T he C olumbia P ress
June 1, 2018
3
Threatened species nesting at Fort Stevens
Courtesy Oregon Parks and Recreation
A pair of western snowy plovers sit on a nest in a protected
area at Nehalem Bay State Park.
The Columbia Press and
media services
Western snowy plover nests
have been found at Fort Ste-
vens State Park, the Oregon
Parks and Recreation De-
partment reported May 25.
Wildlife biologists spotted
nests in Clatsop Spit, the first
to be seen there in decades.
The birds have been listed
as a threatened species since
1993.
“Plovers nesting at Fort Ste-
Mayor’s Message
by Henry Balensifer
Community building for the next decade
In my last Mayor’s Message,
I talked about our city goals
for the coming fiscal year.
Those goals are Community
Building, Vision Plan Update,
Downtown
Improvements
and Emergency Prepared-
ness.
The overarching question
that guided the creation of
these goals was “What de-
cisions can we make now to
ensure Warrenton is a great
place to live and raise a fami-
ly in 10 years?”
As some may already know,
every Monday at 9 a.m., I hold
a constituent coffee at City
Hall. Everyone is welcome
to come. It’s a lot less formal
than a commission meeting,
and it’s a great way to have
frank exchanges about con-
cerns.
A recurring concern has
been nuisance properties.
Nuisance properties are easy
to spot. They’re usually com-
mercial or residential proper-
ties that have junk strewn all
over or, in a more recent case,
a derelict and condemned
house that blights the entry-
way to our city.
Nobody likes living or work-
ing next to a nuisance. They
create public safety hazards
and/or reduce a neighbor-
hood’s attractiveness, which
affects property values.
The best way to abate nui-
sances is for property owners
to take notice and clean up
their properties. If they do
not, the city will send a let-
ter and suggest they clean up
their property.
If the property is not
cleaned up, then the issue
will go before the city com-
mission for a nuisance decla-
ration to compel the property
owner to abate the nuisance
in 10 days. If those 10 days
expire and no appeal is filed,
the city can send in a crew to
clean it up and bill the owner
for the cleanup cost.
If a property owner does not
pay the cleanup costs, then a
lien is placed on the property.
I can only recall one property
where this occurred, and that
was a very special case that
involved federal law enforce-
ment actions as well. In that
case, the city had to absorb
the cost.
I want to point out the
amazing efforts that City
Commissioner Tom Dyer
has taken to work alongside
property owners to abate nui-
sances. In addition to gently
approaching property own-
ers to see if they’d voluntarily
clean up, he’s organized vol-
unteer crews to assist in ef-
forts when necessary. This is
true community building —
neighbors helping neighbors!
In the past year, four prop-
erties have been declared
nuisances, and three have
been cleaned up. The fourth
one was declared just last
week.
The city manager is pro-
posing a matching grant pro-
gram for the Urban Renewal
Advisory Committee’s review
to see if the Warrenton Ur-
ban Renewal Agency could
provide matching funds to
help cover the costs of volun-
tary cleanup. Our Economic
Roadmapping process is just
getting under way, which I
expect will result in the for-
mation of a community ac-
tion team to more formally
assist with cleanups.
If you have not yet taken
our city economic survey, I
earnestly request you take
it. It’s only eight questions
and we are looking for as
much citizen input as possi-
ble. The survey is at: https://
www.surveymonkey.com/r/
VZ3F8FC
vens is a huge step for species
recovery and people who sup-
port a healthy environment,”
said Vanessa Blackstone, a
parks wildlife biologist. “We
can all be proud of this mo-
ment.”
The Columbia River side of
Clatsop Spit is one of several
plover management areas on
the coast.
“Oregonians have helped
plovers return to the North
Coast and Clatsop Spit is an
important link between our
Lincoln County birds and
those that live in Washing-
ton,” Blackstone said.
Nest sightings prompt spe-
cial precautions in designat-
ed management areas.
Beachgoers will see signs on
dry sand that identify desig-
nated nesting areas. It helps
prevent the well-camou-
flaged eggs and chicks from
accidentally being crushed by
people or pets.
Visitor foot traffic is limited
to wet sand areas and along
official trails.
Several activities are re-
stricted in plover manage-
ment areas, including dogs
(even on a leash), vehicles,
kites, drones, camping and
fires. Visitors should follow
instructions on posted signs
or if needed, ask a park rang-
er for clarification.
Plovers nest in dry open
sand, in tiny, shallow scrapes.
Not only are nests easy to
miss (or step on), but repeat-
ed disturbance by activities
the bird considers a threat
can cause the eggs to die.
OPRD is responsible for
managing recreation on Ore-
gon’s ocean shore, overseeing
snowy plover management
areas and the recreation re-
strictions that come with
the legal agreement between
OPRD and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
More information, includ-
ing maps of designated plo-
ver management areas, can
be found at bit.ly/wsplover.