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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, ApRIl 21, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
publisher
Founded in 1873
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Editor
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Circulation Manager
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production Manager
GUEST COLUMN
Let’s give fish a better future
grew up fishing in Oregon. Too
young to fish in the ocean, I was
mesmerized by the salmon my dad
and grandpa caught fishing out of Asto-
ria. I knew salmon fishing was in my
future, but at the time, didn’t know how
far this passion would take me.
My early days of fishing set me on
a course to provide this
experience to others. I’ve
been working as a pro-
fessional fishing guide
for 31 years.
I’ve seen good years
and bad with the avail-
able catch of salmon
BOB
and steelhead. These
REES
wild fish are the life-
blood of an $80 million
a year sport fishery on the North Coast.
Depressed wild populations of coho,
Chinook, steelhead and chum salmon,
as well as steelhead and cutthroat trout,
have eroded away the incredible trans-
fer of wealth from urban communities,
for prospective anglers who come to fish
on the coast and the rural communities
who benefit from that economic activ-
ity. Degraded habitat is at the very center
of less abundance in fish populations and
economic opportunity.
I’ve learned, along with other guides
and fishing industry members, the impor-
tance of protecting our forests to pro-
vide habitat for spawning and rearing
salmon like coho, which spend 12 to 18
months rearing in the watershed before
they enter the ocean. Cold, clean water
is vital for salmon and steelhead to com-
plete their life cycle, and forests serve to
keep salmon waters cool. Protecting the
salmon streams from landslides is also
important. That’s why we need to have a
proactive and balanced approach to man-
aging our forests in Oregon.
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Public comments are open for the Western Oregon Habitat Conservation Plan.
I ENCOuRAGE EVERyONE REAdING THIS TO
SpEAK up FOR SAlMON STRONGHOldS IN THE
TIllAMOOK ANd ClATSOp STATE FORESTS.
Fish are forest products too!
Unfortunately, Oregon forests hav-
en’t always been managed in a way that
is beneficial for wildlife, water supply
or recreation. These lands, at the heart
of the Tillamook and Clatsop rainforest,
host six salmon strongholds and stand as
an oasis for fish, wildlife and recreation
in Northwest Oregon.
That’s why I’ve become an advocate
for habitat conservation plans to pro-
tect what’s left of our best salmon riv-
ers in Oregon. The goal of the plans is to
authorize legal activities, like logging,
while mitigating or minimizing harm to
endangered species like salmon.
Currently, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration is reviewing
the Western Oregon Habitat Conserva-
tion Plan, advanced by the Oregon Board
of Forestry. This plan would provide pro-
tections for 17 federally listed endan-
gered species, including Oregon Coast
coho. The plan would protect roughly
half of state lands in the Tillamook and
Clatsop rainforest, or 250,000 acres, for
70 years. This will help ensure a future
founded on fish and wildlife conserva-
tion that sustains not just sportfishing but
also timber communities, as well as the
businesses, jobs, revenue and a tax base
tied to both of these industries.
NOAA Fisheries is considering sev-
eral alternatives in its draft environmen-
tal impact statement, and the soundest
for salmon is Alternative 3 that strength-
ens conservation for the fish. This alter-
native would designate important aquatic
and terrestrial habitats. It would also
improve steep slope logging protections
and consider the impacts from excessive
road networks.
Unfortunately, some of the other pro-
posed alternatives would reduce the pro-
posed conservation areas in favor of
increased logging and pesticide spraying.
We can’t go backwards to the activities
that have threatened the public, fish and
wildlife in the past. Instead, we must go
forward with a balanced approach that
considers fish, wildlife, recreation and
clean water as forest products, just like
timber. As an Oregon industry ourselves,
with members who have affinity for fish,
wildlife and habitat as well as appreci-
ation for timber, this is our view: each
plays a vital role in the success of rural
Oregon.
The public comment period for this
habitat conservation plan opened on
March 18 and runs for 60 days through
May 17. I encourage everyone reading
this to speak up for salmon strongholds
in the Tillamook and Clatsop state for-
ests. Written comments can be submitted
on the NOAA website.
Bob Rees is the founder and execu-
tive director of the Northwest Guides and
Anglers Association, representing about
60 guides and charters in the Pacific
Northwest. He lives in Oregon City.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Drive and desire
am writing today in support of Pamela
Wev for Clatsop County commissioner.
Pam is an intelligent, approachable and
engaging woman, with both drive and
desire enough to make a difference.
Pam cares about North Coast residents,
businesses, as well as our issues; and she
possesses sufficient courage and good
judgment to both assist the board and lead
our county in the direction of solutions.
Having worked, previously, in all levels
of government — local, state and federal
— she is well-acquainted with how gov-
ernments and board dynamics work, how
to recognize when they don’t, and how to
work collaboratively with staff, planners
and petitioners while maintaining appro-
priate boundaries.
And, Pam is a land use consultant, by
profession, whose familiarity with the
approval process and best practices will
make even difficult and contentious con-
struction and zoning recommendations
manageable for her.
Finally, especially in this program and
policy-sensitive time on the commission, I
am impressed that Pam is a good listener,
chooses her words wisely and will be a
true team player.
Join me in reelecting Wev for District 3.
BILL VAN NOSTRAN
Astoria
I
Under attack
happy, caring neighborhood is made
up of a melting pot of neighbors who
look out for each other, talk to each other,
help each other, but most importantly,
know each other.
Neighbors are families, retirees and sin-
gles. They are people of all ages, but most
importantly, their home is in the neighbor-
hood. The neighbors contribute to their
community, some work keeping the busi-
nesses open, their children attend schools,
they volunteer at events and they attend
community activities. They are the back-
bone of a city.
Our neighborhoods are under attack.
The fabric of our neighborhoods have
Swiss cheese holes in them, created by day
rentals every third or fourth house. Add
to that, second homes, vacant much of the
year, owned by those who don’t live here.
Now, this homeless camping ordinance
will start tearing the fragile fabric of the
neighborhoods apart. It will bring in over-
night camping into the public spaces,
like parks, that were never designed or
intended to provide overnight camp-
ing. They were a place designed to bring
neighbors together, to provide a safe place
for children to play and to walk the dog.
The city needs to provide a location
for homeless overnight camping at a loca-
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tion that is designed for that purpose. Yes,
that involves a financial commitment from
the community to create this place. Throw
out this camping ordinance and address
the real problem of providing a livable
neighborhood for the housed, and a safe,
humane place for the unhoused.
GLENDA PHILLIPS
Seaside
‘Experts’
s political pundits rushed to either
praise or criticize Supreme Court
nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson for her
refusal to define “woman,” they totally
missed the implication behind her answer.
Judge Jackson claimed she could not
answer because, “I’m not a biologist.”
The implication is that Americans
should rely on “experts” for everything.
They should no longer rely on experience
gained from living. They should no lon-
ger rely on their own eyes, ears, brains, et
al. as they maneuver through life. Ameri-
cans should replace their own knowledge
with opinions of “experts.” Government,
of course, will choose the “experts.”
So, as the pregnant doe wanders across
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my yard I must call a wildlife “expert” to
determine what it is. As hail falls, check
with a weather “expert” before naming it.
Judge Jackson’s remarks came as more
evidence emerges about public health
experts’ COVID errors, we could be enter-
ing a new age where common sense takes
over.
DIANE GRUBER
Oysterville, Washington
Know-how
e sometimes describe elected offi-
cials as “career politicians” as if
that’s a bad thing. Politics and policy mak-
ing is the only sphere of work where I
have seen experience considered to be
“bad.”
You might hire someone new to the
field to work on your roof. You could roll
the dice and decide that the price is right,
and they seem like a nice person who cares
about doing the job well. Perhaps you
know them personally.
Or, you could choose the contractor
with 4.5 stars and 50 reviews with pic-
tures of their work from happy customers.
When it’s your own roof, you can choose
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to roll those dice.
Given the opportunity, I think we
should choose those who have proven they
can do the complex job of governing —
those who have the educational and career
experience to do the job well.
Please vote to reelect Pamela Wev for
Clatsop County commissioner. She has the
experience, connections and know-how to
get the job done!
MARY HUNTER
Astoria
Just a thought
as any thought been given to turning
the old Seaside High School site into
a public-private funded affordable housing
community? It sits at a site of public trans-
portation, and could house lower-income
workers from Warrenton to Cannon Beach.
There is a similar project on the east
end of Sandy that could serve as a plan-
ning model for a similar much-needed
facility serving the North Coast.
Just a thought from a past North Coast
resident, and now visitor.
MARK OHLSON
Lake Oswego
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