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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2022)
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Protecting wolves LETTERS Continued from page 2 believe Adam Schiff still has Russia evidence on Trump, or that Michael Avenatti would be a perfect presidential candidate. Personally, I think CNN is experiencing the result of their behavior as <everything but honest journalism.= Or, to put it another way, <the chick- ens have come home to roost.= I am not inclined to gloat about their misfor- tune. Rather, it would be nice to see humility and an apology from new leadership to Americans for CNN9s past; and a new commitment to the freedom granted by the Constitution in a manner established by our founders. Hopefully, this may even affect other major players in media. Maybe it9s already starting: <NYT sues State Dept. to get Hunter Biden emails.= Remember how the Hunter laptop story was handled right before the election? We need a media that works for <we the peo- ple,= not special interests or a specific politi- cal party. The treatment of Trump vs. Biden has made that point more clear than any time I can remember in the last 50-plus years. Additionally, we now have an agenda of censorship like never seen, conducted by big-tech narcissists and woke hate. Nurses treated as heroes early in their dedi- cation to the pandemic yet later fired for failing to comply with the left9s insatiable lust for power regardless of the harm to our nation and children. There are multiple sources that have grown out of the massive push to censor everything that does not agree with the <narrative.= One of those that can be explored is Rumble.com, where a daily segment from X-22 can be found with opinion and informa- tion challenging the <narrative.= The Epoch Times is a refreshing change to major news outlets with both printed and online news, opinion, and infor- mation free of declaring everyone a racist or traitor for not taking an experimental vaccine. It9s time to reclaim our freedom of speech. Jeff Mackey s s s To the Editor: As of late January 2022, 30 percent of Yellowstone National Park wolves have been killed since the start of the 2021-2022 hunting season, when they crossed the invisible boundary into Montana and Idaho. Both states allow baiting and night hunting on private land. In Montana, an individual can kill up to 20 wolves a year. In Idaho, there is currently no limit on wolf tags, and hunters can legally lure wolves using bait, run them down using ATVs, snares, and aerial hunting. In Wyoming, there is no limit on the number that can be killed across 85 per- cent of the state. The New York Times recently ran an essay entitled <A Slaughter of Wolves Like This Hasn9t Been Seen in a Century.= In October 2020, all remaining Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves were removed. Predators such as gray wolves are criti- cally important to control populations of deer and elk, among others. Wolves in Oregon (population estimated at 172) still have some protection under the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. Hunting and trapping remain banned state- wide. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) says the state will not kill wolves unless <non-lethal measures= such as fencing prove unsuccessful. However, in October 2021, ODFW announced they had killed three more members of a wolf pack in Baker County, including two pups too young to hunt. Annual confirmed and prob- able wolf-caused losses on average amount to only 0.001 percent of Oregon livestock. Oregon has a wolf depredation compensation and financial assis- tance program to compensate ranchers for proven or probable wolf predation. In October of 2021, Senator Cory Booker wrote a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland requesting emergency protection for wolves; the letter was signed by 20 senators. In December 2021, Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon and a group of 85 rep- resentatives sent another letter to Sec. Haaland. All pleas have been ignored by the Biden administration. I urge concerned citizens to write to Sec. Deb 17 Haaland, your senator, and representatives to advo- cate for Oregon9s wolf population, which urgently needs help and intervention in order to not only thrive, but survive. Ann Thompson s s s Pearl Harbor To the Editor: Val Anderson9s new book, <Pearl Harbor9s Final Warning,= is a fascinating account of fam- ily vignettes that crisscross the months and days before the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. Her story focuses on missed opportunities in communications between top brass in Washington, D.C. and military leadership in Hawaii, as a decrypted message had alerted officials in Washington that an attack was imminent, but clumsy, outdated methods prevented the warning from reaching Pearl Harbor in time. Val9s grandfather, the Honolulu RCA manager, discovered too late these bungled efforts. Tracing his research from the time, Val puts together a fas- cinating story explaining the mystery and the con- sequences for servicemen and local residents after the attack. Val is a local resident and friend. Edie Jones wrote a compelling introduction with Val in last week9s paper. I hope it encourages local residents with a penchant for history to purchase this book at their favorite local bookstore. Jim Barnett s s s Water problems To the Editor: I cannot help but wish that some of the realtors quoted in <Water problems?= beginning on page 1 of the February 2 issue of The Nugget had a larger perspective than selling more properties and what their wealthier customers can ignore. People need to be very much aware that we See LETTERS on page 22