Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2018)
March 2, 2018 T he C olumbia P ress 5 Coastal science on the menu at weekend conference Sharing the Coast, a confer- ence on coastal science and stewardship, is set this week- end, March 2-4, in Cannon Beach. The 10-year-old conference is a collaboration of Oregon Shores Conservation Coali- tion, Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators and Hay- stack Rock Awareness Pro- gram. All activities aside from field trips and a Saturday evening party take place at Can- and new research into non Beach Community restoring their num- Hall, 207 Spruce St. bers. The opening night Pre-register online event, a talk on sea ot- or register at the door. ters at 7 p.m. Friday, Conference fees are is free and open to the $45. public. Saturday’s confer- Bailey Bob Bailey, former ence includes talks on director of Oregon’s Coastal the Oregon Marine Mam- Management Program, dis- mal Stranding Network, the cusses the history of the sea natural history of organisms otter’s extinction in Oregon, sometimes found washed up the ecological consequences on shore, the value and prac- Tide gates: City deals with fish-passage quandary Continued from Page 1 structure that failed on the McDonald Slough, soaking his fields with salt water. The solution was a $1.5 million fish-friendly struc- ture that opens quicker, stays open longer and doesn’t close until the tide reaches a certain level. Bruce Francis, vice chair- man of the Skipanon Water Control District, listened to the presentation and was pleased with what he heard. The city of Warrenton has been at odds with the water control district and thwarted the district’s plans to have the dam decommissioned and replaced by a bridge. Some city leaders are con- cerned about residents who experience flooding and ero- sion during high tides. “We’re waiting for the city to come to us and say, ‘OK, we’ve realized the error of our ways and we wish to work with you,’” Francis said. “We’d like to get back to where we were two years ago, getting the MOU (a memo- randum of understanding, or agreement) to remove the dam and put in a bridge and then we’d dedicate the bridge to the city and get out of there.” Some residents contend that the tide gates need to be maintained to keep from flooding the town, he said. “The structure is more of a hindrance and liability than it is an asset.” The state is especially inter- ested in structures that block fish movement in estuarine areas, Francis said, because there are abundant fish active here year-round. Apke’s office is mapping all the state’s tide gates and their effectiveness. “It’s something near and dear to my heart and to our state’s heart and that’s fish passage,” Apke said. “I’m here to bring some solutions. … The issue here in this com- munity is no different than the issue in every other neigh- boring community.” The Eighth Street Dam was built in the early 1960s by the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture/Natural Resources Con- servation Service. Tide gates lock into place when tides are high, stopping the flow of water upstream. But as the tide subsides, the gates open, allowing water captured above it to freely flow out. The Eighth Street Dam’s tide gates first were operated in an open position in 2002, kept in an open position be- ginning in 2012 and removed by Skipanon Water Control District in 2015. Warrenton has other tide gates in the city that are aging and need maintenance. tice of citizen science and a talk on citizen contributions to our knowledge of shore- birds and seabirds by Joe Liebezeit of Port- land Audubon. An after-party, fea- turing an ocean and coast trivia contest, starts at 5:30 p.m. Melissa Keyser/courtesy Sharing the Coast Saturday at Public A group gets a lesson on tidepools at Haystack Coast Brewery. Rock. Sunday’s activities include a tidepool walk at for the Coastal Observation Haystack Rock (weather al- and Seabird Survey Team lowing), a series of short talks beached-bird survey. For more information, about citizen science, then contact Fawn Custer, Coast- more beach field trips. Watch volunteer coordinator, Alternatively, there will be at 541-270-0027, or Melissa the opportunity to participate Keyser at 503-436-8060. in a full-day training session
