THURSDAY
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2021
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149TH YEAR, NO. 19
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2021
Managing the region
as a working playland
$1.50
Statewide
mask
mandate
returns
Masks are required at
indoor public places
By GARY WARNER
and GRIFFIN REILLY
Oregon Capital Bureau and The Astorian
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
ABOVE: A rider begins the climb up a logging road to fi nd a mountain bike trail in a section of Lewis & Clark Timberlands near
Klootchy Creek County Park. BELOW: The Julia Butler Hansen Refuge is home to the threatened Columbian white-tailed deer.
Leaders balance relationship between outdoor
recreation, industry, habitat management
‘WE’RE
COMMITTED
TO KEEPING
OUR LANDS
OPEN TO
THE PUBLIC
AS LONG AS
IT DOESN’T
PUT OUR
TIMBERLANDS
AT RISK.’
By EMILY LINDBLOM
The Astorian
A
s a working playland, the North Coast
is full of opportunities for hiking, bik-
ing, fi shing and hunting while also
being home to major industries, including for-
estry and fi sheries.
Several companies, organizations and
government agencies have found ways to
form a relationship between outdoor recre-
ation, industry and habitat management.
Klootchy Creek County Park southeast
of Seaside is the site of the former largest
Sitka spruce tree — still a draw for tourists
as a 17-foot-diameter trunk and two massive
fallen pieces. It also acts as an access point
to Lewis & Clark Timberlands, managed by
GreenWood Resources.
David Dougherty, area forester with
GreenWood Resources, was driving out in
the woods one day when he came across a
mountain biker looking for trails to ride on, to
no avail. Dougherty understood there was a
lack of mountain biking trails in the area, and
he gave his card to the biker, who happened
to be part of the North Coast Trail Alliance.
“We set up a meeting and from there we’ve
had a successful relationship between the dif-
ferent partners, the North Coast Trail Alli-
ance, Lewis & Clark Timberlands and Clatsop
County p arks,” Dougherty said.
See Playland, Page A6
The delta variant of the coronavirus is
spreading so fast that it will hit most of
Oregon’s unvaccinated population before
the six weeks needed to be fully immu-
nized if they were inoculated now.
“We are looking at a giant wave that is
all taking place over the next four weeks,”
said Peter Graven, a top data scientist at
Oregon Health & Science University.
Graven presented a forecast Tues-
day showing about 1,100 people with
COVID-19 will need hospitalization
by the time the current wave of infec-
tions peaks in early September . Oregon
could be as many as 500 staff ed hospital
beds short of what will be needed to treat
patients hospitalized for any reason.
Oregon on Wednesday reported 665
COVID-19 cases at hospitals, setting a
new record for the pandemic. The cur-
rent wave has already set new records for
infected patients in intensive care beds.
On Wednesday, there were 172.
About 90% of those hospitalized are
unvaccinated, Graven said.
Responding to the rapid rise in
new virus cases and hospitaliza-
tions, Gov. Kate Brown said she will
bring back a statewide indoor mask
requirement starting Friday . The gov-
ernor will also require all workers
See Masks, Page A6
County virus
cases climb
Website reports
a dozen outbreaks
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
Clatsop County has reported a dozen
local outbreaks of the coronavirus as
virus case counts continue to climb.
The Oregon Health Authority recorded
40 new virus cases for the county on
Wednesday, 12 new cases on Tuesday
and 55 new cases over the weekend.
Since the pandemic began, the county
recorded 1,398 virus cases and 11 deaths
as of Wednesday.
On the county’s COVID-19 Public
Information Hub, the county listed a dozen
outbreaks, up from a handful last week.
The county, as of early Wednesday,
had not provided any details about the
outbreaks. The county has also not pro-
vided details to help explain the surge
of local virus cases over the past several
weeks beyond echoing state and federal
public health offi cials, who have blamed
the increase in Oregon and across the
United States on the delta variant spread-
ing among the unvaccinated.
Chad Washington
| stewardship and
community engagement
coordinator for
GreenWood Resources
See Cases, Page A6
Sailor wants to save aircraft carrier
Nix envisions USS Kitty Hawk coming to Astoria
By PATRICK WEBB
Chinook Observer
OCEAN PARK, Wash. — A
retired sailor campaigning to save the
USS Kitty Hawk from the scrapyard
is pressing ahead seeking support.
Veteran Bill Nix divides his time
between homes in Ocean Park and
Underwood on the Washington state
side of the Columbia River Gorge.
He was billeted on the super-
carrier during a varied career that
included civilian service as a police
offi cer, legal clerk, judge and parole
offi cer, in addition to his active duty
and lengthy reserve service with the
U.S. Navy and Army.
“It was a really good ship,” said
Nix, a Navy photographer who
served two tours in Vietnam and
retired as a master-at-arms and chief
petty offi cer.
He believes it could attract
325,000 visitors a year if preserved
and docked permanently in Astoria
as a conference center and museum.
“It’s in fairly good condition,” Nix
said. “It hasn’t deteriorated.”
However, the USS Kitty Hawk
Veterans Association has reluc-
tantly ended its campaign to save
See Carrier, Page A6
An Ocean Park man is trying to save the USS Kitty Hawk from being scrapped.