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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, ApRIl 10, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
WRITER’S NOTEBOOK
A glimpse of a quieter world
M
any of us have mixed emo-
tions about the pending
resurgence of tourism. While
some local institutions and businesses
— notably museums and hotels —
have suffered without tourist dollars,
automobile traffic has been diminished;
there is less of a seasonal crush.
On the North Coast,
the rise of tourism is
one way of summing up
the past few decades.
There were tourists 30
years ago, attracted
by a world-class mari-
time museum, the win-
STEVE
ter outpost of Lewis and
FORRESTER
Clark and the Pacific
Ocean. But the inven-
tory of restaurants was slender, and the
hotels we now take for granted — Can-
nery Pier, Elliott and Commodore —
were only concepts inside the heads of
their developers. Even the Holiday Inn
Express, the Comfort Suites and Hamp-
ton Inn & Suites had not arrived. The
cruise ship phenomenon was also years
away.
What’s happened to the tourism
sector in our region is a smaller, mir-
ror image of what’s happening glob-
ally. The New York Times described
the attitudes and concepts generated by
tourism’s implosion in a special section
titled “A Year Without Travel.” One of
the section’s articles, “When the tour-
ists come back to Hawaii,” is about the
divergence of opinion among people in
Hawaii as they look ahead.
One element of the Hawaii story res-
onates with Astoria’s tourist infrastruc-
ture. Making a community attractive to
tourists can make it attractive to resi-
dents. Our burgeoning restaurant scene,
for instance, plays to the benefit of both
demographics — residential and tour-
ist. The Astoria Sunday Market has a
similar appeal.
Taylor Balkom
The sandcastle contest can bring large crowds to Cannon Beach.
THE CARRyING CApACITy OF A
COMMuNITy — ITS STREETS ANd ROAdS,
ITS pARKING INVENTORy — IS SOMETIMES
MuCH SMAllER THAN WHAT’S REQuIREd
By AN ONSlAuGHT OF TOuRISTS.
The carrying capacity of a commu-
nity — its streets and roads, its park-
ing inventory — is sometimes much
smaller than what’s required by an
onslaught of tourists. One extreme
example of this is one of the world’s
great attractions — Venice. In the
absence of cruise ships, during the
coronavirus pandemic, Venetians have
realized the environmental and lifestyle
benefits of not enduring an avalanche
of visitors. As a consequence, the city
is considering metering cruise ship
tourism. Hawaii has similarly discov-
ered that metering hikers on the trail
up Diamond Head greatly improves the
experience and the environment.
Three places in the Columbia-Pa-
cific region have been overrun. Cannon
Beach on various event weekends has
gone beyond its carrying capacity. The
Hood to Coast Relay has afflicted Sea-
side in a similar way. The Long Beach
Peninsula on some holiday weekends
goes from a resident population of
about 10,000 to 40,000. Because the
peninsula has three north-south roads,
counting the beach, it approaches
being impassable. Some 20 years ago,
Long Beach showed restraint that Sea-
side has failed to muster, by reject-
ing the possibility of adding Hood to
Coast to an already-packed mid-August
schedule.
The Astoria-Warrenton Area Cham-
ber of Commerce’s recent decision
to curtail big Goonies events may be
viewed as a moment of sobriety in the
face of a reliable cash flow. All tour-
ist-related activities must be weighed in
light of their benefits and costs to local
people and our economy. This becomes
ever more true as some festivals and
other attractions struggle to attract
enough volunteers to remain viable. We
should always encourage activities that
generate passionate support and reas-
sess those that do not.
Visitors can enrich a community.
But there is also the comfort of the
silence when they leave.
Steve Forrester, the former editor
and publisher of The Astorian, is the
president and CEO of EO Media Group.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Unhealthy forest practices
L
ong ago, the foothills of the Coast
Range were covered with a thick blan-
ket of old trees. Today, all you see along
the Coast Range are patches of green, with
the rest void of trees.
Much of this land is now owned by
large commercial timber companies who
plant trees and harvest them about every
25 years. They lower costs and increase
their profit by aerial spraying of herbicides
and other chemicals to stimulate the rapid
growth of these trees, and also by using
heavy equipment to reduce more expen-
sive labor costs.
Finally, after the land has been clearcut
the slash is burned, creating a smoky haze
which can be seen from Astoria along the
north face of the Coast Range.
Oregonians have been unable to stop
these practices, but now, legislation has
been introduced in the Senate (Senate Bill
335) that could lead to more sustainable
management of Oregon’s public and pri-
vate forests.
Equally important, this bill also allows
for a more balanced composition on the
Oregon Board of Forestry by increas-
ing the number of members who have an
interest in promoting sustainable forestry.
Please contact your Oregon Senate and
House members and urge them to end the
destructive and unhealthy forest practices
by passing SB 335.
CAROLYN EADY
Astoria
Terrible
O
verturning of the jury’s decision by
the appellate court in the Kirk Cazee
case has been terrible for our community.
Cazee did real damage to a lot of peo-
ple in the community. He prowled our
neighborhood for a couple of years after
the first reports to the sheriff’s office. The
victims, known and unknown, and the
community, are worse off for this devel-
opment in the conviction of this perverted
individual.
I understand he has been held on dif-
ferent federal charges, which brings some
hope for a more just outcome for all those
involved through the years.
It does not create an ounce of relief
for victims here, and what they have to
endure as a consequence of his perver-
sions. Neither does it add to the justice
system’s appearance of fairness for these
young victims.
If there is a successful trial, there is
some solace perhaps, but hollow for our
families at the coast. More worrisome
is the outcome. While we are provided
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The
Astorian. Letters should be fewer
than 250 words and must include the
writer’s name, address and phone
number. You will be contacted to
confirm authorship. All letters are
subject to editing for space, gram-
mar and factual accuracy. Only two
letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
assurances that the federal case is strong,
we had the same assurances from Clatsop
County. That leaves the outcome in ques-
tion for any of us who have been through
this already.
If ever released, puffed up with cha-
risma and a false but real sense of intel-
lectual superiority, and without any moral
compass, he will surely be out on his
nighttime prowls.
I hope the appellate court thought long
and hard on their decision. It has been ter-
rible for the victims that Cazee admitted
he hurt in his final address to the court in
Astoria.
JIM CASTNER
Warrenton
to other letter writers should address
the issue at hand and should refer to
the headline and date the letter was
published. Discourse should be civil.
Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet-
ters, in person at 949 Exchange St.
in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
Great opportunity
I
have lived in Cannon Beach for 20
years, and was drawn here by its stun-
ning beaches, diverse tide pools, rocky
habitats and wildlife. I’ve been a volun-
teer community scientist monitoring nest-
ing birds every summer for several years.
I’m so happy that visitors come here
to enjoy this place, but as visitation
increases, I’m deeply concerned about
the impacts. Challenges facing inhab-
itants of the rocky shores are grow-
ing, and I’ve seen firsthand the distur-
bance of species of conservation concern,
like our emblematic puffins and black
oystercatchers.
We have a great opportunity right
now to help. Oregon’s Rocky Habitat
Management Strategy is being updated.
As part of this process, the public has
been asked to submit site designation
proposals.
The North Coast Rocky Habitat Coa-
lition submitted two proposals for Chap-
man Point and Ecola Point, recommend-
ing that these areas be designated marine
conservation areas. These proposals
include smart, practical measures that
balance ecological protection and pub-
lic access. Many in the community have
already embraced these proposals.
Haystack Rock gained status as a
marine garden in 1991, and it has been a
great success story — balancing protec-
tion with site access. Let’s follow that up
with new designations to help keep our
community so special.
The Rocky Habitat Working Group
has tentatively approved these propos-
als with several recommended changes,
which can be accessed at bit.ly/3mo61GB
The working group will reevaluate
these proposals soon. Please consider
sending a comment in support no later
than April 15 to TSP.Comments@state.
or.us. Talking points may be found at
fb.me/northcoastrockyhabitats
TABEA GOOSSEN
Cannon Beach