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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2020)
14 Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon FIREFIGHTERS: Local team assisted with structure protection Continued from page 1 Ward said that the dam- age reinforced the message that keeping properties clear and creating defen- sible space is critical to fire defense and survival. In a catastrophic blaze such as the one that hit the moun- tain towns last week, noth- ing can guarantee that a house is going to survive. But preparation at least gives firefighters a fighting chance. <People that prepped their property had the best chance,= Ward said. Ward also noted the importance of having a plan for evacuation. In the fires that struck the Cascades, residents often had only minutes to get out of their homes before the fire was upon them. <Living in the wildland/ urban interface like this, it9s something that definitely has to be in the forefront of everybody9s mind,= he said. The Sisters firefighter has deployed to catastrophic wildfires before, including a massive blaze that devas- tated Sonoma, California. As he experienced in Sonoma, Ward was astounded at the apprecia- tion expressed to firefight- ers by people who had been through an almost incompre- hensible trauma and loss. He acknowledged that the impact is greater when the fire has devastated an area you grew up visiting. <It9s a bit more of a per- sonal fire when it9s close to home,= he said. Commentary... WILDLIFE: Government has scaled back protections Bull by Bull By Judy Bull Columnist " I got lost in Sisters the other day, after living here for over 34 years. When I needed to return from where I9d just come, my plan was to hang a U-turn on Brooks Camp Road, knowing it was a dead end. Not only is Brooks Camp Road now a through street, I was met by huge apart- ment buildings and houses on both sides of the street. McDonald9s Golden Arches ahead was the only thing I recognized. " It9s beginning to feel a lot like fall in Cloverdale. The acrid smell of hemp fields and the smoke from wildfires permeate the air, the nearby elk can be heard bugling, and the Three Sisters are as bare of snow as I can remember. Oh, and the badgers are back. " George Carlin once said, <When I was a kid, if a guy got killed in a Western movie I always wondered who got his horse.= Somehow, it makes me wonder, too, who gets all those beautiful horses on the controversial statues that have been torn down. " Around this time of the year I always enjoy stack- ing my pellets and getting hay in for the upcoming winter. This is the first year, however, that I have felt the need to lay in books for the winter to come. Thus far I have stashed 14 whodun- its, three autobiographies, and 99-year-old Raymond Alden9s newest release, a nonprofit charity that provides fully guided and outfitted trips for disabled Veterans at no charge more than 2,000 disabled veterans have been served All guides and board members are disabled veterans. There are no paid employees. Warfighter Outfitters is 100% volunteer-based and only spends donor dollars on basic operating costs of fuel and food. All operating costs are funded by donor dollars. Would you consider making a donation to Warfighter Outfitters today? warfighteroutfitters.org Warfighter Outfitters • 541-719-0071 • 501(c)(3) Nonprofit <Exploring the God Idea.= " Some nights before going to bed in the sum- mertime, I drag my bare feet through the newly watered lawn to remove the day9s dust. Works great, especially right after I9ve mowed. Talking mowing, Lee Christensen found me the greatest used mower on Craig9s List (who is Craig, anyway)? Just one pull and I9m good to go. Seeing my old mower going down the road in the back of Lee9s pickup, though, made me feel like I was attending my own estate sale. " The doc has me moni- toring my BP lately. I feel as though I9m taking a lie detector test every time I check it; it9s impossible to fool. Talking docs, some of the best advice I ever got from one a few years back: <When it gets in the way of your bowling, call me.= I was all signed up to get my knee replaced this summer and decided to take care of a big toe problem before surgery. Long story short, fixing my toe allowed me to use my entire foot properly for the first time in many, many years and straightened my leg right up. Bingo: no knee surgery and back to bowling 4 for now. " One day after COVID house arrest I came across a tiny, dead, dried up, shriv- eled mouse in the carport closet. Instantly, I real- ized it looked exactly like I felt when we were first set free from stay-at-home orders. Continued from page 9 using public lands for rec- reation, grazing or energy development. The U.S. Supreme Court called into question the defi- nition of <critical habitat= in a 2018 ruling. The Trump administration this year put forward a definition it says will <balance effective, science-based conservation with common-sense policy designed to bring the ESA into the 21st century.= Critics say the adminis- tration9s definition appears to rule out land or water that needs restoration work or sites that could become suit- able for imperiled wildfire in the future, particularly when climate change is considered. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has sought to scale back environ- mental protections in favor of industry, ranging from shrinking national monu- ments to opening up areas for oil and gas drilling. He9s also lifted or suspended environ- mental regulations intended to prevent pollution during the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this month, the administration released a proposal that would change the Endangered Species Act to allow the govern- ment to deny protections for critical habitat to benefit development. Trump has also sought to scale back or alter endan- gered species rules, including lifting blanket protections for animals newly listed as threatened and setting cost estimates for saving species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for example, desig- nated critical habitat earlier this year for slickspot pep- pergrass, a rare desert flower in southwestern Idaho, that protected about 65 square miles. But that9s about 30 square miles less than the agency proposed in 2014. We s t e r n Wa t e r s h e d s Project, an environmental group, blasted the decision as reducing critical habitat to only places where the plant already grows rather than including enough uninhab- ited areas where the plant could expand to and recover. A final decision on the definition for habitat is expected by year9s end. www.NuggetNews.com THE GARDEN ANGEL Organic landscaping... We fee d the soil! Have a great summ er, Sisters! 23 years in business • LCB#9583 541-549-2882