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149TH YEAR, NO. 52
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021
$1.50
North Coast Land Conservancy
purchases Rainforest Reserve
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Sunrise breaks on steep peaks in the new Rainforest Reserve above Arch Cape and Oswald West State Park.
Reserve creates an uninterrupted conservation corridor
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
T
he North Coast Land Conservancy has
taken ownership of an iconic coastal rain-
forest above Arch Cape and Oswald West
State Park .
The purchase of the 3,500-acre property —
previously industrial timberland — comes at a
time when a number of North Coast communi-
ties are looking at ways to protect their drinking
water sources. The Rainforest Reserve includes
headwater streams for fi ve watersheds and sup-
plies drinking water to Cannon Beach and Arch
Cape. Some plants and animals at home in the
towering peaks that visually defi ne the reserve
for local communities are found nowhere else
on Earth.
When combined with other neighboring pro-
tected or soon-to-be protected lands, the reserve
creates an uninterrupted 32-square-mile con-
servation corridor that runs from the Onion and
Angora peaks above Cannon Beach and Arch
Cape to the nearshore ocean off Short Sand
Beach in popular Oswald West State Park.
U.S. Rep Suzanne Bonamici called the pur-
chase a “remarkable accomplishment that will
signifi cantly benefi t our region in many ways.”
“As we address the climate crisis, strategic,
community-driven conservation eff orts like
this project can help mitigate the most seri-
ous risks to plants, fi sh and wildlife while pre-
serving the ecosystems we cherish for future
generations,” the Oregon Democrat said in a
statement.
Ecotrust Forest Management bought the
5,000 forested acres known as Onion Peak
Holdings from Stimson Lumber Co. in 2016.
That same year, the for-profi t subsidiary of
Ecotrust entered into an agreement with the
North Coast Land Conservancy to hold 3,500
acres of the property until the nonprofi t could
purchase the land.
See Reserve, Page A3
SEASIDE
Hood to Coast
Murderer seeks clemency
polishes message
Shooting in 1997
happened on the beach
Approaching the last year of a contract with Seaside
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — In July 1997,
Jesse McAllister and Bradley Price
killed two people in what was
described as “thrill killings” on the
beach.
Frank “Kacy” Nimz, 36, was a
commercial fi sherman and land-
scaper. Gabriella “Brooke” Goza,
26, an artist, was the daughter of
a prominent local family and the
mother of a young child.
Now, Christian Eickelberg,
an attorney, has asked Gov. Kate
Brown to convert McAllister’s sen-
tence to life with the possibility of
parole so McAllister can petition
the parole board and show he is
capable of rehabilitation.
The petition for clemency, Eick-
elberg writes, “strives to tell Jes-
se’s life story, including what he
remembers happening before,
during and after his crimes, and
how he has transformed into the
man he is today.”
Tashae Nimz, Frank Nimz’s
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
Seaside Signal
Jesse McAllister in Clatsop County after being apprehended crossing the
U.S.-Mexico border in 1999.
daughter, was 13 at the time of the
sentencing in 1999.
She said McAllister’s request
for clemency came out of left fi eld.
“As I read through this sev-
eral times, looking and searching
for any inclination of remorse or
empathy towards the family, and
not just from Jesse’s part but on all
of his family members and friends
See Murderer, Page A2
SEASIDE — City Manager
Mark Winstanley was at a coun-
try inn in Tuscany when he met a
family from Oregon who had run
Hood to Coast.
“Even when you’re on vaca-
tion, you can run into people who
have been to the same event you
have been to two weeks ago. It’s
really pretty amazing, the impact
that Hood to Coast has around the
world,” he said of his encounter
in Italy. “We’re pretty lucky to
have it here.”
City Councilor Tita Montero
said she had a similar experience
while traveling in London .
Closer to home, though, the
annual relay has a bit of an image
problem. Several residents took
to social media after the event
returned from a pandemic hiatus
in August to complain about rude
runners and a lack of coronavirus
protocols.
At a City Council meeting
on Monday, Dan Floyd, Hood
to Coast’s chief operating offi -
cer, presented a check for almost
$29,000 to the city from the
event . In a typical year, the relay
earns almost $1 million for the
Providence Cancer Institute.
“We had another great year,”
Floyd said. “I do want to acknowl-
edge we need to get better every
year, to make sure we remain wel-
coming visitors to the community.”
The 198-mile relay from
Mount Hood to the Prom brought
thousands of people to the coast .
Before the City Council meet-
ing, Hood to Coast CEO Jude Hub-
ber met with city staff . Social media
was the No. 1 concern for Montero.
“I paid a lot of attention to
what was going on on Face-
book,” she said. “And there were
some very awful people saying
very awful things. And one of my
policies is, ‘Don’t tell me some-
thing’s happening if you didn’t
see it happen.’”
Montero suggested greater
marketing eff orts from Hood to
Coast and making it easier for
the public to register complaints
with race offi cials, possibly via
a Quick Response code with a
weblink to relay offi cials, or sig-
nage on vans.
See Hood to Coast, Page A3