Wednesday, January 6, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
21
Cloverdale fire station progressing
photo by douglAS beAll
Clark’s nutcracker.
Sisters Country birds
By Douglas Beall
Correspondent
C l a r k ’s n u t c r a c k e r
(Nucifraga Columbiana)
occupies an integral role in
the regeneration and mainte-
nance of high-elevation pine
forests.
They store pine seeds,
plucked from cones by their
strong and sharp beaks, in a
pouch behind their tongue.
Up to 90 seeds are stored
within this pouch, which are
then cached in the ground
over a large area.
In the fall, up to 33,000
seeds will be stored in the
ground, and the Clark’s nut-
cracker is able to remember
where they cached the seeds
for up to nine months.
The seeds they do not
remove become seedlings,
which sprout and help dis-
perse healthy and genetically
diverse pine trees. Over the
entire year, 98,000 seeds may
be cached.
The nutcrackers can begin
nesting in January because
of their ample buried food
source. Two to five greenish
eggs are laid and incubated,
mostly by the male who
develops a brood patch on
its chest, which is unlike the
other jays and crows within
the corvid family. Hatching
occurs in approximately 18
days and the nestlings fledge
in 20 days.
The Clark’s nutcracker
normally travels in groups
referred to as a “booby, jar,”
or “suite.” A gregarious bird,
they can often be heard high
in the pines kraak-kraak-
kraaking. This sound enabled
William Clark to locate them,
and they were named after
him during the Lewis and
Clark expedition in 1805.
For more Clark’s nut-
cracker images, visit http://
abirdsingsbecauseithasasong.
com/recent-journeys.
For winter plumbing emergencies
g
call Sweeney y Plumbing.
L����. D���������. P�����������.
Christmas came a little
early to the volunteers of
the Cloverdale Rural Fire
Protection District.
A week before Christmas,
on December 18, contractor
Keeton King Construction
completed the remodel of the
George Cyrus Road fire sta-
tion to a point that the trucks
could be parked indoors.
The remodel provides
parking for two fire trucks in
the same area that previously
had parking for three trucks.
The resulting wider, lon-
ger bays provide plenty of
room for the current trucks,
with room for firefighters
to safely move around, and
mount or dismount the trucks
while inside. With a 13-foot-
wide roll-up door on one of
the bays, the building should
be plenty large enough for the
photo provided
Cloverdale’s rigs are in their new home.
new larger pumpers that are
being built in South Dakota.
Finish work continues on
the building, with repaving of
the front parking lot sched-
uled for spring.
Fire Chief Thad Olsen
says that the district’s
Board of Directors and the
volunteers are excited to
see the results of the voters’
backing for their firefighters.
Speaking for everyone at the
district, Chief Olsen would
like to thank all of the con-
stituents in and around the
district for their support as
these upgrades proceed.
groups sue oregon over wolf protections
PORTLAND (AP) —
Three environmental groups
are suing Oregon wildlife
officials over their decision
to remove the gray wolf
from the state’s Endangered
Species list.
The Center for Biological
Diversity and two other
groups say it’s premature
to delist the animal with
only about 80 adult wolves
living in the state. The
Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Commission stripped wolves
of their endangered status
in November, after state
biologists said the species
won’t go extinct.
But some independent sci-
entists disagree with that con-
clusion. According to wolf
advocates, the Commission
failed to follow the best avail-
able science and its popula-
tion viability analysis for the
wolves was flawed.
“The Commission’s deci-
sion to delist wolves is plain
political kowtowing to the
livestock industry. This deci-
sion was not based in science,
it was not based on Oregon’s
conservation values,” said
TREATING SPORTS
INJURIES
Gordon’s Last Touch
Children & Adults
Three Sisters Chiropractic
270 S. Spruce St., Sisters
Dr. Inice Gough, DC, 541.549.3583
ThreeSistersChiropractic.com
Cleaning Specialists For…
Noah Greenwald, endangered
species program director at
the Center.
Oregon Fish and Wildlife
spokeswoman Michelle
Dennehy said “ODFW is
confident the department
followed statutory and legal
requirements in its process
and that the Commission
acted legally...”
Dennehy said the decision
to delist wolves was based on
their rapidly expanding range
in Oregon, their growing
population, and the stability
of their habitat.
541-549-3008
Carpets • Upholstery
Windows
Accepting VISA
& MasterCard!
Snow Removal!
Member of the Better
Business Bureau
Serving Central Oregon Since 1980
Bonded & Insured
541-549-4349
260 N. Pine St., Sisters
Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#87587
Not just a voice on the phone...
We’re right here when you need us...
541-549-0416
INSURANCE OF SISTERS
Serving Sisters
for over 20 years
CALL FOR A
QUOTE TODAY
AUTO • HOME • HEALTH • LIFE • BUSINESS
541-549-3172 • 1-800-752-8540 • 704 W. Hood Ave.
A member of Fullhart Insurance Agency, Inc.
Van Handel Automotive
Superior Service, ASE Master Techs
Servicing All Makes – All Models