News Stories for Tue., Jun. 20, 2017

A one-night count of homeless people in Portland and Multnomah County in February found that homelessness continues to grow, but local leaders have made progress getting people into temporary shelter, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Other Oregon cities and counties have reported increases as well.  In Central Oregon, in a survey area that stretched from La Pine to Warm Springs, the homeless population counted grew by 31 percent between 2015 and 2017, though some of that jump could be a result of a change in the survey methods.   Central Oregon also reported a particularly high percentage of homeless children living outdoors, as opposed to in shelters. There, more than 80 percent of the homeless children counted by volunteers were sleeping outside. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities to periodically count people living on the streets or in emergency shelter on a single night.

Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama tribal fishers are making their way to the Columbia River after the tribes opened the first commercial gillnet fishery of 2017 on Monday. They will harvest sockeye and summer chinook that will be available for purchase by the general public. Fisheries managers estimate that 198,500 sockeye and 63,100 summer chinook will return to the Columbia River over the next few weeks. These sizes of pre-season forecasted returns will allow tribal fishers to harvest approximately 17 thousand summer chinook and 14 thousand sockeye, providing a significant source of salmon to the general public throughout the summer season and peaking over the next two to three weeks. Direct-to-public sales locations can be found at: Marine Park in Cascade Locks, Celilo Park, North Bonneville (one mile east of Bonneville Dam on the Washington side) and Columbia Point in the Tri-Cities area.

Two Pacific lampreys have been released back into the Umatilla River after spending months at the High Desert Museum in Central Oregon. The Bulletin reports the museum housed the fish in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, which is trying to prevent the lamprey from becoming an endangered species. Associate curator Jessica Stewart says the museum plans to regularly house and release lampreys, making them a consistent attraction. She says their presence has helped educate the public about fish that are a critical part of the ecosystem. Pacific lampreys were historically abundant in the Upper Deschutes watershed, but their population has declined because of dams. Through the work of the tribes, more have made it upstream this year. The tribes collect lampreys at Willamette Falls and Bonneville Dam, and drive them to rivers and streams in Eastern Oregon.

KJ Harrison hit the first College World Series grand slam at TD Ameritrade Park, and Oregon State beat LSU 13-1 for its 23rd straight win last night. The top-seeded Beavers (56-4), who matched the school-record win streak they set earlier this season, took control of Bracket 1. They don’t play again until Friday, and need one more win to advance to next week’s best-of-three finals.