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126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 16
FISH
❘ FEBRUARY 24, 2016 ❘ $1.00
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
OUT
OF
FLORENCE, OREGON
WATER
Science, native tradition merge for steelhead field trip
Integrating
art into
the fabric
of Florence
Public Art Committee
presents vision for future
artwork in city
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
F
PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
Members of Jamie Hunt’s Siuslaw Elementary third-grade
class learn steelhead anatomy during a field trip to the
Salmon Trout Enhancement Program at Whittaker Creek.
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
almon Trout Enhancement Program
(STEP) volunteers recently gave
Siuslaw third graders a first-hand
look at the spawning cycle of native
steelhead at the Whittaker Creek fish trap,
about 10 miles east of Mapleton.
The Feb. 18 school field trip program,
which has been in operation since 2007 and
is funded by an Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board grant, runs during the
steelhead spawning season from January
through May.
During that time, as many as 2,000 steel-
head are captured in the Whittaker Creek trap.
Hatchery-raised steelhead, which are marked,
are “milked” of eggs and milt then released
downstream. Native steelhead are released up
stream of the trap to spawn naturally.
S
The field trip is broken
down into three separate
stations: steelhead anato-
my, stream ecology and
general flora and fauna.
Students are also taught
the significant role salmon and steelhead
played in the lives and survival of the local
Siuslaw Tribe.
STEP field trip coordinator Jim Grano
explains, “After the anatomy lesson and the
dissection, we walk the steelhead carcass down
to the stream. We explain to the students that
the fish remains are a part of the food web and
the lifecycle of the salmon. The insects feed on
the carcass and the juvenile fish feed on the
insects.
“Raccoons and bear might drag the carcass
into the woods and eat it and the fish and the
bear scat fertilize the trees. We actually have
proof that trees grow better near salmon
streams,” Grano added.
When the students returned the fish carcass
back into the creek, STEP volunteers shared a
part of the ceremony the Siuslaw Tribe held
when returning the unused portions of the fish
back into the creek.
“The Siuslaw Tribe depended on the
salmon and steelhead for their existence, their
survival over the winter,” Grano said. “A part
of their religion was to take care of the
‘Salmon Nation.’ They returned the carcasses
to the stream. They did it with respect and
ceremony.”
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STEP 11A
Dunes City sets financial stability as top priority
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
Dunes City council members set
goals and priorities for the coming
year during its annual goal-setting
meeting Feb. 3.
Prior to the goal-setting process,
Dunes City Interim Administrator
Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . . A12
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6
Community Calendar . . . . A10
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5
Jamie Mills sent surveys to resi-
dents who signed up to be on the
“Interested Parties” list, city coun-
cilors and city volunteers, seeking
input on city goals and priorities.
Mills reported the results of the
survey to the council during the
meeting. The No. 1 priority listed
by those who returned the survey
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
was split between the city’s need to
maintain a balanced budget and
maintaining roadways and city
drainage facilities.
According to a statement
released by Mills, the council
determined that financial stability
was the primary priority.
“In order to accomplish this, the
THIS WEEK ’ S
city needs to improve on its signature
event, the Oregon Dunes Triathlon
and Duathlon,” Mills said. “The city
needs to explore other ways to aug-
ment its resources and review inter-
nal practices that may be adjusted to
improve financial efficiency.”
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COUNCIL 11A
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
57 46
62 46
58 48
58 49
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
lorence Public Art Committee has a plan
to beautify the City of Florence and
incorporate art into the total experience
of visitors to the coast. The committee present-
ed this vision to the Florence City Council at a
work session last week.
On Feb. 17, the Public Art Committee dis-
cussed its goals for public art, its vision state-
ment and a detailed plan for how public art
will work in Florence.
Harlen Springer, committee chairman, pre-
sented the committee’s vision to “integrate art
into the daily life of our community and
inspire extraordinary creative expression that
will enrich public awareness, enhancing the
vitality, economy and diversity of Florence
through the arts.”
The group’s core statement is “Experience
Florence, where every day is a celebration of
the arts.”
“The word ‘experience’ is very important to
us,” Springer said. “Experiencing Florence
through public art means that people come to
town, they touch art, they see it, they walk
around it and it becomes part of the fabric of
Florence.”
The seven-member committee has met 15
times over the past six months. Members
researched other Oregon and national cities
that have focused on creating public art spaces
and put together a 25-page document outlining
policy for the city.
Its mission is to support the arts as a basic
city service to generate economic growth; to
cultivate, exhibit and maintain exceptional
public art for the enjoyment of all; to encour-
age public participation; to provide support to
the arts community; to expand and deepen the
role of the arts in education; to engage in dia-
logue around support of the arts; and to honor
and support artistic vision, excellence and free-
dom of expression.
The policy will be presented formally at the
upcoming March 7 city council meeting at 6
p.m. at Florence City Hall, 250 Highway 101.
City Recorder Kelli Weese, who serves as
the ex-officio city staff representative on the
committee, said, “The public art committee
has spent a lot of time working on their docu-
ments. ... There’s a lot to think about with all
of this. If we’re going to do this, we need to
do it right.”
The committee’s guidelines talk about how
art will be displayed, how it will be selected
for display, the artists’ and the city’s responsi-
bilities, how the art can be sold and the poten-
tial for the city to purchase art based on a pub-
lic vote.
The committee will look at locations for
public art, such as beautifying utilities, paint-
ing murals on the sides of buildings and work-
ing with current landmarks.
It also wants to incorporate public opinion
into the art selection process.
“The point of all of this is to ensure that the
city has a quality, permanent art collection that
our citizens can enjoy forever, or as long as the
art piece works,” Weese said.
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ART 11A
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