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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 29, 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
GUEST COLUMN
A critical communal roost
M
any people are aware of the
use of East Sand Island by
double-crested cormorants
and Caspian terns and the salmon-re-
lated management issues surrounding
those birds, thanks partly to news cover-
age in T he Astorian.
Far fewer people are aware of how
important this Columbia River estu-
ary island is to Califor-
nia brown pelicans. East
Sand Island is a critical
communal roost for non-
breeding brown pelicans
that migrate north to the
Pacifi c Northwest to fi sh
for anchovy and other
DEBORAH
coastal pelagic prey spe-
JAQUES
cies in the summer and
fall.
Pelicans gather to roost onshore at
night and much of the day when not for-
aging. Island habitat protects them from
predators and human disturbances while
they rest, preen their plumage, socialize
and keep alert to cues indicating good
fi shing conditions.
While onshore, they practice stick
handling, courtship, dominance displays
and other ritualized behaviors. Time to
work on these skills and acquire the fat
needed for return migration will help
them nest successfully down south in
the future.
The northern limit of the breed-
ing range is in Southern California and
includes the Channel Islands, off shore
islands and mangrove forests along the
Baja California, Mexico, peninsula and
the desert islands in the Gulf of Califor-
nia, Mexico.
This year, Pelican Science, in collab-
oration with the Columbia River Estuary
FAR FEWER PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF HOW
IMPORTANT THIS COLUMBIA RIVER ESTUARY
ISLAND IS TO CALIFORNIA BROWN PELICANS.
EAST SAND ISLAND IS A CRITICAL COMMUNAL
ROOST FOR NON BREEDING BROWN PELICANS
THAT MIGRATE NORTH TO THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST TO FISH FOR ANCHOVY AND
OTHER COASTAL PELAGIC PREY SPECIES
IN THE SUMMER AND FALL.
Study Taskforce , is conducting monthly
boat-based surveys of East Sand Island
to monitor abundance, age structure
and habitat use by brown pelicans. Our
count on July 16 was over 1,500 brown
pelicans, which was about 10 times
higher than the June 2021 count.
Population structure was skewed
toward young birds. About 60% of the
total included birds that fl edged this
year or are too young to breed. These
birds have come a long way in their
short lives to join us here, at anywhere
from 1,000 to 2,500 miles from their
natal colonies.
During the boat surveys we search
for fi eld readable, color-banded pelicans
that are sometimes only detected after-
ward in our photographs. We found sev-
eral this month and were able to read
the codes for two of them. Tracking
the movements of individuals provides
insight into population level dynamics
and can provide some interesting stories
about these long-lived birds. For exam-
ple, we now know that H06 is back in
the region.
H06 is a brown pelican captured by
wildlife rehabilitators in N orthern Cal-
ifornia on Christmas Eve 2010. That
year, many pelicans stayed unusually
late in the Pacifi c Northwest and had a
perilous return migration in winter when
environmental conditions suddenly
shifted and prey became unavailable.
H06 was found near San Francisco
starving, hypothermic and unable to
fl y any further, having lost about 40%
of his normal body weight. After a few
weeks of care and feeding by Interna-
tional Bird Rescue, he was released
under the Golden Gate Bridge with
a blue, individually coded color leg
band. Since then, we have observed this
bird six times in the Pacifi c Northwest
during summer, and once in the San
Francisco Bay Area in November, indi-
cating an appropriate seasonal return
trip south.
We now know that not only has this
bird survived to be at least 15 years old,
but he returns traditionally to fi sh the
Columbia and Grays Harbor region in
summer, despite that one life-threaten-
ing experience when he lingered north
too long.
While brown pelican counts in Ore-
gon have been trending down in recent
years in association with a variety of
factors, white pelicans have visibly
increased in our region.
The Columbia River estuary pro-
vides a unique opportunity to see brown
and white pelicans together. White pel-
icans nest upriver on Miller Sands and
are typically freshwater birds. They feed
by scooping fi sh from the surface and do
not perform the dramatic aerial plunge
diving that brown pelicans do over the
sea. While brown pelicans are large,
they seemed dwarfed standing next to
the group of 43 white pelicans that were
also roosting on East Sand Island this
month .
East Sand Island lies within Clatsop
County and is owned and managed by
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Pub-
lic access is forbidden during the sea-
bird breeding season. Pelican Science is
a research, conservation and educational
non profi t based in Astoria. We urge peo-
ple to take care to avoid disturbing large
roosting groups of pelicans whenever
possible and hope that you enjoy watch-
ing them fl y and feast while they are
here.
Deborah Jaques is a wildlife biologist.
The Columbia River estuary provides
a unique opportunity to see brown
and white pelicans together.
C. Clumpner
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Twisted
T
he July 22 edition of The Astorian had
a twisted far-left cartoon by Kevin
Siers, “Uncritical race theory.” If it was
correct, instead of biased, the guy’s shirt
would say DEM, instead of GOP.
The history is that the slave states were
Democrat! Abraham Lincoln was of the
Whig Party, a precursor of the Republican
Party.
DICK DARBY
Astoria
Bravo
B
ravo to the Washington Department
of Ecology and the entourage of ded-
icated lawyers, environmental organi-
zations and activists who came together
to defeat the world’s largest fracked fos-
sil-gas-to-methanol refi nery in Kalama,
Washington!
Kalama is a small town, with a cul-
ture closely integrated with the surround-
ing landscape and outdoor recreation,
especially boating and fi shing. A clean
Columbia River is absolutely essential to a
healthy ecology and thriving communities.
The fact that the port even considered such
a massive fossil-fuel project is a slap in the
face to our communities, our economy and
our livelihoods.
The claim that the project would have
benefi ted Kalama’s economy is inaccurate
(see NoMethanol360.com), and ignorant
of the crippling impacts of climate crisis
on essential resources and commodities.
Port of Kalama commissioners wasted
seven years pushing this failed proposal.
Thanks to the Department of Ecol-
ogy for performing thorough research and
making the safe and appropriate decision
to reject the shorelines permit. They have
once again demonstrated a willingness to
make science-based decisions to protect
Washingtonians.
Northwest Innovation Works cited the
regulatory process as the basis for aban-
doning this project, a fancy way of saying
they failed to provide evidence to support
the project’s safety and compliance with
environmental standards.
I am elated that the refi nery will be left
in the dust alongside several other fos-
sil-fuel projects proposed for Washing-
ton in recent years. Washington deserves
a strong and healthy future, and nothing
supports that vision more than a transition
away from dirty fracked gas, and towards
renewable energy and a sustainable future.
SALLY KEELY
Kalama, Washington
Historic victory
On June 11, in a historic victory for a
safer, healthier future, Northwest Innova-
tion Works canceled its lease and with-
drew its shoreline permit appeal, ending
the threat of the world’s largest fracked
gas-to-methanol refi nery in Kalama,
Washington!
I am thrilled to leave another fossil fuel
project behind as Washington transitions
towards renewable energy. This methanol
proposal disrespected Washington’s goal
of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by
2050.
Gov. Jay Inslee and the Department of
Ecology exemplifi ed respect for science in
their opposition to the refi nery, and we are
grateful to them for protecting our health
and environment. Their rejection of this
dirty project, combined with pushback
from the community and climate defense
organizations, caused the company to walk
away from Kalama, like it did in Tacoma,
Washington.
With the world slipping deeper into a
climate emergency, we must transition
to clean, renewable energy. Projects that
increase fossil fuel reliance are misaligned
with this vision, and our communities and
coalitions will continually remind legisla-
tors that coal, oil and fracked gas have no
place in a healthy future.
I am exuberant that the Kalama refi n-
ery is joining the Millennium coal termi-
nal and the Tesoro-Savage oil terminal in
the dust, and I am excited to support future
clean energy proposals.
LINDA HORST
Kelso, Washington