B4
THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, JuNE 17, 2021
Ptarmigans may get
more federal protection
By COURTNEY FLATT
Northwest News Network
If you’ve ever been hiking
in the Cascades, high up in the
alpine meadows, and were
spooked by a streak of a bird,
a plume of feathers that darted
right in front of your face, you
may have come across the
Mount Rainier white-tailed
ptarmigan.
This chicken-sized grouse
stays hidden, until you are
right upon it. Then it squawks
and flies away.
“They especially like those
pretty little meadows that
backpackers and hikers like
to go to, with the pink heather
and the flowers blooming
in the little creeks below the
snow bank. I like to joke that
the main habitat feature that
whitetail ptarmigan select for
is a pretty view,” said Terry
Frederick, a wildlife biologist
with the U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service.
These birds need the cold,
high alpine climates back-
packers love to enjoy. They
migrate between lower eleva-
tion winter areas and higher
elevation summer habitat
above the treeline.
Their habitat is quickly
shrinking as climate change
warms the areas they depend
on. That’s why the service
has proposed listing them as
threatened on the Endangered
Species list.
“They aren’t very well
adapted to heat, and they
will seek out shade and cool
microclimates,”
Frederick
said.
Climate change is their
biggest threat. It’s the reason
the service made this deci-
sion. As these places warm,
biologists expect more spe-
cies to join the ranks of plants
and wildlife solely threat-
ened by climate change, from
meltwater lednian stoneflies
to eastern black rail to polar
bears.
Although it’s difficult to
know how many of the birds
are around now — their hab-
itat is hard to get to and no
Jamie Hanson/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing listing Mount
Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan as threatened because climate
change will greatly disrupt the bird’s alpine habitat.
‘THEy ESPECIALLy LIKE THOSE
PRETTy LITTLE MEAdOWS THAT
BACKPACKERS ANd HIKERS
LIKE TO GO TO, WITH THE PINK
HEATHER ANd THE FLOWERS
BLOOMING IN THE LITTLE
CREEKS BELOW THE SNOW
BANK. I LIKE TO JOKE THAT THE
MAIN HABITAT FEATuRE THAT
WHITETAIL PTARMIGAN SELECT
FOR IS A PRETTy VIEW.’
Terry Frederick | wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
large-scale surveys have
been conducted — biolo-
gists believe this subspecies
is found throughout Washing-
ton’s Cascades and possibly
into British Columbia.
In the Northwest, Fred-
erick said the Mount Rain-
ier white-tailed ptarmigan
subspecies will mostly lose
habitat because of climate
change. She said most of the
alpine vegetation the birds
rely on will be lost by the end
of the century. All except at
Mount Rainier itself, she says,
because it’s so big and tall.
“Studies have shown
there’s this relationship that
mountain tops are warming at
a faster rate than other places
except for maybe the Arc-
tic,” Frederick said. “Those
warmer summers mean less
melting snow, which supports
the vegetation that the ptarmi-
gan eat.
“Also, trees are moving
upslope as the climate gets
warmer and as they move
upslope, the space for alpine
vegetation above the trees
is shrinking and it’s just get-
ting squeezed and squeezed
and squeezed until eventually
there will be nothing left in
many places.”
The Washington Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife says
the birds are highly sensitive
to climate change and will
experience “increases in win-
ter minimum temperatures,
increased temperatures over-
all and reduced snowpack.”
The state calls it a species of
greatest conservation need.
To protect the birds, Fred-
erick said, they’ll first have to
find “small sites where there’s
refuge from the warming cli-
mate, and that’s going to be a
challenge to figure out how to
create those.”
She said they’re “cute,
funny little birds.” They can’t
fly without screaming, she
said.
Their constantly molting
feathers — milky white in
the winter, mottled white and
brown in the spring, brown
in the summer — camou-
flage them throughout the
year. They have feathers on
their feet, which helps them
walk on top of the snow, like a
snowshoe hare. They sit statu-
esque to hide from predators,
mainly hawks and falcons,
thus scaring many a hiker.
They burrow in the snow
during extreme weather.
“It’s like a little igloo in
there sheltered behind the ice
and the extreme cold,” Fred-
erick said.
Without the high-moun-
tain meadows and bare
patches, the Mount Rainier
white-tailed ptarmigan has
few places to go. It’s really
not adapted well to warmer
climates, Frederick said.
“There are those high
mountain areas that conser-
vationists used to think were
protected,” she said. “And
they needed to focus on lower
elevation areas that had other
threats. Now we’re starting to
rethink that assumption.”
RELIGION BRIEFS
Anchor Baptist Church
The congregation meets at
the Astoria Christian Church,
1151 Harrison Ave. On Sun-
days, the service starts at
1 p.m.; Bible study is at 7 p.m.
on Thursdays. For informa-
tion, email anchorbaptistasto-
ria@gmail.com
Astoria Christian
Church
For service information
and updates, go to astoria-
christian.org or bit.ly/Astoria-
Christian, call 503-325-2591
or email AstoriaChristian@
gmail.com
Astoria First Baptist
Church
A citywide Astoria Vaca-
tion Bible School takes place
from 9 a.m. to noon, Mon-
day through June 25, at Peace
Lutheran Church, 565 12th
St., for ages 3 to fifth grade.
This year’s theme is “Rocky
Railway.”
Due to COVID-19 restric-
tions, there is a cap of 48 chil-
dren, or four groups of 12 per
group.
There is no on-site regis-
tration this year. To register, or
for information, go to fbcasto-
ria.org/vbs or call the church
office at 503-325-1761.
First Baptist Church,
349 Seventh St., holds an
in-person worship service at
10:45 a.m. Sunday. Social
distancing is practiced, face
coverings are required and
hand sanitizers are available.
The service is also broadcast
at fb.me/astoriafirstbaptist
Sunday school starts at
9:30 a.m. There is no child
care, but children are encour-
aged to join the service.
Astoria First United
Methodist Church
For livestream service
information and updates,
email the church office at
office@unitedmethodistasto-
ria.org or call 503-325-5454.
Grace Episcopal
Church
For updates, food pan-
try hours and in-person and
livestream service informa-
tion, call the church at 503-
325-4691, email graceasto-
ria4691@gmail.com or go
to graceastoria.org or fb.me/
Grace Astoria
Pacific Unitarian
Universalist
A Pacific Unitarian Uni-
versalist Fellowship service
is being held via Zoom at
11 a.m. Sunday. For Zoom
information, go to pacuuf.org
Peace First Lutheran
On June 17, 2015, mem-
bers of the Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church
in Charleston, South Caro-
lina, were the victims of a
mass shooting; nine were
killed, and several others were
wounded.
In remembrance of the
Emanuel Nine Commemora-
tion and Day of Repentance,
Peace First Lutheran Church
is holding an open air prayer
vigil today at 7 p.m. at 565
12th St. All are welcome.
For service information,
go to astoriafirstlutheran.com
under “Worship & Music/
Videos & Resources” or bit.
ly/FLCAstoria. To receive a
DVD of the services and bul-
letin, call the office and leave
a message.
Pioneer Presbyterian
Church
WARRENTON — For
service information, call the
church at 503-861-2421 or go
to pioneerchurchpcusa.org
St. Brendan The
Navigator Orthodox
Church
St. Brendan The Navigator
Orthodox Church, 820 Ala-
meda Ave., is holding Great
Vespers at 5 p.m. Saturday.
On Sunday, Matins begins
at 8:30 a.m., and Divine Lit-
urgy is at 10 a.m.
Both services are con-
ducted by Rev. Kevin Lien.
All are welcome. Social dis-
tancing is still required.
St. Mary, Star of the Sea
Parish
For information about the
St. Vincent de Paul Food Pan-
try hours, and service and
livestreaming information at
both the Astoria church and
Hammond mission, call 503-
325-3671, email office@
stmaryastoria.com or go to
stmaryastoria.com or bit.ly/
stmaryastoria
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
4-H holds
conference for teens
The 4-H Summer Con-
ference for teens will be
held virtually June 22 to
June 25, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
each evening, for youth in
grades seven to 12.
Speaker
Juan
Ben-
dana will deliver a key-
note address and teach two
workshops. There will be an
hour with a magician, work-
shops, a game session and
a time of celebration and
recognition.
To register, go to beav.
es/3fz. The cost is $25. For
scholarship
information,
call the Oregon State Uni-
versity Extension office at
503-325-8573.
GrassRoots
Garbage Gang
plans holiday
cleanup
LONG BEACH, Wash.
— The GrassRoots Garbage
Gang is holding a commu-
nity beach cleanup on the
Long Beach Peninsula,
starting at 9:30 a.m. July 5,
to pick up Fourth of July
debris. For information,
or to volunteer, go to our-
beach.org or email join@
ourbeach.org
The group is also seeking
volunteers to hand out trash
bags to people entering the
beach at major approaches
on the night of July 4. Bags
and safety vests are pro-
vided. For information,
email
magen.michaud@
gmail.com
AARP seeks
volunteer
instructors
Volunteers are needed
to become instructors and
join more than 5,000 AARP
Driver Safety volunteers
nationwide who teach and
organize the AARP Smart
Driver classroom course,
which helps older drivers
stay safe on the road.
Training and resources
are provided. No special
skills or AARP membership
are required.
Volunteers are also
needed to teach new vehi-
cle technology as AARP
Smart DriverTEK present-
ers, helping drivers ages
50-plus gain confidence
to use their vehicles’ new
safety features.
To sign up, go to aarp.
org/ADSvolunteer
Medicare virtual
fair offered
NorthWest Senior and
Disability
Services
is
teaming up with the State
Health Insurance Assis-
tance Programs National
Technical Assistance Cen-
ter from noon to 4 p.m.
Wednesday to present the
Welcome to Medicare Vir-
tual Fair.
This free event, which
is government funded, will
teach participants about
Medicare and assist them
with initial enrollment
decisions.
There will be general ses-
sions with expert present-
ers on Medicare eligibility,
enrollment costs and cover-
age options, with state-spe-
cific virtual exhibits. Chat
will be available about how
the program can help with
individual Medicare enroll-
ment questions.
Attend for any length of
time. Go to shiptacenter.org
for details, to see the agenda
and to register.
— The Astorian
HONOR ROLL
GRADUATES
The following students have
qualified for the honor roll by earning
a 3.5 grade point average or higher
at school.
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, South Carolina
Warrenton: Tatiana Baker.
George Fox University
Newberg
Astoria: Mitchell Geisler, Sarah
Lertora, Henry Samuelson.
Gearhart: Jackson Januik.
Seaside: Niquilla Blodgett.
Warrenton: Matthew Burgher,
Marin Donohue.
The following stu-
dents have graduated
from college:
George Fox
University
Newberg
Astoria:
Mitch-
ell Geisler, bachelor’s
degree, engineering.
Gearhart: Jack-
son Januik, bachelor’s
degree, management.
Gonzaga
University
Spokane,
Washington
Astoria: Caroline
Kotson,
bachelor’s
degree, human phys-
iology, summa cum
laude.
Warrenton: Brad-
ley Rzewnicki, bach-
elor’s degree, human
physiology.
University of
Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Astoria:
Emily
Townsend, master’s
degree, teaching and
learning.
Greatness in action
You show up, every day, for the people who count on you. That’s your
greatness in action.
We’re here to help, with Wattsmart ® tools that can help you save
money, resources and insights to help you manage your budget, rebates
on energy-efficient upgrades—and efficiency offerings that meet you
where you are and power the greatness in all that you do.
To learn more about all of Pacific Power and Energy Trust of Oregon’s
offerings, visit BeWattsmart.com.