This is a large male European green crab captured in Willapa Bay near Tokeland. They are present in large numbers in Willapa Bay and endanger aspects of the shellfish industry.

The Chinese expression “Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos” might become an appropriate theme for 2024 — though it dates from a time when dogs were too often mistreated and weren’t as pampered as most are today. Between wars, national politics, lingering pandemic worries and a growing sense that earth’s climate crisis is gathering steam, this is anything but a tranquil time.

When it comes to this big stuff, perhaps the best we can do is commit to being good neighbors: Polite to all, generous as we can be to those in need, willing to give the benefit of the doubt to those with whom we disagree.

Some specifics related to local well-being today:

• We always have more in common with each other than any of us ever will with national politicians. Let’s not allow heated arguments in a presidential election year get in the way of who are. We are bound together by shared love of this unique place and affection for everyone else who chooses to live here. Our safety, our economy, our pride are all products of cooperation and good fellowship. We must all be vigilant in rejecting and calling out racial prejudice, antisemitism and any other forms of stupid and hateful bigotry.

• We have the best chance of success when we work together and advocate for shared goals. In 2024, we should strive for progress on obtaining justice for the Chinook Tribe, lobbying for substantial improvements on the deadly stretch of U.S. Highway 101 between Raymond and the Montesano cutoff, and replacing/revamping Pacific County’s seven bridges rated as in poor condition by the Washington State Department Transportation — these include those over the Chinook River, Greenhead Slough and a county bridge in Surfside.

• We must ramp up efforts to ensure most of us survive an inevitable Cascadia Subduction Zone disaster. It is difficult to gain traction on threats with uncertain timelines, but procrastination is a great enemy when it comes to civil preparedness. Our neighbors at the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation have done well in obtaining a vertical evacuation structure, while the far larger population on the Long Beach Peninsula waits for some outside force to deliver salvation. Now is the time to at least begin planning for evacuation paths armored to provide ways away from the ocean following a major earthquake. Every step we ourselves take toward safety will help convince the federal government to aid in mitigating what will someday become one of the worse natural disasters in recorded history.

• The long and sorry saga of Beacon RV Park in Ilwaco, which is certainly not all the fault of its current owners, is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Pacific County’s critical lack of affordable and appropriate housing. Recreational trailers, fifth-wheels and motor homes can be cozy and safe — many or even most are. However, others are too worn out to be well maintained, are situated in crime-troubled places that definitely aren’t “parks,” offer little privacy, and come with budget-draining rents for the trailer and space. Few are designed for year-round living. Places to park RVs typically rent for more than apartments used to in the recent past. Near-term improvements in quality, availability and affordability are unlikely in our private housing market, but Pacific County can help by ramping up code enforcement to try to ensure these dwellings aren’t firetraps and that facilities have legally required sanitation and other basic necessities. The Chinook Observer plans to make substandard housing one focus of news coverage this year.

• The interlocking problems of drug and alcohol abuse, other forms of mental illness, domestic violence, homelessness, and property crime are a constant drumbeat. They erode our sense of well-being and impose real costs across the entire spectrum of rural society. The Observer will continue devoting significant attention to all these issues, while commending local police for their professional and humane efforts to protect law-abiding citizens while holding malefactors accountable. The Pacific County Sheriff’s Office deserves praise for its usually impressive response times over a large and complicated territory, as detailed in a labor-intensive report last week.

• Of our county’s major economic drivers, none is more threatened than shellfish. Bad news continues in the form of swarms of invasive European green crab, and native but over-abundant burrowing shrimp; potential problems for our hard-working, largely immigrant labor force; and ongoing changes in the chemistry and temperature of seawater. However, there is positive news in the form of a historically large nature oyster set and a possible answer to the troubling puzzle of controlling burrowing shrimp without the use of chemical pesticides. We’ll keep up our unique local coverage of all this.

Are there interesting local subjects we’re overlooking? Fascinating residents we should all learn about? Please drop us a line at editor@chinookobserver.com.