Bonamici hosts field hearing in Astoria on climate change

Aug. 5—Witnesses at a congressional field hearing in Astoria on Wednesday described the impacts of climate change on the ecosystems and industries of the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean and asked Congress to take action.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici hosted the hearing of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis at Clatsop Community College's Patriot Hall. The Oregon Democrat, who represents the North Coast, was joined by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Florida Democrat who chairs the committee, and U.S. Rep. Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, a Georgia Republican.

They heard from people working in fishing, research and conservation.

"For all that was taken or lost, especially for Native Americans, our relationship to the land and water remains. And so our natural resources are our cultural and community resources," said Aja DeCoteau, the executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

She said climate change especially impacts First Foods, which include water, salmon, game, roots and berries.

Forty-two percent of the Snake River spring and summer Chinook populations have reached quasi-extinction thresholds, she said. That will likely increase to 77% by 2025.

DeCoteau asked the committee to consider developing federal flood policies and guidelines to ensure properly functioning flood plains and to protect and restore cold water refuge areas to shelter fish populations from warming water.

"Tribes are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to our high dependence on the First Foods and relative vulnerability of our infrastructure. Yet tribes have been inequitably funded in natural resource and wildlife conservation," she said. "Stable, long-term funding streams are the greatest tool available to allow tribes to engage in direct climate impact decision-making and allow us to bring our traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary science capacities to the management and policy tables for the shared benefit of everyone."

Tyler Bell, the director of the Rocky Mountain region for Westervelt Ecological Services, stressed the importance of conservation within private industries. The company owns over 600,000 acres of working forests around the world and over 30,000 acres of conserved lands.

Bell asked Congress to support the private restoration industry through public restoration funding and to develop streamlined regulations and guidance. She also asked that grant language for restoration and conservation projects include the private sector.

Francis Chan, who researches ocean chemistry and ecology at Oregon State University, said the Oregon Coast is in a unique position to address climate change.

"We're ground zero, which is a bad place to be. But I think we're also ground zero for investigation," he said.

Chan added that he wants to expand the university's collaboration with local fishermen, who can deploy sensors and provide observations.

In addition to oceanic heat waves, he said climate change has increased zones of water with low oxygen levels. "Dungeness crabs, the most valuable fishery on the West Coast, can suffocate in the pots of fishermen before they're brought to market," he said.

Chan asked for continual investment in ocean research, innovation and workforce development.

Elaine Placido, the executive director of the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, said the program plans to expand research, mapping and monitoring efforts using funding from the federal infrastructure law. Their projects include flood plain restoration near Clatskanie and monitoring the mouth of the Columbia.

Placido said adapting to climate change will require new infrastructure, integrating resilient native plant species on shorelines and identifying pockets of cold water that could serve as refuge for fish.

Bonamici highlighted her Coastal and Ocean Acidification Research and Innovation Act, which Congress passed as part of the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act in late July. It aims to increase investments in coastal research and monitoring and study the socioeconomic impacts of climate change.

"We need to do more," the congresswoman said. "Important actions we could and should take include investing in ocean-based climate solutions like blue carbon, building a stronger blue economy and bolstering the health of our ecosystems to protect our coastal communities and marine industries."

After the hearing, Bonamici said there's more to do, and more to learn.

"I hope we can take some good lessons back, that addressing these ocean health issues and addressing issues of healthy estuaries and healthy coastlines, it's good for the community, it's good for the economy and it's good for the planet," she said.

Castor said she was "very impressed with the collaborations on climate solutions happening in Oregon. And you've got to get out of Washington. You really do. It's impossible to have your finger on the pulse of what's happening across the country unless you get out."