A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022
California court rules bumble bee
is a fi sh with legal protections
By SIERRA DAWN
McCLAIN
Capital Press
SACRAMENTO — A
California appeals court has
ruled that, under certain cir-
cumstances, bees are now
legally considered fi sh and
can be protected as such
under the state’s endangered
species law.
The late May decision trig-
gers protections for bumble
bees and eff ectively prohib-
its actions that could kill, or
“take,” some species without
a permit or authorization.
Supporters of the ruling
call it a win for bumble bees;
critics say it might make farm-
ing activities, including graz-
ing, growing crops and apply-
ing pesticides, more diffi cult.
In the ruling, Almond Alli-
ance of California v. Fish and
Game Commission, the Cal-
ifornia 3rd District Court of
Appeals reversed an earlier
judgment that had found that
bumble bees could not be
considered fi sh under the Cal-
ifornia Endangered Species
Act.
In 2018, the Defend-
ers of Wildlife, Xerxes Soci-
ety for Invertebrate Conser-
vation and Center for Food
Safety petitioned the Califor-
nia Fish and Game Commis-
sion to list four bumble bee
species — the Crotch, Frank-
‘A TERRESTRIAL INVERTEBRATE,
LIKE EACH OF THE FOUR BUMBLE
BEE SPECIES, MAY BE LISTED AS AN
ENDANGERED OR THREATENED
SPECIES UNDER THE A CT.’
Ronald Robie | California 3rd District
Court of Appeals associate justice
lin’s, Suckley cuckoo and
Western bumble bees — for
state Endangered Species Act
protection.
The state Endangered Spe-
cies Act , however, only pro-
tects “native species or sub-
species of a bird, mammal,
fi sh, amphibian, reptile or
plant.” Insects are notably
missing from the list.
The conservation groups
argued that the defi nition of
fi sh should be reinterpreted.
Section 45 of the state Endan-
gered Species Act defi nes
a fi sh as a “wild fi sh, mol-
lusk, crustacean, invertebrate,
amphibian or part, spawn or
ovum of any of those ani-
mals.” The groups argued
that the word “invertebrate”
should include all inverte-
brates, not just aquatic ones.
The
California
Fish
and Game Commission
responded by voting to begin
the listing process in 2019
but was sued by seven agri-
cultural groups, including the
Almond Alliance of Califor-
nia and the California Farm
Bureau Federation.
The California Superior
Court ruled in favor of the
farm groups in 2020, but last
month the 3rd District Court
of Appeals reversed the deci-
sion, allowing bumble bees to
be classifi ed as fi sh.
“Although the term fi sh
is colloquially and com-
monly understood to refer to
aquatic species, the term of
art employed by the Legisla-
ture in the defi nition of fi sh in
section 45 is not so limited,”
3rd District Court of Appeals
Associate Justice Ronald
Robie wrote for the three-
judge panel. “…Accordingly,
a terrestrial invertebrate, like
each of the four bumble bee
species, may be listed as an
endangered or threatened spe-
cies under the a ct.”
Robie called the decision
“a liberal interpretation of the
act.”
“The court’s decision
allows California to protect
some of its most endangered
pollinators,” Sarina Jepsen,
Xerces Society’s director of
endangered species, said in a
statement.
The Xerxes Society said
the decision could also pave
the way for critical protections
for other imperiled insects.
California Farm Bureau’s
senior counsel, Kari Fisher,
said the organization is trou-
bled by the appeals court’s
decision and is “evaluating
potential next steps.”
Andony
Melathopou-
los, Oregon State Univer-
sity Extension Service’s pol-
linator health specialist and
assistant professor, said that
although the decision was
intended to protect bumble
bees, it may actually have
some unintended negative
consequences.
One downside of the rul-
ing, he said, is that it could
make it more diffi cult for sci-
entists to study bumble bee
populations because they’ll
need to apply for permits to
take endangered pollinators.
“Before this ruling, ento-
mologists in California could
collect a lot of data on bum-
ble bee distribution, and now,
it will be more closely scru-
tinized through permits,” he
said.
COVID survey:
78% of parents said the
pandemic has hurt their
children’s education
Continued from Page A1
The health depart-
ment was also curious
about parents’ decision
about whether to vacci-
nate their children against
COVID-19.
Among parents of chil-
dren 12 to 17 years old,
almost 64% said their
child had received at least
one vaccine dose, while
almost 32% said they are
“defi nitely not getting”
their child vaccinated.
Of the parents choos-
ing not to vaccinate their
12- to 17-year-olds, 34%
said they don’t trust that
the vaccines are safe,
while 32% said they don’t
believe their child’s age
group is at risk.
Among parents of chil-
dren ages 5 to 11, more
than 61% said their child
already had one or more
Consult a
PROFESSIONAL
Tourism: Most surveyed recognized the benefi ts
Continued from Page A1
this area and have learned to
adjust to the busy conditions
because a strong economy is
necessary for the area to con-
tinue to grow and prosper.”
It’s great that the major-
ity of residents surveyed rec-
ognize the positive impact
of tourism on an economy,
said Kevney Dugan, Visit
Bend’s CEO. In fact, the
nonprofi t marketing organi-
zation invests in research and
partnerships, including one
with Oregon State Univer-
sity-Cascades, to learn more
about how the community
views the visitor industry.
“We recognize change can
be hard to work through and
our current infl ux of new res-
idents and visitors to the state
has created a new normal for
all of us,” Dugan said. “(We
want) to better understand
the community sentiment ...
while also working to reduce
pain points that come with
growth and change.”
Just about half of those
surveyed supported a tour-
ist fee for peak seasons that
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The Oregon Coast is among the state’s most popular visitor
destinations.
can be given to the aff ected
communities. The survey
showed that 51% believe
tourism contributes funds to
public services, 48% said it
provided a high quality of
life and 48% said it off ered
well-paying jobs.
Despite the criticism
of tourism, most surveyed
recognized the benefi ts to
the state and foresee an
increase in visitors this sum-
mer will be a positive for
their community, according
to the survey.
About eight in 10 resi-
dents 75 and older say tour-
ism contributes to a strong
economy. But among the 18-
to 29-year-olds that belief
drops signifi cantly to 58%,
according to the survey.
“Some of the region’s
best-known businesses were
started by former tourists
who moved here,” said Janet
Stevens, a Deschutes County
woman, wrote in an open-
ended question. “That’s done
wonders for the economy
of a former timber town.
Their impact goes beyond
that, of course. More visi-
tors mean more people to
attend cultural events, which
in turn help keep the latter in
business.”
More than half of those
surveyed in the under 30 age
group — 56% — believe
tourism contributed to the
lack of aff ordable housing,
according to the survey. But
about 34% to 50% in all
other age groups surveyed
believe tourism is a contrib-
uting factor to the lack of
aff ordable housing, accord-
ing to the survey.
Of note is that one-third
of those surveyed in the
under 30 age group say rec-
reational marijuana is a tour-
ist draw, according to the
survey.
The survey was con-
ducted online among Ore-
gonians 18 and older from
professionally maintained
online panels. The polling
group said its surveys are
within the statistically valid
margin of error.
Scooters: Pilot programs rejected in Astoria, Long Beach
Continued from Page A1
City Manager Bruce St.
Denis said some companies
have reached out to the city
showing interest and asking
for rules regarding electric
scooter rentals.
He said there are some
policies the city can choose to
prohibit scooters , but he rec-
ommended making the rule as
clean as possible, adding that
it could always be reversed.
“Right now, we think the
city would be in the best posi-
tion, if you’re not going to
consider it, just to have an
ordinance that prohibits,” St.
Denis said.
The city manager shared
an ordinance adopted in Des-
tin, Florida, which he said
banned electric scooters after
they became problematic.
City Councilor Robin Ris-
ley also raised concerns about
Segway rentals.
“I just was driving in Sea-
side today, and somebody just
went whipping through on
the road and I thought, ‘Wow,
they can really go fast,’” Ris-
ley said.
St. Denis said he would
include a generic term that
covers Segway rentals in the
draft ordinance.
Last year, Astoria was
approached
by
electric
scooter company Bird about
a possible pilot program,
which the City Council unan-
imously rejected.
Electric scooters are not
allowed on the Astoria Riv-
erwalk or on sidewalks. If a
company were to bring scoot-
ers to Astoria, they would
have to work with the city to
designate no-ride zones.
In April, the Long Beach
City Council in Washington
state rejected a trial off er from
Bird to bring electric scooters
to the city.
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check with my
insurance before
coming in?
All you need to do is give us
ASTORIA A:
your insurance card during your
CHIROPRACTIC
free initial consult. We will then
determine what your coverage
can provide. Even if we are out
503-325-3311 of network with your insurance
company we may still be able to
2935 Marine Drive,
Astoria, Oregon find coverage via your insurance.
Alicia M. Smith, DC
Owner
Astoria’s Best
Fast Friendly
and Affordable
Asus 17”
Intel i5 8GB
gonna use the power that
I’ve collected in this role
over the last 20 years and
I’m going to use one of my
bingo cards for SMA new-
born screening’ because
she knew it was import-
ant. I just can’t express how
grateful I am to her for that
because that’s really why
this happened.”
Citovic , the daughter of
former Astoria Mayor Wil-
lis Van Dusen, is a co-owner
of Van Dusen Beverages, the
family’s Pepsi distributorship
in Astoria. The former mayor
has endorsed Johnson’s inde-
pendent run for governor and
Van Dusen Beverages has
contributed $25,000 to John-
son’s campaign .
Spinal muscular atro-
phy is a progressive disease,
meaning early diagnosis and
treatment can preserve mus-
cle function.
“The good news is all
these babies, who hopefully
from now on will not have a
single symptom when they
start treatment, means that
they will never have a symp-
tom, hopefully,” Citovic
said. “They will just live
a completely normal life
with the knowledge of like,
‘Y eah, my DNA test said I
have this thing but I take my
Evrysdi every day and I’m
fi ne.”
Recently,
the
Food
and Drug Administration
approved an at-home oral
treatment called Evrysdi for
newborns. The medication
increases and sustains the
production of the survival
motor neuron protein, which
the disease inhibits.
Alina Citovic has been
taking Evrysdi since 2020
and was the fi rst patient at
Oregon Health & Science
University’s Doernbecher
Children’s Hospital to do so.
The once-a-day medication
has replaced routine trips to
Portland for spinal taps that
gave Alina a fear of needles
requiring therapy.
“Just because a scientist
can explain how this works
doesn’t make it not magi-
cal to us,” Citovic said. “It
tastes like strawberries. I
mean, if you were going to
write your wish for how to
handle this: ‘I wish I could
just have one sip of a magic
potion that tastes like straw-
berries, every night and be
better. And that’s it.’”
The oral therapy is
cheaper, too, costing their
insurance $365,000 a year
instead of the $1.25 million
annual cost of hospital vis-
its, she said.
Citovic has seen major
progress in her daughter’s
movement since taking the
medication. Alina, now 9 ,
can hop on two feet and was
able to get her COVID vac-
cine after working through
her anxiety with needles.
“She’s never going to be
the fastest kid in the class,
but she can still go out there.
She loves playing freeze
tag,” she said. “That’s one
of her favorite things. So we
just feel so blessed. We’re
like, ‘H ow many kids with
SMA have ever gotten to
play freeze tag? At all?
Probably very few.’”
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Q: Does oral
health affect
overall health?
you probably
A: Although
understand that poor dental
JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR
DMD, FAGD
L E I NA S S A R
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DENTAL EXCELLENCE
Disease: Early diagnosis, treatment can preserve muscle function
jabs. The group “defi -
nitely not getting” their
young children vacci-
nated was almost 34%.
Of these parents, about
36% don’t trust in the vac-
cines’ safety, and more
than 38% don’t believe
the age group is at risk.
For parents of chil-
dren under 5, almost 49%
said they’re “defi nitely
not” getting their child
vaccinated.
On a question about
their childrens’ wel-
fare, 78% of parents said
the pandemic has hurt
their children’s educa-
tion, and almost 77% said
it has hurt their mental
health.
That question had only
92 respondents. “But
I bet if everyone com-
pleted the survey, it prob-
ably wouldn’t change that
much,” Lalich said.
503/325-0310
1414 MARINE DRIVE,
ASTORIA
www.smileastoria.com
care can lead to cavities, did you
know that other, more serious
health problems can also result
from poor oral care? The truth
is that if you don’t take proper
care of your teeth, you could face
far more serious consequences
than a simple toothache or some
unsightly stains. You could face
cardiovascular disease, dementia,
respiratory infection, diabetic
complications and more.
is the Consult
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