Curry Coastal Pilot

Wild Rivers Coast Business DirectoryPick a MainCategoryPick a SubCategoryPick a CityActivitiesAll ActivitiesAll CitiesGo!Home•Search our SiteMARINE RESERVE OPPONENTS TAKE CASE TO GOVERNORPublished: November 15, 2008By Valliant CorleyThe Front PagePilot staff writerA Brookings Harbor port commissioner and a Curry County supervisor will betaking stacks of petitions opposing establish a marine reserve on Mack Reef to theGovernor's Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) next week."We will be presenting them to OPAC on Monday," Port Commissioner JimRelaford said Friday night. "We were successful in getting on the agenda early onMonday morning so we can represent Curry County up there. I'm going to bespeaking at 8:15 according to the latest agenda."Relaford said he would be sharing his time with County Commissioner Lucie LaBonté, who will be presenting the county commission's position opposing theMack Reef marine reserve.The News•Local News•Sports•Emergency Notices•Business•Obituaries•Features•Police ReportsEditor's Column•Other Newspapers•Oregon NewspapersHow to subscribe•Send Us Your NewsRelaford said the petitions came from Gold Beach, Pistol River and Brookings."I've got a stack of them," he said.Relaford said he was at a Pistol River meeting Wednesday night. Mack Reef goesabout seven miles along the ocean shore from Mack Arch to Cape Sebastian, nextto Pistol River."It was pretty clear the residents of Pistol River were very upset," Relaford said."Peg Regan (of Conservation Leaders Network) and her group that put thisproposal for the marine reserve, right there at Pistol River, they held seven secretmeetings at the Pistol River Friendship Hall and they excluded the public fromparticipating," Relaford said."When the residents heard that Wednesday night, they were very upset, as wellthey should be," Relaford said."Frankly, I intend to bring that up heavily Monday morning. The governor madethe mandate that the community had to be involved. It doesn't make a lot of sensein excluding any of them," he said.Today's AdsSearch ClassifiedsPlace an AdPhoto AdsPublic Notice Ads"We represent right now every community in Curry County – cities, ports, thecounty, as well as the recreational fishermen, the surfboarders, the seaweedtakers," Relaford said. "There has not been a positive statement that I've comeacross yet in support of these marine reserves at Mack Reef."In fact, Peg says she has 16 supporters that helped her develop her proposal,"Relaford said. "At least one of those was at the Pistol River meeting, the scientist,

etracted his support. He said he had been misled. He has retracted his supportand, in fact, signed the petition against it."WeatherCurrent ConditionsAccuWeatherforecastOregon HighwayReportNational WeatherService forecastTide ForecastPort WebcamOregon ClimateWeather TrendsAirport WeatherReportOcean conditionsSurf forecastChetco River flowSun/Moon dataHarris BeachWeather StationAgriMet WeatherStationUSGS EarthquakeInfoTsunami WarningsNOAA HazardMappingEvents & Activities•Schedules/Activities•Events Calendar•Bulletin Board•Chamber EventsListVacation Guide•Directory•Activities &Attractions•Autos & Services•Dining•Health Services•Information Centers•Lodging & RVParks•Real Estate Services•Services•ShoppingHealth & FitnessDirectory•Health & FitnessDirectoryRelaford said OPAC is to vote Tuesday, to decide which proposed marine reservesup and down the coast will be sent forward and recommended by OPAC."It's all going to be basically over on Tuesday," Relaford said. "We haveoverwhelming evidence of lack of an economic impact statement and lack ofcommunity support for this marine reserve. If OPAC chooses to move Mac ReefReserve forward, it will be in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary."Commissioner La Bonté will present a letter strongly opposing a Mack Reef areareserve that the commission had earlier unanimously approved."We strongly oppose the Mack Reef Proposals I and II from the ConservationLeaders Network and Our Oceans," the letter to OPAC says."Neither of these groups complied with Gov. (Ted) Kulongoski's Nov. 14, 2007letter to fishermen that states that the intention is to ‘not interrupt traditionalfishing practices in Oregon's Territorial Sea.' Mack Reef I and II proposals wouldadversely affect the Brookings Harbor fishing fleet by placing Marine Reserves inprime fishing grounds," the letter said.La Bonté was at the OPAC meeting Oct. 24 and told the other commissioners thatOPAC members took a straw vote and voted to include the Mack Reef area inrecommendations to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).Both of the Mack Reef proposals are scheduled to be presented, along with 18other marine reserve proposals, to OPAC Monday."No preliminary economic impact study has been done by either of the Mack Reefgroups proposing these sites," the commissioners' letter states. "If one had beencompleted, it would have clearly shown that the Port of Brookings Harbor and itsfleet would be negatively impacted due to the loss of revenue from poundage.This loss would also affect the ability for the port to be dredged by the ArmyCorps of Engineers, further impacting the community. We ask that you removethese two proposals from any list for any further evaluation or consideration."A marine reserve is an area of "no take" that is within the boundaries of theOregon Territorial Sea, defined as the shoreline out to three miles offshore. Theprotected area extends from the bottom of the ocean to the ocean surface andincludes the year-round protection of all living organisms in the defined area.Regan told a Brookings meeting last month that her proposal had been formed bya group of 16 people and proposed to have two areas of marine reserves includedin a larger restricted area. Crabbing and salmon trolling would be allowed in therestricted area outside the reserves.Although Regan said few commercial fishermen currently fish the Mack Reef areaexcept for crabbing, some fishermen at the meeting in the Brookings City Councilchambers said they depend on fishing there.The proposed site extends from North of Cape Sebastian to south of Mack Reef.The geographic place names are Rocky Point north of Cape Sebastian, and RidgeKnob Point south of Burnt Hill Creek on the Southern boundary. This site extendsapproximately seven nautical miles along the coast, and approximately three tofour nautical miles offshore.Mack Arch is near the northern limit of Samuel Boardman State Park.The site extends to the Territorial Sea, although the two no-take areas do not. Thetwo no-take areas go out to at least 20 fathoms.

Business Directory•Business DirectoryIndex•Autos andTransportation•Child Care andEducation•CommunityServices•Computers/HighTech•Health Care•Home and Garden•Lodging•Personal Services•Pet Services•ProfessionalServices•Real Estate•Recreation•Restaurants•Retailing•Specialties•Vacation GuideMack Reef II is in approximately the same area.Maps of the two, and the other 18 proposals, and the descriptions by thoseoffering the proposals can be found on the Internet athttp://www.oregonmarinereserves.net.Meanwhile, Les Stansell of Pistol River, an organizer of Wednesday's meeting,urged anyone who has not told OPAC of their feelings on Mack Reef, to be at theCourthouse Annex in Gold Beach by 2 p.m. today (Nov. 15). He said there will bepetitions there to sign. He also urged them to write letters and fax them to thecommissioners office at (541) 247-2718 before 2 p.m. or to bring them to theAnnex to be included with the documents that La Bonté will be taking to theOPAC meeting.Community•Our Community•City of Brookings•Brookings-HarborMap•City Hall Phones•School District•Chamber ofCommerce•Port Information•Curry County•Curry CountyPhone Directory•Public Library•Curry Public Transit•Local LinksCensus 2000•Jetties/harborBrookings Airport•History ofBrookings•Vacation Guide•Wild Rivers CoastEmail White PagesE-mail White PagesA-BCD-E-FG-H-IJ-K-LM-N-OP-Q-RS-T-U

V-W-X-Y-ZE-Mail News AlertsAbout the PilotJobs at The PilotContact UsGeneral InformationSend Your NewsHow to SubscribeDisplay Ad RateCardLetters to the EditorMake This MyHome PageArchives AvailableOrder a photo•Archive SearchCopyright NoticeInformationBrookings-HarborMapOR HighwayReportsCA HighwayReportsState of OregonOregon Blue BookWild Rivers CoastWhale WatchingOfficial US timeCurry CountyLocal LinksFindLaw LegalResourcesMeet Army Girls (Free)Meet / Chat with Army SinglesNow. 100% Free to Join. EnjoyToday.WebSinglez.com/MilitaryHammonton Boat LiftsMarine OregonBulkheads, Piers, Docks & Pilings. 2,000+ Boats at Great PricesEmergency Repairs. Call Today! Shop, Compare and Save atwww.martinelliconstruction.com/ Pronto.Boat.Pronto.comWild Trout & SteelheadCatch & Release, Fly Fishing NearPortland & Salem Oregonwww.RedHillsLake.comCurry Coastal Pilot is a community newspaper serving Curry County on the Southern Oregon Coast from Brookings, Oregon. Yourcomments are welcome at mail@currypilot.com or PO Box 700, Brookings, Oregon, 97415. Phone: (541) 469-3123. Fax: (541) 469-4679The Curry Coastal Pilot is published twice weekly on Wednesday and Saturday in Brookings, Oregon by Western Communications, Inc.Please visit our parent company and our other newspapers here© Copyright 2001-2008 Western Communications, Inc.