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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946

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www.currypilot.com WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2026

Brookings, Oregon

Public comment sought for Pacific Marten recovery plan By Nate Schwartz Pilot Editor

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has recently released a draft recovery plan for the Pacific Marten, and is seeking public input on the proposed efforts which aim to one day delist the marten from the federal threatened species list as part of the Endangered Species Act. This plan focuses on the coastal distinct population segment (DPS) which calls our area home. An emblematic species for our region, the marten is a cat-sized member of the weasel family. Researchers at the USFWS have identified seven distinct but isolated populations as a part of their range during a Species Status Assessment (SSA). An SSA is the foundational study through which most decisions around species protected by the department are informed. They contain the crucial scientific and commercial information about a species’ history, biology and necessary conditions needed to help recover their populations. The report’s lead authors are Tia Adams, Peter (Bjorn) Erickson, Jenny Hutchinson and Frank Weaver who represent the Klamath Falls, Sacramento, Arcata and Roseberg USFWS offices respectively. Recovery plans like this include a strategy, criteria and estimates of time and costs needed to achieve non-threatened status for a particular species. The Pacific Marten was designated as a threatened species in October of 2020, following a long decline in population due to fur trapping, habitat loss and fragmented populations. Reports are created through collaboration with local organizations, industries and tribes. “The Service works closely with tribes and industry partners to prioritize marten recovery

Councilor Fulton resigns, reflects on service to Brookings For the Pilot

From the City of Brookings

Brookings City Councilor Kristi Fulton has announced her resignation from the City Council as she prepares to move closer to family, closing a chapter of public service she described as “one of the greatest privileges and honors” of her life. Speaking before Mayor Phoebe Pereda, fellow Councilors, City Manager Tim Rundel, city staff and residents, Fulton said the decision was not easy, but came with gratitude for the community she has served. “This is not an easy decision,” Fulton said. “Serving this community has been one of the greatest privileges and honors of my life.” Before joining the Council, Fulton spent 33 years in education, 32 of them in Brookings. She said her work as an educator and her time in public office were guided by the same commitment: to serve others, listen, help where she could and leave things better than she found them. “Whether in the classroom, the counseling office, or on the City Council, that commitment to service has remained constant,” Fulton said. Fulton thanked residents for their emails, phone calls, conversations, concerns, ideas and hopes, saying those interactions reminded her why public service matters. “Government works best when it listens, and I have learned so much from the people of this community,” she said. Mayor Phoebe Pereda shared, “Councilor Kristi Fulton has been a valued member of the Brookings City Council and a strong advocate for our community. Over the past three years, I have watched her grow into a confident leader who consistently championed transparency, clear communication, accountability, and public engagement. Kristi approached every issue with the community’s best interests at heart, and her service has made a lasting impact on Brookings. While we will miss her on the council, I am grateful for her service and the impact she has had on our community.” Fulton said one memory that captured the heart of Brookings came during last year’s Azalea Festival, when she saw neighbors meeting, former students reconnecting with friends and

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released a draft recovery plan to de-list the marten from the federal threatened species list as part of the Endangered Species Act. in a way that aligns with the ecological value and economic contributions of forest habitats. This recovery plan demonstrates the Service’s commitment to supporting wildlife and habitat while ensuring that America’s lands remain open for responsible economic use and outdoor recreation,” stated official USFWS communications. Currently the USFWS has defined the marten’s range from Sonoma County, California to the Columbia River in Oregon. In our region, they inhabit shore-pine forests in and around coastal dune habitats. Those seven extant populations are all within the species’ historical range and show distribution

below historical levels. They are described as still having many ongoing threats. “Ongoing threats from catastrophic wildfire, vegetation management, manmade barriers, and predators continue to act upon the species. The population-level effects of disease and rodenticides are unknown; however, evidence suggests this species may be detrimentally impacted,” states the recovery plan. The main way that the USFWS plans to help recover the population is by increasing the resiliency of its known population areas and restoring the habitat outside of those currently occupied areas.

In particular, the focus is on recovering the female marten demographics, as studies show that female martens have a larger impact on the population’s resiliency. The hope is that as the population grows, so do the extent population areas (EPA). “As population sizes grow and expand in distribution, we anticipate that EPAs will morph, with some overlapping, naturally leading to a predicted increase in genetic diversity, connectivity, and gene flow,” states the report. There is a rolling need for research when conducting a recovery plan like this, and the USFWS admits that it needs the help of its various partners to See More Plan on page 3

Pride in the Park kicks off its 4th year in Azalea Park By Jason Liddell

Southern Oregon Coast Pride (SOCP) brought back their annual Pride in the Park festival for its fourth year at Azalea Park. Laura Erceg, Director of SOCP, talked about what it is like to put on a fledgling festival: “I feel like every year, we aim to get a little better, or do something else new and different. Every year it feels like something special. This year, the energy felt different than it has in the past. In a really good way. Every year at Pride in the Park, Azalea is packed with booths and vendors of all types. With 35 vendors this year, the majority were local, and nationwide, non-profit organizations, and the rest were people and small businesses selling their, often hand-made, wares. “We had this nice mix of community resources, who really are the ones that show up and show out.” When asked about notable non-profit booths at Pride in the Park, Laura mentioned a new organization to this year’s festival: Trans Mentor Project, an entirely virtual and nationwide non-profit that helps to “nurture relationships with your mentor

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Maggy Hall and Dylan Vaughn, volunteers with SOCP and Pride in the Park. and with trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse folks across the

our communities who is actually working with somebody who lives states away.” Another non-profit that had a booth at Pride in the Park for their first time this year was the local group Brookings Core Response. This group focuses on helping unsheltered, or unhoused, folks by “building a strong community that embraces all people with dignity and respect,” according to their website. At Pride in the Park, youth vendors are encouraged to join, and they don’t have to pay the normal vendor fee. Laura noted some youth vendors at the festival, such as Sam Searcy who sold handmade bead jewelry and Emmalyne Armstrong, with Honeybee Henna, who drew henna art. Southern Oregon Coast Pride also serves food at Pride in the Park, to everyone. According to Laura, almost 250 meals were served this year. “Any of our leftover food – none of it was wasted. People left with full meals and to-go things.”

country,” according to their website. “There’s a local mentor in

See More Pride on page 3

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