The independent., January 17, 1996, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2
The INDEPENDENT, Jan. 17, 1996
t UNDEPENDENT
4
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published
twice monthly on the first and third Wednesdays of each
month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge
Street, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper.
Editors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen, (503)
429-9410.
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Sometimes, what government agencies point to as
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proper or legal procedure, fails to address the pur­
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pose and intent of the procedure.
A case in point is the present impasse in Banks. In
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1994, when notice was published and/or posted an­
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legally. The problem is that doing what was legal,
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simply wasn t sufficient. This was a subdivision that
would add more than 300 homes in a town that had
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about that same number of homes.
Because the development would have a huge im­
pact on the residents of Banks, even on the residents
in the su rro u n d in g co m m u n ity b eca u se of the
schools, a lot of grief (and money) could have been
avoided by going beyond the legal requirements of
notice . This is one time when press releases should By Dale Webb, member
ond is a sea-run, anadromous fish that goes
have been sent to every newspaper in the area; when Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter
to the ocean, then returns to the river to
arge, noticeable flyers should have been posted all
spawn, much like salmon and steelhead. Oth­
The O regon D epartm ent of Fish and
aI 0U? ? J ° Wn; when the assistar*ce of the schools Wildlife is currently working on statewide fish­
er than maybe having some sea lice on them
should have been solicited to have notices sent home ing regulations to see if they can be simplified
after re-entering the Nehalem River, they look
identical to the resident fish. I know a lot of
with students.
through consolidation, elimination or other ap­
fishermen
are saying they can tell the differ­
Its true that “actual” notice requires more effort
proaches, without harming long-term conser­
ence, that sea-runs are much brighter, which
and sometimes more cost, than “legal” notice. It’s vation of fish populations or reducing angling
may be true for a short period of time, but af­
also true that citizens should put more effort into pav­ opportunities. At the same time, each district
ter the fish have been in the river for a while,
reviewed its regulations to see whether they
ing attention to the information that is available to
biologists say you cannot tell them apart.
are adequately protecting their respective
them and should attend city council and school board
The paradox for biologists is to protect the
stocks. This is where we hit a snag.
meetings.
sea-run population and still provide a residen­
Earlier this year, biologists from California
tial
cutthroat fishery. The first regulation, elimi­
Nevertheless, when a potentially controversial sub­ to Alaska met in Reedsport for the first-ever
nating the winter trout season, protects adult
ject comes before a local governing board it’s far sea-run cutthroat trout conference. The con­
sea-run cutthroat while they are in the river to
more sensible to bring it out into the open than it is to sensus of the participants is that sea-run cut­
spawn and on their way back to the ocean in
throat trout are disappearing fast. The scien­
hope that no one notices.
late winter (February and March), the second
On a subject with far less impact than the Banks tists based their agreement on anecdotal evi­
regulation protects juvenile sea-run cutthroat
dence such as creel surveys and dam counts.
project, C olum bia C ounty C om m issioners have Creel surveys on the Columbia River have de­
during the summer fishery. Juvenile cutthroat
trout do not smolt out of the Nehalem until
turned their backs on a tradition that was used to clined from an average of about 5,000 sea-run
they
are about 10 inches in length. We have
maintain some representation for citizens in the less cutthroat in the 1970s to about 50 currently.
probably been catching a lot of sea-run smolts
The Siuslaw is producing only about 10% of
populated areas of the county.
in the Spring-Summer trout fishery without
its late 1960s harvests. Sea-run cutthroat
For many years, the three lay members of the
knowing it. The two-fish daily bag is to help
have been m onitored at W inchester dam
county budget com m ittee were a p p o in ted from
protect any adult sea-runs that may be in the
since 1946, showing a population of about
among citize n s who lived in Rainier, Vernonia
river in late summer by reducing fishing im­
1000 per year until 1956; since then, the pop­
Clatskanie, Mist, etc., because of the population
pact.
ulation has declined to nearly nothing. It is the
One of the biggest problems with trying to
bulge that resulted in electing commissioners and consensus that all coastal populations are suf­
protect this fishery is that very little is known
other officials from St. Helens and Scappooose Not fering from low population numbers.
about sea-run cutthroat trout. We do not know
Our district biologist, Walt Weber, concurs
any more. In a unanimous vote, Sandy Dillard and
how they are distributed in the Nehalem sys­
that the population in the Nehalem system has
Bob Schmor, were appointed to vacancies on the
tem, where they spawn, what the population is
declined and he is now forced to propose re­
budget committee that were formerly held by people strictive fishing regulations to help protect this
(exactly), how the juveniles move through the
from Vernonia and Rainier. The two new members species. The district staff is proposing to
river system and many more questions.
The reality of the new fishing regulations is
are both from St. Helens.
"Eliminate winter trout season to protect juve­
that the fishery that many of us grew up with is
This isn’t a complaint about the ability of either ap­ nile salmon/steelhead and sea-run cutthroat”.
now history, fishing in the small streams and
pointee to do a good job. This is simply another case Another staff proposal is that “Trout bag limit
beaver ponds seldom produces fish longer
when “legal” notice wasn’t the same as “actual” no­ in all NW zone streams be 2 per day and they
than 12 inches. These sm all stream s and
must be 12 inches in length. This is a conser­
tice. Posting a notice on the bulletin board at the
ponds may not be sea-run habitat (nobody
vation measure to protect sea-run cutthroat
courthouse is of little use to people who have no rea­ trout”. Right now I’m hearing a lot of “Oh! No
knows), but writing regulations so we could
ish certain small streams or beaver ponds
son to go to the courthouse. Publishing a notice in way!”
would be a nightmare of regulations that not
Many people are thinking “there are a lot of
newspapers that don’t cover the county is legal but
even my lawyer could decipher.
cutthroat trout in the river” , and they are right.
fails to give actual notice.
The reality of this situation is that sea-run
A little effort on the part of the com m issioners The problem is that there aren’t a lot of sea-
cutthroat trout and coho salmon are in a race
would have been appreciated. Incidentally, when was run cutthroat trout in the river and they look
to be our next endangered species. If we take
the same as all the other cutthroat trout in the
the last time anyone saw a county commissioner in river. There are two kinds of cutthroat trout in
corrective measures now, we may be able to
Vernonia or Mist?
help keep sea-run cutthroat trout off the list.
the Nehalem River; one is a residential fish
Fishing has most likely played a major role in
Ah, yes, back to the good old days!
that never leaves the river system. The sec­
9 9
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