T he C olumbia P ress
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C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly
www.thecolumbiapress.com
Study could
bring help for
oyster industry
What’s good for
shellfish benefits all
fish, scientist says
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
A study that’s expected to improve
conditions for shellfish in Willapa Bay
and Grays Harbor will also benefit the
commercial fishing industry through-
out the Columbia Pacific basin, accord-
ing to the scientist leading the study.
“A healthy embayment that can grow
healthy oysters and clams gives mas-
sive benefits for better productivity
of all the other critters,” said Wayne
Wright, the project manager leading
the study.
“What happens at the
bottom of the bay is im-
portant to the entirety of
it, to the health of the em-
bayment.”
Embayment is the land
and sediment that form a
bay.
Late last month, Wright’s Wright
company, Canadian-based
Stantec, was hired to conduct the
$460,000 study of the two bays.
Oysters and clams are filter feeders
that remove harmful algae from the
water, Wright said. The region’s valu-
able salmon and other fisheries require
a healthy filtration process for their
own sustainability.
Stantec is conducting the Twin Har-
bors Sediment Study in partnership
with the National Fisheries Conserva-
tion Center. The project will help de-
termine how water flow impacts the
oyster industry.
Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor are
among the most productive shellfish
See ‘Shellfish’ on Page 4
February 21, 2020
Vol. 4, Issue 8
South Jetty reconstruction begins
A graphic from the
Army Corps of En-
gineers shows the
jetties at the mouth
of the Columbia.
Below: The parking
lot remains open
adjacent to the
South Jetty viewing
platform, but con-
struction is under
way behind the
fences north of the
parking lot.
Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
2020-
2024
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
Construction traffic will increase
through town in the next few months
as preliminary work begins on the
massive South Jetty project.
“There will be a little more trucking
activity up front,” said Scott Vande-
grift, vice president of J.E. McAmis.
“A lot of the materials coming across
right now are to prepare the site for
this first system of building a barge
off-loading facility.”
The off-shore dock will take in
400,000 tons of rock – each of them
4 to 40 tons -- for use in shoring up
the jetty.
McAmis won the $140.7 million
contract to repair South Jetty. The
company, based in Chico, Calif.,
was founded by John McAmis, a
See ‘Jetty’ on Page 6
Scandinavian Festival court announced for 2020
A Warrenton High School
years ago and is of Danish,
senior and three Astoria teens
Norwegian, and Swedish de-
have been named to the Asto-
scent. Lila is a sophomore
ria Scandinavian Midsummer
at Astoria High School, and
Festival court for 2020.
she enjoys longboarding and
Kaisa Liljenwall is Miss Swe-
hanging out with her friends
den. After graduating from
and her dog, Ruby. She plays
WHS, Kaisa plans to study en-
the piano and loves to ski.
Kaisa
Lila June
Emma
Elle
vironmental engineering and
Emma Biederman is Miss
Spanish with the goal of being an en- summer. She was Junior Miss Swe- Finland. Her heritage comes from her
gineer for the Peace Corps. She has den in 2010.
maternal grandmother, who was 100
Lila June Anderson is Miss Den-
traveled to Europe twice, loves to ski
See ‘Court’ on Page 3
in the winter, and backpack in the mark. She moved to Astoria 2 1/2