Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2019)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2019 | 7A MURRELET from page 1A Nelson, a researcher at Oregon State University, has been study- ing the marbled murrelet since the 1980s. Often referred to as a mysterious seabird, the murrelet’s nesting behaviors were unknown until about the ‘70s, when the first murrelet nest was found in Cali- fornia. Despite nearly 50 years of study, breeding behavior and other details about the murrelet are still unknown. In fact, it was the last North American bird to have its nest officially discovered. It was 1991 when Nelson and her survey crew were with Paul Engelmeyer, a member of the Portland Audubon Society and a tree climber by profession, who climbed a tree to set up a camera for bird watching. It was then that he found the first murrelet nest in Oregon. Native to the North Pacific, the marbled murrelet has been listed as threatened on the Endangered Spe- cies Act in Washington and Oregon and state-listed as endangered in California since 1992 — and pop- ulations continue to dwindle. For Oregon in 2018, the marbled mur- relet population ranged between 5,800 to 12,000. The Central Oregon Coast has the largest population of murrelets, with Cape Perpetua being home to the largest reserve for murrelets anywhere, according to Nelson. The nearby forests provide good nesting habitats and right offshore of Cape Perpetua is a marine re- serve, which allows fish to survive and grow into prey for seabirds, creating the best scenario for mur- relets. For this reason, Nelson and her team hold the annual commu- nity science survey at Cape Perpet- ua. In addition, every year the team surveys from Alaska to California at the same locations to get a year- by-year comparison for how the murrelet populations are doing — but at the Cape Perpetua location, they invite the public to join. Nelson says this is her favorite part about the surveys. “The murrelet is a mysterious and hard-to-see bird, so for many this might be their only chance to see the bird,” she says. “People get to learn and participate in sci- ence, and it’s really fun to share this knowledge. When someone gets excited about seeing the bird, it’s really fulfilling.” This year, the first survey took PLASTICS from page 1A Precious Plastic, a world- wide movement, essentially provides communities with the tools they need to im- plement a method to deal with excess plastic that they are unable to recycle local- ly. Started by Dave Hakkens in 2013, the Precious Plastic website includes blueprints and informational videos on how to build machines that will shred various plastics, melt the plastic and mold it into reusable items such as bowls, tile backsplashes or anything else that won’t come into contact with heat. Today, there are hundreds of Precious Plastic branches globally that are working to- wards a solution to our plastic pollution, including one here in Florence. “We are using this as a demonstration project to place July 22 to changes in the 23, and the next jet stream don’t one will be July allow for up- 29 to 30. welling. After 30 “The best years of re- ocean condi- searching mar- tions for the bled murrelets, past two years Nelson has only have been down found 78 nests in California — in Oregon. and the worst “It’s hard re- conditions were search and ev- off Oregon and ery year we end Washington,” up with more says Nelson. questions than On land, the answers,” Nel- murrelet only son says. nests on large The team old-growth tree PHOTO COURTESY PHOTO DAN CUSHING AND KIM NELSON, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY annually con- The marbled murrelet is a seabird that dives up to 100 feet into branches in ducts popula- the waters of the Pacific Ocean to catch fish. Numbered at just 6- conifer trees, tion surveys to 12,000 in Oregon, the birds are considered threatened or making old- of murrelets growth forests endangered in California, Oregon and Washington states. during their here in Oregon egg-laying season, which is April faster, thus creating more habit- vital to the murrelet’s survival; the through July. As part of the Oregon able trees for the bird. However, older the tree, the larger and more Marbled Murrelet Project, which is Engelmeyer fears that during this stable the branch. Murrelets don’t funded by the Oregon legislature, time of only 40 percent coverage, actually build nests, but rather mash Nelson and her team focus on de- murrelets will be susceptible to in- moss on large branches to create a mographic monitoring. They go creased predation. nest. The birds fly as far as 50 miles out on OSU’s research vessel, the “I want to err on the side of con- inland to nest and can fly at speeds Pacific Storm, launching out of servation,” says Engelmeyer, who up to 100 mph, which makes bird- Newport and going north or south recommends maintaining a buffer watching for the murrelet a bit of a along the shore at night to briefly or screen that will help keep pred- challenge. capture any murrelets they find for ators of the murrelets out of the Adding to that challenge is the measuring, tagging and tracking newly thinned canopy. fact that murrelets tend to fly during populations. The marbled murrelet is in the low-light times, such as early morn- On land, her team conducts puffin, auks and murres family of ing, in order to avoid being sighted surveys to determine if part of the birds. About the size of a robin and by predators — peregrine falcons, forest is “occupied,” which means weighing about 8 ounces, they have various hawks and owls, ravens, murrelets exhibit behaviors point- a 15- to 20-year lifespan within Steller’s jays, American crows and ing to a possible nest. Behaviors their major ecosystems of both the Canada jays. That’s why Nelson that might indicate a nest include ocean and forest. Murrelets forage surveys the murrelet so early in the circling the area and flying low in the ocean, diving up to 100 feet morning. through the tree canopy, as the to find food such as anchovies and Last Tuesday, the fog made mur- murrelet wouldn’t take these risks crustaceans. relet watching ideal, due to the birds of being hunted by predators with- Nelson says that ocean condi- being forced to fly closer to the out a reason, such as feeding a tions lately have been horrible for ground because of the fog. chick. “I like birds because, if you pay at- murrelets because of a lack of what’s This is crucial research as it de- called “upwelling,” which brings tention, any day is special. It makes termines where Oregon loggers are cold water from the deep ocean my life richer,” says Em Scatterajia, allowed to cut down trees. Cur- towards the surface to replace the a camper at last Tuesday’s survey, rently, logging is a major threat to water that has been pushed away who was eagerly awaiting a marbled the murrelet, which depends on by winds. This cold water is rich murrelet sighting. “I introduced my a dense tree canopy within old- in nutrients that fertilize the sur- two boys to birdwatching when they growth forests to hide them as they face waters, making it perfect for were little. Now, they’re expert bird fly to and from their nests feeding schooling fish to feed, and typically watchers. It’s a way to stay connect- their young. ed to my boys even though they’re occurs in the spring and summer. The Portland Audubon Society, Murrelets feed on these schooling far away.” the Sierra Club and Oregon Wild fish normally within a half mile of Marbled murrelets are unique in brought their concerns about the shore during breeding season. Be- that they don’t begin breeding until reduction of the tree canopy to the cause they can only dive up to 100 two to three years of age, and only Forest Service last week; the Forest feet into the water, they rely on these lay one egg per season — unless the Service is looking to reduce the tree fish coming close to the surface. egg fails early enough in the season, canopy to 40 percent coverage in Research indicates ocean tem- such as May or June, at which point the Deadwood Creek area, begin- peratures are rising, primarily due they will lay another. However, 70 ning near Mapleton. to climate change. This affects the percent of all murrelet nests fail an- Forest Service representatives distribution abundance of prey as nually primarily due to predation, say this reduction helps grow trees warmer water temperatures and and Nelson says this is not sustain- show others that those with an entrepreneurial spirit can take this and run with it. Here’s what can be done with minimal resources and it’s not that difficult. It doesn’t take that much of a capital investment and there’s no reason that plastic cannot be repurposed locally,” said McSweeney, who sees PPF as an example of a long-term solution that can be imple- mented locally and in other communities as a solution to plastic waste. The group in Florence was started by Ruth Miller, Eileen Angilletta, McSweeney and two other women who are no longer involved in the group. “Our steering committee was five women over 50,” McSweeney said. PPF holds a nonprofit sta- tus and debuted at the 2018 Power of Florence, where the group raised $2,300 in di- We’ve got you COVERED rect donations; a donor has pledged to match the first $5,000 they bring in, which means the group has had $4,600 to work with for its first year. “We currently have no way to utilize plastic waste products. Apart from bottles, there is no place to send our recyclable plastics,” McSwee- ney said. PPF aims to fix this. The Precious Plastic web- site also includes access to the worldwide network of Pre- cious Plastic branches, where anyone can sell the plastic shredders to others, exchange ideas or sell the items they’ve made out of recycled plastic. Precious Plastic is a nonprofit and offers resources for any- one who wants to start upcy- cling plastic to do it afford- ably. This is how PPF was able to get started. “We have persevered in the face of some discourage- ment with the slowness of the process. We would like to be able to tell the public, ‘Yes, we make all these things and you can order them on- line’ but we are not there yet,” McSweeney said. “We just really hope that the commu- nity has patience with the slow pace of our progress be- cause it does represent for- ward motion.” With the money PPF raised at last year’s Power of Florence, they were able to order a full-size plastics shredder, which will arrive in August; an injector which melts plastic and injects it into a mold; a hexagonal mold for making tiles; a small shredder for demon- strations with the public; and six months of rented space inside the Florence Maker Space on Kingwood Street, as well as liability insurance for the remainder of the year. “We now have a place to put our equipment when we get it,” McSweeney said. PPF participated in a plas- tics round-up with the Mas- ter Recyclers in September 2018 and again in March of this year, using it as a blue- print for what they hope to help the Florence commu- nity implement within each business • homeowners • auto • life • health • medicare plans A SK US ABOUT M ULTIPLE P OLICY D ISCOUNTS ! COVERAGE FOR YOUR MOST PRECIOUS ASSET. YOU. Contact Angela, Jodi or Paul to discuss your policy needs. Serving Florence since 1990 875 Hwy 101 • Florence, OR • (541) 997-3466 www.AbelInsuranceAgency.com In 2019 we will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of our business in Florence. It is time to express the appreciation and gratitude we feel, and have always felt, for the friendship, trust and loyalty of those who live in this community. It is your confi dence in us and your continued patronage that has made these 80 years such a pleasurable experience. Th ank you. Johnston Motor Company Since 1939 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 able for the population. So far this year, she has found only four nests in Oregon; one con- tains a chick, but the other three have failed. Meg Ruby, another survey attend- ee last Tuesday, says the marbled murrelet is especially interesting to her because of its connection to both the forests and the sea. “The marbled murrelet occupies a special niche of the sea with their food and nesting in the old-growth forests. I find that fascinating,” she says. “I love learning about the eco- systems through birds, and Oregon is rich in ecosystems.” Fortunately, campers were able to spot murrelets easily during Tues- day morning’s survey. “I hear one!” Nelson says. Short- ly after, straight down the middle of the clearing between the trees, a small brown body with pointed wings zooms across. Volunteers who had been waiting anxiously craned their necks, turning in cir- cles slowly to not miss a single angle where a bird could fly by. “Oh wow, there’s one! Oh my gosh there’s three!” Searching for life in the sky, campers spent about two hours helping Nelson to record any detec- tions of murrelets, whether through a sighting or hearing a call. “These birds are important be- cause we know very little about them,” Nelson adds. “It’s exciting when we have new questions and when we continue to learn new things about them.” To participate in the next com- munity survey on July 29 and 30 at the Cape Perpetua Campground, contact Engelmeyer at 541-547- 4227 or Lon Otterby at ottercruz@ aol.com for more information about camping with the group. Because the area provides the ideal land-sea connection, the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve has formed a collaborative with numer- ous state parks, Audubon’s Ten Mile Creek Sanctuary, U.S. Forest service areas such as the Siuslaw National Forest, and many other organiza- tions and sites that provide habitats for seabirds, marine animals, native fish and wildlife. Together, they plan to coordi- nate conservation efforts and help inform the public about the value of the region to Oregon and all its beings. More information on Cape Perpetua and how to get involved can be found at www.oregonmari- nereserves.com/reserves/cape- perpetua/. VICTORIA SANCHEZ/SIUSLAW NEWS Precious Plastics Florence’s booth at Power of Florence helped show residents how they can reduce their plas- tic usage, save plastic waste and recycle it into reus- able products. neighborhood. Because of the recent re- cycling restrictions for the Pacific Northwest, many plastics have to be thrown out, further worsening the Earth’s plastic pollution up- surge. PPF plans to designate willing community members as individual neighborhood organizers who will plan with others in their neigh- borhoods to collect these unrecyclable plastics. Once each neighborhood has a large enough load of plas- tics, they will contact PPF to schedule a drop off. PPF will then shred the plastics, sort them by color and upcycle them into new items. Short-term goals for PPF include educating the public on which plastics are cur- rently able to be recycled by Lane County, helping to im- plement neighborhood plas- tic collections and showing Florence how it can redesign the community’s plastic con- sumption. As for the long-term hori- zon for PPF, plans involve eventually buying an extrud- er that will allow members to make beams out of plas- tic that can be used for park benches and other, larger structures that will benefit the community on a larger scale. “Our goal is to be able to shred any type of cleaned plastic,” Miller said. PPF sees the possibility of Florence being an eco-tour- ist destination, which means tourists visit not only for the food, sites and culture, but also for the fact that the city is focused on finding eco-friendly solutions to the plethora of environmental hazards that currently plague the planet. “If we all did a little, it would make a huge differ- ence,” McSweeney added. This year, PPF set up a booth at the Power of Flor- ence Party in the Parking Lot, where members played the Precious Plastic videos and handed out more in- formation to visitors. They raised $77 and a donor matched that amount for a total of $154 in donations from this year’s Power of Florence — which means their goal of removing plas- tic from Florence’s waste is still on track. For more information on Precious Plastics Florence, visit www.ppflorence.org.
