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Cougar renews interest in
Wildlife Service trappers
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GOLD HILL, Ore. — Residents of
this Southern Oregon town have had
it with the cougar.
Last month, Reba, one of Chris
Catania’s dogs, was gored after the
cougar jumped a 4-foot fence leading
into the house’s backyard. Other resi
dents have had their livestock at
tacked. Many are afraid to let their
animals out.
“Reba’s scared to death to go
outside,” said Chris Catania.
“I’m scared.”
Twelve years ago, residents could
have called on a “government trap
per.” But the trappers were eliminat
ed amid budget cuts. Now, the
cougar’s confrontation with residents
has rekindled interest in the program.
Residents say Wildlife Services
trappers could do what landowners
have so far been unable to: track the
offending cougar and get rid of it.
Whereas Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife biologists do not
have the resources to remove pet
killing cougars, state hunting laws ban
houndsmen from using dogs to chase
cougars as part of the hunting season.
Hunters can only chase cougars that
cause damage on private land where
the damage occurred. They can cross
into adjacent private lands only with
written permission.
By contrast, Wildlife Services
agents can be authorized to chase the
cougar with dogs on public lands.
They also rely on an arsenal of traps
to target specific animals.
A full-time agent costs around
$60,000 a year for the county, a price
that 24 of 36 Oregon counties have
opted to pay.
“We are the agents of the state to
deal with wildlife damage of all
types,” says Wildlife Services State
Director Dave Williams. “That’s the
full-time job of our people. We’re on
call, 24-7.”
Shayne Maxwell, a Gold Hill resi
dent, says that’s what’s needed here.
She has documented the death of a
dozen pets and livestock in the sur
rounding area from one or more
cougars in the past three months.
Area landowners have tried to
kill the cougar themselves, and at
least two houndsmen have been
hired to tree and kill the cougar,
Maxwell said.
One neighbor wears a side-arm
just to mow his lawn. And others
have stopped jogging until the of
fending cougar or cougars are found
and killed.
“Right now, I’m the one trying to
figure out the patterns of this cat,”
Maxwell says. “It shouldn’t be me
doing it. It should be a professional.”
“I have serious concerns about our
health and safety,” Maxwell says.
“Does someone have to die before it
gets the attention it needs?”
But Brooks Fahy, from the group
Predator Defense in Eugene, says
the actions of the offending cougar
are “no excuse” to contract with
Wildlife Services. She likens it to us
ing “a nuclear bomb instead of a
.22-caliber bullet.”
“It sounds like that animal needs
to be taken out,” Fahy says. “But that
doesn’t mean you need a whole gov
ernment-funded program.”
Williams says Wildlife Services
agents in 2004 logged more than 500
deaths of livestock and pets as a re
sult of cougars. Agents killed a total
of 70 cats.
Fahy, a longtime Wildlife Services
critic, says other counties with
Wildlife Services contracts end
up with pets lost to coyote traps
and poisons.
“Get ready, county, because you’re
going to lose more dogs to Wildlife
Services than to cougars, period,”
Fahy said.
IN BRIEF
Forest Service removes
protesters' log cabin
GALICE, Ore. — A log cabin erect
ed by protesters trying to block log
ging on a timber sale in southwestern
Oregon was removed by logger and
U.S. Forest Service officials.
Using equipment provided by the
loggers, including a skidder and a
front-end loader, the Forest Service,
pushed the logs to one side on
Sunday, said Forest Service
spokesman Tom Lavagnino.
The cabin was erected this past
weekend in the middle of the only
road leading to the Hobson timber
sale in the Siskiyou National Forest,
one of the areas burned in the 2002
Biscuit fire, according to Wild Siskiy
ou Action, the group that undertook
the protest.
Loggers alerted the Forest Service
when they realized they could not get
by the cabin.
About 40 protesters went out to
the site on Sunday afternoon, accord
ing to Laurel Sutherlin, a spokesman
for the activists.
The salvage sale covers 577 acres
located on the Galice Ranger District.
Salvage logging on the 2002 Biscuit
fire has been the focus of a debate be
tween conservationists and the Bush
administration over how to treat the
millions of acres of national forest
that burn every year in wildfires and
whether to log any of the remaining
old growth in national forests.
—The Associated Press
Park: Association plans cleanup project
Continued from page 1
the operation was supposed to be
elected at the meeting. Such a com
mittee was not established, but the
West University Neighbors will dis
cuss it further at the next meeting.
“We just want to come up with
something good for the park,” said
Drix Rixmann, chairman of the West
University Neighbors.
After two hours of playing Frisbee,
eating, drinking, socializing and get
ting to know fellow neighbors and
community members, Rixmann be
gan the formal meeting. An agenda
was written by the attendees with
ideas for possible uses of the park.
The agenda included holding a
monthly or weekly oratory, movie
night or musician festival; planting a
community garden; opening it up to
play disk golf or basketball; installing
chess tables, a swing set, a fountain,
Japanese garden or announcement
board; making a horse-shoe pit; buy
ing a community lawn mower; build
ing a small stage; and holding sched
uled block parties.
Rixmann asked for a show of hands
for those in support of reopening the
park, those opposed and those who
abstain. The attendees unanimously
voted for reopening the park.
The first step looks to be a commu
nity cleanup project, where neighbors
and community members could come
to the park and make the park present
able before proposals for reopening the
park are submitted to the city.
Board member Craig Laupheimer
suggested fixing the lights and invit
ing people to stomp down the shin
high grass while they celebrated.
“Nothing crazy is necessary,”
Laupheimer said. “We should just do
something. And if it wasn’t so dark it
would be a lot safer. ”
Attendees debated about short ver
sus long-term plans for reopening
and rebuilding the park. Many
thought it could be reopened as early
as September, while others said that
considering the preferred involve
ment from neighbors and local busi
nesses, it could take longer.
Community activist Zach Vis
hanoff suggested delivering infor
mation door-to-door to neighbors
and requesting their feedback, ideas
and concerns.
Because the park is “open space”
where people can be outside and see
the sky, Rixmann said it is an attrac
tive place for the city. “We don't
want it to be turned over to develop
ers,” Rixmann said.
Plans were set for a meeting in
which anyone interested in the future
of West University Neighborhood
Park could attend and contribute to
the proposals that will be submitted
to the City of Eugene.
nwilbur@dailyemerald.com
MONTHLY MEETINGS
Central Presbyterian Church
345-8724 555 E. 15th Ave.
Eugene, OR
Chairman Drix Rixmann
Phone: 4851585
E-mail: Drix@msn.com
Postal: West University Neighbors
c/o 307-1/2 E. 14th Ave.
Eugene, OR 974014207
WUN Online Discussion Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/west_universi
ty_neighbors/ via www.drix.org