The
Columbia
Press
Celebrating
our
100th year
• 1922-2022
1
50 ¢
March 4, 2022
503-861-3331
Vol. 6, Issue 9
Saving the canopy, one troubled tree at a time
A juggernaut is on its way to Oregon, and fed-
eral and state government agencies are step-
ping in.
The Oregon Department of Forestry has
been gathering the seeds of Oregon ash from
throughout the state thanks to a grant from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The goal is to preserve its gene pool before
the arrival of a destructive pest that could wipe
out the species.
“This is a first-of-its-kind effort in the long
saga of invasive pests and diseases attacking
North American trees,” said Wyatt Williams,
ODF’s invasive species specialist. “By the time
scientists are funded and able to start looking
for resistance, a large part of the gene pool of
the species being attacked has already been
lost.”
Oregon is fortunate to be able to gather seeds
representing the whole range of Oregon ash
genes ahead of the arrival of emerald ash borer,
he said. The borer will devastate ash trees here
as it has done across the country.
The insect, originally from Asia, first was
found in Michigan in 2002. It has since spread
to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Every-
where it invades, the insect kills almost all of
the ash trees.
Females lay their eggs on ash trees. The lar-
vae then eat tunnels under the bark through
the cambium layer. The tunnels make it im-
See ‘Canopy’ on Page 4
The Columbia Press
22 percent were interested in manufac-
turer licensure, 20 percent were inter-
ested in service center licensure, and 5
percent were interested in testing lab
licensure.
“We saw strong participation from
the community,” said Angie Allbee,
manager of Oregon Psilocybin Services
at OHA. “The survey findings, while
preliminary, help us to better under-
stand community interest in accessing
psilocybin services, in licensure, and
Progress has been made on filling
City Hall staffing positions that have
led to a disruption in some services in
the past year.
Mike Morgan, for-
mer interim city
planner for Astoria
and the former may-
or of Cannon Beach,
has been hired as
interim city planner
for the city of War-
renton. He’ll start
Morgan
March 14.
Applications for city manager were
due Thursday with screening and ini-
tial interviews beginning next week.
“Last I checked in with our consul-
tant last week, they had received nine
applications and expected more over
the weekend,” current City Manager
Linda Engbretson wrote in an email.
“He said there were definitely some
good candidates among the applica-
tions received.”
Engbretson announced her retire-
ment last year and she has been filling
in since September on a temporary
basis. After interviews and back-
ground checks, a new city manager is
expected to be announced April 4.
Engbretson also has moved forward
in hiring a planning technician, a new
post created by the city commission
in its attempts to keep things moving
in the Building and Planning Depart-
ment, and with increasing the budget
for a permanent city planner.
“The next city manager will need to
move that forward how they see fit –
keep complex projects with a consul-
tant or hire the planner,” Engbretson
See ‘Psilocybin’ on Page 3
See ‘Staffing’ on Page 2
Above: A forestry worker
collects seed from wild
Oregon ash trees north of
Salem as part of an effort
to preserve the species’
genes before the emerald
ash borer arrives.
Photo by ODF
Right: Workers walk
through a grove of red
alder in the Nehalem Wa-
tershed.
Courtesy Nehalem
Watershed Council
Oregonians appear ready for psilocybin, survey says
Ninety-four percent of Oregonians
say they’d access psilocybin services
once they become available in the next
year, according to results of a survey is-
sued by the Oregon Health Authority.
The survey was conducted during
January and February with results re-
leased Wednesday.
Results of the survey show that of the
4,421 people who participated, 4,162,
or 94 percent, were interested in ac-
cessing psilocybin services. The survey
also found that about 15 percent were
interested in getting approval for a fa-
Warrenton hires
interim planner,
makes progress
on CM position
Medicinal mushrooms grown at a farm
in the Netherlands.
cilitator training program, 36 percent
were interested in facilitator licensure,