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Mon 9:40 | News features: Oregon tide gates; Chinook Indians; 150-year-old Sitka Spruce

Fred Messerle looks over a tide gate at Palouse Creek in Coos County.
Justin Higginbottom
/
JPR
Fred Messerle looks over a tide gate at Palouse Creek in Coos County.

NEWS FEATURES SHOWCASE:

OREGON TIDE GATES
There are at least 1,000 tide gates in Oregon. They keep the ocean from flooding agricultural land. But many tide gates were installed more than 70 years ago. And now, they’re at risk of failure. As JPR’s Justin Higginbottom reports, replacing them isn't easy.

CHINOOK INDIANS
The Chinook Indian Nation of Southwest Washington has been trying to get federal recognition from the U.S. government since the mid-90s. As OPB's Erik Neumann reports, recently they started looking for a new champion in Washington D.C.

SITKA SPRUCE
Drive into Yaquina Bay State Park in Newport and in the middle of the road stands a beautiful Sitka Spruce overlooking the ocean. For generations, people have gotten married next to it, taken graduation pictures beneath it, and otherwise just appreciated the beloved, 150-year-old tree. But as Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, it’s now diseased, and the parks department is asking what to do with it.

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News reporting team for Jefferson Public Radio.