Friday, July 5, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
A WELCOME SPOT FOR NATIVE SPECIES
By CARA MICO
For Seaside Signal
The North Coast Land
Conservancy wants you to
get dirty for a good cause.
The much loved hyper-
tufa pot class took place
again at the Circle Creek
Conservation Center on
June 18 with volunteer
instructor Jeff Roehm and
Pat Wollner. For a mere $10
students were able to con-
struct their very own pot
and fill it with native plants
from the center.
The pots are concrete
planter boxes but they aren’t
quite as heavy. They last
more than five times longer
than standard clay ceramic
pots and are more attractive
and ecologically friendly
than plastic. Hypertufa pots
are essentially stone but
lighter and more affordable.
The workshop took place
over a few days with attend-
ees invited to take part in
just one or all three days,
with the first day being the
basics of mixing and shap-
ing. The class was full, with
each student encouraged to
take part in whichever part
of the process they wanted
to, whether mixing cement
with peat moss and Pearlite
or shaping the mixture onto
the cardboard molds.
LONG-LASTING, ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY
The pots last more than five times longer than standard
clay ceramic pots and are more attractive and ecologically
friendly than plastic.
Cara Mico
Instructor Jeff Roehm educating students at the North Coast Land Conservancy’s hypertufa
workshop.
Days two and three
focused on finishing and
planing. The newly crafted
pots cured in their form
overnight before they were
shaped with light sand-
ing and planted with native
flowers such as penstemon
carnellia.
“We don’t want any-
thing here that doesn’t grow
here,” said Roehm during
the brief botanical tour.
The final pots are pleas-
ing ranging in thick-
ness, as well as form and
shape. They don’t strictly
need holes since the form
is breathable but drain-
age holes are easy to add.
While the class is designed
to be “fun and interesting”
Roehm emphasized that the
importance of the workshop
is in getting people to the
site, an old 364-acre farm
New testing planned for
Cannon Beach waters
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Cannon Beach is no
closer to figuring out why
fecal bacteria readings sud-
denly spike at city outfalls
and in ocean waters, but the
state hopes a new round of
testing could drill down on
the details.
The state already tests
waters at Cannon Beach
regularly under the Oregon
Beach Monitoring Program,
but the state Department of
Environmental Quality has
a draft plan to start analyz-
ing for specific types of fecal
matter this fall and through
next summer whenever fecal
bacteria register at high-
er-than-normal levels.
Whether the cause for
a spike is cow, elk, bird,
human or dog excrement,
the new test “doesn’t tell
you how much, it only tells
you if,” said Aaron Boris-
enko, water quality monitor-
ing manager for the Depart-
ment of Environmental
Quality.
“It starts to give you
some idea of what the more
likely sources are, and then
you can tailor any sort of
actions,” he said, adding,
“It could help refine what’s
going on there.”
The city weathered a
one-day health advisory for
ocean waters earlier this
month.
Last year, after high read-
ings and a health advisory
during the summer, city
leaders said they had ruled
out human sources infiltrat-
ing from wastewater treat-
ment infrastructure.
Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian
The state plans a new round of water testing at Cannon Beach.
Engineers started to look
at whether installing ultra-
violet light filters at out-
falls or opening up the pipes
and exposing runoff to sun-
light could be viable options
to kill off bacteria before it
hits the beach. But the city
is not proceeding aggres-
sively with either option at
this point.
There are costs to con-
sider. Open pipes would
likely require a reconfigura-
tion and usher in other moni-
toring challenges. City Man-
ager Bruce St. Denis said an
ultraviolet light filter sys-
tem could cost the city half a
million to a million dollars.
And there’s the fact that the
high readings of fecal bacte-
ria seem to come and go at
random.
“You’d be spending a
great deal of money, but
most of the time there’s
nothing to treat,” St. Denis
said.
Oregon has some of
the cleanest beaches in the
nation overall, Borisenko
said, but Cannon Beach con-
sistently ranks high on the
list of concerns.
The nonprofit Surfrider
Foundation has tested water
at outfalls around Cannon
Beach for the past decade
and says 25% to 50% of
readings have exceeded state
standards, depending on the
year. The state’s beach mon-
itoring program recorded
a handful of high readings
since 2016.
“We just have a few spots
here and there where trouble
crops up,” Borisenko said.
“(Cannon Beach) is high on
our ranking and always will
be because of the amount
of beach use and because
we do get these periodic
(bacteria levels above state
thresholds).”
Ingesting infected water
can result in illness, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority.
Gearhart ArtWalk slated for July 6
Seaside Signal
The Gearhart ArtWalk
takes place Saturday, July 6,
2 to 5 p.m. Wander through
the town and enjoy refresh-
ments and art from partici-
pating merchants.
The Natural Nook at 738
Pacific Way represents 20
talented consignment artists.
A Great Gallery at 576
Pacific Way presents the
work of pastel artist and gal-
lery owner Susan Thomas
and her show, “Birds, Birds,
Wonderful Birds.” Also
gourd birds from Mary
Schlunegger; 2 to 5 p.m..
Refreshments and chocolate
served.
Trails End Art Associa-
tion at 656 “A” Street will
open a new show at Art-
and future location of the
conservancy headquarters.
Board member Pat Woll-
ner echoed that sentiment
during her tour of the edu-
cational botanical garden,
derelict 10 years since the
old farm house and former
land conservancy office
burned down. Countless
hours of volunteer labor
have unearthed plots of cot-
tonwood and sedges.
Together she and others
have installed weed barrier,
repaired fences, and iden-
tified and tagged the plants
present. While the land con-
servancy “doesn’t really
know” what their goal is
for the garden, immedi-
ate plans include using the
space for growing plants for
education and restoration.
Volunteers are also run-
ning a series of botani-
cal experiments including
how to reseed chocolate lil-
ies and early blue violets
for butterflies. Seed-bombs
of native wildflowers were
sprouting in neat rows, two
of which had sprouted a
handful of tiny leaves. But
they don’t expect to use the
plants for large scale res-
toration given its size. The
fenced garden takes up
fewer than 1,000 square
feet.
“We won’t grow enough
to populate all lands,” Woll-
ner explained.
But more heavy lifting
needs to happen. Wollner is
looking for a half-dozen or
so volunteers to help keep
things watered and weeded
during the summer. She’s
also looking for someone
to help install more fencing
and light construction work
is also appreciated.
NCLC has big plans
for the future of the North
Coast. They are not only
working to restore the land
around the center includ-
ing the educational botan-
ical garden, they are also
working to protect a contig-
uous corridor as part of the
Rainforest Reserve proj-
ect which is in year three
of five. Most recently, the
conservancy received a
$600,000 U.S. Forest Ser-
vice Community Forest
Grant to protect 3,500 acres
of watershed in the moun-
tains upland of Cannon
Beach and Arch Cape.
A significant part of the
future is the restoration of
the Circle Creek Conserva-
tion Center, which, accord-
ing to Wollner, is the “core
of the conservancy and will
be for years to come.”
City advises local fireworks safety
Seaside Signal
The city of Seaside
offers five tips for local
fireworks safety.
TIP 1: Use only legal
Oregon fireworks and
respect the fireworks-free
zones for families and chil-
dren near the Seaside Turn-
around. Illegal fireworks
explode, behave in an
uncontrollable and unpre-
dictable manner, eject balls
of fire, or travel more than
six feet on the ground or
one foot into the air.
TIP 2: Share the beach
and keep your area safe for
everyone. No tents on the
beach, avoid digging large
fire pits, and pallets are
not allowed in any circum-
stance as they litter the sand
with hidden nails and other
sharp metal objects.
TIP 3: Stash your trash.
Use the public garbage
receptacles posted at entry
points to the beach along
the Promenade. Volunteers
regularly help clean the
Keep it legal, keep it safe, is the message from the Oregon
Office of State Fire Marshal.
beach to ensure a welcom-
ing and safe environment
for visitors, but every little
bit helps.
TIP 4: Traffic can be
tricky. Consider parking
in designated spots on the
east side of the Necanicum
River to help minimize
traffic congestion follow-
ing the fireworks show.
TIP 5: Be responsible.
Police, fire, and city offi-
cials work around the clock
to keep services in town
running as smooth as pos-
sible with the large num-
bers of holiday visitors. If
you need assistance with
a non-emergency or want
to report something, call
503-738-6311.
Need health
care now?
When it comes to getting
health care, Providence
is here for you.
• EMERGENCIES: If you’re having an emergency, call 9-1-1 or
go to Providence Seaside Hospital’s Emergency Department.
• WALK-IN CLINIC: If it’s not an emergency, but you need to
be seen today, our walk-in clinic is open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
(no appointment necessary).
Location: 725 S. Wahanna Road, Suite 230, on the campus of
Providence Seaside Hospital.
• EXPRESS CARE VIRTUAL:
Want care right now?
Have a video visit on your
phone or tablet. Visit
Providence.org/
expresscarevirtual
Broadway St.
101
“Darling,” by Susan Thomas at A Great Gallery in Gearhart.
Walk, featuring Chris Bry-
ant, nationally and interna-
tionally known as a painter,
ceramicist, and photogra-
pher and mixed-media spe-
cialist. Her show is entitled
“Inspiration,” and a recep-
tion in her honor will be held
Saturday, July 6, from 2 to
5 p.m. The gallery is located
at 656 A St. in Gearhart, one
block south of Pacific Way.
S. Wahanna
Road
Avenue S
Providence.org/northcoast