7 January 2015
Scientists Offer Some Explanation for Seabird Die Off
Wildlife biologists are continuing to investigate a higher-than-normal die-off of seabirds along the Pacific Coast.
It’s not unusual for Common Murres and Cassin’s Auklets to die during early season storms every fall and winter.
But this year, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Herman Biederbeck, this year they’re seeing “elevated numbers”.
“The birds washing up on the beach seem to be starved and beaten up by the storms”, he said
The current increased mortality is not confined to the Oregon Coast. There are higher-than-usual numbers of dead birds on the beach stretching from British Columbia to Northern California.
Researchers believe part of the cause is because of an unusually large hatch of young birds last spring, followed by harsh weather.
Researchers from the University of Washington are marking some of the dead birds with colored zip ties. Biederbeck says there is little risk to humans, but if you encounter dead seabirds on the beach, you should not touch or move them.
Minimum Wage Increased
Oregon’s lowest paid workers got a 15-cent an hour raise last week and lawmakers are expected to debate an even higher increase in the upcoming legislative session.
Voters in Oregon approved tying the minimum wage to the inflation rate; that’s meant increases nearly every year since 2002.
This year’s minimum increased to $9.25 an hour… that equates to an extra $26 per month for a full-time worker earning that minimum wage.
Tyler Mac Innes with the Oregon Center for Public Policy says he expects the legislature to consider raising the minimum during the upcoming session. At least ten lawmakers, he said, have already expressed support for a minimum of $15-an-hour.
Full Day Kindergarten and wildlife conflicts featured on Our Town
Siuslaw Elementary principal Mike Harkelrode is excited about the prospects of having all-day kindergarten beginning next fall. It’s traditionally been a half-day; but last year’s legislature approved the concept… and additional funding… for schools.
Harkelrode says the expansion may not have an immediate impact, but it will be a lasting one.
Mike Harkelrode – “Like so much in education I think it will be a delayed impact. It’s going to help our students each year. I think our teachers are going to be seeing more and more capabilities with the students who are coming with them because they’ve had the foundational skills necessary to succeed at the next level.”
Harkelrode, along with 97J Superintendent Ethel Angal will talk more in depth about all-day Kindergarten tomorrow from four to six on KCST’s monthly audio newsmagazine Our Town.
Cougars primarily nocturnal predators
The number of encounters with cougars or mountain lions in Oregon has been on the rise, although officials say there has never been a documented attack on humans in Oregon.
Oregon wildlife biologist Doug Cottam says cougars are typically nocturnal and can cover a lot of territory in their regular travels.
They primarily prey on small mammals and deer. Cottam says if you encounter a cougar, try to make yourself appear as large as possible and back away slowly… never run. That could trigger a natural instinct by the large cat to pursue you.
Cottam, along with fellow Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Nick Leonetti will be on KCST’s Our Town this afternoon to talk about human conflicts with cougars and bears.
Fuel prices fall more
Already at recent-record low prices, the average cash price for a gallon of regular gas in Florence fell 14-cents in the past week.
Drivers in Florence are paying $2.39 this week; that’s a nickel less than the Oregon statewide average price as measured by Triple-A.
The national average price fell eight cents in the past week… it’s at $2.19.
The falling prices, credited to a dramatic plunge in crude-oil prices, have contributed to the lowest prices since May 2009.
