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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, AuguST 12, 2021
Playland: ‘We want people to get out there’ Carrier: Could bring
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North Coast Trail Alli-
ance and Lewis & Clark Tim-
berlands collaborated to cre-
ate the approximately 6-mile
Klootchy Creek mountain
biking trail system, which
opened in 2019. The trails
are on the timberlands while
an entrance is on the nearby
county land.
Dougherty said the tim-
ber company isn’t required
to have recreation opportuni-
ties on its land, but it feels it’s
important to do so.
“We want people to get out
there to enjoy the timberland
and connect with nature and
see some of the things we’re
doing,” he said. “We also
want to be part of the com-
munity. We don’t want to be
completely blocked off and
hidden from the world.”
Chad Washington, the
stewardship and community
engagement coordinator for
GreenWood Resources, said
the timber company adopted
the park to maintain it and
pick up garbage.
“We certainly embrace
local recreation on our timber-
lands and I think it’s important
for people to be on the land-
scape and close to forestry,”
he said. “We’re committed to
keeping our lands open to the
public as long as it doesn’t put
our timberlands at risk.”
During hunting season,
Lewis & Clark Timberlands
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
There are 6 miles of mountain bike trails just behind Klootchy
Creek County Park.
gets thousands of visitors on
its property from all over the
U.S. Members of the public
are expected to get a free per-
mit to access the land when
it’s open.
The area is closed to the
public during fire season.
Washington said the condi-
tions are especially dry right
now after the heat dome Ore-
gon experienced at the end of
June. Tender new growth has
died on some of the trees, cre-
ating extra fuel if a fire were to
ignite there.
“We need the land to be a
saturated sponge and now we
have a dry sponge with a little
misting at the top,” Washing-
ton said.
Deer and elk in the area
often feed on young trees,
so Lewis & Clark Timber-
lands allows hunting on the
property.
“By providing hunting
opportunities, it provides free
range meat for the public
and helps mitigate the dam-
age those animals do to our
young trees,” Washington
said. “That’s a mutually ben-
eficial activity.”
Public entities also manage
land for recreation in addition
to their main purpose. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice manages Julia Butler
Hansen Refuge on both sides
of the Columbia River spe-
cifically to conserve habitat
for the threatened Columbian
white-tailed deer. But it also
allows for waterfowl hunt-
ing in a separate part of the
refuge.
Jake Bonello, the assis-
tant refuge manager, said the
Columbian white-tailed deer
is only found west of the Cas-
cade range.
“Their numbers have
dwindled to very low num-
bers and by the time this habi-
tat was discovered, it was one
of the last remaining habitats
for them,” Bonello said. “It’s
important we can protect and
conserve as much habitat as
possible for them.”
The refuge, between
Longview, Washington, and
Westport, offers one trail that
is open year-round and other
trails that are open season-
ally. Hunting and fishing is
allowed in the exterior areas
that can be accessed by boat,
while the interior of the refuge
is closed to hunting in order to
protect the deer.
Bonello said the recre-
ational opportunities are
all about engaging with the
public.
“There are no recreational
fees here, everything is pro-
vided for the sake of education
and outreach and getting peo-
ple outdoors,” he said. “Edu-
cation and outreach is import-
ant just to get as many people
on board with the efforts to
protect the Columbian white-
tailed deer.”
One of the best ways to do
that, he added, is for people to
go out to the refuge and see
the deer in person.
Masks: Oregon is facing a spike in hospitalizations
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in the state’s executive branch
to be vaccinated by Oct. 18.
Earlier this week, Brown
had urged other counties to
take action after Multnomah
County, the state’s largest by
population, opted for a mask
requirement. The state had
transferred power to coun-
ties after lifting most virus
restrictions at the end of
June.
“The latest science is
clear: although unvaccinated
individuals are more likely
to contract the disease, both
vaccinated and unvaccinated
people can spread the delta
variant,” the governor said
in a statement. “Masks are
a simple and effective way
to make sure you are not
unknowingly infecting your
friends, family members,
neighbors and colleagues.
“After a year and a half of
this pandemic, I know Ore-
gonians are tired of health
and safety restrictions. This
new mask requirement will
not last forever, but it is a
measure that can save lives
right now.”
‘A statewide issue’
Mark Kujala, the chair-
man of the Clatsop County
Board of Commission-
ers, said the mask mandate
comes as a surprise. He said
he felt as if it would be some-
thing left up to local commu-
nities to decide.
“I just anticipated that
when we’d have this dis-
cussion that we’d have to do
some outreach in the com-
munity to let them know
what’s being considered and
certainly some discussion
amongst the cities and may-
ors because this certainly
impacts them,” Kujala said.
“But I understand that it’s
a statewide issue right now
and we see numbers that are
alarming.”
Astoria Mayor Bruce
Jones said he supports the
decision and feels that while
perhaps inconvenient, the
mask mandate is necessary.
“The large number of
unvaccinated people contrib-
uted to the rapid surge of the
delta variant and will possi-
bly lead to further variants
that are even worse than the
delta variant,” he said.
“As mayor, I urge every-
one, unless your physician
recommends against it, get
the COVID-19 vaccination,
so we can get the pandemic
under control. Because this
could’ve been avoided.”
Clatsop County had
stopped providing regular
updates about the number of
local hospitalizations tied to
the virus, which, during most
of the pandemic, had been
comparatively low. On the
county’s COVID-19 Public
Information Hub, the county
lists 10 hospitalizations from
July 31 to Friday — eight
who were unvaccinated and
two who were vaccinated.
“I can verify that we have
a lot of cases, both in the
county and cases from folks
that are home and not being
tested. We also know that
we have a number of hos-
pitalizations, mostly unvac-
cinated individuals,” said
Kujala, the director of the
Columbia Memorial Hospi-
tal Foundation.
“It’s certainly as high of a
concern now as it’s ever been
in Clatsop County.”
‘Too late’
The speed of the delta
variant has astounded health
officials, who said each
infected person can infect
eight other unvaccinated
people. Previous versions of
COVID-19 didn’t exceed a 1
to 3 infection ratio.
“Being vaccinated now is
too late for this surge,” said
Dr. Renee Edwards, the chief
medical officer of OHSU
Health.
Edwards said observa-
tion of patients suggests the
delta variant makes unvacci-
nated people sicker than ear-
lier versions. Even though
many patients admitted to
the hospital are in a younger
30 to 50 age group, the over-
all result has been rapidly
increasing numbers of cases
requiring more and longer
medical care.
While other states and
cities have recently reintro-
duced mask requirements,
Brown has steadfastly stuck
to a voluntary effort. Oregon
Health Authority officials
have said in recent weeks
that efforts seen as coercion
in communities that have
opposed Brown’s earlier
actions or don’t support vac-
cination and masking would
not make additional inroads
at this point in the pandemic.
The runaway hospitaliza-
tions and spillover of effects
across the state have led to a
reassessment by Brown and
health authority staff.
“Oregon is facing a spike
in COVID-19 hospitaliza-
tions — consisting over-
whelmingly of unvaccinated
individuals — that is quickly
exceeding the darkest days
of our winter surge,” Brown
said. “When our hospitals are
full, there will be no room for
additional patients needing
care — whether for COVID-
19, a heart attack or stroke, a
car collision, or a variety of
other emergency situations.”
Because the main vac-
cines used in Oregon, made
by Pfizer and Moderna,
require two shots a month
apart and a two-week wait-
ing period afterward to
ensure full immunity, medi-
cal experts said it is already
too late for the unvaccinated
to rely only on shots. They
need to stay at home and
keep social distance efforts in
place. Everyone should wear
masks indoors to tamp down
the spread.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media group
and Pamplin Media group.
Beach driving: Vehicles can get stuck in the sand
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“When you talk about the
coast as a dynamic environ-
ment, we generally mean
physically dynamic, but
it’s also socially dynamic,”
Havel said. “People’s needs
change. And when there’s
places to park off the beach
and when it’s better for
enjoyment of the beach and
better for the natural sys-
tems, then parking needs to
be moved off.”
The state tested the clo-
sure during the pandemic,
Erika Bolstad/Stateline.org
A beach north of Pacific City is one of several that the state
closed to motorized vehicles this year.
then opened a public com-
ment period before mak-
ing a decision this spring.
In the comments reviewed
by Stateline, many peo-
ple pointed out that driv-
ing onto the beach was one
of the few ways that those
with limited mobility could
access their favorite spots.
But many locals said they
were tired of the disruption
and environmental costs of
beach driving.“There have
been plenty of times that I
have witnessed cars on the
beach nearly hitting pedes-
trians,” wrote Janine Bulgrin
of Pacific City. “In addition,
the numerous instances of
cars getting stuck in the sand
and, at times, engulfed in the
ocean.”
Cases: 81% of reported cases in July were among unvaccinated
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Tom Bennett, a county
spokesman, said the out-
breaks fall into several cat-
egories: people who live or
work in congregate settings;
workplaces; food processing
or agricultural settings; and
schools.
“We can’t identify specific
locations, but the number of
outbreaks is as much a result
of the rapid communitywide
spread of the virus as it is
with factors at any particular
location/organization,” Ben-
nett said in an email.
The county said that more
people are seeking to get
tested for the virus, strain-
ing the testing capacity at
local hospitals, clinics and
the county Public Health
Department.
As of Friday, 22,414 peo-
ple in the county — 56.8%
— had been fully vacci-
nated. The county has set a
goal of having 27,533 peo-
ple — 70% — vaccinated to
try to achieve herd immunity
against the virus.
The
Oregon
Health
Authority corrected informa-
tion released last week as part
of the state’s monthly report
on breakthrough cases. The
health authority said 82% of
the 55 people who died from
the virus in July were unvac-
cinated, not 91%, as origi-
nally reported.
The
health
author-
ity said 81% of the 12,514
reported virus cases state-
wide in July were among the
unvaccinated.
in $1 million in revenue
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the ship and Astoria-area
leaders have given him little
encouragement.
The association, with
1,200 members scattered
throughout the United
States, asked the Navy to
try to preserve it in 2001.
It secured pledges of $5
million.
When officers rejected
this
idea,
reportedly
because it was not among
ships listed for possible
preservation, the group’s
leadership changed direc-
tion. In a recent newsletter,
its president, Jim Melka,
of Independence, Iowa,
lamented, “It looks as if
we have lost the battle to
save the ship.”
“We are trying to find
a location to set up a USS
Kitty Hawk museum,”
the group told members
online. “More details will
be forthcoming, but asso-
ciation leadership is con-
sidering everything from a
place on USS Midway on
the West Coast to a build-
ing in Kitty Hawk, N.C.,
on the East Coast, and
everywhere in between.”
‘Too much’ to handle?
Nix pointed to the Mid-
way, a carrier in San Diego,
as an example of how a
community can preserve
history while creating a
lucrative tourist attraction.
His research suggests that
1.3 million visitors to the
museum annually pump
$4.7 million into Southern
California. Other retired
fighting ships attract visi-
tors in Bremerton, Wash-
ington, and elsewhere in
California and the Atlan-
tic coast.
He estimates potential
visitor counts for the Kitty
Hawk on the North Coast
might reach one-quar-
ter of Midway’s numbers
— resulting in $1 million
revenue.
Astoria-area
leaders
who replied to Nix’s cam-
paign offered unanimous
respect for preserving the
nation’s military history.
But their consensus was
that installing a 1,069-foot
aircraft carrier on the Asto-
ria waterfront and cop-
ing with the influx of vis-
itors would overwhelm the
community.
Astoria Mayor Bruce
Jones is deputy director of
the Columbia River Mari-
time Museum. He replied
to Nix in March that the
museum is focused on the
$1.1 million dry docking
of the 128-foot Lightship
Columbia. “I’m afraid our
museum does not have an
appetite for taking on a
project of such exponen-
tially larger proportions
and logistical require-
ments,” he wrote.
He noted as mayor he
would be interested in
learning of others’ inter-
est, but added, “An attrac-
tion that could generate an
additional 400,000 annual
visitors might be seen as
too much of a good thing,
because of the additional
infrastructure required to
support so many visitors in
a town of only 10,000.”
Jones, who served as a
sector commander in the
U.S. Coast Guard, warned
that deferred maintenance
costs and the costs associ-
ated with docking the ship
would have to be factored
in.
In his reply to Nix,
David Reid, the execu-
tive director of the Asto-
ria-Warrenton Area Cham-
ber of Commerce, pointed
to the brief Astoria stop-
over of the USS Missouri
in 1998. The historic bat-
tleship, the site of Japan’s
1945 surrender in World
War II, was being towed
from Bremerton to become
a museum in Hawaii. The
crowds and accompanying
traffic chaos demonstrated
how the North Coast could
not cope, he wrote.
“Since those days we
have expanded operations
and land use at the Port,
redeveloped other water-
front buildings, increased
our year-round (and espe-
cially summertime) visi-
torship, and increased our
population,” wrote Reid.
“The roads leading to and
from town, however, have
not widened a single lane
and are already overbur-
dened on busy weekends.”
Reid said in his discus-
sions with maritime and
government leadership, all
agreed that the ship should
be preserved for future
generations to enjoy. But,
he added, “This is an emi-
nently worthy project that
is simply outsized for our
community.”
Like Jones, he cited
additional needs. “It’s that
the presence of something
this large and, shall we say,
magnetic, would change
the character of this town
to its detriment and that’s
only if we could somehow
squeeze that much dock,
hotel, highway, parking
and visitor space out of a
peninsula that has been
basically fully built-out
since the 1960s.”
Deadline approaching
Nix is not deterred and
is seeking support from
elected leaders. “I am try-
ing to spread the word and
hope we can get some state
resolutions,” said Nix,
who is encouraged by the
belief that federal match-
ing funds could help with
costs.
He said it is important
to save the Kitty Hawk
because it is the last of
the oil-fired carriers. Later
nuclear-powered craft may
be less likely to be saved
for private use because
they pose potential con-
tamination issues. “There
are only two supercarriers
left,” Nix said. “Once they
are gone, they are gone.”
But the clock may be
ticking.
‘I AM TRyINg
TO SPREAd
THE WORd
ANd HOPE
WE CAN gET
SOME STATE
RESOLuTIONS.’
Bill Nix | retired sailor
campaigning to save the USS
Kitty Hawk from the scrapyard
The carrier was decom-
missioned in 2009 at a cer-
emony Nix attended. It is
docked at Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard in Bremer-
ton amid other unwanted
military vessels.
The Kitsap Sun news-
paper, which covered the
association’s unsuccessful
campaign to save it, noted
that it will likely be sold
for scrap. Since 2014, sur-
plus carriers Constellation,
Ranger and Independence
have been towed around
the tip of South America
to ship-breaking yards in
Brownsville, Texas, on the
Gulf Coast, the newspaper
has reported.
The latest action in
April was a thorough exte-
rior cleaning so its hull will
not carry invasive species
when it is moved. No scrap
bids have been announced,
the newspaper reported.
However, Nix is not
entirely alone.
When his project was
highlighted in The Asto-
rian’s In One Ear col-
umn earlier this year, it
was enthusiastically sup-
ported by Seaside resi-
dent Nguyen Trung, who
noted the size of the ves-
sel, including its 4.5-acre
flight deck, would be its
attraction. “This offers
limitless potential for
usage: restaurants, stores,
festivals, museum, garden,
park, lodging, conference
rooms, theater, sports,
etc.”
Trung
highlighted
the manner in which the
Queen Mary, a 1936 lux-
ury British cruise ship, had
been preserved in Long
Beach, California. “What
a cool idea,” Trung added.
“I do hope this gem will be
saved.”