The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, February 18, 2020, Image 2

The daily Astorian., February 18, 2020, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextA2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020 A DARK DANCE IN BRIEF BLM proposes fuel breaks to combat wildﬁ res The federal Bureau of Land Management announced a proposal Friday that would fund up to 11,000 miles of strategic fuel breaks in Idaho, Oregon, Washington state, California, Nevada and Utah in an effort to better con- trol wildﬁ res. According to the BLM, the concept behind fuel breaks, or ﬁ rebreaks, is to create gaps in vegetation in key locations to slow the process of a wildﬁ re. When a wild- ﬁ re burns into a fuel break, the ﬂ ame length decreases and its progress slows, making it safer and easier for ﬁ re- ﬁ ghters to control. The proposed plan would help con- trol wildﬁ res within a 223 million-acre area in the Great Basin states. “Fuel breaks are one of the most important tools we have to give wildland ﬁ reﬁ ghters a chance to safely and effectively contain rapidly moving wildﬁ res and poten- tially reduce wildﬁ re size,” William Perry Pendley, BLM’s deputy director for policy and programs, said in a statement. All of the proposed fuel breaks would be imple- mented along existing roads or rights of way on BLM lands in order to minimize the disturbance and habitat fragmentation for wildlife. The agency said it wasn’t immediately sure how fuel breaks would affect ﬁ reﬁ ghting resources on Indian reservations. Under the proposal, fuel breaks would only be imple- mented in adjacent areas of reservations that are man- aged by the BLM. Oregon ﬁ nds toxic air pollutants at above-average levels New data from the Oregon Department of Environ- mental Quality found six toxic air pollutants were above average in urban and rural areas throughout the state. The agency monitored 109 pollutants at six locations, including spots in The Dalles, La Grande and four sites in the Portland metro area. Of those tested, none were found to pose an immediate health risk to the public. But six air toxic pollutants — including arsenic and ben- zene — were found at above what researchers call their “ambient benchmark concentration average” at all mon- itoring locations. According to the report, average levels of arsenic were higher in the Portland area sites compared to The Dalles and La Grande. Arsenic can come from vehicle emissions or certain kinds of industry. “The ambient benchmark concentrations are goals that we set that we hope we can achieve, but they are goals that are fairly conservative standards that are deﬁ nitely protective of people, even sensitive populations,” Tom Roick, of the Department of Environmental Quality, said. The report shows concentration levels of pollutants in ambient air, meaning they can come from a variety of sources in the community and are not necessarily speciﬁ c to any facility or source. Researchers will use the infor- mation and data collected to track and implement new strategies for reducing pollutants throughout the state. — Oregon Public Broadcasting DEATHS Feb. 14, 2020 In C V Brief I TA N O V I C H , Mary, 71, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Hughes-Ran- Death som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. Dec. 10, 2019 SWANSON, David A., 71, of Forest Grove, formerly of Astoria, died at home. There will be no service. To sign the online guest book, or to send a condolence to the family, go to tualatinval- leyfa.com MEMORIALS Saturday, Feb. 22 Memorial KUBIK, George Alan — Celebration of life from 1 to 4 p.m., Long Beach Elks Lodge, 110 Paciﬁ c Ave., Long Beach, Washington, followed by a potluck. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Union Health District of Clatsop County, 8 a.m., Provi- dence Seaside Hospital Education Center, Room B. Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, 5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Her- tig Station, 33496 West Lake Lane, Warrenton. Seaside School District Board of Directors, 7 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin. Seaside Planning Commission, 7 p.m., work session, City Hall, 989 Broadway. WEDNESDAY Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Clatsop Community College Board, 6:30 p.m., Room 219, Columbia Hall, 1651 Lexington Ave., Astoria. THURSDAY Astoria City Council, 1 p.m., work session, City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eﬀ ective May 1, 2019 MAIL (IN COUNTY) EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 Hailey Hoﬀ man/The Astorian Shireen Press, of Flamebuoyant Productions, dances with ﬂ aming hula hoops at the Festival of Dark Arts at Fort George Brewery on Saturday night. Festivalgoers watched performances throughout the day while trying new stouts. Deal could heal old wounds in timber wars Hinges partly on spraying bill By SAM STITES Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The deal announced last week was intended to end the war in the woods that has beset Oregon forestry for decades. But not everyone is cheer- ing what Gov. Kate Brown described as a historic agree- ment between timber ﬁ rms and environmentalists. The critics suspect something more is at play than the pur- suit of peace. Some characterize the agreement as the ﬁ rst step in healing, but it also has bear- ing on much broader discus- sions in the Capitol, particu- larly over climate change. “There are people who had the rug pulled out from under them 30 years ago, and they never really recovered,” said state Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland. “That makes what we’re trying to do with the climate bill hard for them to accept. It’s interesting that all this is coming together at the same time, the question for those of us with a gavel is how to make the most of it.” The opening came after representatives of the tim- ber industry reached out to Brown and sat down for a meeting with her staff on Jan. 9. They requested that the governor moderate a discus- sion between industry lead- ers and the environmental community on moving for- ward as partners rather than adversaries. The governor agreed, mediating four meetings from Jan. 27 to Feb. 5 in Port- land and Salem. Represen- tatives from both sides aired long-standing grievances, explained their views and then considered how they might proceed together. What emerged was a memorandum of agreement signed by 13 of the most rep- utable Oregon companies and organizations on either side of the debate. It also means both sides will drop dueling sets of proposed ballot initiatives which seemed destined for an expensive clash in November . The agreement — some- where between a handshake deal and legally-binding doc- ument — incorporates three key pieces. The ﬁ rst outlines that the two sides will come together to create a habitat conser- vation plan that rules over 30 million acres of pub- lic and private timberlands throughout the state, protect- ing endangered species and updating timber practices. The second calls for all parties to support legislation to protect forest watersheds Sam Stites/Oregon Capital Bureau Sen. Jeﬀ Golden, D-Ashland, left, and Sen. Herman Baertschiger Jr., R-Grants Pass, have diﬀ erent takes on what the agreement between timber interests and environmental groups means for Oregon. by restricting aerial spraying of pesticides and herbicides. The bill also outlines imple- mentation of a state-of-the-art system to notify neighbors of aerial spraying. Lastly, it widens buffer zones for streams within the Rogue-Siskiyou region of southern Oregon. New leg- islation also would expand stream buffers along salmon, steelhead and bull trout streams to bring forest prac- tices into line with the rest of western Oregon. The deal is predicated on the idea that both sides agree on what is the best science to use for decisions. Agreeing to the deal were Hampton Lumber, Weyerhaueser, Roseburg Forest Products, Seneca Sawmill Co. , Hancock Nat- ural Resource Group, Stim- son Lumber, Greenwood Resources, Campbell Global, Pope Resources, Port Blakely and the Oregon Small Wood- lands Association. In the environmental camp, Oregon Wild, Wild Salmon Center, Oregon Stream Protection Coalition, Beyond Toxics, Audubon Society of Portland, Casca- dia Wildlands, Klamath Siski- you Wildlands Center, Paciﬁ c Coast Federation of Fisher- men’s Associations, Trout Unlimited, Northwest Guides and Anglers Association and the Oregon League of Con- servation voters all signed. Shared vision According to Casey Ros- coe, vice president for public affairs for Seneca, the agree- ment is a step to see if there’s a shared vision between the two sides for the future of for- est practices which accounts for sustainability and Ore- gon’s ecosystem. She’s cau- tiously optimistic that the deal represents a fresh start for both sides. “That vision is of healthy trees. It’s of thriving wildlife. It’s of cool, clean water and world-class recreation. It’s of renewable building mate- rials and other wood prod- ucts,” Roscoe said. “That is our vision. What we’re hop- ing is perhaps that can be their vision too, and if that’s true, if we do have, in fact, shared vision, then maybe we can come to the table and talk about how to make that happen and work toward it, because we’re all on the same planet.” Bob Rees, executive direc- tor of the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, said the deal shows good faith by the timber industry to hear out conservationists. “The pesticide application on these lands and waterways is of course of great concern to us, the real punch in the MOU is if the timber interests agreed to formulate this hab- itat conservation plan that’s on the table,” Rees said. “It’s a good thing, and the science is already developed, but we haven’t implemented these practices on state or private lands.” Rees recalled when he started as a professional ﬁ sh- ing guide in 1996 and ﬁ sher- men were allowed to catch ﬁ ve of the six species of sal- monids in the rivers of Ore- gon’s N orth C oast. Over time, with warming temperatures and rising levels of dissolved oxygen, the list of endangered species slowly grew and depleted runs of every type of salmon, crippling the state’s ﬁ shing industry. “If the negotiations are successful, it really shows an effort by private landowners to recognize the value of other natural resources other than timber that their lands har- bor,” Rees said. Jim James, executive director of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association, is one of the sponsors of the three ballot initiatives from the timber industry that will be set aside now. “The real beneﬁ t is that we’re getting the opportunity to sit down and talk with each other to ﬁ nd a compromise,” James said. But not everyone is feeling as hopeful as those directly involved in the deal. Harder to ﬁ ght Republicans in the state Legislature criticize the deal for putting them in a less sta- ble position around the dis- cussion of Oregon’s proposed greenhouse gas reduction bill, Senate Bill 1530. On Thursday, Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr., R-Grants Pass, went on the “Lars Lar- son Show” to denounce the deal, saying it made his life more complicated. “What they basically said is, ‘I f you want your tim- ber industry’s pesticide bill to pass, you’re going to have to stick around for cap and trade,’ and we simply can’t do that,” Baertschiger told Larson. “The timber industry didn’t do us any favor. I don’t know who is advising them politically, but I’d give them their walking papers.” That would be Greg Miller, formerly of the Oregon For- est & Industries Council, who said the deal is a shared rec- ognition between the tim- ber industry and conservation groups of the diverse beneﬁ ts forests provide and the need for more meaningful efforts on forest issues. Baertschiger has charac- terized the deal as big corpo- rate timber selling out to the Democratic supermajority and hurting the state’s smaller timber interests. James, representing wood- land owners, feels otherwise. “My perception is that if we can get to the compromise and stop the wars, it would be beneﬁ cial to every for- est landowner in Oregon,” he said. “Oftentimes folks try to separate the family landowner from the forest products industry, but there’s a reality that family woodland owners need a strong forest products industry so when they har- vest, they have value.” The next step in moving toward ﬁ nal solidiﬁ cation of the deal is passing new laws on aerial spraying of pesti- cides. According to Miller, that bill is in the drafting stage. The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group, Pamplin Media Group and Salem Reporter.