DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021
149TH YEAR, NO. 69
$1.50
CANNON BEACH
Food
tax
faces
recount
Lodging executive
asked for another tally
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
NOAA Fisheries
Recent discussions around shortbelly rockfish highlight some of the challenges states could face when it comes to regulating
fisheries under climate change.
Shortbelly rockfish an example of
fishery management under climate change
An important source of
food for Chinook salmon
and many seabirds
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
A
small, spiny fish no one wants
to catch has started to appear
in trawl nets off the Oregon
Coast.
Shortbelly rockfish are common
off California but were rare in Ore-
gon until recently. Boosted by several
strong reproductive years, their appar-
ent expansion into new territory trig-
gered a discussion among West Coast
fishery regulators and raised concerns
for conservation groups.
It has also provided a working
example of exactly how tricky it could
be to manage fisheries as species and
ocean conditions shift under climate
change.
Shortbelly rockfish — a relatively
shorter-lived type of groundfish that
travels in large schools — has lit-
tle market value. It has been decades
since anyone even seemed interested
in developing a fishery around them
and they are not in danger of being
overfished, state biologists say.
When the shortbelly rockfish is
caught by accident in other fisheries,
its only commercial use is as fishmeal
or fish oil, products made from fish
byproducts, low-value fish and fishery
bycatch that are used as fertilizers and
animal feed and in aquaculture.
But shortbelly rockfish is a criti-
cal source of food for many seabirds,
which face challenging overall popu-
lation declines, as well as for Chinook
salmon and other marine species.
See Rockfish, Page A2
CANNON BEACH — A food tax is
headed for a recount.
Patrick Nofield, who owns Escape
Lodging in Cannon Beach, cited the con-
tentions surrounding the tax proposal, the
close margin after election night and con-
cerns about city officials opening a bal-
lot drop box in October in asking for a
recount.
The 5% tax on prepared food passed
in November by only four votes — 379
to 375.
“I just think it’s reasonable and appro-
priate,” Nofield said.
The recount will be done by hand and
will take place on Wednesday at the Judge
Guy Boyington Building in Astoria.
The food tax would apply to prepared
food sold at restaurants and similar busi-
nesses. It is expected to generate around
$1.7 million annually, revenue that would
be split between the city and the Cannon
Beach Rural Fire Protection District.
The city hopes to use the money to
fund infrastructure projects, including a
new City Hall and police station. The fire
district wants to use its cut to help fund
operations as calls for emergency ser-
vices continue to rise.
Nofield feels the tax was pushed
through and is especially concerned about
an incident where Karen LaBonte, the
city’s public works director, opened a bal-
lot box at City Hall prior to the election.
See Recount, Page A3
Musician rejuvenates New manager takes on timberlands
promoted at
career on North Coast Brown
GreenWood Resources
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
A homebase
at WineKraft
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
B
arbara Gaidosh’s business
card reads: “Oregon Folk-
singer & Storyteller.”
Her career as a folk musician
spanned many years across many
locations before she eventually
found herself in Astoria, where she
has lived for the past two decades.
But when she arrived to marry
a retired veteran, she figured her
guitar-playing days were over.
When her husband passed
away, he left a letter requesting that
she play Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’
on Heaven’s Door,” at his service.
So she got the band back
together.
“It was, honestly, probably
one of the hardest things I had
ever done,” she said of the perfor-
mance. “... But after that, I thought,
can I do this again?”
Since then, Gaidosh has experi-
enced a revival of her career.
She plays at several venues and
spots across the region, includ-
ing art galleries and breweries.
Recently, she played in front of a
packed audience in Long Beach,
Washington.
But WineKraft, a wine bar at
Pier 11 in Astoria, is where she
plays most frequently. She consid-
ers it her homebase, of sorts.
Barbara Gaidosh is a folk musician.
“I never in a million years
would’ve thought I could come
back to doing this … the music has
really saved me,” she said.
What is surprising, Gaidosh
said, is how her music has been
able to connect with younger audi-
ences. She credits her stories and
her voice, which somehow, she
said, has continued to sound bet-
ter over time.
She also credits the music
community on the North Coast
for helping her find a path back
to being a musician. Many of
them have become close friends,
Gaidosh said.
See Musician, Page A3
For Kevin Brown, forestry in
the Pacific Northwest is about
legacy.
Stepping into a new position
at GreenWood Resources’ Lewis
& Clark Timberlands, he hopes
to carry on the work of past men-
tors while pursuing a sustainable
future.
Brown is the new Pacific North-
west area manager. He replaces
Mark Morgans, who held the posi-
tion for over a decade and was
recently promoted to director of
North American operations.
They spoke at the Gearhart
office’s conference room, sepa-
rated by toy logging trucks on the
table and backed by windows with
sweeping views of the private for-
est Brown now oversees.
The management position is
responsible for over 185,000 acres
in Oregon and Washington state
and a local staff of 13.
The private timberlands are
used for wood harvesting and wood
products. Though privately owned,
it is open to the public through free
recreational permits for hunting,
fishing, biking and other activities.
The forest also provides drinking
water to municipal watersheds.
“I’m confident in my ability
to lead,” Brown said. “I have the
best staff anybody could ever ask
for. We are just loaded with talent
across the board.”
Morgans said the property —
and Brown’s decisions — will
impact everyone in the commu-
nity, even if they never step foot on
the land.
Abbey McDonald/The Astorian
Mark Morgans, left, and Kevin Brown outside the Lewis & Clark Timberlands
Gearhart office.
THE MANAGEMENT
POSITION IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR
OVER 185,000
ACRES IN OREGON
AND WASHINGTON
STATE AND A LOCAL
STAFF OF 13.
“It’s a working forest, but it’s
also providing all of these other
benefits that they probably don’t
even really think about, but they’re
all there for them,” Morgans said.
“So as foresters we think about that
a lot, just the connectivity. How the
forest is connected to the streams,
connected to the ocean, and it’s
the same thing with the people in
there, too.”
Morgans said he chose Brown
because of his passion for forestry
and his interest in stewardship and
sustainability.
For Brown, that interest started
in his family’s forest. He grew up
in Ilwaco, Washington, and often
visited his family’s 480 acres in
Hamlet that grew from his great,
great grandfather’s homestead.
Growing up, he said his grandfa-
ther was his greatest mentor.
“I got to see him show up in his
caulk boots and his hard hat, and I
got to help set chokers and watch
him skip logs and just work hard,”
Brown said. “Once you’re kind of
immersed and understand the ben-
efits of the forests, it’s just kind of
in your blood.”
See Brown, Page A3