Friday, August 27, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
R.J. Marx
Main entrance, Providence Seaside Hospital.
Covid: New statewide
outdoor mask rules set
Continued from Page A1
The Clatsop County
COVID Vaccine Task Force
reported over 100 cases in
the county between Aug.
14 and last Friday. The task
force said that 14 patients
were admitted to area hospi-
tals during that time period.
Ten were unvaccinated and
four were vaccinated.
Some exceptions for vis-
itors at Providence are in
place for certain patients,
including the emergency
department, labor and deliv-
ery, pediatric inpatient and
people with disabilities.
In these cases, visitors
must be at least 16 years
old, wear a mask fully cov-
ering their nose and mouth
and remain in the patient
room unless entering or
exiting the medical center.
Everyone must wear a
mask in the hospital and
maintain a physical distance
of 6 feet.
North Coast Family
Fellowship
Pastor John K. Nagle,
in a letter to parishioners
at North Coast Family Fel-
lowship, said last week
that “a number of our staff
members have contracted
COVID.”
Nagle said he was diag-
nosed as COVID positive,
along with two staff mem-
bers. “None of us are, at this
moment, horribly ill, but we
are defi nitely ‘out of com-
mission’ for the next 10 days
provided that our symptoms
are gone for 24 hours prior
to ‘reentry,’” he said.
The church has limited
access for all but essential
staff and volunteers, he said.
Sunday services were held
online.
“The ultimate goal of
these steps is to allow us to
keep anyone else from get-
ting ill and to get back to
safe operations as soon as
possible,” Nagle said.
The church will not ask
anyone if they have been
vaccinated, according to
their website.
“We realize that some of
our people are prayerfully
and conscientiously choos-
ing not to take the vaccina-
tion,” according to the site.
Hood to Coast
With the “Mother of All
Relays” coming to Seaside
this weekend, organizers
say their top priority is “pre-
serving participant and vol-
unteer safety.”
Nonvaccinated partic-
ipants are asked to carry
face-coverings and use
them within six-feet of other
participants. Runners and
walkers will be provided
with a face covering if they
do not have one. Random
spot checks will be admin-
istered for a digital photo of
vaccination cards.
“We’re asking all partic-
ipants, regardless of vacci-
nation status, to wear masks
at the race starts, exchanges,
and fi nish party,” Dan
Floyd, Hood to Coast Chief
Operating Offi cer, said
Tuesday. “We also ask them
to wear face-coverings on
the race course, if a safe-dis-
tance cannot be achieved.
We have 200 miles of race
course, so we believe a safe
distance can be achieved for
nearly all of the event.”
Start waves take place
every 5 minutes over 13
hours. Participants are
required to wear a mask
at the start, exchanges and
fi nish.
The event will feature
additional portable toilets,
hand-washing stations, san-
itizers and contactless team
registration.
Masks will be required
for volunteers, the Seaside
Chamber of Commerce
announced. The chamber
will have hand-washing sta-
tions and cleaning supplies
to keep the area sanitized.
City, park district
There are no changes
at City Hall, with in-per-
son meetings and mask
required. City Council
and Planning Commission
meetings are recorded and
livestreamed.
Gov.
Kate
Brown
announced this week new
statewide outdoor mask
requirements to help stop
the spread of the highly
contagious Delta variant.
eff ective Friday. Masks
will be required in all pub-
lic outdoor settings where
physical distancing is not
possible, regardless of vac-
cination status. The Ore-
gon Health Authority also
strongly
recommends
masking for outdoor gath-
erings at private residences
when maintaining physical
distance is not possible with
individuals from diff erent
households.
The Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation Dis-
trict will require employ-
ees to receive vaccinations
against the coronavirus,
with the exception of those
who have religious or medi-
cal exemptions.
Youth
programs
reopened Monday after
closing last Friday due to
a staff member who tested
positive for the coronavi-
rus. A positive test among
staff brought a closure
to preschool classrooms
this week, with a tenta-
tive reopening in early
September.
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
A rider begins the climb up a logging road to fi nd a mountain bike trail in a section of Lewis & Clark Timberlands near Klootchy
Creek County Park.
Managing the region
as a working playland
By EMILY LINDBLOM
The Astorian
As a working playland,
the North Coast is full of
opportunities for hiking,
biking, fi shing and hunting
while also being home to
major industries, including
forestry and fi sheries.
Several companies, orga-
nizations and government
agencies have found ways to
form a relationship between
outdoor recreation, industry
and habitat management.
Klootchy Creek County
Park southeast of Seaside is
the site of the former larg-
est Sitka spruce tree —
still a draw for tourists as a
17-foot-diameter trunk and
two massive fallen pieces. It
also acts as an access point
to Lewis & Clark Timber-
lands, managed by Green-
Wood Resources.
David Dougherty, area
forester with GreenWood
Resources, was driving out
in the woods one day when
he came across a mountain
biker looking for trails to
ride on, to no avail. Dough-
erty understood there was
a lack of mountain biking
trails in the area, and he gave
his card to the biker, who
happened to be part of the
North Coast Trail Alliance.
“We set up a meeting and
from there we’ve had a suc-
cessful relationship between
the diff erent partners, the
North Coast Trail Alliance,
Lewis & Clark Timberlands
and Clatsop County parks,”
Dougherty said.
North Coast Trail Alli-
ance and Lewis & Clark
Timberlands collaborated
to create the approximately
6-mile Klootchy Creek
mountain biking trail sys-
tem, which opened in 2019.
The trails are on the timber-
lands while an entrance is on
the nearby county land.
Dougherty said the tim-
ber company isn’t required
There are 6 miles of mountain bike trails just behind Klootchy
Creek County Park.
to have recreation opportu-
nities on its land, but it feels
it’s important to do so.
“We want people to get
out there to enjoy the timber-
land and connect with nature
and see some of the things
we’re doing,” he said. “We
also want to be part of the
community. We don’t want
to be completely blocked off
and hidden from the world.”
Chad Washington, the
stewardship and community
engagement coordinator for
GreenWood Resources, said
the timber company adopted
the park to maintain it and
pick up garbage.
“We certainly embrace
local recreation on our tim-
berlands and I think it’s
important for people to be
on the landscape and close
to forestry,” he said. “We’re
committed to keeping our
lands open to the public as
long as it doesn’t put our
timberlands at risk.”
During hunting season,
Lewis & Clark Timberlands
gets thousands of visitors on
its property from all over the
U.S. Members of the pub-
lic are expected to get a free
permit to access the land
when it’s open.
The area is closed to the
public during fi re season.
Washington said the condi-
tions are especially dry right
now after the heat dome
Oregon experienced at the
end of June. Tender new
growth has died on some of
the trees, creating extra fuel
if a fi re were to ignite there.
“We need the land to be
a saturated sponge and now
we have a dry sponge with
a little misting at the top,”
Washington said.
Deer and elk in the area
often feed on young trees,
so Lewis & Clark Timber-
lands allows hunting on the
property.
“By providing hunting
opportunities, it provides
free range meat for the pub-
lic and helps mitigate the
damage those animals do to
our young trees,” Washing-
ton said. “That’s a mutually
benefi cial activity.”
Public entities also man-
age land for recreation in
addition to their main pur-
pose. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service manages
Julia Butler Hansen Ref-
uge on both sides of the
Columbia River specifi -
cally to conserve habitat for
the threatened Columbian
white-tailed deer. But it also
allows for waterfowl hunt-
ing in a separate part of the
columbiamemorial.org/telehealth
refuge.
Jake Bonello, the assis-
tant refuge manager, said
the Columbian white-tailed
deer is only found west of
the Cascade range.
“Their numbers have
dwindled to very low num-
bers and by the time this
habitat was discovered, it
was one of the last remain-
ing habitats for them,”
Bonello said. “It’s important
we can protect and conserve
as much habitat as possible
for them.”
The refuge, between
Longview, Washington, and
Westport, off ers one trail
that is open year-round and
other trails that are open sea-
sonally. Hunting and fi shing
is allowed in the exterior
areas that can be accessed
by boat, while the interior of
the refuge is closed to hunt-
ing in order to protect the
deer.
Bonello said the recre-
ational opportunities are
all about engaging with the
public.
“There are no recre-
ational fees here, everything
is provided for the sake of
education and outreach and
getting people outdoors,” he
said. “Education and out-
reach is important just to
get as many people on board
with the eff orts to protect
the Columbian white-tailed
deer.”
One of the best ways to
do that, he added, is for peo-
ple to go out to the refuge
and see the deer in person.