Central Coast Quake
A 2.5-magnitude occurred just off the Central Oregon Coast mid-day Thursday, May 17.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the horizontal quake was recorded at 12:51 p.m., 18-miles west of Yachats in southern Lincoln County at a depth of 1.2-miles.

Circus animals still allowed on North Oregon Coast
With 59-percent of the registered voters in Clatsop County saying "NO" Tuesday, May 15, to a ballot measure that would have banned the exhibition of exotic animals, circuses will still be allowed in the northern most county on the Oregon Coast.  Measure 4-155 would have banned exotic animals from performing particularly at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.

How do hatchery and wild salmon and steelhead interact?
Genetic differences between hatchery-raised salmon and steelhead and fish born in the wild have sparked controversy and raised questions about future policies, overshadowing ecological interactions that may ultimately be of greater importance.  How hatchery and wild fish deal with competition, predation, disease and ecosystem effects will dictate fish runs of the future, yet the science on salmon has lagged behind management decisions.  That may be changing. The professional journal Environmental Biology of Fishes is publishing a special edition this May called “Ecological Interactions of Hatchery and Wild Salmon” that provides some of the latest findings on the topic. Edited by David Noakes of Oregon State University, the journal will include results from 22 studies conducted by scientists around the world.  The papers were presented at a conference organized by the Wild Salmon Center in Portland.

Bonneville Sea Lions
The Humane Society of the United States had hoped that federal judge would issue an immediate ruling to stop the killing of sea lions at the base of the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River east of Portland.  Instead, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon stated in court Tuesday, May 15, that he would rule by the end of the month.  The sea lion swim up the freshwater river about 140-miles each spring to feast on trapped salmon at the base of the hydroelectric facility.  Wildlife officials in both Oregon and Washington had tried to scare the predators away, trap them, and kill them to reduce the damage on Endangered Salmon.  However, the ruling at the end of the month will come after most of the sea lions have returned to the Pacific Ocean.  A full lawsuit is still pending and will most likely impact action next year.  Since 2008, 50 California sea lions have been trapped or removed from the dam.  This spring, officials have killed nine and relocated one.