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The INDEPENDENT, Sept. 13,1995
n. INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published
twice monthly on the second and fourth Wednesdays of
each month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 1206
S tate A venue, V ernonia, OR 97064, as a free
new spaper. E ditors and P ublishers, Dirk & Noni
Andersen, (503) 429-9410.
"
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i MS A
County should look
seriously at trail
Columbia County has the opportunity to obtain,
without cost, about 7-1/2 miles of the Columbia For
est mainline from Scappoose to Chapman by trading
with Cavenham Forest Products, for county roads the
county doesn’t maintain within Cavenham’s tree farm.
A former county commissioner started negotiations
with Cavenham for the potential trail, but the board of
commissioners, the parks superintendent and the
parks commission have turned their backs on the op
portunity. Why?
Chuck Ashcroft, superintendent of county parks,
said one reason he wasn’t interested is because oth
er timber companies had agreements to move their
timber along the mainline. This is not true.
Columbia Forest superintendent Bill Marré said the
only agreement that affects the mainline is one allow
ing Longview Fibre to access a small rock pit near the
Spitzenberg junction. There are no agreements to
move timber on the mainline.
Another objection, Ashcroft said, is that Cavenham
wants the right to use the mainline if the Scappoose-
Vernonia Highway is closed because of a thaw.
Again, not true.
There had been no discussion of that possibility,
Marró said, because Cavenham’s traffic pattern has
changed. Logs no longer go to Scappoose, they go to
Longview.
Ashcroft also said the Scappoose area needs
parks with baseball fields or other specific uses, not a
trail. If hiking, biking and horseback riding are not
specific uses, then what is? The county is certainly
not obligated to create a neighborhood park for Scap
poose; that is the responsibility of the people in the
Scappoose Parks & Recreation District.
Some residents along the mainline have made the
usual objections to a trail, claiming it would bring litter,
vandalism, theft, etc., etc. The county park commis
sion is derelict in its duty if it accepts these com
plaints without investigating their validity. They can
easily check with the Vernonia Police Department
and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office to see how
many complaints there have been from the Banks-
Vernonia Linear Trail.
A valid reason for the county to delay a decision on
the trade is the uncertainty of funding for develop
ment and maintenance of the trail. However, that is
not a valid reason to act as though parks are unim
portant future needs.
Vernonia has six city-owned parks: Airport Park is
for primitive camping; Anderson Park accommodates
RVs, has a horse arena, a playground and picnic ar
eas; Hawkins Park has a covered picnic area, barbe
cue pits, a playground, horseshoe pits, a summer
swimming hole, and enough open space for a logging
show or a circus; Ora Bolmeier Park is a neighbor
hood park with a playground and picnic area;
Spencer Park has baseball fields; Vernonia Lake has
fishing, bird watching and a trail. Nevertheless, the
City of Vernonia has had positive economic benefits
from the Banks-Vernonia Linear Trail.
The county should not ignore this opportunity.
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By David Michael Jones, member
Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter
Well the Jamboree has come and gone and
so has our Ike’s Fishing Derby. We had one of
the largest turnouts, with over eighty boys and
girls participating. We distributed close to thirty
prizes to the young anglers. I would like to
take this opportunity to thank our sponsors
and the contributors of prizes of fishing gear.
As in the past, Noni and Dirk Andersen of The
INDEPENDENT donated $100 which was tak
en to Vernonia Hardware where we were able
to buy fishing prizes at their cost. Vernonia
Hardware also donated some smaller articles
of fishing gear which were distributed to some
of the children who didn’t receive prizes. I
would also like to thank Kaufmann Stream-
born fly fishing shop in Tigard, Northwest Out
fitters, and Cabela’s (the mail order outfitter)
for other fishing articles which were used as
prizes. Thank you to you all and to all the Ikes
and other volunteers who helped with count
ing the fish, registering the anglers, and polic
ing the area. (A quick note to the lady who
was concerned about the fish that were “re
leased” back into the Lake in less than prime
condition: As promised, I checked a day later
and they were all gone, compliments of the
Osprey, Bald Eagle, Possum Patrol or a local
raccoon—which I guess is nature’s way of
cleaning up after us humans.)
I did manage to tie up a few flies and jigs to
add to some of the tackle boxes that were
prizes. Feathered jigs can be quite effective.
My wife caught her first summer steelhead
last summer on a feather jig and I caught the
largest Coastal Cutthroat I have ever taken a
couple of months ago on a small, barbless
feathered jig I had tied up. My fishing partner
said it was all of twenty inches but we will nev
er know for sure since we slipped it back into
the water to let it propagate its species. To fish
these jigs the angler just has to slip a line
through a cheap, clear plastic bobber and tie
onto the jig. The distance between the bobber
and the jig can be varied to keep the jig off the
bottom. The type of bobber to use is the type
that can have water added to it. Good Luck,
Tight Lines, and release Natives...Please!
A rem inder for anglers: The upper Ne
halem system, including Rock Creek and the
tributaries, is closed to fishing, September 1 to
October 15, to protect spawning salmon that
are in the river system now. Please read the
regulations.
With all the rain we’ve been having this
summer I should have had my elk by now but
that certainly hasn’t been the case. Although I
have been on a few herds I haven’t had an
opportunity for that perfect shot that fills the
freezer. One of the hats I wear in our chapter
of the Izaak Walton League of America has to
do with hunting ethics and part of that is hav
ing respect fo r o n e ’s quarry, being good
enough with your hunting tool to make the kill
as quickly and mercifully as possible, and to
not take shots that are out of range. As a
hunting archer one thing I have found helpful
is field practice with an old broadhead, judo
point, or blunt and I often do that on the way
back to my rig after the hunt, since one is defi
nitely in the “field” then. It is also important to
understand the influence that adrenaline has
on our body and mind. This causes the buck
or bull fever that we experience and can shut
off the reasoning ability of our minds and influ
ence our accuracy.
Another reminder: The Beneke Tract at
Jewell Wildlife Meadows is closed to ALL pub
lic access during any Saddle Mountain Elk
Season and that includes a photographer
such as yours truly, the casual hiker, a rifle or
bow hunter or anyone else. Please read the
regulations.
i ne national chapter of the Izaak Walton
League of America is on a membership drive
and your local chapter here in Vernonia could
use some help and new members. Feel free
to drop in on our m e e t i n g s .
Izaak Walton League meetings are
the third Wednesday of each month,
Vernonia Public Library at 7;00 p.m.
The public Is welcome
Cavenham to open forest roads for hunting season
Cavenham Forest Prod
ucts will open some of their
gates for hunting season, ac
cording to Bill Marré, superin-
te n d e n t fo r C avenham ’s
Colum bia and M ollala tree
farms.
If fire danger returns, the
gates will be closed for safety
reasons. Otherwise they will
remain open for hunters.