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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2006)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, March 2, 2006 The INDEPENDENT Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410. Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net • Managing Editor Rebecca Mc- Gaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net • Editor Noni Ander- sen, noni@the-independent.net Opinion New Analysis of 2007 Budget A new analysis of President Bush’s 2007 budget shows that Oregon would experience large and grow- ing cuts in federal investments over the next five years, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy. The analysis by the Washington, DC-based Center on Bud- get and Policy Priorities (CBPP) shows state-by-state effects of the budget cuts over five years. The proposed budget calls for $183 billion in cuts to domestic discretionary (non-military, non-entitlement) programs over the next five years. More than 90 per- cent of these cuts would take place after 2007. In a break with standard budgeting practice, the Adminis- tration did not provide funding levels in its official budg- et documents for specific programs for years after 2007, though it counts on cuts in 2008 – 2011. Using data from a computer run the Administration released, the CBPP was able to calculate how the budget would affect specific programs, as well as each state, over the next five years. The impact on Oregon of just education and work- force cuts in the proposed budget include: Cuts to Head Start of 10 to 14 percent. In 2011, be- tween 900 and 1,200 fewer low-income Oregon chil- dren would enroll in this pre-school program. Cuts of $75 million in federal funding for K-12 edu- cation for Oregon over five years. Complete elimination of federal funding for Oregon’s vocational education programs. Seventy-four percent reduction, or $89 million, over five years in federal funding for programs that help Oregonians gain marketable job skills. Cuts in federal childcare funding for Oregon of 9%, or $11 million over five years, limiting the ability of the state to support low-income families maintaining em- ployment. A question about U.S. priorities Required upgrades to Vernonia’s wastewater treat- ment facility will cost the city’s 2,500 residents about $9 million dollars. This is the same amount our government is spend- ing on the war in Iraq every 63 minutes according to costofwar.com. Why isn’t our government helping cities like Vernon- ia with infrastructure improvements with some of that money? Ike Says… By Dale Webb, member Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter There is a new debate brewing about sturgeon fishing. Recently the Ore- gon and Washington de- partments of Fish and Wildlife, “Agreed to ex- pand the sturgeon spawn- ing sanctuary below Bon- neville Dam from the cur- rent five miles to seven miles in length to give additional protection to the fish. As a result, from May 1 to July 31 angling for sturgeon will be prohibited from Marker 85 to Bonneville Dam.” The debate involves the recreational fishery for oversized sturgeon, those over 60 inches long. For those of you not in the know, the stur- geon fishery is shared between the recreational and commercial fisheries. Both fisheries have a slot limit, the length in inches between minimum and maximum that the sturgeon must be in order to keep it. Once the fish exceed the 60 inch up- per limit of the slot, they are protected from har- vest, but not from catch and release, this is the crux of the problem. Sturgeon longer than 60 inches are protected because they are the fish that will spawn and maintain the fishery. These fish spawn mainly just below Bonneville Dam, which concentrates the fish and makes them vul- nerable to catching. In the past, this was not an issue, but since the early 90s, when a new fishery was started, catching and releasing these prehistoric giants soon became very popular. The fish and wildlife departments established sanctuaries, over time, to provide some protection to these fish. So what is the concern if this is a catch and release fishery? Major concerns for the two fishery depart- ments are the lack of information on how many fish there are, and the impacts caused by catch and release. Several recent studies are starting to provide information. One study looked at cor- tisol levels in oversized sturgeon in the Bon- neville area. Cortisol is a chemical that is found in fish that are suffering from stress. It is be- lieved that stressed fish may not be successful at spawning, and cortisol levels are pointing out that, indeed, the fish are stressed. Another study looked at how many oversized sturgeon there are in the Bonneville area, the an- swer to that question is an educated guess of around 2,000. It is thought that there are around 11,000 oversized sturgeon in the Columbia River below Bonneville. From fishing reports, we know that over 6,000 oversized fish are caught per year, most of them in the Bonneville area. The concern is the continual catch and release of the same fish, with the associated hooking and stress-related mortality. Many of the oversized sturgeon being caught in the Bonneville area have multiple hook wounds or leaders hanging from the vent. If this is reducing the brood stock fish in numbers or productivity, it will impact the consumptive harvest of sturgeon in the future. Please see page
