September 18, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A
Seeking elk and finding them
Wildlife officials come
on a mission to see
elk, set fish rules
By Katherine Lacaze
Seaside Signal
More than a dozen Ore-
gon Fish and Wildlife Com-
missioners and staff peered
through telescopes on the
banks of the Neacoxie River
Sept. 3. They were seeking
elk — and they found them
during their daylong tour of
¿sh and wildlife facilities
along the North Coast.
The Reserve at Gear-
hart was their ¿rst stop a
precursor to the commis-
sion’s monthly meeting the
following day at the Best
Western Ocean View Re-
sort in Seaside. The tour
provided commissioners a
ground-level look at Clatsop
County wildlife and habitat.
At The Reserve in Gear-
hart commissioners wit-
nessed elk that had separat-
ed from the main herd of
about . +ere the elk are
³in their natural element
which is kind of low-den-
sity development and golf
courses´ said +erman Bie-
derbeck a wildlife biologist
for the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife.
The reserve is surround-
ed by two golf courses
Gearhart Golf Links and
Highlands Golf Club. Thirty
acres of North Coast Land
Conservancy land to the
east of the reserve are part of
the conservancy’s Neacoxie
Wildlife Corridor proMect
designed in the 1990s to
create a habitat for wildlife
along the Neacoxie River.
As the Clatsop Plains get
increasingly developed elk
and humans inevitably col-
lide creating risks for both.
Wildlife photographer Neal
Maine shared photos of what
happens when elk and people
share the landscape. ,n one a
young woman scurries away
from an elk she angered by
approaching the animal and
its calf for an ³elk sel¿e.´
Elaborate landscaping
can draw elk into yards
KATHERINE LACAZE/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Members of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission and
staff members look for elk on the North Coast Land Conser-
vancy’s habitat to the east of The Reserve at Gearhart during
the group’s tour Sept. 3.
NEAL MAINE/PACIFICLIGHT IMAGES
Wildlife photographer Neal Maine said he spotted a woman and her dog get too close to an
elk cow, which then charged. People are advised to stay well clear of cows and calves, espe-
cially during calving season from late May through early June.
where they are unwanted
Maine said and the animals
are known to create traf¿c
hazards crossing U.S. High-
way 101 and other roads.
Residents have differing
opinions about the elk and
how to deal with them Bie-
derbeck said. Some prefer
elk roam unhindered; oth-
ers particularly farmers and
commercial interests prefer
a more managed approach.
Because of strong con-
trasting opinions the de-
partment tends “to deal with
elk issues on an individual
case-by-case basis´ Bie-
derbeck said. “The elk have
their pros and cons out here
for sure.´
Jewell Meadows
Wildlife Area
,nland at the -ewell
Meadows Wildlife Area in
the Oregon Coast Range
mountains the department
manages a different elk pop-
ulation.
The 111-acre area
serves to protect and en-
hance wildlife habitat re-
duce wildlife damage to
surrounding properties and
provide the public with an
opportunity to observe wild-
life in a natural setting. -ew-
Commission approves
sport ¿sKinJ reJs
The Associated Press
SALEM — The Oregon
Fish and Wildlife Commission
approved the 01 Oregon
sport ¿shing regulations at its
meeting in Seaside on Friday.
Under the regulations ad-
opted anglers should ¿nd it
easier to navigate the rules for
trout and warmwater ¿shing
thanks to fewer special regu-
lations creating different sea-
sons gear restrictions and bag
limits for different waters.
These changes are the result
of an almost yearlong effort by
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife staff to streamline
and simplify the ¿shing rules.
Mike Gauvin ODFW recre-
ational ¿sheries manager told
the commission that overly
complex regulations is one of
the most common complaints
among anglers.
Some of the changes for
01 include:
Eliminating of the April
trout opener — most of these
waters will now be open year-
round. Setting the May trout
opener at May each year
ensuring that trout ¿shing
statewide would always be
open Memorial Day weekend.
Removing the bag limit on
non-native brown and brook
trout in streams statewide
though some exceptions will
still apply. Simplifying lan-
guage including replacing the
terms “adipose ¿n-clipped´ and
“non adipose ¿n-clipped´ with
“hatchery´ and “wild.´Remov-
ing bag limits for warmwater
¿sh in the Columbia -ohn Day
and Umpqua rivers.
In addition to the regulation
changes there also will be a
new format for the regulations
booklet that will make it eas-
ier to read. The 01 Oregon
Sport Fishing Regulations will
be available in early Decem-
ber 01.
The commission approved
the 10-year update of the Ore-
gon Conservation Strategy in-
cluding the Oregon Nearshore
Strategy component. These
documents are broad overar-
ching strategies for voluntary
conservation of Oregon’s na-
tive ¿sh wildlife and marine
resources. Both documents
were updated with new scien-
ti¿c technology and informa-
tion and had extensive tech-
nical and public review and
input over the last year.
Along with updating the
Strategy Species and Habitat
sections re¿ning Conserva-
tion Opportunity Areas was
a major focus of the Strategy
revision. These areas are key
landscapes where voluntary
conservation actions will have
the most impact on conserving
native species.
The Nearshore compo-
nent was better incorporated
into the Strategy resulting in
several changes. Species lists
and habitats were modi¿ed
and estuaries were included
in the Nearshore Strategy. The
revision also will include sup-
plements on potential effects
of global climate change and
ocean acidi¿cation.
The Oregon Conservation
Strategy including the Near-
shore component will be sub-
mitted to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service by Oct. 1 and
available in a new web appli-
cation upon USFWS approval.
The commission also up-
dated the rules for commercial
bay clam harvest. The current
commercial harvest rules had
been in place since 199. The
new rules are based on recent
¿sheries landings and stock as-
sessment data and include ad-
justments to commercial land-
ing quotas minimum sizes
species taken and allowable
harvest areas. This integrated
package of shell¿sh actions
will improve the management
of these species and reduce
potential conÀicts between
different user groups.
Finally the commission
approved funding for three
Access and Habitat projects
that will provide hunter access.
ell Meadows Wildlife Area
Manager Bryan Swearingen
helps the department man-
age the herd’s winter habitat
and provide supplemental
feeding for Roosevelt elk
and black-tailed deer
The department’s man-
agement plan at the wildlife
area is designed to keep the
elk population arti¿cial-
ly low about out of a
land capacity of about 00
‘The elk have their
pros and cons out
here, for sure.’
Herman Biederbeck,
wildlife biologist
Swearingen said.
A portion of the wildlife
area near Fishhawk Creek
is designated for elk refuge
although some tracts are
open to the public for hunt-
ing.
The department provides
supplemental feed in win-
ter to mitigate the animals’
negative impact on the land
uses of adMacent properties
owned by Weyerhaeuser
Co. Stimson Lumber Co.
and the Oregon Department
of Forestry.
To determine popula-
tion models the department
currently uses helicopters a
costly and potentially risky
method. The state plans to
partner with Oregon State
University to conduct an
elk census using unmanned
aerial vehicles or drones
which could register data
in the sky over the Youngs
River basin Biederbeck
said.
The wildlife area will
provide an outdoor laborato-
ry to calibrate and test aerial
equipment before expand-
ing the program to nearby
control sites he added. Suc-
cess depends on capturing
imagery with a resolution
high enough to detect and
classify the individual elk.
Western snowy
plover
The western snowy plo-
vers a federally recognized
“threatened´ species were
also of interest to commis-
sioners. The small bird can
be found predominantly
in California Washington
and Oregon and is making
a comeback on Oregon’s
south coast.
Dining
on
the
Protecting habitats mit-
igating human issues and
taking out ground predators
— such as coyotes raccoons
and skunks — have played
roles in helping the species
re-emerge. For instance Or-
egon State Parks will close
beaches or cage nesting ar-
eas for protection.
“The success of the
snowy plover program es-
pecially on the south coast
is starting to be recognized´
Biederbeck said.
1ew rXles to ¿sK Ey
The Oregon Fish and
Wildlife Commission con-
sidered the 01 sport-
¿shing regulations and
revisions to the Oregon
Conservation and Near-
shore strategies during
its meeting Sept. at the
Best Western Ocean View
Resort in Seaside. The
commission usually meets
monthly and rotates among
its Salem headquarters and
the congressional districts.
Seaside is part of Congres-
sional District 1.
Many of the sport¿shing
regulation changes are being
considered as the result of
the department staff’s eight-
month effort to streamline
and simplify rules for trout
and warm-water ¿shing.
Some proposed changes
include:
• Streamlining the num-
ber of different seasons gear
restrictions and bag limits in
order to have more consis-
tent rules for similar water
bodies across the state.
• Removing the April
trout opener and opening
these water bodies to year-
round ¿shing.
• Setting the May trout
opener at May each year
ensuring that trout ¿shing
statewide would always be
open Memorial Day week-
end.
• Removing bag limits
for warm-water ¿sh in the
Columbia -ohn Day and
Umpqua rivers.
Additionally the com-
mission approved a 10-year
update of the Oregon Conser-
vation Strategy including the
Oregon Nearshore Strategy
component. The documents
which are broad strategies
to conserve the state’s native
¿sh wildlife and marine re-
sources are to be submitted as
required to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service by Oct. 1.
The commission also up-
dated the rules for commer-
cial bay clam harvest. Based
on recent landing and stock
assessment data department
staff proposed adjustments
to commercial landing quo-
tas minimum sizes species
taken and allowable harvest
areas as an integrated pack-
age of shell¿sh management
actions.
A complete list of the
proposed changes for 01
is on the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
website at http://bit.ly/1M-
mL0Xi.
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