THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
SATURDAY EDITION | MARCH 28, 2020 | $1.00
Shorebird nesting season begins
Snowy plover nesting areas are restricted from beachgoers
Sports &
Recreation
Calendar
All sporting
activities
at Siuslaw
and
Mapleton
high schools
have been
cancelled
through
April 28
Beachgoers are urged to
help recovery efforts of the
threatened western snowy
plover by staying on the wet
sand at snowy plover beaches
during nesting season, which
began March 15 and continues
through Sept. 15.
Beachgoers will see signs
and ropes that identify sensi-
tive plover nesting areas and
list restrictions to protect the
small shorebirds during this
period.
Plover beaches remain open
to foot and equestrian traffic
on wet, packed sand through-
out nesting season. All other
recreation on plover beaches is
off limits on both wet and dry
sand, include walking your
SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTO
Western snowy plover
nesting continues through
Sept. 15 along some areas
of Oregon beaches.
dog (even on a leash), driv-
ing a vehicle, riding a bicycle,
camping, fires and flying kites
or drones.
“We’re making great strides
in reversing the downward
slide of this species,” said Cin-
dy Burns, Siuslaw National
Forest wildlife biologist. “But
it takes all of us, so we urge
people to do their part to un-
derstand nesting season rules
and to share the beach this
spring and summer.”
These small birds nest on
open sand along Oregon’s
beaches. Nests, and especially
chicks, are well-camouflaged.
During nesting season, hu-
man disturbances can flush
adult plovers away from their
nests as they attempt to de-
fend their young from the per-
ceived predator.
Left alone too long, or too
See
PLOVER 2B
Tide Tables
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
March 28
2:50am / 7.0
3:45pm / 5.9
9:32am / 0.6
9:19pm / 2.5
March 29
3:19am / 6.9
4:35pm / 5.6
10:14am / 0.7
9:53pm / 3.0
COURTESY PHOTO
Staying active while social distancing is important for physical and emotional health.
March 30
3:53am / 6.8
5:37pm / 5.2
11:04am / 0.8
10:36pm / 3.5
S TAYING ACTIVE WHILE STAYING AT HOME
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
March 31
4:38am / 6.6
6:52pm / 5.1
Siuslaw News
12:04am / 0.8
11:38pm / 3.7
April 1
5:39am / 6.5
8:11pm/ 5.2
1:14pm/ 0.8
April 2
6:56am / 6.4
9:17pm / 6.2
1:04am / 3.8
2:25pm / 0.5
April 3
8:16am / 6.6
10:08pm/ 6.0
2:31am/ 3.5
3:27pm/ 0.2
ODFW R EGIONAL F ISHING
R EPORT
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
COVID-19 precautions
• To help protect you and oth-
ers during the COVID-19 pan-
demic, take the following precau-
tions when fishing: follow social
distancing guidelines when bank
fishing, only fish from a boat with
other members of your house-
hold, carry your own hand
sani-tizer or soap/water, and, if a
place is crowded, go somewhere
else.
• Anglers have been catching
striped bass in the upper portions
of tidewater of the Coquille River.
Most of the fish are 20 – 26 inch-
es long.
• Fishing for recently stocked
and holdover trout has been good
in several area lakes and reser-
voirs including Ben Irving
See
FISHING 3B
O
regonians are being
asked to “Stay Home,
Stay Safe” right now.
While many group activities
are being postponed and can-
celed, local personal trainers
are stepping in to keep peo-
ple moving.
“Be active and take all the
precautions you can to main-
tain optimum health,” wrote
Coastal Fitness & Aquatics
owners Jim and Deena
Mitchell on www.mycoastal
fitness.com in a letter
announcing the fitness cen-
ter’s temporary closure.
American Heart
Association recommends
adults get at least 150 min-
utes of moderate-intensity
aerobic activity every week.
Coastal Fitness’ Facebook
page shows several ways that
people can try “virtual fit-
ness.” This includes Zumba
classes via YouTube, Pilates
lessons from the beach and
potentially an online yoga
class.
In addition, kids and fami-
lies involved in gymnastics
are invited to join the
“Coastal Fitness Gymnastics”
group for stretching and
strengthening techniques.
Additional exercises and
posts from individual teach-
ers will also be posted
throughout the gym’s closure.
“Please keep moving!” the
Mitchells wrote on Facebook.
“Exercise is the key to reduc-
ing stress and boosting your
immune system. … Please
stay connected and tell us
how we might help you keep
moving.”
Other options for people
to keep moving are short
walks around neighborhoods,
choosing to bike or walk
when they do go to the store
and short stints of exercising,
stretching or weight-lifting at
home.
Tracy L. Merkley, local
personal trainer and author,
is hosting group classes and
private training sessions via
Zoom Video
Communications, an app for
computer or mobile device
that allows for video confer-
encing. People can purchase
these trainings through www.
tracyspersonaltraining.com.
“I hope everyone is doing
OK with the crazy and tough
world situation,” Markley
said on the “Tracy Markley’s
Fitness” Facebook page. You
all are aware that most fitness
studios had to shut down for
a time being. (These classes)
will be like old times, but
with social distancing.”
Below are some tips gath-
ered from Metro Creative
Connection on how to work
out at home:
Body weight exercises
Body weight exercises
include push-ups, planks,
squats and lunges.
Alternating incline and po-si-
tioning of the body when
performing some of these
exercises is a great way to
work various muscle groups.
Get outdoors for cardio
A mix of cardiovascular
activity, which puts a strain
on the heart and lungs to
build up stamina, can help
people lose weight when
See
ACTIVE 3B
T IME
O UT
By Lloyd Little
Retired teacher, coach and
game offi cial
With more than55 years as an
athlete, coach, parent and
spectator, Lloyd Little has gained
some insights and perspectives
regarding athletics. He shares what
he's learned about sports from his
multiple points of view.
Situational Substitutions
Major League Baseball and
the National Football League
have enough talented players
to make substituting one play-
er during certain times be ben-
efi cial to their off enses or their
defense.
Terms used for these players
are: pitch hitter, relief pitcher,
third-down back, designated
pass rusher — to name just a
few.
As the terms suggest, these
substitutes are deemed better
during those game situations
than the person they go in to
play for. Th e substituting in of
these players can alter the re-
sults of the play.
Th e Siuslaw and Mapleton
High School football and base-
ball teams, as well as the ma-
jority of small high schools, are
limited to their substitutions.
Most high schools just do
not have specialized position
players. Th e players in high
school are asked to make plays
during all situations. I am sure
there are some players moved
around to diff erent responsi-
bilities but not having another
player coming into the game to
replace them.
Many high schools use spe-
cial teams to give the starting
off ense and defense players
a chance to rest or talk strat-
egy. My football positions as
a senior at Warrenton High
School kept me on the fi eld the
entire game. On off ense, I went
from quarterback to punter on
fourth down.
When we scored, I became
the place kicker. I would then
kick off for the Warriors and
took my defensive position as
middle linebacker.
When the other team punt-
ed, I would drop back as the
punt returner. If they scored,
I would be one of two-deep
kickoff return players. No rest,
but I did not want any down
time.
My versatility kept me on
the fi eld while playing for Pa-
cifi c University. By the time I
graduated, I had played quar-
terback, receiver, punt return-
er, safety, kicked extra points
and one fi eld goal, and was on
the kick-off team. Th e idea of
replacing players for a particu-
lar situation was foreign to me.
Baseball also has its share of
situational substitutions. Once
again, MLB has plenty of po-
tential players to use for their
games. Pitch hitters are used to
face off handed pitchers. Pinch
runners replace slow runners
in late inning close games. Re-
lief pitchers are used to pitch to
like handed batters.
A left -handed pitcher is
brought in to pitch to a left -sid-
ed batter and right-to
See
LITTLE 3B
O REGON JOINS W ASHINGTON IN CLOSING C OLUMBIA FISHERIES
Following the announce-
ment Wednesday (March 25)
by the Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
that it will close all recreational
fisheries in the state of
Washington, the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife announced that it will
close recreational salmon and
steelhead in the Columbia
River, effective last Thursday,
March 26.
In a press release distributed
Wednesday afternoon, the
Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
announced its decision to tem-
porarily close recreational fish-
ing and shellfishing statewide
in the wake of Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee’s order on
actions to limit the spread of
coronavirus (COVID-19.)
Oregon and Washington
jointly manage fisheries in the
mainstem Columbia River bor-
dering both states and seek to
have concurrent regulations.
At this time, other ongoing
fisheries in Oregon remain
unchanged, and fishing for
species other than salmon and
steelhead will still be allowed in
Oregon portions of the
Columbia River as described in
permanent rules.
Anglers are reminded to fol-
low the rules for social distanc-
ing and maintain at least 6 feet
of distance from other people
and minimize non-essential
travel, as directed in an execu-
tive order issued earlier this
week by Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown.
ODFW also asks that anglers
and the public help ensure the
safety of ODFW employees
they may encounter in the field
who are doing their jobs by
maintaining adequate social
distance.
As with the Washington clo-
sure, ODFW anticipates the
Columbia River salmon and
steelhead fishing closure last-
ing at least until April 8.