Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2020)
B Saturday, June 27, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald RECREATION REPORT CAMPERS FLOCK TO FORESTS AFTER A SPRING OF PANDEMIC-PROMPTED CLOSURES Marine patrols will focus on intoxicated boaters over holiday weekend The Oregon State Marine Board, marine law enforce- ment from 18 county sheriff’s offi ces, Oregon State Police, and fi ve Oregon U.S. Coast Guard stations will be participating in Operation Dry Water during the weekend of July 3-5, as part of a nation- ally coordinated effort to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities related to Boating Under the Infl uence of Intoxi- cants (BUII). “We have multiple patrols scheduled this season to catch impaired boat op- erators,” says Randy Henry, boating safety program manager for the Marine Board. “We also have new tools. The Legislature gave us the authority in 2020 to take your boater education card for up to three years, if convicted.” Impaired boat- ers can expect to be arrested or face serious penalties. In Oregon, the con- sequences of being convicted of BUII in- clude the possibility of jail time, $6,250 in fi nes, loss of boating privileges and a one to three-year suspen- sion of the boater education card and potentially being court-mandated to take another boat- ing safety course. Marine offi cers can arrest boaters on ob- served impairment and can legally ob- tain blood, breath or urine if a boater fails fi eld sobriety testing. Offi cers have already arrested three people for BUII this year and at least two fatali- ties appear to have involved alcohol or drugs. FISHING FORECAST GRANDE RONDE RIVER Warmer weather has resulted in in- creased fl ows and the river will be off-color for a bit. Success may still be found depend- ing on water clarity. Use natural baits or large dark artifi cials until water quality improves. WALLOWA LAKE Fishing has been good at Wallowa Lake for kokanee, rainbow trout and lake trout. Kokanee over 12 inches have been common with a few very large fi sh available. SNAKE RIVER Salmon fi shing is open from the boat ramp at Dug Bar upstream to the deadline below Hells Canyon Dam. The daily bag limit is four hatchery chinook per day of which only one may be an adult hatchery chinook. Jayson Jacoby / Baker City Herald Dennis and Michaelle Sa- ranto, of Walla Walla, Wash- ington, set up their trailer this week at Union Creek Campground. The couple brought along their dogs. Kia, who’s a little more than a year old, stands beside Dennis on the picnic table, and 12-year-old Lucy stays nearby. Clamoring To Camp By Jayson Jacoby Baker City Herald The sky is unblemished blue, the gentlest of breezes is whispering through the ponderosa pines, and Dennis Saranto is smiling. He’s happy to be outside. In particular he’s happy to be sitting at a picnic table among the pines at Union Creek Campground on a peaceful and mild Thursday morning in late June. This U.S. Forest Service campground, on the north shore of Phillips Reservoir about 17 miles southwest of Baker City, is managed by Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort. Union Creek opened for the season on June 8. That’s later than usual — a common situation in the year of the coronavirus pandemic. This belated beginning to the camping season is one reason Saranto and his wife, Michaelle, who live in Walla Walla, Washington, were ea- ger to haul their 30-foot travel trailer to this shady campsite. And the couple are hardly alone. Most of the 20 or so sites on this loop at Union Creek are also occupied on this morning even though the weekend is a day away. Dennis Saranto said it’s been diffi cult to fi nd camp- grounds that aren’t already booked, something he attri- butes to the pent up demand after most camping areas were closed the majority of the spring. Union Creek has had “a steady stream of folks” since the campground opened 3 weeks ago, said Chelsea Judy, marketing director and as- sistant operations manager for Anthony Lakes. “People are just itching to get out,” Judy said. The three other Forest Service campgrounds that Anthony Lakes manages in the Sumpter Valley — two on the other side of Phillips Reservoir, and McCully Fork a couple miles from Sumpter — have also been busy, Judy said. “It’s pretty normal for this time of year,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of reservations.” Union Creek is a popular campground in part because it’s a rare Forest Service facil- “People are just itching to get out.” — Chelsea Judy, marketing director for Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort, which manages Forest Service campgrounds in Sumpter Valley and at Anthony Lakes ity that has campsites with water, sewer and electrical connections for trailers and motor homes. Union Creek also has sites that can’t be reserved, and are instead available on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis, Judy said. Staff at all four camp- grounds are frequently cleaning restrooms and other facilities, and asking campers to comply with social distanc- ing. That’s not much of a chal- lenge, Judy said, since there’s considerably more distance between each campsite. Saranto said he has no trepidation about camping during the pandemic. “Outdoors I don’t have any concerns,” he said. “That’s why camping is popular.” It’s been part of Saranto’s life since he was a boy. Saranto, 60, said his par- ents bought their fi rst trailer in 1969. He said his family camped at Union Creek several times when he was growing up, but until last year he hadn’t been to the campground for more than 40 years. He enjoyed his trip last year so much that Union Creek was an obvious choice for him when the pandemic restrictions began to ease. Saranto said camping with a fully stocked trailer is particularly attractive during the coronavirus era in part because he and his wife don’t need to worry about such things as restaurant occu- pancy restrictions or concerns about going into grocery stores. “We’re completely self-con- tained — you can eat, sleep and cook in your own home on wheels,” he said. Saranto said modern trail- ers, with their soft and well- padded recliners, showers and DVD-connected fl atscreen TVs, are considerably more sumptuous than the ones he remembers from his child- hood. “We’re not roughing it any more,” he said with a grin. “They’ve come a long ways. It’s not really camping.” State parks Many campgrounds at Oregon state parks reopened June 9 after being closed since March. Mac Freeborn, manager at Wallowa Lake State Park, which has a 209-site camp- ground, said the facility has been busy. And with the majority of the sites already reserved for the summer, that situation will continue. “We’re experiencing a full campground pretty much through August,” Freeborn said. “And we’re still getting phone calls from people ask- ing if we have openings.” Wallowa Lake does have a small number of fi rst-come, fi rst-served sites, available for one night only, but Freeborn recommends people call the park fi rst, at 541-432-4185, rather than driving to the park and hoping to fi nd a vacant spot. Freeborn doesn’t think the pandemic has much to do with the crowds at Wallowa Lake. That’s the normal situation for summer. “I think here, because we are such a destination park, that didn’t play out here,” Freeborn said, meaning an infl ux of campers champing at the bit to set up their trail- ers or tents after being stuck at home the previous three months. He said the campground was perhaps a bit busier than he would have expected for the fi rst couple weeks after it opened — particularly since the weather was frequently cool and rainy. Typically the busiest season commences in late June, he said. But the pandemic has had other, signifi cant, effects at Wallowa Lake, Freeborn said. Handling the usual sum- mer bustle has been much more challenging than usual because the state park staff, normally 21 or 22 people, has been slashed to just six, he said. Umatilla National Forest opens more campgrounds PENDLETON — The Umatilla National Forest this week reopened fi ve developed campgrounds where crews have completed annual start-up preparations. Some camp- grounds and all cabin rentals remain closed. Forest staff will reopen additional campgrounds as crews complete site preparations, which includes access to the sites, removing hazard trees and mitigating other safety issues. Decisions for reopening additional sites will also depend on the availability of necessary cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment required to complete basic start-up tasks. Some campgrounds may remain closed longer due to snow, or fl ood damage. The following campgrounds are now open: • North Fork John Day Ranger District: North Fork John Day, Bear Wallow, Welch Creek • Pomeroy Ranger District: Tucannon • Walla Walla Ranger District: Mottet Many other campgrounds have already been opened on the forest. A full list of open campgrounds is available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/umatilla/home. Information about campgrounds on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is available at www.fs.usda.gov/activity/wallowa- whitman/recreation/camping-cabins/ Campgrounds not listed as open on the Forest website remain closed until further notice. As sites reopen services may not be available, including restrooms or trash collection. Both parks had “very, very limited visitation” for the fi rst few weeks after they opened, Miller said. He attributes this in part to the lack of amenities — the parks don’t have the power and water hookups that many trailer campers want — and the periodically cool, damp weather that prevailed, par- ticularly on weekends, the fi rst half of June. Two other campgrounds — Emigrant Springs near Meacham, and Red Bridge, near Hilgard — opened June 9. Miller said he anticipated an infl ux of campers at Emigrant Springs, as it has sites with utility connections. But for the fi rst two week- ends that didn’t materialize. “It was fairly slow,” Miller said. Occupancy at Emigrant Springs rose last weekend, Blue Mountains and Miller expects the camp- Two parks with primi- ground to be full, or nearly tive campgrounds — Cath- full, during the Fourth of July erine Creek near Union and weekend. Hilgard west of La Grande That’s typical, though, for — opened on May 28 and this time of year, and Miller were among the earliest state said he didn’t see any evi- park campgrounds to open, dence that restrictions related said Mark Miller, manager of to the pandemic prompted the parks department’s Blue large numbers of campers to Mountains Management Unit. visit the parks he manages. The reason is the $15 million budget shortfall the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has incurred. The main factor, he said, is plummeting revenue from the Oregon Lottery, the main source of money for the parks department. With bars closed much of the spring, the video poker games that are a major source of income for the Lottery didn’t produce any money. Because of the reduced staff, some of the restrooms at Wallowa Lake are closed, as is the entry booth, Freeborn said. Campers who have reserva- tions can go straight to their site, and other campers can use the self-pay kiosk. Freeborn said he hopes he can hire more employees later this summer, but he’s not optimistic that will happen.
