Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2018)
6A • February 16, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Gearhart looks to work with state on elk problem Return of western snowy plover to Gearhart proves elusive Plover from Page 1A In 2013, the City Council agreed to assist the state in developing a shorebird conservation area meant to help the recovery of the species and enhance the habitat for other shorebirds. By limiting seasonal access, officials hoped the western snowy plover would return to tradition- al nesting sites. While Nehalem Bay State Park saw the hatching of a western snowy plover chick last May for the first time in 30 years, most nesting sites on the North Coast, including Gearhart, haven’t seen the species in a “very long time,” Laurel Hillmann, an ocean shores specialist with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, told the City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Less-trafficked areas on the central and southern coast are more inviting, she said, and will be the focus of future nesting protections. The restricted area makes up about 25 per- cent of the 77-acre beach area between Gearhart and the Necanicum River. Gearhart’s seasonally posted signs advising of snowy plover habitat will no longer be post- ed, Oregon State Park Ranger Ken Murphy said. “The current restrictions will go away and we will monitor the site,” he said. If a nest is spotted, rang- ers could be on the scene within a couple of hours to put up fencing during the monthlong incubation period. “It’s not as though we’re abandoning the bird in this location,” he said. “If any- thing, this is a plan that helps us manage this loca- tion better while also not putting restrictions in place that keep normal activity from going on that is traditional in this area. It’s a different management strategy. We will still be here looking for the bird, hoping that it nests and managing it ac- cordingly if it does.” Elk from Page 1A The western snowy plover, slow to make a return to Gearhart (Oregon Coast Aquarium). Left: In 2017, wildlife biologist Vanes- sa Blackstone searched the beaches of Nehalem Bay State Park for nests of the endangered Western snowy plover (Colin Murphey/EO Media Group). Below: A snowy plover found on the Ore- gon Coast is rehabilitated at the Oregon Coast Aquarium (Oregon Coast Aquarium). The Great Backyard Bird Count held this weekend Seaside Signal The 21st annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place from Friday, Feb. 16, through Monday, Feb. 19, at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clatsop. Visitors can join in the count by recording bird ob- servations in the park or in their own backyards. Binocu- lars will be available for loan within the park. The park also plans four days of bird-related oppor- tunities. A “great pink heron scavenger hunt” will be on- going using the Netul Trail along the Lewis and Clark River. On Saturday, Feb. 17, Mike Patterson leads bird walk at 8:30 a.m., meeting in the Fort Clatsop Visitor Cen- ter lobby. On Sunday, Feb. 18, Travis Koons, a curator at the Ore- gon Zoo, speaks about Cali- fornia condors at 1 p.m. in the Netul River Room of the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center. On Monday, Feb. 19, Presidents’ Day, the park will offer a birding walk in Span- ish at 10 a.m. starting in the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center lobby. Although leashed dogs are welcome at most of the park’s outdoor programs, dogs are not allowed on bird- ing walks. The walks are wheelchair accessible but non-motorized users might need assistance for about 200 yards. Park hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Admission is $5 per adult and free for youth 15 years old and under. Passes to National Park Service sites are accepted. Bird field guides are available for purchase at the bookstore in the Fort Clat- sop Visitor Center. For more information on the worldwide bird count event or to submit bird counts, go to gbbc.birdcount. org. The weekend’s birding events at Fort Clatsop are sponsored by the Lewis & Clark National Park Associ- ation and the National Park Service. For more information, call 503-861-2471. LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK The Great Bird Count comes to Clatsop County. mayor for his letter and for a description of the issues surrounding the elk that fre- quent the Seaside/Gearhart area. He said public opinion of the elk in the area is divided, with strong feelings on both sides of the issue. He sug- gested a meeting with the community to better under- stand their perspective. “This would also be an opportunity for ODFW to present a range of potential management options, in- cluding elk removal, and re- ceive public feedback,” Bie- derbeck wrote. “If the city of Gearhart is willing to host a public meeting, we will gladly work with you on and drafting an agenda and se- lecting a date that allows for ample public notice.” In April 2014, the city did just that when Biederbeck spoke as part of a six-per- son panel that discussed the ubiquitous herd of Roos- evelt elk that frequently vis- its Gearhart. More than 50 Gearhart residents attended that meeting. With numbers in the herd ballooning since that time, Mayor Brown and council- ors plan to ask the depart- ment to do more. Brown said that was one of the questions the city sought clarification for in their January letter. “It would be nice to find out what folks can and cannot do.” “Can I make some noise? Can I rattle a can at them?” Council member Paulina Cockrum asked. “Or will that start a stampede?” “Folks that haven’t been around a herd don’t know that,” Brown said. “That’s the kind of information we are seeking.” ‘CAN I MAKE SOME NOISE? CAN I RATTLE A CAN AT THEM? OR WILL THAT START A STAMPEDE?’ Paulina Cockrum Council member Brown said the best thing residents can do is write a letter to the city or post on the city’s website with pos- itive and negative feedback. “We want that information to the ODFW. They can give us information on ways to warn people, on safety is- sues. They’re the only ones who can control wildlife populations. It’s not the city. We want to get opinions, feedback, documentation and we’ll send them to the ODFW. Together with this information, we can find ways to help mitigate safety, traffic accidents and danger- ous situations. It’s a chal- lenge for sure.” Oregon moves marbled murrelet to ‘endangered’ By Mateusz Perkowski Capital Press PORTLAND — Ore- gon’s wildlife regulators have “uplisted” the marbled mur- relet from a threatened to an endangered species, which will likely result in stricter logging limits on state forest- land. The Oregon Fish and Wild- life Commission voted 4-2 to upgrade protections for the coastal bird at its Feb. 9 meet- ing in Portland. The change to endangered status means that scientists at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is overseen by the commis- sion, must complete “survival guidelines” for the marbled murrelet by June. Those guidelines are ex- pected to further restrict log- ging in the bird’s suitable hab- itat, if existing protocols for state forestland are found to be insufficient. Though Oregon’s version of the Endangered Species Act only applies to property owned by the state govern- ment, some private forestland owners worry the uplisting will effectively move Oregon toward more stringent regula- tions for all forests. Bruce Buckmaster, a com- mission member who voted against the change, said he shared their concerns. “They’re old enough to know it’s an ironclad law they will undoubtedly be affected,” said Buckmaster, a retired business owner. Commission members originally considered ordering the agency to develop those survival guidelines without uplisting the species. This proposal, set forth by commissioner Bob Web- ber, would have had the ef- fect of creating a roadmap for the murrelet’s recovery that wouldn’t be legally enforce- able. However, the motion re- sulted in 3-3 deadlock vote, after which Webber changed his mind and supported the uplisting. “I stated my preference but my least favorite option would be to do nothing,” said Web- ber, an attorney. The federal government listed marbled murrelets as COURTESY U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday voted to put the marbled murrelet on the state’s endangered species list. ‘It’s not urgent that you make a decision today. Murrelet populations are stable.’ Jim James, executive director of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association threatened in 1992 and Ore- gon extended the same status to the birds three years later. Washington and California consider the species endan- gered. Marbled murrelets are known as the “enigma of the Pacific” because so little is still known about their life cy- cle, said Christina Donehow- er, strategy species coordina- tor for ODFW. “Actual nests for marbled murrelets are extremely hard to find,” she said. The birds forage for fish and invertebrates in the Pa- cific Ocean but lay their eggs in depressions formed on the branches of large conifer trees, typically found in “old growth” forests, she said. Nests are found as far as 50 miles inland along the coast, meaning the species must travel up to 100 miles round trip to feed its young. Large conifer habitat for the species in Oregon’s coastal forests declined by 58 percent between 1936 and 1996, she said. Populations of the bird sharply fell in 1996 but the trend was stable to slightly positive between 2000 and 2015, when 11,000 marbled murrelets were estimated to inhabit Oregon, Donehower said. However, demographic models for the species project it has an 80 percent chance of extinction in Oregon within the current century, she said. The species is doubly chal- lenged because, apart from specialized forest nesting hab- itat, it’s vulnerable to fluctuat- ing ocean conditions. The bird’s reproductive potential is low to begin with, as it reaches sexual maturity relatively late and typically only lays one egg per year. If food sources in the ocean are inadequate for fledging murrelets, the adults won’t attempt to breed, as occurred in 2017. “They might not be as resilient as other species to changing conditions,” Done- hower said. Oregon State University is conducting a 10-year study of marbled murrelets that in- volves capturing the birds at sea, outfitting them with tracking tags and monitoring their forest nests. Multiple woodland owners and timber industry represen- tatives urged the commission against uplisting the species until the OSU research sheds more light on its life cycle. Jim James, executive di- rector of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association, said the uplisting would be prema- ture before the science is bet- ter understood. “It’s not urgent that you make a decision today,” he said. “Murrelet populations are stable.” An uplisting will likely require private landowners to submit plans for protecting the bird to state regulators, despite assurances the change will only impact state forests, said Rick Barnes, OSWA’s presi- dent. “We all know that’s not the way things work,” he said. Your New Home is Waiting For You! Assisted Living Apartments NOW AVAILABLE! Come and see why we say your life is our commitment. 101 Forest Drive, Seaside, Oregon Call Heather to schedule a tour today! 503-738-0307 www.suzanneelise.com