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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017
Officials
from 1A
among the group is unusual.
“We meet regularly in Salem
and
the
communication
between members of the cau-
cus is excellent. It is truly a
group that works well together
and always puts the interests of
our
constituents
first,”
McKeown said.
One of the cornerstones of
the region represented by the
Coastal Caucus is the fishing
industry, which is experiencing
difficult times, particularly in
smaller traditional fishing com-
munities
like
Florence,
Winchester Bay and Coos Bay.
One of the most negatively
impacted parts of the fishing
economy has been the farming
of oysters. A few years ago,
there was an almost total col-
lapse of the industry due to
unexplained deaths of many
coastal oyster beds.
Roblan lives in Coos Bay
and knew first hand the impact
the loss would have up and
down the coast. He also
worked with marine biologists
from the Hatfield Marine
Science Center and educators
from Oregon State University
(OSU) to investigate and iden-
tify the causes of the collapse.
This work spurred the devel-
opment of solutions by intro-
ducing legislation to provide
information to avert future
problems in Oregon fisheries.
“I’ve been involved in a lot
of bills over the years, but this
last session I was involved in
the issue of ocean acidifica-
tion,” Roblan said. “This start-
ed when it was discovered that
we lost almost a complete har-
Dunes City
from 1A
City really wants to be a city.”
The citizens turned out to
protect Dunes City from what
they felt was a danger.
Therefore, the citizens want a
“city” — with systems in place
including police, courts and
community
engagement.
Because of this, the council has
begun to take steps toward
becoming a city.
Forsythe will be speaking
with Mayor Joe Henry and
City Manager Erin Reynolds,
both of Florence, to find out
how the larger city approached
funding and city ordinances.
Dunes City Council will also
look into IGAs with police
services, such as the Florence
Police Department, and pres-
suring Lane County to develop
a plan for court systems.
In the meantime, the city
council, planning commission
and city staff will work on
revising city ordinances, laws
and
the
Dunes
City
Comprehensive Plan.
But they can’t do this on
their own, councilors contend-
ed. They need more help from
the community, not just on
controversial issues.
Regarding the entire mari-
juana debate, Forsythe looks at
it as a growing experience.
“I think it’s a good thing,” he
said. “When we look back on it
in a couple of years, we’ll go,
‘You know what? We did what
we could and we’ll make sure
it’s handled correctly whichev-
er way it goes.’ I trust all of
these guys up here to do things
because it’s the right thing to
do, not because it’s the thing
they want to happen. We’ll
make it work for the communi-
ty.”
vest of oysters a few years ago.
… Scientists at OSU figured
out the problem — as the acidic
levels in the ocean rose, the lit-
tle oyster embryos couldn’t
make shells and they would
just die.”
The solution to the acidity
situation involved the develop-
ment of a new water filter to
reduce the acidification in the
water where embryos develop.
The research that went into dis-
covering the problem was
undertaken at OSU.
Roblan then co-sponsored a
bill to provide solid informa-
tion to state legislators tasked
with ocean oversight in the
future.
Senate Bill (SB) 1039 estab-
lishes the Oregon Coordinating
Council
on
Ocean
Acidification and Hypoxia.
The bill was introduced last
spring and made its way
through the legislative process
over the summer.
In August, the bill was
signed into law. It mandates the
mission and establishment of
the council, which will investi-
gate the effects of climate
change on all aspects of
Oregon fisheries. The multi-
discipline advisory group will
be based at OSU and conduct
field studies from the Hatfield
Marine Science Center.
The marine biologists at the
center will accumulate research
findings and species data that
will serve as a base line to bet-
ter inform members of the leg-
islature on ocean-related
issues.
The council will have 13
members with representatives
from the Governors Office,
Oregon Fish and Wildlife,
Department of Environmental
Quality and the director of
Land
Conservation
and
Development, with additional
members from the fishing
industry and conservation
groups.
This group will now be
responsible for a wide variety
of research projects that affect
coastal communities.
During the town hall, anoth-
er of the main topics was edu-
cation. Both McKeown and
Roblan are former educators,
as McKeown served on the
Coos Bay School Board for 11
years and Roblan is a former
teacher and principal.
Education continues to be a
topic they are both involved
with as they said they are keen-
ly interested in the state’s edu-
cational system.
One of the accomplishments
of the 2017 session cited by
the visiting legislators was
SB 13, which is education
related and will impact many
coastal communities, includ-
ing Florence.
“We recently passed a bill
on Native American educa-
tion so that local tribes can
make decisions about the kind
of knowledge that kids get
about their local tribe,”
Roblan said. “Native tribes
have been here for 10,000
years or more and it would be
good to impart some of the
knowledge that they’ve
learned over the years to the
to kids so they have a better
understanding of the peoples
that live here.”
Oregon Innovation Officer
and Department of Education
Interim Director Colt Gill and
Oregon
Department
of
As for the existing marijua-
na grow operations, Wells felt
that, if the public approves the
ban in November, the city
won’t be faced with the issue
forever.
“They’ll eventually go
away,” he said. “We won’t
have these in Dunes city, even-
tually. When that person is
gone and no longer part of
Dunes City, then that permit is
gone also. And then it will be
up to us to use this knowledge
and prevent any other commer-
cials from coming into town.”
Or, Wells said, the commu-
nity could eventually decide to
accept them.
“If November comes and
people, say, ‘It’s okay, we
don’t mind having commercial
grows here,’ then we have to
instruct staff to figure out
where the heck we can allow
them to be and not be caught
again like we were this time,”
he said.
Until that happens, Forsythe
and Wells advised calm in the
continued discussion surround-
ing marijuana.
“We have to be civil,
whether we agree or disagree,”
Forsythe said. “If not, things
will take their course, but I
don’t tolerate anything in my
life that isn’t a civil interac-
tion.”
Wells continued, “It would
work against our cause if that
started happening. It’s legal.
Do I agree with it? No. But it’s
legal and I would hate to have
any vigilante stuff going on.”
He pointed out that beyond a
very vocal contingent of the
public, the majority of Dunes
City has not been involved
with the marijuana issue.
“There’s the vast majority of
people out there who don’t
come to the meetings, either
side, that just want to live in
Dunes City,” he said.
After the Oct. 25 meeting
where the councilors allowed
the LUCS to remain, Meyer
pointed at the Dunes City Logo
hanging above the council
chamber. It read “Dunes City,
A Nice Place to Live.”
Meyer turned to the council
and smiled, saying, “Even with
all this stuff going on, Dunes
City is still a nice place to
live.”
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