Bikers can follow Lewis and Clark
TRAILS – Capt. William Clark never had it so easy.
A route he and his men hiked through the Long Beach Peninsula in 1805 has been graded and paved. Sturdy wooden bridges ease the way over marshy stretches near Ilwaco.
The Discovery Trail winds 8.5 miles through coastal forest and sand dunes, offering yet another way – by biking, hiking or roller-blading – to enjoy the attractions of the Long Beach Peninsula.
Though the 8-foot-wide trail has been under construction since 2002, final work on the $2 million project was completed recently.
The trail runs from the Port of Ilwaco west past Cape Disappointment State Park and many ocean beach access and ends near the Breakers Resort.
Info: www.funbeach.com/ attractions/discoverytrail.
Bike rentals are available from Skookum Surf Co., (360) 301-2233, www.skookumsurf.com.
Longview Daily News
Granny Trout spins river etiquette
RIVERS – Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department is trying everything but chicken soup to remedy river crowding, litter and other issues along southwestern Montana rivers.
TV spots are trying to create a “behavior norm,” said agency spokesman Pat Flowers. “There are certain things you do and don’t do on a golf course,” he explained. “It’s the same with rivers.”
The spots depict people engaging in poor river behavior. At the end of each commercial, Granny Trout – a person in a trout costume – shares a message emphasizing proper river etiquette.
Associated Press
Mussels pose threat in region
FISHERIES – Non-native mussels haven’t arrived in the Northwest yet, but the invasive species is expected to complicate salmon recovery when it does.
Northwest wildlife and power officials are increasingly concerned about the impact a tiny traveling mussel could have on the region’s multibillion dollar effort to save Columbia and Snake river salmon.
A recent memo prepared by Jim Ruff of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council clearly explains their fears: the invasive mussels will make it here eventually, and it’s going to cost us lots of money when they do.
The mussels in question, called quaggas and zebras, come from Europe and arrived in the Great Lakes as passengers in the bilge of a boat in the 1980s. They reproduce prolifically, clogging pipes, boat engines and all manner of man-made infrastructure.
More recently they’ve moved into the Colorado River system, playing havoc with the system of dams there.
Within the next five years, officials expect to see them in the Northwest where they would cling to fish screens, turbine bays and other parts of the big dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
The Oregonian