NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
A5
A proposed compromise solution for Lostine River Corridor
E
astern Oregon Legacy Lands, spon-
sor of Wallowology Discovery Cen-
ter, has watched the Lostine River
Fuels Reduction project unfold over sev-
eral years. The confl ation of values, sci-
ence, politics and strong emotions has left
little room for productive dialogue. None-
theless, everyone agrees they love the Los-
tine River and Eagle Cap Wilderness. The
Lostine provides us with an abundance
of cold, clean water, rich fi sh and wildlife
habitat, a riverine paradise, and access to
our state’s largest Wilderness Area.
It would be benefi cial to fi nd a solu-
tion to this problem and avoid actions that
would cause lasting divisions in our com-
OTHER
VOICES
David Mildrexler
munity, or a lost sense of place for the Los-
tine River Corridor. For whatever rea-
son, relatively low interest in the project
resulted in at least one bid that was even-
tually withdrawn. While a slightly mod-
ifi ed version of the sale has already been
advertised, there is still time for a different
course of action.
In the spirit of solving this problem in
everyone’s favor, we’d like to proffer a
compromise. Move forward with an 8-inch
diameter limit and remove the smaller, most
fl ammable trees where appropriate. This
approach will save the mature and older
trees with their thick fi re-resistant bark,
large carbon stores, and cool understory
microclimate. It will also protect valuable
fi sheries and wildlife habitat, and reduce
impacts on the sensitive cool-adapted for-
est understory species. This way we can
move forward reducing tree density and fi re
risk where it matters most (small trees and
fl ashy fuels) while retaining the large, older
structures, in this cool, moist, riparian forest
environment. Local fi re crews do an excel-
lent job removing small-diameter trees, and
could provide an effi cient way to get this
important work done.
This simple approach would reduce
fi re risk, provide employment opportuni-
ties, and largely maintain the character of
the Lostine River Corridor we all cher-
ish. It might also help soothe the wounds
and scars many people on both sides of
this issue have experienced, and provide
opportunities for everyone to move forward
together in a more unifi ed manner.
David Mildrexler is a systems ecologist
for Eastern Oregon Legacy Lands in Joseph.
Increasing threatened or endangered species can deliver economic benefi ts
By Chris Branam
Oregon State University
CORVALLIS, Ore. –
A new study provides evi-
dence that increasing the
abundance of a threatened
or endangered species can
deliver large benefi ts to
the citizens of the Pacifi c
Northwest.
The study, published
today in the journal PLOS
ONE, fi nds that a two-thirds
increase in the average
annual number of return-
ing coho salmon to the Ore-
gon coast would generate
up to $518 million per year
in non-market economic
benefi ts to residents of the
region.
The study comes the same
week that the U.S. Depart-
ment of Interior announced
that it will implement a new
rule that stipulates that eco-
nomic impacts for listing a
species be considered under
the U.S. Endangered Spe-
cies Act (ESA).
“When we think about
actions to protect endan-
gered and threatened spe-
cies, we often focus on the
costs,” said David Lewis, an
economist in OSU’s College
of Agricultural Sciences
and corresponding author
on the study. “The bene-
fi ts of protecting threatened
species are diffi cult to esti-
Oregon State University
Coho salmon spawning in the Tillamook River.
mate since they are consid-
ered to be non-market and
arise from the public’s val-
ues for things like the exis-
tence of abundant salmon in
the wild. This study gives
us a way to evaluate the
benefi ts.”
“If an agency is consider-
ing a policy or program that
would increase the num-
ber of salmon by a certain
amount, our study translates
the benefi ts for that amount
of salmon to a dollar value,”
said Steven Dundas, study
co-author and economist in
OSU’s College of Agricul-
tural Sciences and Coastal
Oregon Marine Experiment
Station.
“This provides evi-
dence of the economic value
Pacifi c Northwest residents
place on protecting threat-
ened and endangered spe-
cies,” Dundas said. “We can
compare it to how much we
actually spend on salmon
restoration activities, to see
if there’s a net benefi t to
more investment.”
The study, a collabora-
tion between OSU and the
Alaska Fisheries Science
Center in Seattle, also found
that the public attaches a sub-
stantial value — up to $277
million a year – to achieving
conservation goals sooner
rather than later.
“There are sizable bene-
fi ts to achieving conserva-
tion goals quickly,” Lewis
said. “That has real implica-
tions for conservation pro-
grams, showing that there’s
signifi cant value to the pub-
lic in up-front investments.”
Another key study fi nd-
ing: People benefi t from
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla and others
establish Pacifi c lamprey exhibit at the Oregon Zoo
The ancient, eel-like fi sh
are settling into the Great
Northwest habitat
The Oregon Zoo’s new-
est residents are also its old-
est. Five Pacifi c lamprey
moved into the Cascade
Stream building in the Great
Northwest area earlier this
month, and the ancient fi sh
are making themselves right
at home. Older than dino-
saurs and even trees, this
400-million year old native
species is an important part
of the history and culture of
the Pacifi c Northwest.
“We’re thrilled to wel-
come Pacifi c lamprey to
the Great Northwest,” said
Shelly Pettit, the zoo’s
senior fi sh keeper. “It’s a
great opportunity for peo-
ple to see them up close
and learn about this unique
species.”
The Pacifi c lamprey is
an eel-like fi sh with a jaw-
less mouth, third eye and no
scales. Since the zoo’s lam-
prey can often be seen suc-
tioned onto the glass of their
habitat displaying rings of
sharp teeth, it’s no wonder
Pettit and the rest of the lam-
prey care team like to point
out the slimy fi sh’s “cute”
A Pacifi c lamprey swimming in its new home at the Oregon
Zoo. The lamprey exhibit is a collaboration among the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and
others to help acquaint the public with the Pacifi c lamprey’s
life cycles and value to both ecosystems and tribal fi sheries.
factor.
“Lamprey have a lot of
charm once you get to know
them, even if they aren’t
your typical cuddly critter,”
Pettit said. “We’ve been say-
ing ‘the cuteness is com-
ing’ to get visitors ready to
meet these fi sh. The cute-
ness is here now, and it’s
been really fun to introduce
people to a different type of
adorable animal.”
The fi ve Pacifi c lam-
prey came to the zoo from
the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation as part of a tribal led
effort which collects lam-
prey that are returning to
fresh water below the three
lowest dams on the Colum-
bia River. Their new hab-
itat in the Cascade Stream
building was paid for in part
by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service. When the fi sh are
ready to spawn, the tribal
team will transport them to
their original range on tribu-
taries of the upper Columbia
River and the Snake River.
Pacifi c lamprey have sur-
vived three ice ages and fi ve
mass extinctions, but in the
past 70 years their numbers
have declined due to a com-
bination of habitat loss, cli-
mate change and lack of
food. Now designated as a
Species of Concern by U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service and
by Oregon’s and Washing-
ton’s departments of Fish
& Wildlife, the lamprey
are disappearing from their
native ranges in the Pacifi c
Northwest.
Native American tribes
are collaborating with Fed-
eral, State and local agen-
cies to aid Pacifi c lamprey
recovery. These groups are
installing passage structures,
removing dams to ease pas-
sage and restoring dam-
aged streams to help lam-
prey spawn and rear young.
By moving lamprey to areas
where they used to live —
above the dams along the
Columbia — they allow the
industrious Pacifi c lamprey
to rebuild their own habitat.
nario or a status quo option
with $0 cost.
Twenty-one percent of
the surveys were returned.
By analyzing the responses,
the researchers determined
the public’s average house-
hold willingness to pay for
salmon conservation, which
is then multiplied by the
number of Pacifi c North-
west households to get the
fi nal benefi t numbers.
“The surveys create a sit-
uation for someone to make
a decision about a pub-
lic good — as if increases
in salmon abundance were
something
they
could
choose off the shelf at the
grocery store,” Dundas said.
Lewis, Dundas and
co-author David Kling are
all on the faculty in OSU’s
Department of Applied Eco-
nomics. Co-authors also
included Daniel Lew at the
Alaska Fisheries Center and
Sally Hacker in the Depart-
ment of Integrative Biology
in the College of Science at
OSU.
The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Admin-
istration funded the study
through its National Cen-
ters for Coastal Ocean Sci-
ence Competitive Research
Program.
Oregon Coast coho salmon
conservation even if the fi sh
aren’t declared recovered
and removed from listing
under the ESA.
“That’s an important
concept,” Lewis said. “This
indicates that we shouldn’t
evaluate ESA activities
only by whether a species is
recovered or not. It’s not all
or nothing.”
For the study, the
researchers mailed sur-
veys to 5,000 randomly
selected households in Ore-
gon, Washington, Idaho and
northern California in the
fall of 2017. The surveys
included scenarios with lev-
els of attributes associated
with improving the abun-
dance of Oregon Coast coho
salmon: how many fi sh
come back from the ocean,
how quickly they come back
and what their conservation
status would be under the
ESA.
Associated with these
scenarios was an annual
per-household cost from a
combination of additional
taxes and higher prices for
lumber and agricultural
products, ranging from $10
to $350 per year. Survey
respondents then chose their
preferred conservation sce-
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