Fender’s blue butterfly moves off endangered species list
A fender's blue butterfly before being released onto the Finley National Wildlife Refuge in 2015.
Devan Schwartz / OPB
The Fender’s blue butterfly is moving off the endangered species list based on the recovery of its population. The Fender’s blue has a 1-inch wingspan and is only found in the Willamette Valley. In 2000, fewer than 4,000 of the butterflies were known to live in the wild. Although its numbers have fluctuated over the years, a 2016 survey found populations had grown to 29,000. The butterfly now inhabits twice the acreage it did when it was listed as endangered, and the number of occupied sites has quadrupled. The butterflies can be found from mid-April through June in Benton, Lane, Linn, Polk, Washington and Yamhill counties. (Tracy Loew/Salem Statesman Journal)
After a challenge to a pride flag, Coos Bay opts to limit flags on city-owned flagpoles
Coos Bay City Council voted to stick with a policy that only allows city flags to fly on city flagpoles, after facing a heated public hearing and the threat of lawsuits. The controversy began last year when City Council agreed to fly an LGBTQ flag during Pride Month. A resident of Bandon told the council that if it allowed the pride flag to fly, but not a Christian-themed flag, he was prepared to sue. Although Coos Bay’s city attorney said a policy allowing some flags but not others is legal, the city’s insurance company said it would not cover the cost of defending a lawsuit. (David Rupkalvis/The World)
Whale counts encouragingly high in 2022
A spokesperson for the Pacific Whale Watch Association said the number of whale sightings in local waterways has surpassed all expectations. Just under 400 humpback whales were photographed in the area, the highest in a single year over the last century. Unique sightings of Bigg’s killer whales also reached 1,221. Erin Gless, executive director of the PWWA, said the population uptick comes from protections over whales’ local food sources and restrictions on commercial hunting. (Libby Denkmann and Alec Cowan/KUOW)
Newport secures funding for a new dam
The city of Newport has secured $60 million to build a concrete dam that would replace the two earthen Big Creek dams. In 2021, the Oregon Legislature awarded $14 million for preliminary work on the new dam. But the city needed to cover the rest of the $80 million projected cost. City Manager Spencer Nebel and other leaders traveled to Washington D.C. and successfully advocated for the project to be part of the Water Resources Development Act, signed into law late last month. Nebel said the city is grateful for the help from Oregon’s legislators. and will spend the next two to three years securing permits and designing the dam. (Karen Richards/KLCC)
Lawyers at odds over Supreme Court ruling on nonunanimous verdicts
For 86 years, Oregon was one of two states nationwide — alongside Louisiana — to allow convictions by juries where the verdicts were not unanimous. That changed on Dec. 30, when an Oregon Supreme Court ruling said people convicted by nonunanimous verdicts have a right to a new trial, even if the conviction occurred before the new ruling. Inmates in state prisons can now have their cases retried if they were convicted by a split jury of any felony except murder. Some have praised the ruling, saying felony convictions should only stand if there is certainty of a defendant’s guilt across the board. But some say they are concerned that the ruling will negatively impact crime victims and their families. (Bryce Dole/The Bulletin)
