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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, dEcEmbER 14, 2019
Salmon die-off closes Chinook salmon fishing
IN BRIEF
Closure at rivers
on the North Coast
Razor clamming closed
along the Oregon Coast
SALEM — Razor clamming on the Oregon
Coast is closed because of high levels of domoic
acid.
The closure, announced Friday by the Oregon
Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife, applies to commercial
and recreational clamming.
Domoic acid is a naturally-occuring marine
toxin.
Workshop set on draft
forest management plan
The Oregon Department of Forestry is hosting
a public input and question-and-answer session in
Astoria on the draft revised Western Oregon State
Forest Management Plan.
The meeting will be held at the Judge Guy Boy-
ington Building at 9 a.m. on Friday. The comments
will provide input to project staff prior to finalizing
the draft revised plan.
The department will accept comments through
January.
Comments may be emailed to odf.sfcomments@
oregon.gov, submitted through the department’s
website or mailed to ODF Public Affairs, 2600 State
St., Salem OR., 97310.
Crash on Highway 101 Business
causes injuries, closes highway
A crash closed U.S. Highway 101 Business near
G Road for 30 minutes Wednesday afternoon.
A driver was rear-ended when she stopped to turn
into her residence.
Police say the crash resulted in severe damage.
The driver of the vehicle that was hit was taken
to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria with
injuries.
— The Astorian
Congressman opposed to
Jordan Cove LNG project
COOS BAY — A Democratic congressman has
announced his opposition to the proposed Jordan
Cove liquefied natural gas terminal and its 230-mile
feeder pipeline in southern Oregon.
The World reports U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, of
Springfield, said in a letter to campaign supporters
last week that he doesn’t support the project because
the federal approval process is run by “unelected
political appointees, the project tramples on private
property rights, and it will exacerbate the urgent and
immediate threat of climate change.”
While he hadn’t taken a hard stance on Jordan
Cove previously, DeFazio has spoken out against
the 2005 Bush-Cheney Energy Policy Act, which
allowed the Federal Energy and Regulatory Com-
mission to claim eminent domain for energy projects.
He has introduced legislation to reverse the
commission’s eminent domain powers, DeFazio
said.
DeFazio also said his office can’t stop the Jordan
Cove project.
— Associated Press
ON THE RECORD
Assault
• Ryan Dale Tall-
man, 21, of Baker City,
was arraigned Friday on
charges of unlawful sex-
ual penetration in the
first degree, assault in the
fourth degree and crim-
inal mischief in the sec-
ond degree
Menacing
• Robert Dale Lar-
son, 52, of Jewell, was
arrested Wednesday on
Oregon Highway 103 in
Jewell for menacing and
criminal mischief in the
second degree.
DUII
• Travis Jon Mea-
cham, 58, of Steilacoom,
Washington, was arrested
Thursday on W. Marine
Drive and Fourth Street in
Astoria for driving under
influence of intoxicants.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council,
7 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
TUESDAY
Union Health District of
Clatsop County, 8 a.m.,
Providence Seaside Hospi-
tal ED Center.
Port of Astoria Commis-
sion, 4 p.m., 10 Pier 1 Suite
209.
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District Board
of Directors, 5:15 p.m.,
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By ZACH URNESS
Statesman Journal
The recent die-off of
fall Chinook salmon has
expanded from the Wilson
River to three other river
basins, leading to a total clo-
sure on salmon fishing on
the North Coast, wildlife
officials said.
Salmon killed before they
were able to spawn by the
parasite cryptobia has been
observed in the Nestucca,
Trask and Kilchis rivers
near Tillamook during the
past week.
To help the remaining
Chinook spawn, officials
have closed the entire North
Coast to all salmon angling
effective Friday to Dec. 31.
The closure includes all
basins from the Nestucca
to the Necanicum rivers,
including bays, the Ore-
gon Department of Wildlife
said Wednesday in a news
release.
Angling for steelhead is
unaffected by this change
and remains open under per-
manent regulations.
“We need to protect the
remaining spawners to help
Rick Swart/Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Fishing for fall Chinook on the North Coast has been closed by
recent salmon die-offs.
provide for future runs of
fall Chinook on the North
Coast,” said Robert Brad-
ley, district fish biologist
for the state fish and wild-
life’s North Coast Watershed
District.
The parasite, which is
naturally occurring, caused
the death of more than 200
salmon in the lower Wil-
son River earlier this month.
After tips from local anglers,
biologists then discovered
the parasite in a substan-
tial number of dead salmon
sampled in the three other
river basins last week.
The parasite is no risk to
humans.
Bradley blamed abnor-
mally dry conditions in Ore-
gon for the spread of the par-
asite, which has caused fish
deaths in the past but never
on this scale, he said.
“This scale of die-off
is really unheard of,” he
said. “This parasite typi-
cally doesn’t escalate to this
level.”
The low-water conditions
kept salmon trapped in small
pools of water for long peri-
ods, allowing leeches that
carry the parasite to get on a
higher density of fish, Brad-
ley said.
“We’ve seen that happen
in small tributaries in the
past, but never in the main-
stem of these rivers the way
we’ve seen this year,” he
said.
It’s unclear what impact
the die-off will have long
term on the native fish runs
on the North Coast.
“Luckily we did have
rain in October, so some fish
were able to move upstream
and spawn before it dried
out,” Bradley said. “Long-
term it will depend on how
many more fish come in —
which usually lasts until Jan-
uary — and can get eggs in
the gravel. That’s why it’s so
important to protect what’s
left.”
All salmon angling is
closed in the following
areas: Necanicum River
basin; Nehalem Bay and
river (including the NF
Nehalem); Tillamook Bay
and rivers (Tillamook River,
Trask River, Wilson River,
Kilchis River and Miami
River); Nestucca Bay and
river (including Three Riv-
ers and the Little Nestucca
River).
Beginning in the new
year, no wild salmon can
be harvested on the North
Coast, meaning the closure
on fall Chinook essentially
remains in place when the
calendar flips.
Anglers paid $1.1M for catching fish in Columbia, Snake rivers
By ZACH URNESS
Statesman Journal
It pays to go fishing.
Anglers across the Pacific
Northwest were paid $1.1
million this year for catching
and removing 146,000 north-
ern pikeminnow from the
Columbia and Snake rivers.
Pikeminnow prey on
salmon and steelhead smolts,
protected under the federal
Endangered Species Act,
as they migrate toward the
ocean.
To improve survival
rates, the Bonneville Power
Administration has rewarded
anglers with $5 to $8 per
pikeminnow removed from
the system for the past three
decades. The pikeminnow
must be over 9 inches to
quality, and there are a few
specially tagged fish that
anglers can reclaim for $500.
In 2019, a total of 2,700
anglers claimed a reward,
including one angler who
was paid $53,000 for catch-
ing a whopping 6,482 fish.
The program’s goal is not
to eliminate northern pike-
minnow, which is native to
both rivers, but “rather to
reduce the average size and
number of the predatory
fish,” Bonneville Power offi-
cials said in a news release.
“Large northern pikemin-
now are responsible for eat-
ing the most salmon and
steelhead smolts,” said Eric
McOmie, Bonneville Power
program manager. “Reduc-
ing the number of large
pikeminnow can help more
young salmon make their
way to the ocean, which
means more of them will
return to their home streams
as adults.”
The rewards to anglers
are paid by ratepayers to
Bonneville Power, which
operates the Columbia River
Basin’s system of dams and
is responsible for mitiga-
tion efforts for endangered
salmon and steelhead.
Pikeminnow have also
been blamed for feeding on
endangered lamprey, which
has seen declining numbers.
“Lamprey are often found
in the diets of the north-
ern pikeminnow,” said Mac
Barr, Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife Predation
Studies project leader. “In
2019, we began exploring
ways to better estimate how
many juvenile lamprey in
the Columbia and Snake riv-
ers are eaten by the northern
pikeminnow. Understanding
the predation rates on lam-
prey is important because
they are a state sensitive spe-
cies as well as a federal spe-
cies of concern and are cul-
turally important to many
Columbia Basin tribes.”
Congress criticizes how Coast Guard investigates harassment
By JENNIFER
McDERMOTT
Associated Press
The U.S. Coast Guard’s
leadership has failed to con-
duct prompt, thorough and
impartial investigations of
harassment and bullying
allegations, according to a
congressional investigation
released this week.
The report, called “Right-
ing the Ship,” also found
Coast Guard leaders didn’t
hold officials accountable
for deficient and incomplete
investigations and didn’t
take corrective action to
address retaliation against
people who report harass-
ment and bullying. It con-
cludes that the service
needs to make “significant
improvements” in its poli-
cies and procedures.
The U.S. House Over-
sight and Homeland Secu-
rity Committees launched
the 18-month investigation
after questions were raised
about how complaints were
handled at the Coast Guard
Academy in New London,
Connecticut. Subcommittees
for the two committees dis-
cussed the findings Wednes-
day during a joint hearing.
Coast Guard Vice Adm.
Michael McAllister said
at the hearing the service’s
senior leaders are taking
“every step to foster and
develop a climate that’s free
from harassment, bullying
and retaliation” and take all
complaints seriously.
McAllister, the dep-
uty commandant for mis-
sion support, spoke about
changes the Coast Guard has
made to the way it handles
allegations, including updat-
ing its civil rights awareness
training, creating new posi-
tions to improve oversight
at the academy and revis-
ing procedures to require
commanders to notify their
superior of the findings and
outcomes of harassment,
hate, hazing and bullying
inquiries.
McAllister
acknowl-
edged there’s room for
improvement and said he
looked forward to “enhanc-
ing our policies” with help
from Congress.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thomp-
son, a Mississippi Demo-
crat, said the Coast Guard
must make major changes to
address its climate and cul-
tural challenges and ensure
accountability.
“The Coast Guard’s big-
gest asset is not its fleet, but
its people,” said Thomp-
son, the Homeland Security
Committee chairman. “If the
service does not know how
to take care of its own peo-
ple, it cannot execute its crit-
ical mission to protect our
homeland.”
The GOP didn’t sign onto
the report because Repub-
lican representatives were
given only a few days to
review it, said Rep. Chip
Roy, a Texas Republican,
arguing the report should
have been issued after the
hearing, to include informa-
tion presented Wednesday.
Republican Rep. Debbie
Lesko, an Arizona Repub-
lican, called it a “one-sided
report” that should have
included feedback from the
Coast Guard. She praised
the service for its commit-
ment to improving and said
the Democratic majority
spent considerable time and
expense investigating an
issue that had been already
investigated.
The report includes a
lengthy discussion about
a case involving a mem-
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ber of the permanent teach-
ing staff at the Coast Guard
Academy, Lt. Cmdr. Kim-
berly Young-McLear. She
reported in 2015 that her
supervisor harassed her and
created a hostile work envi-
ronment, partly because
she is a lesbian and a black
woman. The report says the
academy never investigated
her allegations, instead using
an alternative dispute resolu-
tion process.
Young-McLear, who tes-
tified Wednesday, said she
turned to the Department of
Homeland Security’s Office
of Inspector General after
she suffered retaliation for
making the complaints. The
Coast Guard, she said, did
not hold those responsible
accountable or provide a safe
working environment. Her
case is not isolated, she said,
and such issues are happen-
ing across the Coast Guard.
“Many Coast Guard
individuals, who are over-
whelmingly
talented,
devoted people of color,
women and LGBTQ, have
reached out me to share their
experiences and to convey
that these systemic issues up
and down the ranks are not
unique to the Coast Guard
Academy,” said Young-Mc-
Lear, who is doing a cyber-
security fellowship in Wash-
ington but plans to return to
the academy.
Young-McLear
was
asked how she found the
strength to “fight the Coast
Guard” for years.
“I don’t see it as I’m fight-
ing the Coast Guard,” she
said. “I see it as I’m fighting
for a better Coast Guard.”
The inspector general’s
2018 report substantiated
Young-McLear’s claim that
she was retaliated against on
the basis of her discrimina-
tion and harassment com-
plaints, in violation of the
Military Whistleblower Pro-
tection Act. The Coast Guard
has acted on that report’s
recommendations, McAllis-
ter said.
The congressional report
also finds fault with how a
related bullying case at the
academy was handled, and
notes that 45% of female
cadets reported experiencing
sexual harassment in 2018.
The committees said that
although the cases they most
closely examined involved
faculty and leadership at the
academy, the policy and pro-
cesses used to address alle-
gations apply to the entire
Coast Guard.
McAllister said he does
not have data to suggest
bullying and harassment is
widespread, but he would
like to hear directly from
anyone who believes the
issues are common. He said
Young-McLear is helping
the Coast Guard by partici-
pating in diversity and inclu-
sion initiatives.
Adm. Karl Schultz, the
head of the Coast Guard,
was asked to testify Wednes-
day. Committee leaders said
Schultz declining to appear
reinforces their concerns
that the Coast Guard lead-
ership does not takes the
issues seriously enough.
They criticized the Coast
Guard for delaying the deliv-
ery of requested documents
and heavily redacting them
during the investigation.
But McAllister said he
spoke for the service because
he is in charge of human
resources, training and per-
sonnel policy. He said it was
their intent to be responsive
and transparent, and pursu-
ing a diverse and inclusive
service is a top priority.
The congressional inves-
tigation was launched by the
late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cum-
mings, a Maryland Demo-
crat who worked on Coast
Guard diversity issues
throughout his career, and
Thompson, in consultation
with U.S. Rep. Joe Court-
ney. Courtney, a Connecti-
cut Democrat whose dis-
trict includes the academy,
said the report isn’t an attack
on the Coast Guard, but if
there’s a problem it needs to
be fixed.