The
Columbia
Press
Celebrating
our
100th year
• 1922-2022
1
50 ¢
February 11, 2022
503-861-3331
Vol. 6, Issue 6
Find out if birds of a feather flock together Faulty tide gate
may be cause of
The Columbia Press
airport flooding
The Great Backyard Bird Count,
the event where people around the
world count and report on the birds
they see, begins next week.
The Lewis and Clark National
Historical Park hopes locals will
participate in this annual event.
Along with actual bird-counting
activities, the park will share other
bird-related activities.
• The “Great Pink Heron Scaven-
ger Hunt” is a self-guided hunt on
the Netul Trail along the Lewis and
Clark River. Participants will search
for local birds with the elusive pink
heron used as an example.
• A “Birds of Fort Clatsop” display
can be viewed in the visitor center
most of February. Binoculars will
be available for loan within the
park.
• A variety of bird field guides and
bird-themed items are available for
purchase in the Fort Clatsop Book-
store, which is operated by the
Lewis & Clark National Park Asso-
ciation, the park’s nonprofit educa-
tion partner.
The international bird count,
which runs Feb. 18 through 21, is in
See ‘Birds’ on Page 6
The Columbia Press
A great blue heron surveys Skipanon
Marina from a perch on the embank-
ment.
Photo by Cindy Yingst
Right: The red-breasted merganser
is the poster child for this year’s Great
Backyard Bird Count.
Courtesy Lewis & Clark NHP
Flooding at Warrenton-Astoria Re-
gional Airport is damaging roads and
other structures and could prevent
further development at the Port of
Astoria’s Airport Industrial Park.
High water levels have made some
roads nearly impassable and sent
thousands of gallons of stormwater
into the city of Warrenton’s already
overtaxed water treatment plant.
Last year, the port replaced much of
the airport’s sewer system to prevent
stormwater from seeping in.
But surface flooding still is an issue,
said Matt McGrath, deputy director
of the Port of Astoria.
A project completed within the past
decade on the Vera Slough tide gate is
the primary suspect.
The Vera Slough tide gate is at the
north end of the airport near Youngs
Bay Bridge.
“The problems didn’t start until af-
ter the tide gate was gone over,” Mc-
Grath said. “The idea was to create a
more fish-friendly habitat … to raise
See ‘Airport’ on Page 4