep going above and © 2019 Pacifi c Power beyond You count on all of us at Pacifi c Power to deliver the safest, most reliable power possible. That’s why we’re actively working on 300 projects this year to upgrade power lines, improve your service and push our 99.98% reliability track record to the next level. See how you inspire us to go even further at PoweringGreatness.com.
