The Columbia Press
1
Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly
www.thecolumbiapress.com
Halloween
haunts are
everywhere
October 30, 2020
Left: The Eighth
Street Dam
looking up-
stream with no
tidegates.
Below, left:
How a normal
high tide affects
property closest
to the dam.
Below, right:
The effects on
property during
a 100-year
storm.
Photo and charts
courtesy USACE
Bats, Spiders, Owls
Talking Tombstones
The popular event hosted by the
Clatsop County Historical Society
won’t be held this year, but if spooky
“living” history is your thing, consider
a drive to Naselle, Wash.
The Finnish-American Society hosts
their town’s version of Talking Tomb-
See ‘Halloween’ on Page 8
Vol. 4, Issue 44
Study: Tidegate would provide minimal storm protection
The Columbia Press
Halloween can be fun no matter on
what day of the week it falls.
But since Halloween 2020 is on a
Saturday, children and many adults
can celebrate plenty without worrying
about getting up for work or school
the next morning.
Following are some of the best ways
to celebrate fall and Halloween. Some
are free, some are pricy and some can
be done from the comfort of one’s easy
chair.
Fort Clatsop has converted its annu-
al nighttime “Bats, Spiders, Owls, Oh
My!” event into a multi-night virtual
activity.
Already posted is an introduction by
Ranger Esther. She explains the ac-
tivity and shows those watching how
to find bats, spiders and owls at the
North Netul Landing shelter.
At 4 p.m. Oct. 30, Ranger Izzy will
share stories about bats, spiders and
owls. Visitors to the park also are
urged to take photos along the park’s
trails and post them on Facebook or
Istagram with the hashtag LCBSO.
To participate, visit the Facebook
page for Lewis and Clark National
Historical Park and click on one of the
videos.
50 ¢
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
A return of tide gates to the Eighth
Street Dam would provide little
to no protection for land owners
during a storm of epic proportions,
according to a study recently com-
pleted by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.
However, tide gates would pro-
tect properties closest to the dam
in a typical storm during a normal
year.
The Skipanon River Flood Study
was completed earlier this year
at the behest of city officials after
much debate.
The Eighth Street Dam
was built in the early 1960s
by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture/Natural
Re-
sources Conservation Ser-
vice. That same year, The
Skipanon Water Control
District was formed and
See ‘Dam’ on Page 4
See more on the Eighth Street Dam
in Mayor Henry Balensifer’s column
on Page 7.
Conservancy receives swath of Warrenton wildland
The Columbia Press
A natural area in the middle of War-
renton will be preserved as part of a
wildlife corridor.
Clatsop County transferred the
Ninth Street Wetland to North Coast
Land Conservancy on Oct. 19.
The 42-acre preserve is part of Alder
Creek watershed, which runs along
Sand Creek to the Columbia River.
It’s adjacent to two other properties
already in the conservancy’s hands:
Sand Creek Wetlands and Gardenia
Wetland.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Warren-
ton City Commissioner Rick Newton
said Wednesday. “For them to take vent flooding, according to NCLC.
it over, that makes perfect
“(It) helps preserve a wild-
sense to me and I believe it
life corridor of more than a
would have been what my fa-
mile in the heart of Warren-
ther wanted.”
ton that is used by elk, small
Much of the property had
mammals, upland birds and
been in Newton’s family and
invertebrates,” the nonprof-
he donated it to the county
it group wrote in a press re-
instead of continuing to pay
lease. “Additionally, Ninth
taxes on what he deemed as
Street Wetland contains sev-
unbuildable land.
eral hundred meters of front-
Newton
The additional land, which
age along Alder Creek, which
runs along both sides of Ninth
is downstream of a property
Street near Warrenton Grade School, with rearing habitat for Lower Co-
doubles the length of a protected
See ‘Wildland’ on Page 4
wildlife corridor and will help pre-