Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2020)
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon FOREST: Citizens are key to public lands9 health Continued from page 1 process that I started studying criminal justice,= he said. <I just took it one step at a time. Eventually I put all the puzzle pieces together.= The completed puzzle combined his love for the out- doors with another passion: <I9m driven to think like a cop, to work with other cops to pro- tect people and lands,= he said. Starting with the National Park Service, Perl eventually gained permanent status at Grand Canyon National Park. Then he shifted agencies, to the U.S. Forest Service. <It was more independent work being an LEO (law enforcement officer) with the Forest Service, a little more investigative work,= he said. In 2000, Perl accepted an LEO position on the Flathead National Forest in Kalispell, Montana, and then transferred to the Sisters Ranger District in 2003. He attributes the successes he attained here to the rela- tionships he built with other law enforcement personnel and with the community. <It really gets down to cooperation,= he said. <It9s really a team effort.= Perl9s work involved pro- tecting resources and people in an increasingly heavily trafficked forest. He investi- gated everything from illegal camping and resource damage to wildland fire. The work- load has grown heavier and heavier as Sisters has been <discovered.= <It9s high-use,= he said. <It9s almost become high-use year-round.= One of the biggest chal- lenges of the job was simply determining where to put his efforts. <You can9t investigate everything; it just takes so much time,= he said. <So you SUDOKU have to prioritize.= And on any given day, an incident could change those priorities. Partnerships and coopera- tion are key to gaining infor- mation and for the safety of an officer who is often work- ing alone in remote areas. Perl always knew that other law enforcement personnel in the area had his back, as he had theirs. <Somebody will come, because of the relationships,= he said. <That9s extremely important from an officer- safety standpoint.= In recent years, Perl was increasingly called upon to address illegal camping in the forest around Sisters 4 often involving homeless people, including families. It was a challenging line to walk, requiring Perl to enforce the law with a high level of com- passion and understanding. It was never a simple, straight- forward situation to manage, and, again, it required cooper- ation with local agencies and community members. <You can only manage it, because people have such lim- itations,= Perl said. <You can9t just move them out.= Perl and his community partners sought to find help for those who could and would take it, to make it pos- sible for them to change their situation. And they had some successes. But the problem persists, without any simple solution. <It9s a growing situation and we9re well-aware of it,= Perl said. <The agency is deal- ing with it to the best of their ability.= Perl is easing into retire- ment with no specific plans other than spending time with family. <I9m not making any con- crete decisions right now,= he said. It9s a certainty, however, that whatever the future holds, it will involve being out on the public lands Perl has loved and defended for decades. Level: Easy Answer: Page 22 17 The Nugget Newspaper Crossword By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service — Last Week’s Puzzle Solved — This Week’s Crossword Sponsors Collagen Induction Facial Advanced Medical Aesthetics $110-$175 Nano Facial or Microneedling Essentials Skincare With Karen. LED Treatment Included. 100% Hyaluronic Acid Serum. Enhances, revives collagen production. Call 541-480-1412 to book your appointment. Karen K Keady d E Esthetician/Owner th ti i /O 541-480-1412 541 480 1412 | 492 4 9 2 E. E Main M i Ave. A Mon-Sat M S t Flexible Fl ib Hours | SistersEssentials.com WELL PUMP SERVICE Pump & Electrical Contractor PRESSURE TANKS • CONSTANT-PRESSURE SYSTEMS FREQUENCY DRIVES • MOTOR CONTROLS • PUMPS A Division of 24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE Zach 541-420-8170 Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down, and each small nine-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine. Sisters Owned CCB#178543