by Ann Vileisis
Marbled Murrelet uplisted to endangered
On July 9, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (OFWC) voted 4 to 3 to uplist the marbled murrelet (MAMU) from “threatened” to “endangered” on the state endangered species list. It’s odd to cheer the listing a bird as “endangered,” but in this case, we are hopeful that the decision can provide a new framework that may truly help this little seabird to rebound.
Marbled murrelets are small dark seabirds that come ashore to nest on mossy limbs of big old growth trees in forests along Oregon’s coast. They were devastated by the clearcut logging of the vast majority of their nesting habitat, and are now impacted by continued habitat fragmentation and warming ocean conditions that affect the fish they eat. Survival of MAMU in Oregon requires protection of existing old-growth nesting habitat until surrounding forests grow large enough once again to provide sufficient habitat to support nesting of more birds.
You may remember a similar vote by the OFWC three years ago that was subsequently reversed in response to timber industry pressure. Environmental groups cried foul, and sued. A judge ultimately agreed with their assessment of the illegal public process and directed the OFWC to take up the issue with a de novo hearing.
This time, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff recommended against uplisting, citing a small (2%) uptick in murrelets counted in recent at-sea surveys, an increase in habitat (mostly marginal) since 1995, and the fact that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (during the Trump Administration) had not uplisted MAMU. But seabird scientists provided new research indicating that birds at sea forego nesting for many years in a row if ocean conditions are poor, and that there was really no way to know if birds counted at sea were actually Oregon nesters. Predictably, a lineup of timber industry groups opposed the uplisting while all the seabird scientists and bird advocacy groups supported. As the Commissioners took in all the testimony and then discussed the issue through a marathon 8.5-hour meeting, it became clear that a majority thought it was time to take stronger action to protect this vulnerable bird.
With the uplisting, the Commission also voted to approve survival guidelines developed by ODFW staff that will clarify and help strengthen protections for remaining murrelet habitat in state-owned forests in the Coast Range, which contain a significant amount of the murrelets’ remaining nesting habitat. The guidelines will influence how other state agencies, such as State Parks, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Department of State Lands, address land management actions that may detrimentally impact MAMU habitat. The agencies are now required to develop endangered species management plans and submit to the Commission for approval within 18 months.
Teresa Bird, who has been leading KAS murrelet advocacy efforts, testified eloquently and persuasively on behalf of KAS at the ODFW hearing in favor of the uplisting. Teresa, who has done both at sea and in forest monitoring for marbled murrelets, has come to know the science of these mysterious little seabirds and was able to point out flaws in opposition arguments and also to convey some of her personal experiences. I am proud to say that KAS members have worked to protect marbled murrelet habitat in our forests since the founding of our organization. Thanks to all who sent letters to the OFWC in support of our MAMU! And if anyone wants a chance to perhaps see a marbled murrelet, please contact Teresa about this year’s community murrelet survey up Elk River, coming up on July 31.
Port Orford outdoor lighting ordinance passed!
I am pleased to report that the Port Orford City Council unanimously passed an upgraded version outdoor lighting ordinance at its July 15 meeting, after an extensive process of research and public meetings by the Port Orford Planning Commission. The upgrade was needed to address many changes in lighting technology that have occurred since the dark sky ordinance was first passed in 2005. Some highlights include the requirement for warm colored lighting (< 2700 kelvins), dark-sky compliant street lights on Highway 101, and stronger enforcement provisions. We’ll post the upgraded ordinance on our website when it becomes available.
KAS has been engaged in projects to protect the beautiful starry sky over the city of Port Orford from light pollution for more than 20 years, beginning with getting the goal into our city comprehensive plan. Then for many years, KAS board member Al Geiser worked together with Coos Curry Electric Coop to install “night caps” to focus the bright light of street and yard lights down to the ground. KAS worked to pass the original ordinance in 2005. And with this recent upgrade effort, KAS has attended every single meeting pressing to get the ordinance right and across the finish line.
I want to thank everyone who has helped by attending meetings through the long process and several individuals who played particularly helpful roles: former Planning Commission Chair Kevin McHugh (and retired electrical engineer) spearheaded the effort to upgrade of the ordinance, conducting a tremendous amount of research and bringing considerable expertise to bear; Steve Lawton helped us to collaborate with ODOT and CCEC regarding light fixtures on Highway 101; star- (and bird-) photographer Rowly Willis attended countless meetings and shared his knowledge of illumination. In the end, Planning Commissioner Greg Thelan took a special interest in making the ordinance work well, and we are grateful to all current planning Commission members and to City Council members for passing the new outdoor lighting ordinance. Please thank Port Orford’s City Council members for passing the lighting ordinance by sending them a thank you note. (email contacts: pcox@portorford.org, claroche@portorford.org, gburns@portorford.org, jgarratt@portorford.org, tpogwizd@portorford.org, lkessler@portorford.org, gtidey@portorford.org)
Finally, I am delighted to share that long time Dark Sky supporter and local, Port Orford musician Steve Montana was so inspired by our town’s beautiful starry skies that he wrote fun and moving lyrics to an old song to help inspire our effort. You can see his truly stellar performance on our brand new KAS Youtube channel. Google “Kalmiopsis Audubon, Dark Skies, Youtube,” and you’ll find it. The stunning starry background photo is by KAS member Rowly Willis. We encourage our social media-savvy members to help share this fun little music video widely to help inspire compliance. We plan to do some more community education in the fall.
River Democracy Act
Last year, Senator Wyden asked Oregonians to nominate their favorite rivers for Wild and Scenic designation. More than 2,000 people responded to the call with 15,000 nominations, and earlier this year, he and Senator Merkley introduced the River Democracy Act, which would designate more than 4,500 miles of rivers, including many in our Kalmiopsis-Wild Rivers coast region. In early July, Senator Wyden advanced the bill with a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee, a key step in legislative process.
Some important local streams in the bill include tributaries to the Wild and Scenic Illinois, Rogue, Chetco, and North Fork Smith Rivers, plus the streams in the Sixes, Pistol River, Hunter Creek, and Winchuck basins. The bill would direct federal agencies to “protect and enhance” each river’s outstanding values and would explicitly protect designated river corridors from damming and mining. The bill allows for fire-risk reduction and management that is in alignment with protecting outstanding values (called “outstandingly remarkable values” by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act). With rising concern about drought, the importance of protecting our rivers has come into particularly sharp relief!
The Pacific Rivers Council produced a short video that highlights some of the rivers to be protected by the new bill that you can see here: http://vimeo.com/534234263
If you’ve not yet done so, please contact Senators Wyden and Merkley to thank them for advancing the River Democracy Act in the Senate and while you’re at it, please also encourage them to advance the Southwestern Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act (SOWSPA). You can send a comment on their websites, or make a call: Sen. Wyden: (202) 224-5244/ (541) 858-5122/ Sen. Merkley: (202) 224-3753/541-608-9102
Here’s a sample of what you might say or write:
Thank you for introducing the River Democracy Act. I appreciate your listening to Oregonians and working to better protecting the rivers that flow through our federal public lands. In Southwest Oregon, we have some rivers that need special protection from the threat of strip mining at their headwaters, and so I hope you’ll also continue to advance the Southwestern Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act (SOWSPA), which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year.
Remember, it’s always good to add something personal —by tucking in a sentence about how you appreciate the natural values of rivers, getting outdoors, birds, fish or fishing. Conserving our rivers is essential because rivers are literally the lifelines of our landscapes!
Also, Senator Wyden may be coming to Curry County for an in-person town hall meeting in late summer, and if he does, it will be important for people to show up—in person— to thank him for his leadership in protecting our rivers. Sign up for the KAS HOOT OUT for news about opportunities to make a difference for conservation.
Floating offshore wind
With the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) public process for leasing offshore areas for development of wind energy on the horizon for the end of the year, I’ve continued to research how these industrial, floating turbine installations might impact our region’s birds, fish, and wildlife so we’ll be ready to provide informed and constructive input.
Here are some things I’ve learned thus far. Proponents think that locating turbines ~20 miles out will minimize conflicts with fishermen and wildlife, but it’s important to note that this offshore zone is not empty. The continental shelf gradually slopes down from the coast, and then— between 25 to 30 miles out—drops from 3,000 to 10,000 feet deep. At the shelf break, cold, nutrient rich waters rise from the deep, creating a particularly rich zone of life that attracts larger fishes and birds. Off Oregon’s coast, upwelling coupled with distinctive bathymetry and oceanographic conditions in the vicinity of the Columbia River mouth, Heceta Bank, and Cape Blanco are thought to make for particularly rich zones.
Birds known to use the upwelling zone include albatrosses, shearwaters, and fulmars—known as the dynamic soaring seabirds—which come from all around the Pacific to forage. Most of these pelagic birds never come to land except to breed, and each has a fascinating life history. For example, the endangered Short-tailed Albatross now breeds on only two islands in northern Japan. Parents raise one chick each year, and it is thought that 2- to 3-year-old birds come to feed off Oregon’s coast. Decimated by market hunters to the point of near extinction in the early 20th century, the birds have had a difficult time rebounding owing to their very small population size and limited breeding grounds. Plastics pollution, marine contamination, and long-line fishing are also considered to be threats to their recovery.
To help minimize impacts to birds like albatrosses, wind energy researchers have been studying the idea of installing enormous-sized turbines—800-1,000 feet tall—so that dangerous rotor-swept areas will be 400-500 feet above the ocean’s surface and so that arrays might contain fewer, larger turbines. (For perspective, wind turbines you may have seen in the Columbia Gorge or in southern California are 300 to 400 ft tall!) To reduce impacts to birds and marine mammals, the turbines will need to be arranged in arrays small enough or widely-spaced enough, that north-migrating species can either avoid or go around. The noise, electromagnetism, cables, structures may displace some species entirely, while the structures may also attract forage fish and draw some species into the arrays.
Finally, for offshore wind energy development to be economic, locations for turbine arrays will likely need to be close enough to link up to major electric grid infrastructure—such as near Coos Bay, which has a major tie-in to BPA power lines. However, stronger winds to the south may prompt wind prospectors to consider farther-afield turbine locations that could be linked by undersea cables. There is still quite a lot of uncertainty on many fronts —and a lot more to learn. Stay tuned!
Wild horses, again!
In early June, Commissioner Boice reprised his proposal to relocate wild horses from over-populated eastern Oregon’s BLM range lands to the rugged terrain of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. He’d invited his friend, a zealous proponent of using horses to reduce fire risks in wilderness areas, to come and give a presentation to the Curry Board of Commissioners (BOC). Long-time KAS members will remember that Mr. Boice brought this misguided proposal to the BOC back in 2017, and after a series of meetings, at which KAS members and others testified persuasively against it, the Curry BOC voted 3 to 2 to not pursue it any further.
It was a bad idea then, and it remains a bad idea now, so I sent in a letter from KAS and asked KAS members who had provided persuasive testimony in the past to send in letters again. I am proud to say our membership includes people with a lot of diverse expertise to address this issue—from wildlife and rangeland management, to direct experience with horses’ behavior and of the animals’ impacts, to knowledge of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and its botany, of the wild horse laws and of public lands laws, and more.
Commissioner Boice moved the presentation to a later date, but KAS Board member Tim Palmer went down to the BOC meeting anyway and urged Boice and his fellow commissioners to just drop the misguided proposal. Marisu Terry also spoke against. At that point, Commissioner Paasch let it be known that Boice’s horse-expert friend had sent an email to the BOC deriding and insulting Curry County citizens who had already submitted letters, and so he recommended against allowing the presentation. (We later obtained a copy of the email, which indicated that the expert did not want to come to talk to a bunch of “ignorant” Curry County citizens.) Paasch, a long-time horse owner, explained that uncontrolled wild horses would likely end up becoming a problem on private lands, echoing one of the many concerns we had raised.
To be clear, this proposal would not even be legal owing to laws protecting wild horses and wilderness, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, but in this age of ill-informed ideas taking root, we’ve felt that it was critically important to provide substantial information to counter the proposal. Mr. Boice’s intention was positive—to reduce wildfire risks, but we think there are far better ways for our county to do that—foremost by helping to better educate citizens about fire risks, and to encourage managing vegetation close to houses to create defensible spaces and hardening of homes to withstand fire. In the end, Commissioner Boice decided to drop the horse proposal. Thanks to all who helped with this one!
Honey Bear campground expansion
In April, new Las Vegas-based owner of the Honey Bear Campground in Nesika Beach—Dacia RV Adventures LLC—proposed a significant expansion of the RV park to 162 campsites. Apparently, the previous, locally-based owner had made unauthorized expansions of both RV and tent sites beyond the approved 65 RV and 5 tent campsites. The new owner, which also owns RV parks in Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, sought both to bring past expansions into compliance (with proper sewer and water capacity) and to expand even further. KAS submitted comments about the need to keep campsites and parking areas out of wetlands, to properly manage stormwater to avoid impacts to Greggs Creek, and also to support dark-sky compliant illumination proposed by the new owner. Neighbors raised questions about traffic and proximity of such a dense, commercial development in their rural neighborhood, but because campgrounds are “conditional uses” for the property’s “commercial rural zone,” there was little that could be done. Ultimately, the Planning Commission approved the campground expansion with a set of 15 conditions, including ones related to protection of wetlands, riparian zones, and dark skies.
34-acres in Langlois
Curry County Roadmaster Richard Christensen has proposed to use the 34-acre County-owned land at the intersection of Airport Rd and Highway 101 in Langlois for a much-needed, clean-fill disposal area –a place to store materials in the event of landslides. This is the 34-acres that Oregon Parks traded to the county as part of the Floras Lake land swap, and the need for a clean fill storage area in north county was identified in the Road Department’s 2021 strategic plan.
Recognizing that the County seeks to now put this land to some useful purpose, at a BOC workshop on this matter held on July 7, KAS Board member Tim Palmer suggested that, with good planning, the densely forested land—with one parcel north and one south of Airport Rd—might accommodate the needs of the road department while also allowing for some other uses, such as trails and possibly educational uses in association with Pacific High School (right across the street). He recommended that the road department use the northern parcel, leaving the southern parcel, which has larger trees and more wetlands, for other purposes. He underscored the need for a wide scenic forest buffer all along Highway 101 and that clearing the land unnecessarily would allow gorse to take hold. As part of the discussion, Economic Development Director Summer Matteson also proposed the idea of a “canopy project” that might capitalize on the land’s sizable trees (all are third growth). The Commissioners directed Planner Becky Crockett to work with the road master to develop a more specific site plan proposal.
New Strain of Sudden Oak Death found near Port Orford
In May, sudden oak death (SOD) was found at a new site north of Port Orford along Highway 101 and also in the general vicinity of Arizona St. on the west side of the Highway 101. SOD is a non-native pathogen (Phytophthora ramorum), spread in part by spores carried by air currents. It has been decimating tanoaks and infests other shrubs, including rhododendrons, at a number of locations in the South County. This detection is over 20 miles north of the last known detection, which was just north of the Rogue River near Lobster Creek.
At this point, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has sampled about 151 trees and has found 107 positives. The results indicate a new strain—called the NA2, which up to this point has only been found in nurseries. ODF is still sampling in the area and are actively contacting landowners for permission to inspect properties where they suspect dying tanoaks. A helicopter flight has been done by an ODF aerial survey specialist with a number of trees marked for follow up ground visits. The SOD program is also starting to obtain permissions for “treatments,” which means cutting, piling, and carefully burning trees. Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has instituted an emergency quarantine in the area within 3 miles of the infected trees. (See: https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/suddenoakdeathworkshops/) If anyone in the Port Orford area has tanoaks, myrtles, azaleas, or rhododendrons that appear to be dying, please contact Randy or Casara at the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Sudden Oak Death program so your trees can be evaluated: Casara Nichols, (541) 435-5031, Casara.C.Nichols@oregon.gov, Randy Wiese, (541) 294-8425, Randall.S.WIESE@oregon.gov