Wilbur Ternyik
| Wilbur Ternyik | |
|---|---|
| File:WilburTernyik.jpegWilburTernyik.jpeg Ternyik in his signature leather fringed jacket and grizzly bear claw necklace, with tomahawk/peacepipe | |
| Born | Wilbur Earl Ternyik January 26, 1926 Astoria, Oregon |
| April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 | |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Coastal planning |
Wilbur E. Ternyik (January 26, 1926–April 2, 2018) was an American civic leader who has been characterized as a founding father of coastal planning,[1] a coastal advocate,[2] and a guardian of the Oregon Coast.[3] News coverage of his work has described him as an international expert on sand dunes,[4] and has noted his "decades of work to protect the environment that draws thousands to the Oregon coast."[5] He served multiple terms as the mayor of Florence, Oregon, as well as 16 years on the Florence City Council and 29 years as a commissioner on the Port of Suislaw.[6]
Early life and education
Wilbur Ternyik's mother was a descendant of Clatsop Indian leader Chief Coboway, who met the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804 when they arrived at the Pacific Coast near Astoria.[2] His father was a Hungarian immigrant. Ternyik was born in Astoria[7] and grew up in Warrenton, Oregon, graduating from Warrenton High School.[8] Proud of his Clatsop Indian heritage, he often wore his signature fringed leather, beaded jacket with a necklace of grizzly bear claws, and used a tomahawk peace pipe to gavel meetings to order.[7][9][10]
Ternyik was the recipient of a Purple Heart award after an injury on May 10, 1945, during his World War II service in Okinawa.[6] He spent eight months recovering in the hospital from machine gun wounds to his leg.[8]
Career
At age 16 Ternyik began working part-time for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, (precursor to Natural Resources Conservation Service).[2][11] In 1952, Ternyik supervised early efforts to stabilize sand dunes on the Oregon Coast.[12]
In 1953 he established Wave Beach Grass Nursery, a business dedicated to stabilizing coastal sand dunes.[8] Ternyik is credited with planting European beach grass in the stabilization efforts.[13]
Then-governor Tom McCall delivered a speech to coastal government officials in 1970, urging them to engage in land use planning. His speech was poorly received, but Ternyik agreed with him, and set about building a coalition of "people on the coast who wanted to control their own fate." He and this group later persuaded the legislature to establish the Oregon Coastal Conservation and Development Commission (OCCDC). The OCCDC's work would serve as a model for land use legislation later adopted more broadly in Oregon.[14]
In 1971, Ternyik was elected chair of the OCCDC, presiding over a group of 24 elected officials and six at-large representatives appointed by Governor Tom McCall. The commission included "developers and environmentalists, Republicans and Democrats, property right advocates and land use activists, economic doomsayers and coastal naturalists,"[15] who all contributed to the discussions. Eldon Hout, an executive with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said, "Balancing a passion for coastal resource protection with the needs of developing coastal communities such as Florence is not an assignment for the timid, which is why Wilbur was and is such an important player on the coastal stage."[16]
According to Dylan Darling of The Register-Guard, "From 1971 to 1975, Ternyik chaired the Oregon Coastal Conservation and Development Commission, which had the notable task of developing an overall land use plan for the Oregon Coast."[2] Darling reported, "His impact on the Oregon Coast was conservational — he helped stop drifting dunes by planting grass and guided state and federal laws to protect coastal natural resources".[2] Darling wrote, "The coastal commission’s decisions laid the groundwork for state and federal land use laws."[2]
The OCCSC published many reports,[17] including estuary planning guidelines[18] and a historical and archaeological site inventory,[19] as well as interim reports to the Oregon Legislature.[20] Calling him "one of Oregon's most influential citizens", The Oregonian said his "signature accomplishment" was his work with that commission:[3]
...working closely with Governor Tom McCall, [Ternyik] took the lead persuading his fellow coastal leaders to undertake "coastal planning." By all accounts, Ternyik was the driving force behind that historic effort... the groundbreaking work of the OCCDC – started in 1970 – set the stage to establish Oregon's statewide land use planning system through the passage of Senate Bill 100 in 1973.[21]
Over the years, Ternyik worked with "Governors Tom McCall, Robert Straub and later Victor Atiyeh, in addition to working with state legislators, local elected officials and residents addressing development and implementation of Oregon’s Coastal Goals and Guidelines."[15] The Oregon Legislature passed the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Act of 1973, and the OCCDC's work leading to that legislation was acknowledged in a 2006 presentation on the history of land use planning in Oregon.[22]
Lincoln County Planning Director Onno Husing said, "And for years Ternyik was the most influential figure on the Oregon Coast."[2] Husing wrote,
The work of OCC&DC also had a national impact. Senator Mark Hatfield and Senator Bob Packwood could tell their colleagues that Oregonians were already making coastal management a reality. It wasn’t a theory. As such, Oregon’s successful experience birthing coastal planning played a vital role in the passage of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) in 1972.[3]
Ternyik's work with the OCCDC was not without controversy. Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) criticized OCCDC's estuary planning as potentially destructive of "Oregon's most pristine estuaries."[23] On the other hand, one of the commissioners resigned as chair of two committees, saying he didn't believe the OCCDC gave "enough weight to the economic consequences of proposed environmental restrictions."[24]
Ternyik authored the 1979 book, Beach and Dune Implementation Techniques, "widely regarded as a primer in the field of beach restoration", according to the Siuslaw News.[25]
In 1984, Ternyik proposed formation of a new county, named for Tom McCall, out of the coastal regions of Lane County, Oregon.[26] The proposal did not make the statewide ballot.
Ternyik had a career as a civic leader of more than 30 years, serving on the Florence city council for 16 years and on the Port of Siuslaw Commission for 29 years. He served twice as Florence's mayor, from 1985–1988 and again from 1991–1992.[25]
Ternyik rehabilitated injured wildlife for the state game commission out of his home for 15 years, "everything from turtles to small bears".[27] He and his wife became "unofficial avian doctors".[28]
Tributes
A life-size bronze bust of Ternyik by sculptor Lorenzo Ghiglieri was placed in the Gateway to Discovery building in Seaside by the Bridges Foundation of Turner in 2006.[27][29]
At that tribute, Senator Mark Hatfield said, "Wilbur Ternyik never expected recognition. His work was the tangible creation of his heart’s vision."[16]
In 2009, the bronze bust was displayed at the state capitol in Salem before being exhibited at the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum in Florence, Oregon.[30]
See also
References
- ↑ "Founding Father of Coastal Planning Dies at Age 92 – News Lincoln County". www.newslincolncounty.com. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Darling, Dylan. "Coastal advocate dies at 92". The Register Guard. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Celebrating Oregon's Guardian of the Coast – Wilbur Ternyik – News Lincoln County". www.newslincolncounty.com. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ↑ Sleeth, Peter D.; Church, Foster (July 6, 1997). "Oregon's Crowded Coast: First of Three Parts: Sanctuary Under Siege". The Oregonian.
- ↑ Tobias, Lori (April 30, 2006). "Bust honors protector of coast". The Oregonian.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Brennan, Mark (April 4, 2018). "Long-time Florence resident Wilbur Ternyik passes away at the age of 92". Siuslaw News.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Husing, Onno (21 November 2006). "The Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribe Honors Wilbur Ternyik at Seaside Ceremony" (PDF). Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Wilbur E. Ternyik Tribute" (PDF). May 27, 2006.
- ↑ Bacon, Larry (September 2005). "Wilbur Ternyik, a Life Built on Sand" (PDF). Oregon Coast Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Wilbur Ternyik was a character with character". Siuslaw News. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ↑ Shea, Edmund M. (March 1969). Wilbur Ternyik: He Tames the Wild Sands. Rotary International. p. 45. ISSN 0035-838X. Search this book on
- ↑ Morgan, Genevieve (July 8, 1952). "Florence Boasts Big Sand Project". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved 2018-07-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Judy Fleagle (14 July 2014). Around Florence. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-1-4396-4611-3. Search this book on
- ↑ Ross, Winston (May 1, 2006). "For years, Wilbur Ternyik has been a powerful advocate for the Oregon Coast: The sand man of Florence". The Register-Guard.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Wilbur E. Ternyik Tribute". The Bridges Foundation. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Comments and Quotes". The Bridges Foundation. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ↑ "Oregon Coastal Conservation and Development Commission". World Cat Identities. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ↑ Oregon Coastal Conservation and Development Commission, Estuary Planning Guidelines, January 1973.
- ↑ Oregon Coastal Conservation and Development Commission, Historical and Archaeological Site Inventory, Preliminary Report, March 1973.
- ↑ "Oregon Coastal Conservation and Development Commission: a Status Report to the Legislature" (PDF). U.S.Government Publishing Office. December 1972.
- ↑ "Wilbur Ternyik's Obituary". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
- ↑ "History of the Oregon Land Use Planning Program: Presentation to the Task Force on Land Use Planning" (PDF). March 3, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2009.
- ↑ "Estuary Planning Criticized". The Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon). 4 Dec 1973. Retrieved 2018-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Resigning was no surprise". The Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon). 20 March 1974. Retrieved 2018-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Brennan, Mark (7 April 2018). "A great man & a great steward of Oregon's coast". Siuslaw News. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
- ↑ "New 'McCall County' proposed". Statesman Journal. 17 June 1984. Retrieved 2018-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 "'I think we won the war'". The Daily Astorian. February 20, 2006.
- ↑ Meierjurgen, Linda (3 December 1993). "Can Percy Fly?". The World (Coos Bay). Retrieved 2018-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Photographs of Bronze for Wilbur E. Ternyik". The Bridges Foundation. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
- ↑ "Tribute to Wilbur E. Ternyik, Oregon State Capitol, June 15-19, 2009" (PDF). June 15, 2009.
External links
- Rep. Arnie Roblan's 2009 Congratulations to Wilbur Ternyik (video, 1:37)
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