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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2018)
8A • November 2, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com EARTHQUAKE ALLEY A cluster of earthquakes is a reminder to be prepared By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette S ince mid-July, several earth- quakes have rumbled off the Pacific coast, an uncomfort- able reminder to get prepared for the Big One. This month, a cluster of quakes rang- ing from magnitude 6.5 to 6.8 hit off Van- couver Island in British Columbia, with a 4.5 magnitude temblor striking 171 miles and 6 miles deep off the southern Oregon Coast shortly after. Similar earthquakes near Bandon have registered multiple times throughout the summer, including a 6.2 quake in late August. While seismic activity along the North Coast has been relatively quiet, some of the shaking — and the fear of wheth- er these earthquakes are indicators that a Cascadia Subduction Zone disaster is coming — has been felt by residents. Though recent earthquakes have re- ceived a lot of attention, their occurrence should not be cause for any more alarm than usual, local geologist Tom Horning said. Earthquakes with magnitudes more than 4.0 often come in clusters about once every six to 18 months, Horning said. “This always comes up,” said Horning, who serves on the Seaside City Council. “You’ll likely be talking to me again in two years.” The cluster happening near south- ern Oregon is along the Blanco Fracture Zone, a transform fault known to have frequent seismic activity. Because there are no fault zones directly pointed near the North Coast, there is less constant stress. Consider it “nature’s way of dissi- pating friction,” Horning said. “It’s hard to reconcile what’s happen- ing in Vancouver with the center part of the subduction zone where we are,” he said. “It’s only an academic exercise to estimate how much stress could be piling up or not as a result.” If anything, the fact the Cascadia Sub- duction Zone fault is so quiet is more no- table, said Evelyn Roeloffs, a geophysi- cist from the U.S. Geological Survey. “We can’t make any association with earthquakes out in the ocean like (the ones) near southern Oregon and the tim- ing of when earthquakes might hit closer in the coastline,” she said. “Our subduc- tion zone is unusual because we had large earthquakes in prehistoric times, and we expect to have a big earthquake in the fu- ture … But it’s so quiet now. That’s more the mysterious thing.” While the types of earthquakes and the frequency are not unusual, the amount of interest taken by the public and the news media has changed in recent years, Roel- offs said. Most calls or inquiries are usual- ly timed when earthquakes hit in clusters. But public education surrounding the 9.0 earthquake expected to rock the Cascadia Subduction Zone appears to have played a role in the increase of calls or reports. “After one of the earthquakes near Vancouver, 169 people entered a submis- sion to our website to say they felt some- thing,” she said. “It’s good, because I think people are thinking about the reality of earthquake hazards more.” Horning hopes, if anything, the recent quakes have reminded North Coast resi- dents that the Big One could come any- time. “This activity should not encour- age people to be less alarmed or more alarmed,” Horning said. “You should always be a certain amount of alarmed living here … and you should always be prepared.” ‘YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ALARMED LIVING HERE … AND YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE PREPARED.’ Tom Horning The star in the lower left corner of the map shows the location of a 4.5 earthquake on Oct. 24 off the Oregon Coast. U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Land trust acquires forestland near Oswald West State Park Owners donate 111 acres at southern edge By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette CAPE FALCON MARINE RESERVE The future of the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve goes before the public at a series of meetings. ODFW seeks input on Cape Falcon Cannon Beach Gazette The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife seeks input and ideas from North Coast residents on how the depart- ment can best share informa- tion and engage communities input as part of management of the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. The department will host upcoming workshops in Seaside and Cannon Beach. The state has designated five marine reserve sites off the Oregon coast. These sites have been reserved to protect marine habitats and biodiver- sity and to serve as long-term monitoring sites to track and understand changes in Ore- gon’s near-shore ocean. The Cape Falcon Marine Reserve is located just off of Oswald West State Park near Manzanita. This is Oregon’s northernmost site and in- cludes a marine reserve plus two marine protected areas. The Seaside event takes place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the Best Western Plus Ocean View Resort Sandpiper Room, 414 N. Prom in Seaside from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The Cannon Beach event takes place at the Hay- stack Rock Awareness Pro- gram Speaker Series 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the Cannon Beach Library, with a focus on the site management plan being developed for the reserve. The event also fea- tures a virtual tour of the ma- rine reserves. In its largest land acquisi- tion ever, the Lower Nehalem Community Trust now owns 111 acres of forestland on the south slope of Neahkahnie Mountain for conservation. The property, known as “The Headwaters,” is connect- ed to the southern edge of Os- wald West State Park and runs nearly a mile south. The area holds ecological significance both for its large, mixed-age timber and for the tributaries that feed into the Neahkahnie Creek watershed below, the land trust said. “We’re pretty excited. The fact the community gets to have community forestland like this is a big deal for us,” Doug Firstbrook, a board member for the land trust, said. The acquisition began last summer when Firstbrook heard about 181 acres near Neahkahnie Mountain was go- ing to be logged. He got ahold of plans published by the Or- egon Department of Forestry and contacted the local point person who represented the landowners, which were two California-based development companies: Seventeen Enter- prises LLC and Pacific Land Conservation LLC. Firstbrook told the repre- sentative he was concerned about how a logging opera- tion would affect properties the land trust had worked to restore downstream, includ- ing a marsh restoration project above Neahkahnie Lake and Alder Creek Farm, a commu- nity garden and ethnobotanical trail. The companies took a tour with Firstbrook to look at ar- eas of concern, but ultimately logged about 30 acres of the property later that summer. About a year later, Firstbrook heard again from the develop- ment companies, but this time they asked if the trust would be interested in acquiring the land for conservation. “They needed a mecha- nism for a tax write-off and were looking for a conserva- tion group,” Firstbrook said. “My name came up because of the tour we took before.” In September, the devel- opment companies donated 111 acres — along with about $22,000 for replanting and maintenance costs — to the land trust. The companies still own the other 70 acres, which are zoned residential, for fu- ture development, Firstbrook said. “We’re pleased it happened so quickly. Often these kinds of projects can take an inordi- nate amount of time,” he said. In addition to its conser- vation value, the land is also significant due to its proximity to one of Oregon’s largest state parks. The land trust is in con- versations with Connie Soper, a trail advocate working with Manzanita to extend the exist- ing Neahkahnie Hiking Trail. Doing so would help connect a gap in the Oregon Coast Trail, which now routes hikers out onto U.S. Highway 101 before reconnecting at Manzanita Beach. Firstbrook said the land trust has to consider whether it has enough to resources to take on the responsibilities of ongoing trail maintenance, as well as look into whether the trail would have any negative impacts. Trail or not, the land trust considers the donation as a conservation win. 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