Friday, January 18, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Gearhart, Warrenton plot ways to cope with elk
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
North Coast leaders
struggling to address elk-re-
lated issues in their commu-
nities hope an organization
with ties to the governor’s
offi ce will be able to help.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
often fi nds itself responding
to elk-related questions in
Clatsop Plains, an area that
includes sections of Gear-
hart and Warrenton, where
interactions between elk and
people have become a safety
concern.
But public opinion on elk
varies widely. Any manage-
ment of the animals would
involve a diverse collec-
tion of government agen-
cies, organizations and pri-
vate property owners with
very different goals and
objectives.
“It’s hard for any one
agency to come up with a
cohesive game plan that
everyone will buy into,” said
Herman Biederbeck, state
wildlife biologist, at a meet-
ing in Gearhart on Wednes-
day, Jan. 9, with representa-
tives of Oregon Solutions.
The state owns almost no
land in the Clatsop Plains,
he said, so the ability of the
state to manage that area is
“basically nil. … There’s no
way that ODFW can do it
alone.”
But working with Ore-
gon Solutions, based out of
Portland State University’s
National Policy Consensus
Center, may be one way for
diverse groups to develop a
cohesive management plan.
The organization met
with Warrenton Mayor
Henry Balensifer and Gear-
hart Mayor Matt Brown,
law enforcement, state fi sh
and wildlife employees and
other stakeholders to discuss
the growing number of elk
in and around the two cities.
Karmen Fore, the direc-
tor of Oregon Solutions,
and her team plan to talk
with more stakeholders and
determine whether tackling
the elk issue should become
one of the organization’s
projects. The organization
could also ask Gov. Kate
Brown’s offi ce to offi cially
designate the work an Ore-
gon Solutions project, open-
ing up potential state funds.
Oregon Solutions often
plays the role of medi-
ator, but also enters the
scene when communities
are struggling to determine
oversight and responsibility
of an issue.
One example is the
Jeff Ter Har/For Seaside Signal
Elk caught on a home security camera in Gearhart.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A herd of elk rests in a fi eld near Warrenton.
‘IT’S HARD FOR ANY ONE
AGENCY TO COME UP WITH A
COHESIVE GAME PLAN THAT
EVERYONE WILL BUY INTO.’
Herman Biederbeck, state wildlife biologist
group’s involvement after
fl ooding in Vernonia in 2007
destroyed the town’s mid-
dle school and high school.
Rebuilding the schools was
vital to the town’s survival,
but was too much for a sin-
gle group — or someone
like a school principal — to
coordinate.
Warrenton and Gear-
hart leaders told Fore and
Michael Mills, program out-
reach manager with Ore-
gon Solutions, that the elk
herds pose public safety
risks and damage private
property. Last month, an elk
clambered over the hood
of a Toyota Prius that had
stopped to let a herd cross
state Highway 104. The elk
slipped and smashed into the
windshield.
Neither Mayor Brown nor
Mayor Balensifer believe
they would fi nd widespread
community support for cull-
ing the herds. But Balen-
sifer said Warrenton is inter-
ested in discussing a variety
of options, including con-
trolled hunting.
Brown noted Gearhart is
still interested in looking at
the possibility of relocating
animals, even though state
wildlife offi cials have said
this would not be possible.
Most
elk-appropriate
habitat in Oregon already
has plenty of elk. Some of
the animals even came orig-
inally from Clatsop Plains
stock, noted Chris Knutsen,
northwest watershed man-
ager for the Department of
Fish and Wildlife.
Transporting elk is no
longer considered biologi-
cally or socially responsible,
Biederbeck added. There is
always the chance of trans-
ferring disease along with
the animals.
John Putnam, north-
west director for the Oregon
Hunters Association, said it
is important to explore all
solutions.
Human behavior — feed-
ing the elk, stopping to take
Don’t feed the bears — or the elk
No-feeding
ordinance moves
to council vote
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Seaside Signal
Spurred by safety con-
cerns, the Gearhart City
Council on Wednesday,
Jan. 3, unanimously agreed
to consider rules prohibit-
ing the feeding of elk and
other wildlife.
Bebe Michel, a resi-
dent, came before the coun-
cil in July seeking ways to
minimize elk and human
interactions.
In response, city coun-
cilors and staff held a work
session before drafting and
fi nally delivering the ordi-
nance Wednesday.
The proposed ordi-
nance borrows from similar
code enacted in Warrenton,
which prohibits “allowing
food or other attractants”
to be placed on public or
private property with the
intention of luring or feed-
ing wildlife, City Adminis-
trator Chad Sweet said.
“The Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife thought
this would be a good start to
trying to help our problem,”
Sweet said. “Even though
we don’t know of any spe-
cifi c feeding here locally, in
other communities it does
become an issue, with peo-
ple feeding elk apples and
other food.”
munities may attempt. But
on a scale from zero to a mil-
lion elk, stakeholders still do
not know what their commu-
nities are willing to tolerate.
“We don’t even really
know, from a public per-
spective, what an acceptable
number is,” Knutsen said.
pictures of them — has
helped to create the problem,
habituating the animals to
the presence of people. “But
we need to keep all options
on the table,” he said.
It is unlikely the elk will
ever be gone for good, no
matter what solutions com-
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As elk become more emboldened, Gearhart offi cials hope to discourage interactions with
humans with a no-feeding ordinance.
The ordinance would
allow feeding songbirds
or squirrels, provided that
the food is contained in a
feeder which is designed
to avoid access by other
wildlife.
Violation of the ordi-
nance would bring a penalty
of up to $500, but offi cials
hope they’ll fi nd compliance
before issuing fi nes.
Mayor Matt Brown
called the rules a “good
common-sense fi rst step.”
“There’s not a lot of
things we can do as a city,”
he said. “The ODFW is in
control of the management,
but they suggested this is
a good fi rst step to protect
the citizens from that type
of contact.”
The ordinance will return
for a fi rst council reading in
February and a second one in
March. If approved, it would
become law 30 days later.
The city will join War-
renton and the Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
with representatives of Ore-
gon Solutions at a meeting
at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in
Gearhart. The meeting is to
“see if they’ll take up our
cause,” Sweet said of manag-
ing elk on the Clatsop Plains.
Both Mayor Brown and
Warrenton Mayor Henry
Balensifer are expected to
attend.
The mission of Oregon
Solutions — a partner with
the National Policy Consen-
sus Center at Portland State
University — is to develop
sustainable solutions to
community-based
prob-
lems through collaborative
efforts.“It’s not just a Gear-
hart issue,” Brown said. “It’s
not just a county issue — it’s
a state issue.”
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