Scott Bruun: Time to Manage Those Californians

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Scott Bruun, GoLocalPDX MINDSETTER™

Californians, what a pain.

They move into our state, uninvited, and cause all sorts of problems. The overwhelming numbers that come every year assure that property values are messed up for the rest of us. And try as you might, you just can’t avoid them. Their loud and demonstrably obnoxious personalities increasingly permeate our little corner of the Northwest. They want it their way and they’ll bark at you until they get it.

But the worst thing about all those Californians? They’re fat. Really fat. And they smell funny, too.

Now I don’t mean to be judgmental here. But you would think that with all their trendy “West Coast” diets, all the seafood and salmon they consume (making it scarcer and more expensive for the rest of us), they could at least try to take better care of themselves. I don’t know, but maybe a little exercise? Like swimming? I’ve heard that’s a good way to keep the pounds off.

I know that a few people, mostly government types, have politely “encouraged” many of those Californians to move away. That encouragement, however, hasn’t worked. They love it here, and certainly aren’t going to leave just because a few official looking-types start making some noise.

This has led others to suggest a more permanent approach to the problem. An approach that would use violence of action, outside the law, to radically and permanently reduce the number of those Californians. To be honest though, this seems a little extreme. I mean yes, it’s true, those Californians are a nuisance. But for the life of me I can’t imagine actually hating them.

After all, the young ones with their whiskers are actually kind of cute.

The California sea lion, as the species is called, certainly is a nuisance. Provided permanent-sanctuary by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, California sea lions are abundant and thriving.

They have grown to population levels that overwhelm boat docks, piers and jetties along the Northwest coast, and do much harm to Northwest salmon, steelhead and smelt runs. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that 2,340 sea lions now inhabit Astoria’s East Mooring Basin, compared to 1,420 a year ago. Sea lions are also pervasive in Newport, and everywhere else where there are docks to lounge and salmon to eat.

Sea lions come upstream, too. Up the Columbia all the way to Bonneville, and even up the Willamette River. Any Oregon fisherman can tell you how sea lions will fearlessly chase hooked salmon and sturgeon all the way to the side of a boat. It’s estimated that sea lions and harbor seals now consume 45 percent of the salmon runs on the Columbia River.

The sea lion is not a threatened species, not even close, though the MMPA treats it as such. West Coast sea lion populations are 300,000-plus and growing. That means a lot of dead salmon, swamped docks and angry fishermen. While we should never be callus toward this or any other species, we should also realize that the current population growth-trajectory of sea lions is unsustainable. Something has to give.

That’s why policy-makers should take a strong look at legislation offered by Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democrat Kurt Schrader. Their bill would amend the MMPA by allowing tribal hunters to harvest a limited number of sea lions for tribal use. Tribes would be allowed to take 85 a year in areas where sea lions do the most damage to fisheries. It’s a small fraction of overall populations, but still a needed step.

Sea lions are not an endangered species. And as we have learned, their voracious appetites, including an appetite for endangered fish species, should now prohibit sea lions from being an absolute protected species. Instead, like mule deer and Roosevelt elk, the California sea lion should be a managed species.

Truth be told, and joking aside, the sea lion is a wonderful animal. Yet the populations are now too big to coexist easily with humans. Sea lions consume vast quantities of hatchery salmon, and unsustainable levels of native salmon and steelhead. They do extensive damage to docks and piers, and are a hazard to navigation.

Science-based management and a gentle reduction in the population of the species may be the only way to ensure the long-term vitality of Northwest salmon and Northwest fisherman. It also may be the best thing humans can do ensure the long-term health of sea lions themselves.

Scott Bruun is a fifth-generation Oregonian and recovering politician. He lives with his family in the 'burbs', yet dutifully commutes to Portland every day where he earns his living in public affairs with Hubbell Communications.

Related Slideshow: 20 Ways Oregonians are Different From Californians

Oregonians are very different from Californians despite the coast we share, and GoLocalPDX has compiled a list of 20 ways in which we differ.

Scott Bruun: Time to Manage Those Californians

Related Slideshow: 20 Ways Oregonians are Different From Californians

Mexican Food

"It's so nice outside"

Rain

Tanning

Traffic

Driving

Distance

Cost of Living

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Celebrities

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Hipsters

Beards

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