▼ ✁✂❆❨✱ ❆✄☎✆✝ ✞✟✱ ✞✠✶✟
the year. The reason is that water
held back in the spring would be
t❯❢❣
The Blue Mountain Seeds man-
ager also said taking out levees and
replacing them is not a good idea
because new levees are weaker. Ac-
cording to Merrigan, it takes several
years for the soil of new levees to
harden so they are strong enough
to hold back water.
♣❖❩❩❈❭ ❅▼ ❣❊❱❋❈ ●❱ ✐❱❱❄❅❋❥ ❬❈❙❖❯▼❈
●◆❈▼❈ ❩❈❨❈❈▼ ❄❯❊❅❋❥ ●◆❈ ✉❣❊❅❩ ✐❱❱❄P
✇❈❊❊❅❥❖❋ ▼❖❅❄ ●◆❅▼ ❭❈❖❊❏▼ ✐❱❱❄❅❋❥
there are no dams on the river or
In some cases, this water cannot get
back into the Grande Ronde River
because it is blocked by the levees.
Merrigan said farmers may be
tempted to cut their levees to let the
water drain back into the Grande
Ronde. Calling this “risky,” he ex-
has been caused in part by the late
winter snowfall Northeast Oregon
had. When April’s heavy spring rain
and warmer temperatures hit there
-
ing streams.
Hassinger said sometimes many
❱❋ ❅● ♠❱❯❩❄ ❅❋❙❩❯❄❈ ▼❯❋✐❱♠❈❊▼ ❖❋❄
④⑤⑥⑥⑦
Continued from Page 1A
Phil Hassinger reported about
750 acres of the 1,200 acres of
farmland his family has on Cath-
❈❊❅❋❈ ❛❊❈❈❡ ❅▼ ❅❢❣❖❙●❈❄ ❬❭ ✐❱❱❄❅❋❥P
His sons, Jed and Seth, who run the
family farm, are now operating four
♠❖●❈❊ ❣❯❢❣▼ ❱❋ ●◆❈ ✐❱❱❄❈❄ ❩❖❋❄P
Phil Hassinger said on Tuesday a
pump much larger than the ones in
place will be installed.
“It will pump thousands of gal-
lons of water into the Grande
Ronde River an hour,” he said.
Hassinger said there is a chance
his family may be able to salvage
-
duction this year. The crops grown
▼❱❢❈ ❱❳ ●◆❈❅❊ ✐❱❱❄❈❄ ❩❖❋❄ ❳❱❊ ❣❊❱
new
host
❚✡☛ ☞✌☛☎❱☛☎ ✍ ✺✎
LOCAL
⑥⑩❶❷
Continued from Page 1A
For the third GRWM
project, $73,040 was
granted to plan a resto-
ration project to provide
more rearing habitat
for Chinook salmon and
steelhead plus migration
habitat for bull trout in the
Lostine River. OWEB will
partner with the Nez Perce
Tribe, Bonneville Power
spring wheat.
Regardless of how things turn
out, this is a trying time for Hass-
inger and his family.
◗❘● ◆❖▼ ❄❈♦❋❅●❈❩❭ ❬❈❈❋ ❖ ❬❯❢❣ ❅❋
◗r❈ ◆❖❨❈ ❋❱ ✐❱❱❄ ❙❱❋●❊❱❩q❑ ◆❈
said. “We have nothing holding the
water back.”
He said having dams on Cath-
erine Creek and the Grande Ronde
❋❱●
♠❱❯❩❄
❱❋❩❭
❊❈❄❯❙❈
Lepper said her love of the
outdoors began when she would
“primitive camp” during Civil
War reenactments. She and her
husband at the time would take
their two sons and spend week-
ends immersed in the culture of
the late 19th century.
Lepper started acting on the
Confederate side because of
her residence in the south, but
moved over to the Union Army
when her husband traced his lin-
eage back to the Northern side of
the war. Performing as Yankees
while living in the South gave
the family limited options in the
reenactments, but Lepper said
they enjoyed following the story-
line of being a displaced family
♦❊❈ ❊❅▼❡ ❅❋ ●◆❈ ⑧❅❨❅❄❈ ❖❊❈❖
of the Wallowa Front. The
organization will work
with landowners, the U.S.
Natural Resources Con-
♠❅❩❄❩❅❳❈q
while Lepper’s husband acted as
a common foot soldier.
Once her sons grew up and
found more interest in “motorcy-
cles and girls” than Civil War reen-
actments, Lepper’s love of primi-
tive camping went by the wayside
— until she decided on her retire-
ment plan after a career spent in
the manufacturing sector.
“I started watching YouTube
videos about a year or two ago
when I knew I wanted to retire. I
was thinking, ‘Do I want to stay
in the Southeast where I’m com-
fortable, or do I want to try to ex-
pand my wings and try something
❄❅❆❈❊❈❋●■❏❑
▼◆❈
▼❖❅❄P
✐❱❱❄♠❖●❈❊▼
community … We’re excit-
ed to keep doing this work,
supported by both OWEB
and the public.”
The Wallowa Soil & Wa-
ter Conservation District
was granted $134,987 to
go toward improving for-
est health and reducing
clean water and the local
◗❘
♦❈❩❄▼q
❬❯● ❯❋❳❱❊
❱❳●❈❋
farmers will be hit harder the sec-
ond time because they will have
much less protection.
but would also allow for both to
♦▼◆q
●◆❈❅❊
❣❩❖❅❋❈❄ ❅❳ ✐❱❱❄♠❖●❈❊▼ ❊❈●❯❊❋ ●◆❈▼❈
✐❱❱❄❅❋❥q
◆❖❨❈ ❢❱❊❈ ❈❨❈❋ ✐❱♠▼ ●◆❊❱❯❥◆❱❯●
❬❈❋❈♦●
❣❊❱●❈❙●
●❯❋❖●❈❩❭q
the Grande Ronde.
wildlife are intertwined
with the needs of the com-
munity,” said Jesse Steele,
executive director of the
Grande Ronde Model Wa-
tershed. “We do projects
Continued from Page 1A
●❱
❛❖●◆❈❊❅❋❈ ❛❊❈❈❡q ♠◆❅❙◆ ✐❱♠▼ ❅❋●❱
●◆❖● ●◆❈ ❋❈❈❄▼ ❱❳ ♦▼◆ ❖❋❄
❪❫❴❵
levels are low.
Many farmers in the Grande
Ronde Valley have built dirt levees
-
the road,” he said.
Merrigan said the Grande Ronde
Administration and 10
landowners in the project
area in addition to OWEB.
“Our organization was
founded on the premise
●◆❖●
❊❈❩❈❖▼❈❄ ❅❋ ●◆❈ ▼❯❢❢❈❊ ♠◆❈❋ ✐❱♠
▼●❖❊●❈❄
♦▼◆ ❈❋❄ ❯❣ ❅❋ ❳❖❊❢❈❊▼❏ ♦❈❩❄▼ ♠◆❈❋
●◆❈ ❊❅❨❈❊ ✐❱❱❄▼ ❖❋❄ ❙❖❋❋❱● ❋❱● ❥❈●
out because of levees. He recalled
more than a decade ago his fam-
servation Service, U.S.
Forest Service, Oregon
Department of Forestry
and Wallowa Resources in
addition to OWEB.
◗r❈❏❨❈
▼❈❈❋
♠❅❩❄♦❊❈▼
ravage Eastern Oregon
several summers in a row
now. The threat is real, and
we’re grateful to have part-
ners like OWEB and others
▼●❈❣❣❅❋❥ ❯❣ ●❱ ❊❈❄❯❙❈ ♦❊❈
risk in our local commu-
nity on public and private
shell, made a makeshift bed in
the back and traveled more than
2,400 miles with her “little dog”
on a cross-country trip from
Murfreesboro to La Grande.
“We had a grand time,” she said.
“We didn’t even try to go freeways,
we went like state highways. It was
just so enjoyable.”
Stu Spence, Parks & Recreation
director for the City of La Grande,
said he’s excited about having Lep-
per up at the lake because of her
outgoing spirit. He noted the im-
provements the camp host position
has made to Morgan Lake, which
opened for the season April 22.
“Four years ago, we started the
camp host program because Morgan
Lake was getting used and abused,”
Spence said. “It has improved the
caretaking over the park dramati-
cally over the past few years.”
watching videos of all the single
women out there and I thought,
‘If they can do it, I can do it.’”
So, Lepper packed up her
pickup truck with a camper
♠❖▼ ◆❅❥◆❈❊ ▼❋❱♠❢❈❩● ❊❯❋❱❆q ▼♠❈❩❩
❅❩❭❏▼ ❩❖❋❄ ◆❖❄ ▼❱ ❢❖❋❭ ♦▼◆ ●❊❖❣❣❈❄
by levees that 58 pelicans appeared
❖❋❄ ❳❈❄ ❱❋ ●◆❈ ♦▼◆ ❱❋ ◆❅▼ ❳❖❊❢❩❖❋❄
-
❳❱❊ ❖❬❱❯● ●♠❱ ♠❈❈❡▼P ①◆❈ ♦▼◆ ❅❋
❙❩❯❄❈❄ ❬❖▼▼q ❙❖●♦▼◆ ❖❋❄ ❙❊❖❣❣❅❈P
①◆❈
❙❱❋❄❅●❅❱❋▼
❅❋
❙❩❱▼❈ ●❱ ✐❱❱❄ ▼●❖❥❈P
①◆❈ ♦❋❖❩ ●♠❱ ❣❊❱t❈❙●▼ ●❱
receive funding both focus
on the Wallowa River. The
Nez Perce Tribe will re-
ceive $235,097 to improve
salmon spawning and
rearing habitat on a sec-
tion of the Wallowa River
❬❭
❅❋▼●❖❩❩❅❋❥
❱❆⑨❙◆❖❋❋❈❩
wetlands, alcoves and
large woody debris. Wal-
lowa Resources was grant-
ed $250,726 to improve
bull trout and kokanee
spawning and rearing by
enhancing a section of the
Wallowa River.
Contact Francisca
Benitez at 541-963-3161
or email fbenitez@la-
grandeobserver.com.
been here,” Spence said. “Es-
pecially the gate being closed
seemed to cut down on the most
problem behaviors.”
Lepper said she is most excited
about the camp host position be-
❙❖❯▼❈ ❱❳ ●◆❈ ❖❨❖❅❩❖❬❅❩❅●❭ ❅● ❱❆❈❊▼
to bring her grandsons up to the
park, and to practice her primitive
camping skills before she sets out
on her nomadic journey across
the Northwest.
“I know very little of the North-
west, so I’m going to take the boys
up there and they’re going to be my
guides,” she said. “I’m just looking
forward to being with the grand-
kids, and it’s the perfect way to
spend a summer.”
Contact Amanda Weisbrod at
541-963-3161 or email aweis
brod@lagrandeobserver.com.
❖✉✘ ✙✚✛✚✜✢✣✘② ✤✥✥✙✦ ✣✘✚ ✥✜✙② ✥✜✚ ❡✥✧★✥✜✚✜✤
✥❢ ✤✩✚ ✪✣✙✉✚ ✫✚ ★✘✥✪✈✢✚✳ ✬✘✥✧ ✦✣✙✚✦ ✣✜✢ ✦✚✘✪✈❡✚
✤✥ ★✘✥❢✚✦✦✈✥✜✣✙ ✣✢✪✈❡✚ ✣✜✢ ✦✉★★✥✘✤✭ ②✥✉✘ ✮✯✰✲✴
❉✚✣✙✚✘ ✢✚✙✈✪✚✘✦ ✪✣✙✉✚ ✫✚✙✙ ✵✚②✥✜✢ ✤✥✥✙✦✳
❊①✷✸✹✻✸✼✽✸ ✾❤✸ ✿✻❀✸✹✸✼✽✸ ❁❂ ❃✸❄❅ ❇❈❋●❍■
➆➇➈➉ ➊➯➌➌➍
➲➳➵➸ ➵➸➺ ➻➼➽➾➚➺➾ ➪➼➶➹➸➘➴➺
➷➬ ➮➱✃ ➬❐❒ ❮❰ ➮ÏÐÑÑ✃Ï
❒ÒÓ ÏÑ❒ Ô❰Õ ❐✃➮
➽é➲ ê➼➴➵ ❑ ◗ì ❯❳❩❬❯❭❪
♣rq✇ ③ë ❲❏❙ ➓▲P
Ö×❏Ø➓Ù
❙ÚÛÜÝÞßàáÚ❙
❏âãÙä❏ÛÛÚÖå❏Ýá
❏ß▲Ù▲Þæ❏ÖçÚÖè
➆➇➈➉ ➊➋➌➍
❥❦ ❧♠♥
▲➓ ➎ ➏➐➑➒
❲❏❙ ❑▲◆P◗❘❯❳❩❬❯❭❪
♣qr✇③④
⑤⑥⑦⑧ ⑨⑩❶❷⑧ ❸❹❺ ⑩⑧❻❶❸❼❶❻❶⑥❽
❸⑩⑧ ❾❿⑥➀⑥❸❹❺❶❹➁⑤
➂ ➀⑨⑧❹❷⑧⑩➃❾⑩⑦❶⑩⑧➄➅➅
❫❴❵❜❞ ❣❵✐
➜❦ ➝➞
í
❇✂✄☎✆ ✝✞✟✠
❇✂✄☎✆ ✝✞✟✠
❉✡ ☛ ☞✌✍✍✎✏
❚✘✗✚✖✘✧★✫✛
✑✒✓✒ ✔✕✖✗✘✕✙✚✗✛ ✜✕✗✢
➆➇➈➉ ➊➧➌➍
▲➭ ➎ ➏➨➐➩➫
í
❴→➣↔→ ↕➙❜➛➛→➙ ❲❏❙ ❑➔PP◗❘❯❳❩❬❯❭❪
♣➟➠✇③④
⑤➡⑧⑩❽ ❸➁❶❻⑧ ⑥❾ ⑦❸❹❺❻⑧
❸❹❺ ❷❾❹⑥⑩❾❻➢
➂ ➀⑥❶⑦❻❿➀⑧⑩➤➥➦
▲✂ ✯✆✂✰✱☎
▲✂ ✯✆✂✰✱☎
❉ ✡ ☛ ☞✌✍✍✎✏
❚✘✗✚✖✘✧★✫✛
✤✤✭✭ ✜✧✛✕★✚ ☞✚★✧✧✚
✓✭✓✭✓ ✴✗✛✚ ✵✩★✛✚ ☞✚★✧✧✚ ✹✳✼✳
✤✤✓✤ ✹✛✎✗✙✢ ❂✈✧✙✌✧ ❃✤✿✭
✒✺✓✣✒✤✑✣✥✺✺✤
✒✺✓✣✒✤✑✣✑✑✮✓
✒✺✓✣✿✥✑✣❀✺✥✥
✒✺✓✣✥✭✒✣✭✓✒✤
✢❞❞✗✦✧★✖✩✚✏✳✖✕✪
✚✘✗✚✖✘✧★✛✗✖✧✳✌✛
✢❞✎✗❁★✗✙✢✧✳✖✕✪
❚✘✗✚✖✘✧★✛❂✖✧❍✗★✢✬✗★✧✳✖✕✪
❍✗★✢✬✗★✧
î❾ïðñòóôõö÷øùñúûüù➄ý➄ýþ➦ÿ❸õõ ñö ðòôñð ➀❹ ➀⑩⑨ÿ❸óôöõô õðôø ôñøö ö ôøö ü÷ðôõðñò ùöõðòû õöðòõôòøÿ ⑥ùðô øûôõ
õöòøð÷üûö÷ð ôñõð üøù ô óôñ ñú øùððïð øöóð ûøøö üõð üøù ôòð÷ú ùö ù ú ðñùðô÷öøöò ö òøôõõð÷ú ÿ❷ùð
úûøøùðòðñðóöð òô ÷úøùðñòú øùð ñú÷û ø ôüðòôø➀⑥❶⑦❻÷ðôõðñòÿ ú ÿ ➤➥þ➦ ➀⑥❶⑦❻➀❹
❧ ❝
❜
♥
s
♥
❤ ②
❲✲
②
❤
♥
❧
❝
❝ ❧
❜
❝
♥
❧
♥
❜
❝ ❧
♥
♥s
❝ ❤ ➞
s
❝
❧ s
❺
❧❧
♥
❝
♥
❲✶✾✲✸✷✶✲✶✁✷✁✻✽✲✁
❝❦
●◆❈
❣❊❱❨❈ ❱❨❈❊ ●◆❈ ❋❈③● ♦❨❈ ❄❖❭▼q ❖❙
lands,” said Lisa Mahon
Warnock, project manager
for the Wallowa SWCD.
“We can’t do this work
alone, and we can’t do it
without public support.”
The Parks & Rec director said
before the department took
measures to reduce negative be-
haviors, Morgan Lake was con-
sistently vandalized and used
after hours, especially between
midnight and 2 a.m. The camp
host position was created to quell
these actions, as well as to pro-
vide someone to greet visitors
and ensure the land was being
treated properly.
Spence said the camp host’s main
duties are opening the park’s front
gate at 6 a.m. and closing it at 10
p.m., along with taking down the
name, phone number, driver’s li-
cense and address of each guest
who stops by the park.
“Just by implementing those
two measures, we’ve reduced
vandalism and negative behav-
iors since the camp host has
✐❱❱❄❅❋❥
Grande Ronde Valley should im-
-
cording to Rob Brooks, a forecaster
for the National Weather Service in
Pendleton.
“It will be dry all week,” Brooks
said.
He added temperatures will
cool today and Tuesday, which
will reduce snowmelt. The fore-
caster also noted currently no por-
tion of the Grande Ronde River in
Union and Wallowa counties is
❍✗★✢✬✗★✧
st✏✑✒✓✔❛✒✔✕s✖❝♦✗