OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2021
A4
OUR VIEW
Backing up words with action
t will be a tall order to fi nd
a better feel-good commu-
nity story in the near future
than the decision by the Hermis-
ton School District to pay for all
school supplies for elementary
and middle school students for the
start of the school year.
The district will also waive pay-
to-play fees for grades 6 through 12.
All supplies will stay in the class-
room, so parents will need to buy
some school items for homework,
but the move by the district is an
extraordinarily decision.
The funds for school supplies
comes from federal COVID-19
relief funds, while the district will
use its own general fund to take care
of the fee waiver.
The federal money was crucial
for the district to be able to cover
the expense of the school supplies
I
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Boxes of school supplies line a meeting room Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, at
Armand Larive Middle School in Hermiston. The Hermiston School District
purchased the supplies with emergency relief funds from the CARES Act
and will provide the items at not cost to all students in the district to
alleviate the fi nancial burden on families of purchasing school supplies.
OTHER VIEWS
but the district, its leaders and school
board members should be lauded
for thinking outside the box to help
our youth.
Providing school supplies can
be, and often is, a stressful episode
for many families. The cost can be
high, and if a family has more than
one or two children the fi nal tally
can be prohibitive.
That’s why this decision by the
district is so important to so many
families. To have a potential chal-
lenge like purchasing back-to-
school supplies terminated means
some families will not be burdened
at a time when events — such as the
COVID-19 pandemic — are already
creating more stress than normal.
Actions by school offi cials —
such as board members, adminis-
trators or teachers — often only
see the light of day if there is some
COLUMN
Working together, bold action can secure
a thriving future for the Columbia Basin
ver the many years I have
engaged with stakeholders and
tribal partners about a path for-
ward in the Columbia Basin, one thing
is clear: The status quo isn’t working.
Iconic salmon and steelhead stocks
continue to decline, with several now
on the brink of extinction. As we know, Kate
Brown
extinction is irreversible. However,
there is still time for a collaborative
solution that will benefi t all in the region.
The Columbia and Snake rivers are eco-
nomic drivers that we have developed for
local and regional prosperity. Salmon and
steelhead are keystone species critical to the
region’s ecosystem and the economy, as well
as subsistence and cultural health for tribal
peoples who have fi shed the rivers since time
immemorial.
I know that abundant salmon and steelhead
populations can coexist with a robust, growing
regional economy that includes aff ordable and
renewable power, water for agriculture, and
aff ordable transportation of goods to regional
and international markets, while being respect-
ful of Tribal culture, history and treaty rights.
But, if action does not come swiftly, the losses
will be substantial and irreversible.
Decades of development, including the
mainstem dams and reservoirs placed between
critical alpine nursery areas and ocean feeding
grounds, have had devastating impacts on wild
salmon and steelhead. For nearly 30 years,
these species have remained listed under the
federal Endangered Species Act. Now, the cli-
mate crisis is compounding those impacts
through warmer waters, lower river fl ows and
deteriorating ocean conditions.
Through it all, the federal agencies respon-
sible for operating dams on the Columbia and
Snake rivers have continuously failed to meet
the minimum needs of the fi sh required by the
ESA.
This is not a time for entrenched think-
ing or political ideology. I was one of the fi rst
lawmakers to off er my support when Idaho
Republican Rep. Mike Simpson proposed $33
billion in economic investment to help ensure
a healthy future for the Columbia Basin while
respecting the history, culture and rights of the
region’s Tribal people.
Simpson’s proposal refl ects the clear sci-
ence: Removal of the Snake River dams
must be part of a comprehensive solution for
salmon and steelhead in the face of climate
change. His proposal also recognizes that the
dams cannot be removed without fi rst replac-
ing the essential services they provide, invest-
ing most of the $33 billion in the energy, agri-
culture and commodity transport sectors, and
calls for a moratorium on litigation.
In addition, just over a year ago, I partnered
with the governors of Idaho, Washington and
Montana to launch the Columbia Basin Col-
laborative, aimed at working toward robust
O
goals for salmon and steelhead while
also ensuring regional prosperity. We
hope to have the Collaborative chartered
and funded this year so it can begin its
work in earnest in 2022.
If it were up to me, none of this
would have to be decided in court.
Unfortunately, that was not a view
shared by the Trump administration or
the federal agencies in charge of dam
operations. Oregon, along with other plaintiff s,
is in litigation over Trump-era rules that are
unlawful, as well as the federal plan for dam
operations that is inadequate to protect salmon
and steelhead.
Before we took this step, while the fed-
eral government completed its plan, Oregon
helped negotiate the interim period of litiga-
tion-free dam operations and good faith, pro-
viding constructive input throughout the pro-
cess, all in hopes that federal agencies would
bring forward a legal plan. They did not.
This federal failure left us with no recourse
but to ask the courts to intervene to remove
the Trump-era rules and inadequate federal
plan, and help the region pivot toward a com-
prehensive solution. Absent comprehensive
federal legislation and funding, or a timely and
collaborative regional solution, legal action
is currently the only avenue available to help
address these issues.
It is my fervent hope that the Biden-Har-
ris administration will take steps to reverse the
Trump-era rollbacks to environmental stew-
ardship, including this latest federal plan for
dam operations, so that we can get all parties
back to the table to develop a lasting solution.
While this litigation plays out, Oregon will
continue to seek and pursue all opportunities
for collaboration. One possible path would
be for Congress to fully fund Simpson’s pro-
posal and provide the Tribes, Northwest states
and key regional stakeholders with time to
work with their congressional delegations to
develop legislation to implement it. This is not
the time for hesitancy. I respectfully ask my
fellow leaders in the region: If not Simpson’s
proposal, then what? If not now, then when?
My priority is to ensure we have robust,
harvestable salmon and steelhead populations
throughout the Columbia Basin for genera-
tions to come. We can do so in a manner that
combats climate change with growth in clean
and renewable energy, ensures a cost-eff ec-
tive irrigation system for farmers and ranch-
ers, invests in safe and economical transport
of goods and secures vibrant recreation oppor-
tunities in and throughout the Columbia Basin.
It won’t be easy. But it’s the only way to
ensure a vibrant future for the region.
I’m ready to sit down with anyone willing
to work with me to make that future a reality.
Let’s get it done.
———
Kate Brown is governor of Oregon.
Pelican! Pelican!
T
he man yelled
before reaching
the dam on the
Umatilla River — “Pel-
ican! Pelican!”
I could not tell if he
was angry or excited
Wes
to see the giant white
Stonecypher
birds. They stared at
him annoyingly but
moved away from the fi sh ladder exit.
A single bird nicknamed “Lone-
some Larry” frequented Three Miles
Falls Dam on the Umatilla River for
years and was almost always there. In
the last few years, more than 30 birds
reside on the dam’s crest where the
fl ow and their observation of the fi sh
ladder entrance and exit are perfect.
White pelicans are native to the
West Coast and now are year-round
residents in the Columbia Basin. Like
the expanding populations of invasive
collared or Eurasian doves, some peo-
ple welcome them while others want to
reduce their presence.
White pelicans are not listed under
the federal Endangered Species Act but
are protected under the 1918 Migra-
tory Bird Treaty Act. Their stark white
color and tufted head along with their
red eyes always make them look out
of place. Their unusual head bobbing,
graceful fl ying and ungainly takeoff
always elicit a second look. They have
up to 120-inch wingspan, second only
to the California condor, and weigh up
to 30 pounds.
Both adults have a bright orange bill
adored with a vertical plate during mat-
ing season. At other times the bill is
pale with no plate.
A group is technically called a
scoop or squadron. They are more
common than the Trumpeter or tundra
swans but fewer than the thousands of
snow geese now seen here in the win-
ter. In the last few years their range
has moved up the Umatilla and Walla
Walla rivers. They nest on the ground,
usually on an island away from egg
robbers.
The closest nesting colony in the
mid-Columbia is at Badger Island near
the Walla Walla River confl uence in
the McNary National Wildlife Refuge.
The colony has grown to an estimated
2,500 to 3,000 breeding pairs and rep-
resent 9% of the western population of
birds.
They are known to cooperate and
group forage and there is some indica-
tion that they do this at night directly
below McNary Dam on the Columbia
River. They feed exclusively on fi sh
CORRECTIONS
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VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 32
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type of controversy. Their consis-
tent hard work is also often forgot-
ten or overlooked.
Yet, this decision by the district
shows a degree of excellence and
community care that is outstanding.
The district made the right decision,
and its offi cers, teachers and board
members deserve to be lauded.
The district offi cials did a com-
mendable and honorable thing by
these two decisions. They clearly
put the care of students — and, to a
degree, their parents — to the fore-
front. That shows a group of people
who not only say the right things
about students and education but
also back it up with action.
Nowadays that is a rare
circumstance.
The Hermiston School District
deserves a great deal of credit for its
actions on this one. We applaud it.
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Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the
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Wes Stonecypher/Contributed Photo
A number of pelicans hang out on
the Three Miles Falls Dam on the
Umatilla River.
and may follow releases and migration
of fi sh. Feeding among individuals is
extremely competitive.
Once I watched a 20-pound pelican
try to swallow a 10-pound steelhead
that had been released from a river
return pipe. He did not fi nish with a
meal but the fi ght was spectacular. You
can only admire the optimism and story
the bird had after the encounter.
To reduce pelican presences at river
return pipes, water sprayers have been
installed. Like some biological deter-
minants, the results were diff erent than
expected. The adaptable birds learned
that when the sprayer came on it was
not only a cool shower but also a
potential meal being dropped into their
laps.
I see pelicans every day and expect
them to express a personality to match
their stature. They need a legacy like
the stork or bald eagle. I do not know
why historical numbers of pelicans
dropped in the Columbia Basin. They
nested in Moses Lake in the 1930s.
Whether it was because of DDT con-
tamination aff ecting eggs, feather take
for fashion, fear that they were eating
all the fi sh, or winters too cold. I don’t
think they were ever hunted for food.
I do know they are very abundant
this year unlike last year, when few
were seen. I enjoy their graceful land-
ings more than their gangly takeoff s.
As most goose hunters know, a decoy-
ing goose needs a landing path to land,
but a pelican seems to just drop from
the sky.
I still yell, “Pelican! Pelican!,” every
time I see them.
———
Wes Stonecypher is a biologist and
Umatilla resident.
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