A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2020
IN BRIEF
Recreational clamming
open on the coast
Recreational razor clamming is open on the coast
from the Columbia River to the north jetty of the Siu-
slaw River in Florence after domoic acid dropped to
acceptable levels.
The marine biotoxin remains at elevated levels, and
clamming is closed, from Florence to the California
border.
State seeks appointee to
fi shery management council
The state is looking for a candidate to serve on the
Pacifi c Fishery Management Council.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
is accepting nominations for an at-large seat held
by Brad Pettinger with the Oregon Trawl
Commission.
The 14-member council manages roughly 119 spe-
cies of groundfi sh, pelagic species such as sardines
and anchovies and highly migratory species such as
tuna and swordfi sh off the Oregon, Washington state
and California coasts.
All nominations are sent to the governor’s offi ce,
which then sends the names of at least three candi-
dates to the National Marine Fisheries Service and
U.S. Department of Commerce for consideration. Pet-
tinger may be reappointed to the seat.
The deadline to submit an application is March 6
and the three-year council term begins Aug. 10.
Appointees must pass an extensive FBI background
check. People interested in being considered or nomi-
nating another person should contact Jessica Watson at
Jessica.L.Watson@state.or.us or Caren Braby at Car-
en.E.Braby@state.or.us.
— The Astorian
JAZZ
HANDS
DEATHS
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
In Brief
Death
Feb. 26, 2020
HEDIGER, Patricia “Pat,” 74, of Astoria, died in
Astoria. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary is in charge of the
arrangements.
BIRTH
Feb. 22, 2020
SNEDEKER, Tiffany, and HORTON, Derrick, of
Birth
Warrenton, a girl, Khloe Ann Marie Horton, born at
Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. Grandparents
are Malissa Matthews and Curtis Davidson and Craig
and Angie Horton.
ON THE RECORD
Sodomy
• Jonathan David
Wyatt, 37, of Warrenton,
was indicted Wednesday
for sodomy in the fi rst
degree and sexual abuse
in the fi rst degree.
Assault
•
Jeremy
Allan
Jacques, 48, was arrested
Thursday on W. Marine
Drive in Astoria for
assault in the fourth
degree domestic violence
felony.
Burglary
• Autumn Grace
Brelin, 23, of Astoria,
was indicted Wednes-
day for burglary in the
fi rst degree, theft in the
fi rst degree, possession
of a stolen vehicle, unau-
thorized use of a vehi-
cle, identity theft and two
counts of theft in the sec-
ond degree.
Theft
• Timothy Dean Yaa-
kola, 48, of Warrenton,
was arrested Wednesday
at Costco in Warrenton
for theft in the fi rst degree
and criminal mischief in
the third degree.
Disorderly conduct
• Brett Bane Mel-
lott, 31, of Astoria, was
arrested Thursday on
12th Street and Duane
Street in Astoria for dis-
orderly conduct in the
second degree.
DUII
• Victoria C. Scar-
borough, 23, of Ocean
Park, Washington, was
arrested Wednesday on
Marine Drive and 11th
Street in Astoria for driv-
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants.
On the Record
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
TUESDAY
Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob
Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A.
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 12 p.m., work
session, 800 Exchange St., Suite 430, Astoria.
Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., Clatsop Care
Health and Rehabilitation, 646 16th St., Astoria.
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, 5:15 p.m.,
workshop, Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue
A, Seaside.
Port of Astoria Commission, 5:30 p.m., 10 Pier 1, Suite 209.
Seaside Library Board, 5:30 p.m., 1131 Broadway.
Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer District Board, 6 p.m.,
34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
Seaside Planning Commission, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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DailyAstorian.com
TOP: John Dover busts out a solo on stage of the Liberty Theatre while performing with Astoria High School band and choir
students on Wednesday night. Dover, a professional musician based out of Portland, taught clinics to the local music students
before the performance. ABOVE LEFT: Saxophonists from the high school’s band play a series of jazzy tunes at the free concert.
ABOVE RIGHT: Senior Kajsa Jackson sings with the Port City Singers, Astoria High School’s jazz choir.
Small farmers voice support for cap and trade
A step to protect
natural resources
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — As Oregon
lawmakers clash over a con-
troversial bill to curb the
state’s greenhouse gas emis-
sions, Mimi Casteel says cli-
mate change is already pos-
ing a major identity crisis for
winegrowers.
Casteel grew up on her
family’s vineyard in the Wil-
lamette Valley, home of inter-
nationally recognized p inot
noir. She remembers har-
vest usually happened around
October, with the area’s rela-
tively mild weather allowing
more time for grapes to ripen
and add layers of distinctive
berry-like fl avors.
Over the years, Casteel
said that climatic window
has begun to shift. Sum-
mers are becoming hotter and
drier, forcing growers to pick
grapes earlier in the season
when sugars — and thus alco-
hol content — are higher but
fl avors have not yet come into
balance.
In short, Oregon p inot noir
might no longer taste like
Oregon p inot noir.
“We just established our-
selves a world-class wine
region,” Casteel said. “We’re
looking at a hard reality where
that is not what we have
anymore.”
In 2008, Casteel started
her own vineyard, Hope Well
Wine, in the Eola-Amity Hills
west of Salem. She is one of
more than 270 small farmers,
ranchers and forestland own-
ers who signed on in support
of Senate Bill 1530 — the
cap-and-trade proposal —
through the Oregon Climate
and Agriculture Network, or
OrCAN.
The bill is now stalled in
the Legislature as both state
House and Senate Repub-
licans staged boycotts of
the short session this week,
demanding that cap and trade
go to the voters.
OrCAN Director Megan
Kemple rejected that notion,
saying the bill is comprehen-
sive with extensive input from
all sides.
“No bill has had this much
work and this much public
process,” Kemple said. “The
Legislature is where policy
like this should be made.”
Opponents of the bill,
including the Oregon Farm
Bureau and #TimberUnity,
a grassroots group of farm-
ers and loggers whose mem-
bers have staged large rallies
outside the Capitol, argue that
SB 1530 will raise fuel and
energy prices, crippling agri-
cultural producers who cannot
pass the increased costs along
to consumers.
A statewide cap-and-trade
system would also have a
negligible impact on cli-
mate change, critics add. Ore-
gon generated just 0.13% of
global carbon dioxide emis-
sions in 2019, according to the
International Energy Agency.
But Casteel said the bill
contains a number of compro-
mises intended to protect rural
communities and trade-ex-
posed businesses, and is a
necessary step toward protect-
ing natural resources.
“This would facilitate
the transition toward cli-
mate-smart farming,” she
said. “The smartest, most
responsible thing we can do
right now is throw our full and
honest support behind farmers
who can protect this region.”
Front lines
Under cap and trade, the
state sets a hard cap on green-
house gas emissions and
charges companies for allow-
ances to exceed the limit.
The cap gradually lowers
over time, which is meant to
encourage the companies to
adopt more climate-friendly
Makeup of species
Sarah Deumling, forest
manager for Zena Forest Prod-
ucts in Salem, said the com-
pany owns one of the largest
intact remaining forests in the
Willamette Valley, though cli-
mate change is beginning to
change the makeup of species
in the woods.
Deumling said drought has
led to a 10% to 20% loss of
Douglas fi r trees that had to be
removed and replanted with
white oak and cedar.
“I’m not the only one
who has fi rs dying,” Deum-
ling said. “Some people have
cedars dying that wouldn’t
normally be dying. ... If you
put that out on a trajectory, the
costs can be huge.”
Deumling admits she is
not certain whether cap and
trade is the best solution for
managing Oregon’s green-
house gases, but she said pro-
ducers can no longer afford to
wait years for someone to do
something about it.
“We’re trying to make a
living. It’s not easy,” she said.
“We better do all we can to
prepare for and get a handle
on climate change.”
$40 ticket
includes:
Pick of the Week
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to upgrade its irrigation sys-
tems, installing more effi cient
drip lines and resurrecting
an old 1940s-era water stor-
age pond. He said the farm is
also shifted toward planting
more deep-rooted perennial
plants that can better with-
stand drought, versus shal-
low-rooted annuals.
Wildfi re smoke is another
serious issue, Starr said, chok-
ing skies and impacting cus-
tomer turnout at local farm-
ers’ markets. He said the farm
has experienced a 10% drop
in market revenue during
smoky summers, which adds
up to thousands of dollars of
lost revenue.
“It is stressful,” he said.
“It just feels like we’re in this
ecosystem here that’s a little
bit on edge.”
Volunteer
Circulation phone number:
503-325-3211
Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR
MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF
CIRCULATIONS, INC.
practices and technology.
Money collected would
go into a state Climate Invest-
ment Fund with specifi c allo-
cation levels for adaptation
projects, including 25% for
wildfi re mitigation and 25%
for natural and working lands
to adopt measures such as tree
planting, cover crops, no-till
farming, riparian buffers and
capturing dairy gas to create
renewable energy.
Casteel, who built Hope
Well Wine on 80 acres of
reclaimed property, said
these practices will ultimately
determine whether Oregon is
able to maintain its ecological
resilience.
“It’s
really
farming
where we make our greatest
impact,” Casteel said. “We are
on the front lines (of climate
change).”
Other farmers who support
cap and trade say the costs of
doing nothing now are much
higher than the cost of waiting
until climate change creates
irreparable harm.
In the Applegate Valley
of s outhern Oregon, Taylor
Starr, executive director and
farm manager at the nonprofi t
White Oak Farm and Educa-
tion Center, said the last 10
years have seen increasing
wildfi res and lower snowpack
in the Siskiyou Mountains,
creating a lack of water fl ows
later in the season.
Two years ago, Starr said
the farm had its irrigation
water shut off in early July,
about a month earlier than
usual. White Oak Farm grows
and sells a variety of pro-
duce and contracts with sev-
eral seed companies. The cen-
ter also receives grants and
contributions to support its
programs.
“We’ve really had to adjust
our scheduling,” Starr said.
“When things are so uncer-
tain, it makes that planning
really challenging.”
Starr estimates the farm
has invested about $10,000
C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER
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An intimate wine tasting event
previewing wine that will be available
at the 2020 Astoria Warrenton Crab,
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10 wine tastes
2020 tasting glass
live music
appetizers
access to 140+ wines
and more!
Tickets available at
the Chamber office
or oldoregon.com.
Saturday, March 7
This event is held in downtown Astoria at the
Liberty Theatre’s McTavish Room and Paulson Pavilion.
Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce
111 West Marine Drive, Astoria · (503) 325-6311