Page 20
The INDEPENDENT, January 21, 2010
Silverspot butterfly population may be stabilized with help from zoo
From page 24
years to come.
Overall, the zoo released
more than 2,000 of the rare
Northwest butterflies in 2009,
including 806 larvae to the site
near Yachats, and an additional
600 pupae each to release
sites at Cascade Head and
Bray Point.
“Through our combined ef-
forts, we hope to stabilize the
butterfly population and bring it
back from the brink of extinc-
tion,” Shepherdson said.
The Oregon silverspot but-
terfly is listed as threatened un-
der the U.S. Endangered
Species Act. It was once found
in coastal grasslands from
northern California to southern
Washington, but has since dis-
appeared from all but a handful
of sites along the Oregon coast
due to habitat loss and the dis-
appearance of its host plant,
the western blue violet.
During the preceding dec-
ade, monitoring at Cascade
Head revealed a dramatic de-
cline in the number of butter-
flies seen flying. In years prior
to 1992, average numbers ex-
ceeded 1,000 adults, but in
1998, only 57 of the butterflies
were found.
Each year, female silverspot
butterflies are collected from
Mount Hebo and induced to lay
eggs at the Oregon Zoo’s but-
terfly conservation facility. The
eggs hatch into tiny larvae
(caterpillars), which are kept in
refrigerators over the winter,
when they are in a dormant
stage called diapause (similar
to hibernation).
The Oregon silverspot cap-
tive-rearing effort is a project of
the NW Zoo & Aquarium Al-
liance, which promotes collabo-
ration on regional conservation
among zoos and aquariums in
the Pacific Northwest.
Healthy Start receives donation
From page 4
tion program available to more
children.
The Holiday Book Bag proj-
ect supports reading and
healthy family activities. 50
book bags were given to fami-
lies served by the Department
of Human Services, Self Suffi-
ciency office. In addition to
items in the bags, families are
able to choose books for their
children. Most of the books are
donated by the St. Helens Ki-
wanis Club.
For more information about
enrolling in or providing cash or
in-kind donations to the
Healthy Start program, call
Sunday Kamppi at 503-366-
6556. For information about
donating gently used or new
books for Columbia County
Action Ads
INEXPENSIVE – EFFECTIVE
503-429-9410
$4.50 for the first
10 words, then just
10¢ for each
additional word
children, call Jan Spika Kenna
at 503-397-7225.
WEATHER REPORT
DECEMBER 2009
DATE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
TEMPERATURE
HI
LO
49
48
44
45
42
35
28
28
31
35
37
36
37
43
48
49
47
50
51
55
50
38
35
43
41
43
38
45
33
40
43
27
22
21
22
20
16
8
3
2
3
5
16
17
32
37
36
34
33
42
41
31
30
30
26
22
21
21
24
20
32
31
PRECIP.
AMT.
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
T
.15
.68
.69
.56
.07
.02
.08
.48
.22
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
.33
.20
.55
Temperature and precipitation
amounts are from the official U.S.
weather station at the Vernonia wa-
ter plant. Measurable precipitation in
December totalled 4.03 inches.
Over the past decade, the
zoo has collaborated with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the Nature Conservancy, the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife, the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife
and the Xerces Society to suc-
cessfully raise and release
Northwest butterflies.
In addition to conserving
Oregon silverspots, the zoo
has enjoyed phenomenal suc-
cess in its work with the endan-
gered Taylor’s checkerspot,
raising and releasing thou-
sands of these butterflies over
the past six years.
According to Andersen, but-
terfly populations throughout
North America are in decline,
with 23 species listed as either
endangered or threatened. To
address this problem, the Ore-
Donkeys are on
their way here
From page 11
5:00 p.m. in the hallways of
VHS. There will also be activi-
ties for the kids prior to the
game – make your own donkey
mask or color a donkey picture
and enter to win a prize.
Presale tickets are available
at the School District Office.
Save a dollar by purchasing
your tickets early. All proceeds
benefit the Junior Class Prom
Committee and the Zack Rum-
bolz Memorial Scholarship
fund.
ODFW seeks
volunteers
From page 5
sent water users, fisheries and
conservation interests, and the
general public. Landowners
and operators must provide for
passage of adult and juvenile
native migratory fish whenever
there is new construction, ma-
jor replacement, a permit
change or abandonment, as
required by ORS 509.585. Pro-
viding fish with safe and effec-
tive access to historic habitat is
one of the best ways to con-
serve and restore Oregon’s na-
tive migratory fish populations.
For more information or an
application, call Apke at 503-
947-6228, or e-mail him at
greg.d.apke@state.or. us . Ap-
plications will be accepted
through February 5.
gon Zoo has been a charter
member of the Association of
Zoos and Aquariums’ Butterfly
Conservation Initiative, which
involves nearly 50 national zoos
and aquariums. The initiative is
designed to bring together gov-
ernment and non-government
agencies to aid in the recovery
of imperiled butterflies.
From the Sheriff’s Desk…
From page 19
these budget shortfalls.
First, I wanted you to know that the failure to provide adequate
coverage in the Nehalem Valley does not mean that we have for-
gotten about you. Our deputies are able to respond anywhere in
the county when there is need and have done so in the Nehalem
Valley during this time of economic need. We respond as we have
the personnel available in as efficient a manner as possible given
our limited resources. We have responded inside city limits to
take calls for service when no police officer is available to perform
that service.
But I know we could do much better with just a few more re-
sources, and the purpose of our committee – known as the En-
hanced Law Enforcement Advisory Committee (ELEAC) – is to
identify the best model possible for delivering these services.
I will tell you that the most efficient model out there is an ade-
quately funded sheriff’s office that gives cities the final say in how
they police within the bounds of their city charters, and tasks the
sheriff’s office with the universal role of peace conservation with-
in the county: Having one agency responsible to provide the full
range of law enforcement and peace conserving duties that can
go anywhere in the county, and leaving it up to the cities if they
wish to have the sheriff, or their own police department policing
city neighborhoods and enforcing city ordinances.
It is not my desire to try and convince a city they would be bet-
ter off with the sheriff providing those services, as it involves con-
tract negotiations according to state law. The sheriff has enough
to concentrate on if a city desires to provide its own law enforce-
ment within the confines of its jurisdiction.
But I also want to tell you that all Nehalem Valley residents –
whether in the city or outside of it – have a vested interest in a
strong sheriff’s office. By concentrating the full range of services
with one agency, you get more for your dollar with the universal
mandates placed on the sheriff by state law. Countywide investi-
gation teams, Marine Patrols, Law Enforcement services to your
friends and families who live outside of cities, but attend your
schools; Jail Services, Search and Rescue services and Civil
Process Services all fall under the authority of the sheriff and
need to be kept strong for the sake of peace in our county as a
whole. If one part of the county suffers from a lack of peace con-
servation, the whole county eventually experiences the resulting
fallout.
Finally, I want you to know that I will be making a recommen-
dation to the ELEAC committee that there is a way to bolster the
role of the sheriff in our community without effecting city police de-
partments, and instead enhancing the services of the county in
the outlying areas to reduce the strain on tight city budgets. I will
be promoting a way to take advantage of the revenue-producing
potential of the sheriff’s office to reduce the strain on taxpayers
who are willing to do their part to address the budget shortfall.
There is room in this plan for one, perhaps two resident deputies
in the Nehalem Valley who will be dedicated to patrols therein.
And it is a way to use current funding as a leverage to access ru-
ral patrols while raising revenue to pay for things from which every
single taxpayer benefits.
It is my duty and responsibility to provide these services on a
county wide basis. I am doing what I can to make this happen,
and we have had a measured amount of success given the paltry
resources we have. I am hoping that a way can be found to pro-
vide for these county-wide needs on an equitable basis and not
put the burden unfairly on any one subgroup of taxpayers.
Please be safe out there!