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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2018)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Thursday, December 20, 2018 Oregon State wants Elliott State Forest for research lic access and conservation. “We envision this being the source of critical infor- mation that we use to inform conservation man- agement now and as we work through the ongoing changes driven by our cli- mate,” OSU Interim For- estry Dean Anthony Davis told the board. It would be one of the larg- est forests devoted to exper- imentation and research in the United States, and the size advantage would allow scientists to ask questions that couldn’t be answered on smaller tracts of land. “They see a strong research component that will inform the future of not only timber management, but of climate change adap- tation and response,” said Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read, who voiced enthusias- tic support for the OSU plan. “(There would be) signifi- cant potential for tribal part- nerships and of course, sup- port for rural communities.” Gov. Kate Brown also voiced support for the research forest proposal. “I do think we can move forward on this path and keep the forest for the ben- efit of Oregon school chil- dren. Probably in a differ- ent way — maybe less of a financial resource, and more of an educational resource By JES BURNS AND DIRK VANDERHART Oregon Public Broadcasting SALEM — After years of struggling to figure out what to do with the Elliott State Forest, Oregon officials now have a proposal they like. Members of the State Land Board voted Tuesday to start work on a plan to transfer the 80,000-acre forest near Coos Bay to Oregon State University. The university’s idea is to create the “Elliott State Research Forest.” OSU President Ed Ray told Land Board mem- bers that the university’s “unmatched” experts would be available to assist with Elliott regardless of who was tapped to own the forest. “The question is, Do you want to stop there, or do you want to go further?” Ray added. “Do you want or do you aspire for Oregon, the nation and the world to have a leading research capabil- ity that helps all of us under- stand around this globe how to manage forest resources going forward?” The plan would include a mix of uses on the forest including, Ray said, “active management.” Other uses would reflect public val- ues identified by the Land Board, like recreation, pub- Amanda Loman/The World via AP, File In this Oct. 27, 2016, file photo, Joe Metzler walks across a fallen log over a creek in the Silver Grove surrounded by some trees in the grove that are over 220 years old in Elliott State Forest near Reedsport. for the next seven genera- tions,” Brown said. “This would be a unique oppor- tunity for Oregon to lead the nation, if not the entire world.” The state has been con- sidering what to do with the Elliott State Forest for years. It started when endangered species court rulings lim- ited logging and the forest stopped generating money, as required, for Oregon schools through the Com- Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY Showers late this afternoon Cooler with clouds and sun Times of clouds and sun Rain and drizzle in the p.m. Snow or fl urries possible 56° 35° 44° 28° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 44° 35° 45° 32° 49° 38° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 53° 36° 47° 27° 45° 34° 47° 32° 48° 39° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 54/39 47/31 49/30 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 57/37 Lewiston 53/36 53/38 Astoria 54/38 Pullman Yakima 50/33 53/34 49/39 Portland Hermiston 55/36 The Dalles 53/36 Salem Corvallis 53/33 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 46/29 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 55/35 51/26 50/28 Ontario 45/32 Caldwell Burns 50° 39° 39° 27° 60° (1933) -5° (1984) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 53/35 0.00" 0.36" 0.94" 7.32" 8.90" 9.41" WINDS (in mph) 47/34 42/23 0.00" 0.61" 0.92" 9.48" 15.45" 12.39" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 47/26 54/36 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 56/35 47/36 50° 39° 39° 25° 62° (2017) -7° (1984) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 55/35 Aberdeen 45/29 43/31 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 55/39 Today Medford 51/34 Fri. SW 6-12 S 10-20 Boardman Pendleton WSW 6-12 WSW 7-14 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 49/22 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today mon School Fund. Most recently the land board, comprised of Read, Brown and Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, asked for proposals that would keep the forest in public ownership. Several other entities had expressed interest in the forest, including two local counties, two tribes, the Ore- gon Department of Forestry and a nonprofit Christian ministry group. Apple pledges nearly $9M to help Oregon town store water PRINEVILLE (AP) — Apple has pledged to spend nearly $9 million to help the city of Prineville build an underground water stor- age facility to help meet the demands of the compa- ny’s two data storage centers there. Apple is Prineville’s larg- est water user and takes huge volumes of water to cool their facilities, where com- puters are in constant danger of overheating, The Orego- nian/OregonLive reported Wednesday. It’s Apple’s second water conservation project in Prineville. Its first data center con- sumed 27 million gallons of water in 2016, based on the most recent data available, and the company has added a second large facility since then. Prineville, with just over 10,000 residents, produces 600 million gallons annu- ally. City officials could not say Wednesday how much water Apple used last year, but suggested it could be approaching 10 percent of Prineville’s total production. The project will collect water in natural underground geologic formations during cool periods and when river levels are high, and then tap into it when needed. It will serve both Apple data cen- ters and Prineville’s general needs. Lisa Jackson, the Apple vice president who runs the company’s environ- mental initiatives, said the Prineville project will sup- port the company’s own needs “while increasing the availability of clean, sustain- able water as the community prepares for the impacts of climate change.” Prineville currently gets all its water from deep wells; this project will bring water up from shallow wells, too, storing them in an aqui- fer near Apple’s data cen- ter when demand is low and tapping them when demand rises in the summer heat. The new aquifers will be available beginning in 2021. Prineville said it has been studying the project for five years and believes it could store as much as 180 mil- lion gallons initially, and up to 400 million gallons with additional wells. In 2016, Apple financed construction of a water treat- ment facility designed to save 5 million gallons annu- ally by recycling water from the city’s sewage treatment system and using it in the data center. Apple has spent $1 billion building its 660,000-square- foot Prineville facilities and is in the process of expand- ing by 50 percent. Its data centers employ 100 peo- ple altogether, according to Apple, which has said it off- sets the effects of its power use with nearby solar and wind projects. 7:32 a.m. 4:13 p.m. 3:00 p.m. 4:55 a.m. Full Last New First Dec 22 Dec 29 Jan 5 Jan 13 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 83° in Marathon, Fla. Low -1° in Saranac Lake, N.Y. Last year, the Legisla- ture approved $100 million in bonds to hold the school fund over while a new for- est owner could be found. And on Tuesday, the Land Board approved a declara- tion allowing the bonding to move forward. But an additional $121 million is needed to com- pensate the Common School Fund for the appraised value of the Elliott State Forest. As with every applicant, OSU’s path to finding the necessary $121 million is deeply uncertain. The uni- versity “can’t foresee cir- cumstances in which the university could purchase the forest outright,” Ray told the Land Board. Part of that uncertainty, he noted, comes from the two-year budget Brown pro- posed earlier this month. The proposal would hold funding for state universities flat — effectively creating a budget cut as higher edu- cation costs rise. The gov- ernor has promised funding increases to universities if state lawmakers are able to find some $2 billion in new funding for her education priorities. “Under the currently pro- posed budget, OSU faces a funding challenge of budget reductions of perhaps $20 million of operating funds,” Ray said, noting that the uni- versity was unwilling to bor- row against “forest harvest- ing that cannot be sustained, or add more controversy to the university.” That left a question of where funding might come from — something that will have to be answered in months to come. Both Ray and Read expressed a desire for details of the plan to be worked out by the end of 2019. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY The family of Brent Fife would like to thank Coree Lerjesen for organizing the fund raising, contribution for items and decorating of the beautiful Brent Fife memorial tree for this years Winterfest Gala. We would also like to thank all of you that donated money and items for the tree. It was so touching for our family to find out so many contributed to this wonderful cause in honor of Brent. Not only was the memorial tree a wonderful tribute to Brent’s life, the money raised from the event will go to benefit so many in our community. This year the proceeds go to support Cason’s Place, Pioneer Relief Nursery and the St Anthony Hospital Foundation. In the spirit of Christmas giving, our hearts are warmed by the generosity of those who helped to make the memorial tree and the entire Winterfest Gala happen. We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful community. 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