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SATURDAY August 31, 2019
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Highway 101: A roadside stop - for weeks By Jeremy C. Ruark For the Triplicate
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culvert repair project along U.S. Highway 101 in Smith River will continue well into October, with transportation officials hoping for motorists’ patience. The Ritter Creek project is designed to fix a failing culvert. Flaggers have been controlling traffic through the area, limiting travel to one lane. CalTrans public information officer Myles Cochrane said 20-minute delays through the construction zone can be
expected. “Next Wednesday, Sept. 4, we will be installing a temporary signal system that could be in place until the end of October,” said Cochrane. “We are aiming for earlier, but weather can slow us down sometimes.” The signal light will limit traffic to one lane though the work area. Cochrane said temporary flagging was in place this past week for water utility relocation. “We realize there is heavy traffic and we do understand it is an inconvenience to wait,” he said. “The end goal is for water
not to accumulate on the highway.” Cochrane said the project will also be an environmental plus for fish. “We are creating a more-friendly fish passage in the nearby creek. That will be wonderful for fish migration there.” The good news for Labor Day travelers: Crews will not be working at the site over the holiday, Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. The repair is part of a $3.25-million overall culvert system improvement that included work along Highway 197.
A flagger holds northbound traffic on U.S. Highway 101 as vehicles move south through a worksite in Smith River. Photo by Jeremy C. Ruark.
Following the salmon to central California By Jessica Goddard Staff Writer
ishermen along the California coast boastF ed boatloads of prized salmon during this year’s season, which reportedly has been one of
the better salmon fishing seasons in years. “It was a good one,” acknowledged fisherman Richard Hagel of Crescent City, “(although) I don’t know if I’d term it one of the best. We’ve had some big years in the past, you know. “But I would say that in recent history, it was the best season.” That depends on where you fish, of course. Not every California fisherman got that lucky. Some reported that very few salmon made it to the state’s northern coast. “Nobody seems to understand why, but the fish stayed south,” said Rick Shepherd of Crescent City, president of the Crescent City Commercial Fishermen’s Association. While salmon generally migrate north, this year they swarmed the areas of Bodego Bay, Monterey Bay and even as south as Morro Bay, just north of San Luis Obispo. Yet that didn’t stop fishermen to the north from pursuing their catch. Many from Crescent City took boats and crews down south, as if chasing gold. And many of those fared well, catching upwards of 1,500 salmon. In fact, for the season to really pay off, many fishermen needed to commit to an extended time on the central coastline. Some found it more difficult to stay south, away from their families for longer periods of time. Some struggled to turn much of a profit when fishing the Bay Area, given the high cost of staying there. “It’s so expensive down there,” said fisherman Karl Evanow of Crescent City, who boated to the Bay Area mid-salmon season. “I mean, you’re almost taking the money from the fish and putting it right back out.” Still, nearly all agreed that the California coast housed the salmon treasury. As to why, among the numerous possibilities for the influx of salmon to the south could be heavy rainfall, particularly in 2017, which ended California’s several-year drought. The rain caused rivers to fill and made the salmons migration to the Pacific Ocean easier. Some credit this season’s success to hatcheries More Salmon on Page A2
Boats float next to the docks in Crescent City before setting off for another fishing expedition. Photo by Jessica Goddard.
Salmon avoid south Oregon coast F
By Jeremy C. Ruark Staff Writer
or any number of reasons, California is experiencing a banner salmon fishing season. In Oregon, not so much. “It’s terrible,” Gold Beach-based Five Star Charter’s Mark Lottis said. “There are no fish. I think they all got caught down south before they got up here.” Lottis said an early forecast for a large salmon run returning to Oregon never materialized. “People booked charters based on that forecast and last year’s fishing success,” Lottis said. “They booked a year
ago and early this spring, so they made a commitment to come, and they were disappointed like everybody else.” He said he also believes fishing restrictions were eased - and the salmon season allowed to begin earlier than normal - in California, with a corresponding impact on Oregon’s salmon season. Southern Oregon coast fisherman Dave Delonge said the cutoff of the commercial Pacific Ocean herring season in California, as well as warmer waters in Oregon, have influenced Oregon salmon fishing this summer. “The Pacific herring is one of the main feeding sources for salmon, so when the commercial season was cut off, it produced thick patches of the herring
that allowed the salmon to feed in the California bays,” Delonge said. “Also, the ocean water off the Oregon coast has been in the mid-60s. The salmon can’t survive in such (warm) temperatures.” Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department spokesperson Michelle Dennehy said several Chinook salmon forecasts for 2019 were substantially improved over poor returns in 2016-2018 - but none were particularly high, when compared to the years prior to 2016’s downturn.
More Salmon 2 on Page A2
Port O’ Pints brews up Best in Show award By David Hayes Staff Writer
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rescent City brewery Port O’ Pints overwhelmed the competition in winning a Best in Show award at the 16th-annual “Hops
in Humboldt” event Aug. 26 in Fortuna, California, about 18 miles south of Eureka. That’s yet another award for owner Rick White’s growing trophy rack, having added 20 craft beer honors in the past two years. That
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includes the Mayor’s Award at the 2018 “Hops in Humboldt.” This year, Port O’ Pints was up against 51 other breweries from across the nation. To improve the odds of winning, White said, they submitted 19 beers — 18
on tap and another in a cask, a new entry record for the event. “One of the other brewers, who had 16 beers submitted, came over and joked he was kicking my butt, until he saw how many we had,” White said. “But we
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established some really good friendships with the other breweries.” White said Best in Show isn’t awarded to a specific beer. Rather, it’s an overall quality award for a competitor’s total submissions. Three other local
breweries won awards there this year: Six Rivers won Sponsor’s Choice, Lost Coast won Best of Humboldt, and Eel River won Mayor’s More Beer on Page A2
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