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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2020)
8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020 COFFEE BREAK Beau feels like odd man out as girlfriend socializes with family DEAR ABBY: I have been divorced for three years. I have been dating a woman, “Steph- anie,” whom I love and believe can be my next wife. We talk about marriage and have been very good for each other. We each are blessed with three grown chil- dren, and we love our families immensely. The difference is, Stephanie socializes only with her family and has few friends who aren’t related to her. I, on the other hand, have a wealth of friends and like to do a lot with them — dinner parties, sporting events, concerts, traveling, etc. My friends are great people, and she agrees with me on that, but when we make plans with them, she says she feels like an out- sider and prefers to be with her family. Currently, Stephanie sees her DEAR daughter at least three times a week ABBY and her oldest son twice a week. In addition, her ex-husband and his wife host family events almost every other weekend — birth- days, holidays, game nights, etc., and she never wants to miss them. They are so close that there are no secrets and lots of “inside jokes.” I feel very much like an outsider at times. I love her family, and they have welcomed me with open arms, but I can’t seem to get used to this much “togetherness.” Once my kids were grown and out of the house, I wanted to enjoy my life while they pursued their own fun. I’m at the point that I’m tired of her family, especially since her ex always seems to be the organizer of these get-togethers. I don’t want to hurt her or her family’s feelings, but I would prefer more private time traveling or visiting with my friends and family, and we are not fi nding a good balance. They all attend the same church every week and even sit together as if they were still one big, happy family, even though it has been 20 years since their divorce. She tells me that I am No. 1 in her life, but her actions say otherwise. What do I do? — DIFFERENT IN MISSOURI DEAR DIFFERENT: I suggest you stop listening to what Steph- anie says and concentrate more on what you see she’s doing, then act accordingly. DEAR ABBY: I have a good friend who, every time I invite her and her husband over for dinner, always assumes their 20-year-old daughter can have a plate as well. They make her a plate before they serve themselves and take it to her. I guess I don’t mind, but I wish they would ask before assuming it’s OK. Most of the time I make enough food so I have leftovers for my boyfriend to take for lunch the following day. Is she being rude? Or am I just being a not-so- nice friend? — NO LEFTOVERS DEAR NO LEFTOVERS: What your friend is doing is rude. But don’t blame her for it. This is your fault for not speaking up when this fi rst started happening and explaining that the leftovers are intended for your boyfriend’s lunch the next day, which is why you would appreciate her not taking them. A way to avoid this in the future might be to plate the food yourself rather than let your guests do it, and immediately refrigerate whatever is left. Out of sight, out of reach! Climate change aff ects upper regions of Hells Canyon the most By Steve Tool EO Media Group ENTERPRISE — Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest gorge, is sequestered in Ore- gon’s far northeastern corner. It is renowned for its diverse wildlife population, including a vulner- able population of Rocky Moun- tain bighorn sheep and elk herds that frequent higher elevations. The effects of climate change in this 7,000-foot deep canyon are varied, and not entirely agreed upon by the biologists who work here. Pat Matthews, Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife district wildlife biologist, is a skeptic. Jim and Holly Akenson, wildlife biol- ogists who worked for ODFW for years, including large animals in Hells Canyon, see the beginnings of signifi cant changes, especially in higher elevations, as the cli- mate warms. Matthews has decades of expe- rience in the area. He’s not buying climate change, at least not out in the canyon country of north- eastern Oregon. “You hear a lot about climate change in the news, but as far as what we’re seeing on the ground right here in Hells Canyon, every- thing, we’re just not seeing any kind of changes yet,” he said. “I provided quite a few com- Photos by Ellen Morris Bishop/EO Media Group Morning at Hominy Bar along the Snake River in Hells Canyon. ments for our draft management plan that probably are contrary to a lot of the other biologists’ opinions. Climate change models are one thing. But you have to be able to verify that model on the ground and see if what the model tells you is really happening, and that’s one thing we’re not doing — we haven’t been able to see any difference,” he said. The Akensons, wildlife biolo- gists who have worked for ODFW across Eastern Oregon, including Hells Canyon, see things differ- ently from Matthews. Holly Akenson, who serves on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission, said ed ne ORE M Show Listings, rds, o w s s o r C , u Sudok ts r o p S , h c r a Word Se ...? e r o M & s e Quizz it’s hard to notice climate change effects on animals day by day and year by year because of the amount of variation. Akenson said in the higher elevations on both sides of the canyon the big change she’s seeing is losing the alpine biome because of increasing temperatures. “Species like pikas (a small, furry animal that lives in higher altitude talus piles) are affected because they could get isolated on a smaller area and have areas less suitable in which to live,” she said. “They need deep snow cover in the winter to keep them warm, and in the summer they don’t tol- erate warm temperatures very Prickly pear and cheatgrass above the Snake River in Hells Canyon. well, which is why they gener- ally live in higher elevations,” she said. She said if the habitat can’t keep the pikas warm, they move elsewhere. Akenson said she’d like to do a study of where they reside now. Jim Akenson, who is the con- servation director for the Oregon Hunters Association, said climate change has modifi ed ungulate (hoofed animal) migration in the canyon. “There’s a distribution of sea- sonal range use, especially with Check out our new TV Magazine elk, that is different than 20 or 30 years ago,” he said. “They’re spending more time at high ele- vation and less time at low — the nature of the warmer winters.” Akenson said during a jet boat trip up the Snake River in February a decade ago he saw plenty of elk at lower elevations. Recently, fl ying to check elk dis- tribution for the Oregon Hunters Association, Akenson noted elk were at much higher elevations in February than years before. “They couldn’t get to mid- high elevation (in the past) in the canyon because of snow depth, but now they bounce around with a three or four thousand-foot ele- vation change,” he said. “I don’t know if that affects their sur- vival, but it could affect range utilization and hit those higher elevation range lands a bit harder than before. It could be a factor if you’ve got 4,000 head of elk.” Climate change evidence can be hard to fi nd in this rugged and remote landscape. But Akenson also noted the canyon’s topog- raphy, which includes zones of hot desert to the alpine elevations can serve as a harbinger of things to come. “If there’s a piece of landscape in our region that’s going to be a barometer for change it would be Hells Canyon,” he said. Y R E V E Y A D R SATU BLACK E LOGO REVERS LOGO R - COLO G N CHAN BAR CA