Enhancement district seeks more participation

Poul Toftemark and other board members of the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District are quick to point out that they are getting older and struggle to find the energy to keep doing what they are doing to improve and maintain the area along the Grays River.

“We need fresh blood in here,” Toftemark said. “People tell us we’re going a good job, but it would be great if they could come to meetings and give some content.”

The district recently experienced an invigorating victory after a long fought battle against Columbia Land Trust to take out two 13 foot culverts on the Seal River, but they have more to do.

“That was our big accomplishment over the last eight years,” Toftemark said. “That project was to save our dikes. Now we have a moratorium on dike breaching which we encouraged the county to set.”

The district has turned their attention to the flow in Grays Bay. Toftemark has been filling out paperwork for the Marine Resources Commission and they need a feasibility plan to move on to the next step.

“We are hoping for a grant to study the possibility of creating a meandering drain going through Grays Bay in order to get it to flow better,” Toftemark said. “It could be self cleaning. A natural stream meanders and gains and loses force on each turn. We are hoping that is what could be done in the bay.”

“The main reason it’s silting up like it is,” he continued, “is because the Corps of Engineers created an island out there to divert the flow of water over to the Astoria side in order to keep the shipping channel clear. It no longer goes to Grays Bay to flush it out.”

The district will be repairing tide gates soon and Toftemark has even more paperwork to contend with--overdue annual reports required by the state.

“It’s one size fits all reporting,” he said. “We are such a small government entity with such a small financial income and outlay, it’s quite a burden to put on us the same sort of reporting that needs to be done for say, the Port of Longview.”

The district follows the Grays River and is set up to protect the homeowners that are affected by flooding and dikes. The commissioners have been working within their budget and they do not plan to raise their tax levy at any time.

The district meets at 5:15 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month at Johnson Park in Rosburg.