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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017
Siuslaw 14U team brings home tourney title
The 14U Gold team
includes: head coach
is Kari Blake, assistant
coach Travis Blake,
Hannah Crader,
Savannah Colton,
Emily Edmond, Brea
Blankenship, Lindsey
Long and Kya Blake.
The Siuslaw Club
Volleyball 14U Gold Team
struck tournament gold last
Sunday, Feb. 12, at McKay
High School in Salem, dur-
ing the regular-season
Power League tournament.
The team overcame more
than its opponents to take
the title, including having
just six players available to
due illness and injury.
Competing in a 2-games-
to-25-points format, with a
third game tiebreaker to 15
points, The Siuslaw Gold
Team swept both games in
each of its three qualifying
matches, advancing them to
brackets play. From there,
they went undefeated to
earn the championship after
never having to play in a
tiebreaker throughout the
tournament.
“With only six girls play-
ing, it meant no subs to
COURTESY PHOTO
RECOVERY PLAN AIMS FOR DELISTING
NOAA Fisheries
have
released a recovery plan for
Oregon Coast coho salmon that
calls for public-private partner-
ships to conserve habitat for the
threatened species, positioning
coho for possible removal from
the federal list of threatened
and endangered species within
the next 10 years.
If the plan is successful,
Oregon Coast coho could
become the first of 28 threat-
ened and endangered species of
salmon and steelhead on the
West Coast to recover to the
point they can be delisted from
the Endangered Species Act.
“We can see that recovery is
in reach for Oregon Coast
coho, which is a testament to
the hard work by the state,
coastal communities and
landowners to restore habitat
and reduce threats from hatch-
eries and harvest,” said Barry
Thom, Regional Administrator
of NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast
Region. “Strong partnerships
have brought us this far, and
they will be critical to get the
rest of the way to delisting.”
As many as one to two mil-
lion coho once returned to
rivers and streams on the
Oregon Coast, supporting fish-
eries that helped anchor local
economies. Intensive fishing
and heavy logging through the
1900s contributed to declines,
and the number of spawning
adults dropped below 15,000 in
the 1980s.
NOAA Fisheries initially
listed Oregon Coast coho as a
threatened species in 1998.
The condition of the species
has since improved as state fish
and wildlife officials reduced
the risks posed by harvest and
hatcheries. Partnerships bridg-
ing state, local, tribal and feder-
al levels have helped imple-
ment projects to reopen and
improve habitat.
Recent numbers have ranged
from more than 350,000
spawning adults in 2011 and
2014, dropping back to 57,000
in 2015.
The threats still affecting
coho include degraded habitat,
especially the loss of floodplain
Flood conditions means caution for boaters
Last week’s historic snow-
fall and the projected warm,
wet forecast this week sets up
the perfect scenario for poten-
tial flooding on area rivers.
With flooding comes debris
flows with trees, root wads,
and other material that can
impact the safety of boaters on
the water. The Oregon Marine
Board and marine law enforce-
ment strongly urge boaters to
take the following precautions:
• Make sure the boat ramp is
open for launching.
The Marine Board is work-
ing closely with facility man-
agers and will include closure
Viks
information on the Boat
Oregon Map.
• Scout the river before run-
ning it. Rivers are dynamic,
and don’t stay the same over
time. Boulders and logs move,
trees fall and currents shift.
When in doubt — scout and
portage out.
• Wear a life jacket. Given
the water temperature and
equally cold air temperature,
boaters are encouraged to wear
a properly fitting life jacket on
the outside of their cold weath-
er attire.
• Boat with others and stay
within sight of one another.
• Know your limits and how
to self-rescue. Be sure your
skills and experience are equal
to the river and the conditions.
• Fill out a digital float plan
and print out a copy to let oth-
ers know where you are boat-
ing and when to expect your
return. The digital form, when
submitted, sends an email to
the Marine Board that can be
used later to aid marine law
enforcement should a boater
need help.
Visit www.boatoregon.com
and click on the Boat Oregon
Map.
from 1B
top scorer this season, had 5
points in the game but played
a key role in pressuring the
ball and creating opportuni-
ties for the Viking offense.
In scoring, King led with
12 points, followed by
Cornish and Hickson with 10
points each. Freshman post
Sam Myers had a season-
high 9 points and senior
Marcos Reyna-Ayala had 3
points.
That same night, North
Bend (8-0) clinched the
league title after defeating
Marshfield.
The win put Siuslaw, 4-4,
in a three-way tie once again
for second place with
Marshfield and Douglas, who
the Viks played last night
(after press deadlines.)
Friday, the Vikings will
host the Bulldogs in what
could be a crucial game to
decide Siuslaw’s fate in
reaching the playoffs.
Tipoff for Friday’s final
league game, which will also
be Senior Night, is set for
7:30 p.m.
Visit the Siuslaw News
online at
WWW.THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
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habitat where many juvenile
coho spend their first year
growing before migrating to the
ocean.
A lack of large wood in
rivers that provides rearing
habitat for young fish is also a
factor. Reduced water quality
and barriers such as culverts
that block migrating fish pose
continuing threats.
“The best available science
tells us that habitat is the bot-
tom line in stabilizing and
rebuilding coho to the point
they can sustain themselves,”
said Rob Walton, recovery
coordinator
for
NOAA
Fisheries’ West Coast Region in
western Oregon. Coho remain
vulnerable to the effects of cli-
O REGON
mate change on the rivers and
streams where they spawn and
rear, but improved habitat can
help mitigate those impacts.
The plan is voluntary, not
regulatory, and hinges on local
support and collaboration.
Coho recovery, and ultimately
delisting, will depend in large
part on voluntary actions by
partners implementing the
recovery plan, complemented
by regulatory protections under
the Endangered Species Act
and other state and local direc-
tives.
The plan promotes a network
of partnerships that integrate
the needs of Oregon Coast coho
with the needs of coastal com-
munities.
COHO
“The plan recognizes the
critical role of local landowners
and communities in bringing
about recovery,” said Guido
Rahr, president and CEO of the
Wild Salmon Center in
Portland, which is leading
development of a business plan
to guide local recovery meas-
ures. “We all must be part of a
solution that will deliver multi-
ple benefits for Oregon in the
form of resilient communities,
improved habitat and healthy
fish populations.”
For more details and to view
the recovery plan, visit NOAA
Fisheries West Coast Region
website at www.go.usa.gov/
x8w53.
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
NOAA
give anyone a break,”
said Siuslaw Gold
coach Kari Blake.
“Some of these girls
play certain positions,
this again meant that
everyone had to play
every position.
“I must say it was the
best Siuslaw Club tour-
nament performance I
have ever seen.”