Hope for the Salmon Habitat
A bipartisan group of Oregon lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that will give salmon some relief from the pull of suction dredge mining. The practice is used to suck up gold on the riverbeds of former mining sites. Gas-powered, vacuum-like devices do the suctioning. However, the practice also hurts habitats for salmon and lamprey by sucking up eggs and trapping young fish. After three years of research, lawmakers decided to ban the practice in spawning or rearing habitat for salmon and lamprey. Nick Cady is the legal director for Cascadia Wildlands.
“People don’t tend to make a living off of it. It’s more of a recreational activity. But it’s incredibly damaging to salmon habitat that use the gravel and the river bottoms to breed, and there’s a host of other environmental issues and concerns.”
Suction mining is mostly concentrated in the southern part of the state. Cady says it migrated to Oregon after California outlawed the practice. It is not banned completely and can still be used in some parts of Oregon not sensitive to salmon habitat with a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality. The passage of the new bill was preceded by a bill in 2013 that studied the effects of suction mining on fish habitat. Cady says then, as now, a diverse group of stakeholders was involved in the process.
“You had conservation groups involved, you had commercial fishing interests, you had mining interests, you had state agencies responsible for implementing the regulations. And all these parties were able to come together and agree upon a set of regulations.”
In 2013, the Legislature placed a temporary moratorium on suction mining in sensitive salmon and bull trout habitat.
Urban Renewal Budget Approved
It’s a go! The Florence Urban Renewal Agency has approved its biennial budget for fiscal 2017 through 2019. Following in the steps of the city plan for streamlining the budget process the committee met Wednesday evening and moved forward with the almost 9.5 million dollar budget. Which begins with a 2.2 million dollar fund balance and an 8.9 million dollar spending plan. The budget also included project goals and an updated master plan for Revision Florence. Currently FURA says about 80% of the Revision Florence funds have been secured or are available. They are still seeking additional funding from other sources including the possibility of a State Earmark of 2.9 million dollars.
Rental Grants Available
If your not-for-profit group has ever thought of using the Florence Event Center for a special meeting or an event, but were not sure how to cover the cost of renting it. There is now an open application cycle for small grants – created for the intent purpose of using the facility. The criteria for the grants require that the funds, up to $750, be used during the 2017/2018 performance year for either the flat floor space or the theater. Applications must be received, or postmarked, no later than June 20th. The Friends of the Florence Event Center mission is to support the FEC’s staging of musical, theatrical, education and cultural events for the greater Florence area. More information is available from the FEC at 541-997-1994.
Eugene Pulls Park Proposal
The Register Guard reports that the proposal that would ban the use of alcohol in all city parks in Eugene, except during large, permitted gatherings has been rescinded. The city’s parks director, Craig Carnagey, said in an email to the Mayor and city council that the proposal had received mixed reviews from the public and wanted to further evaluate the plan before proceeding. The city received more than 100 citizen comments on proposed changes to park rules, most were regarding the alcohol ban.
