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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2018)
June 1, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A ‘The Galapagos island of Oregon’ By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette A bout $1 million has been raised through private donations and grants to transform forested land behind Arch Cape into a rainforest preserve and protected water- shed. After committing in No- vember 2016 to purchase 3,500 acres of rainforest above Oswald West State Park for conservation, the $1 million mark sets the North Coast Land Conservancy on track in a five-year fundraising cam- paign to raise $10 million to buy the land from Ecotrust Forest Management, which is managing the property until that goal is met. Arch Cape also hopes to turn another 2,100 acres of this land into a community forest, a project born out of the desire to protect the town’s watershed. Dozens of people repre- senting the forestry industry, parks service, U.S. Forest Ser- vice and environmental advo- cacy groups toured this terrain last week as a part of the re- gional Community Forest Fo- rum. The tour is one of many to come as the land trust works to drum up public interest to raise funds. The goal is to protect what is considered a culturally and ecologically unique environ- ment for generations, said Ka- tie Voelke, the conservancy’s executive director. Because of the way the land was formed millions of years ago, there are some species of wildlife that are unique to just a few peaks along this coastal range. “In a way it’s like the Gala- pagos island of Oregon,” Voel- ke said. It will also be the first place in Oregon, and one of few places in the world, where an entire coastal watershed is per- manently conserved, from the headwaters to the ocean. The land trust hopes to have $3 million more in donations and FLOORING CCB# 205283 y ou ou r r w ep alk ut o at n io n Flooring Installation 3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102 • Gearhart, Oregon 503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com BRENNA VISSER/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Katie Voelke, executive director of the North Coast Land Conservancy, gives a presen- tation about the Rainforest Reserve with Amrita Vatsal, managing director of Ecotrust Forest Management. pledges by year’s end. “When this is successful, it will make a model for other small communities to protect their water. It sounds impos- sible — raise $10 million, buy the land, manage the land,” Voelke said. “But we know it’s possible because anyone we tell this story to always talks about how much they want it to happen.” Discussion of creating the Arch Cape community forest intensified about three years ago after coastal communities with industrial timber opera- tions in their watershed areas started to notice water quality issues, Oregon Coast Alliance President Mike Manzulli said in November. In Arch Cape, the water district is working with the conservancy and the envi- ronmental group Sustainable Northwest to raise enough money to buy their portion of the land, with a fundraising goal that fluctuates with timber prices. The idea behind a com- munity-owned forest is that residents can make different management decisions, like re- quire larger buffers that would prevent stream contamination, ban pesticides and select-cut trees for revenue that goes straight to the community. But acquiring a community forest has been a slow, method- ical process. Arch Cape Water District is still in the running for a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service to pur- chase the land, and recently se- cured about $33,000 from the Oregon Watershed Enhance- ment Board to finance an out- reach coordinator to organize public outreach for the project. But one of the biggest roadblocks to transitioning the community forest concept from an idea into reality is finding enough donations to close the gap between public grant dollars and the matches they usually require, said Ben Dair, senior manager of con- servation finance at Sustain- able Northwest. Getting com- munity donations is critical to help fund associated costs with projects like these, including writing forest management plans, legal fees and hiring forestry crews to do timber in- ventories. Community forest models are common in other parts of the country, but fairly uncom- mon in the Pacific Northwest. A strategic plan outlining a larger financing strategy will be released later this summer. “This is a long tradition in the Northeast, and we’re just starting to have a movement on the West Coast,” Dair said. “We’re really eager to share lessons learned.” Tours are an important tool to help the community feel engaged with the project first- hand, Dair said. “Often when we’re down below we don’t see (this unique geology), and it really helps develop the story of this place and helps people devel- op a personal relationship with the land,” Dair said. “We may be neighbors, but until you walk around the watershed with the trees up close, it’s ab- stract. So we’re trying to make it real for people.” CONSTRUCTION B oB M c E wan c onstruction , inc . E xcavation • u ndErground u tiitiEs r oad w ork • F ill M atErial s itE P rEParation • r ock owned and operated by M ike and C eline M C e wan 503-738-3569 34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR S erving the p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302 LANDSCAPING Laurelwood Compost • Mulch • Planting MacMix Soil Amendments YARD DEBRIS DROP-OFF (no Scotch Broom) 503-717-1454 34154 HIGHWAY 26 SEASIDE, OR Laurelwood Farm TREE REMOVAL HIGH CLIMBING DANGER TREES PRUNING STUMP GRINDING JUSTIN J. DAY Site permits await as school district prepares for a June groundbreaking School from Page 1A with an access road, parking, drop-off and track field. Henry said school district representatives were still working with the city’s public works director Dale McDow- ell and city planner Kevin Cupples in understanding util- ities, managing the reservoir, interagency agreements and bid packages coming up. Some costs, such as road upgrades, pump station and water tank, are yet unfunded, with the water tank estimated at a $6 million cost. The sum is included in the Seaside city 2018-19 budget, but City Manager Mark Win- stanley said he expects the school district will pay some of the costs. “Here is where we start the conversation,” Winstanley said in April. Department of Environmen- tal Quality. “We’re hoping to have a groundbreaking in June,” Henry said. (503) 338-5780 Warrenton, Oregon Licensed Bonded Insured CCB# 214256 WA#QUALITR831PO CONSTRUCTION Meet the contractor COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Seaside School Board members recently toured the school construction site that is still in the process of being logged. Other site permits await. Wetlands approval from the Department of State Lands and U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers is expected July 1, Hen- ry said. The corps will deter- Community welcome to annual picnic at Circle Creek Center Pack a picnic and join sup- porters of North Coast Land Conservancy at Circle Creek Conservation Center in Sea- side on Saturday, June 16, for the third annual Summer Picnic at the Barn. It’s an op- portunity to spend time with friends, take a guided tour of the trails, and enjoy this large conserved property at the foot of Tillamook Head a few days F REE E STIMATES before the summer solstice. No admission fee; all are wel- come. Guided walks on the trails at Circle Creek will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Circle Creek Conservation Center is at the end of Rippet Road in Seaside on the west side of U.S. Highway 101. More details are posted at NCLCtrust.org. mine the type and amount of mitigation necessary to offset environmental losses from the proposed project. The district also antici- pates notification from the Local contractors are invit- ed by Hoffman Construction Co. to a “meet the contractor” event. Hosted by Hoffman, with the Clatsop Econom- ic Development Resources and the Seaside Chamber of Commerce, the event will provide local subcontractors and businesses specifics about the project, timetables, and subcontractor and bidding op- portunities. The event takes place at the Clatsop Commu- nity College South Campus Tuesday, 1455 N. Roosevelt Drive, on June 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. To attend, contact cary- bubenik@hoffmancorp.com or call 503-329-1002. Dining on the North Coast Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Great Great Homemade Breakfast, lunch and pasta, Clam but that’s dinner steaks & Chowder, not all... menu,too! seafood! Salads! Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days) Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily) Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144 NORMA’S SEAFOOD & STEAK 20 N. Columbia, Seaside 503-738-4331 239 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach • 503.436.0208 Since 1976 discriminating diners have sought out this Seaside landmark. There’s a chalkboard fresh catchlist, exclusively natural Angus beef and a great regional wine list as well as local microbrews. From Steak & Lobster to Fish & Chips (and Chowder to die for) - this is worth the drive! 11am-10pm daily. Visit www.normasseaside.com “Helping shape the character of Cannon Beach since 1973” Residential • Commercial • Remodeling New Construction • Storm Damage Repair Full Service Custom Cabinet Shop 503.436.2235 www.coasterconstruction.com • CCB# 150126 LAWN CARE Free Estimates • Storm Clean-Up JIM’S LAWN CARE 503-325-2445 LAWNS • SHRUBS • GUTTER CLEANING BARK • BRUSH CLEARING & REMOVAL WEEDING • HAULING • MONTHLY RATES PAINTING Randy Anderson Licensed • Bonded • Insured CCB# 89453 36 Years Experience Anderson Painting (503) 738-9989 • Cell (503) 440-2411 • Fax (503) 738-9337 PO Box 140 Seaside, Oregon 97138 www.andersonpainting.biz “Custom Finishing” PAINTING STORAGE AVAILABLE CANNON BEACH BUSINESS PARK 10’ x 10’ Heated Contact Holly at 503-436-2235
