Opinion
4A
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Our View
Brown needs to
better explain
risk categories
S
ome restaurants in Union County are
serving sit-down meals to patrons.
Union County remains in Oregon’s
extreme risk category for spreading the corona-
virus. So these establishments are not following
the state’s orders prohibiting dining in. But they
are not waving flags in defiance, either.
We understand what they’re doing and why.
These businesses — really, their owners and
the people who work there — are trying to sur-
vive. This is not about gaming a system because
we’re out here in Eastern Oregon or throwing
shade at Gov. Kate Brown or making a hullabaloo
about some kind of assertion of rights.
This is about finding opportunities to stay in
business until business can resume as normal.
This also is not like what was happening
in late 2020 with Anytime Fitness, which we
reported was operating in open defiance of state
mandates regarding the pandemic.
From the accounts we’ve gathered, these
restaurants in Union County are operating at low
capacities so patrons can remain socially distant,
and their staff are wearing masks, washing their
hands and cleaning tables between customers.
They’re taking all the precautions they can to
make their businesses and thus customers and
employees safe.
Save one, of course — closing down to
in-person dining.
We hold our breath every two weeks in Union
County when the latest update on the state’s risk
categories comes out. And every two weeks
we are disappointed. Union County just keeps
missing out on dropping from extreme to high
risk. And with that, we remain in a continual
lockdown on businesses and social interactions
and any kind of life that looks a little more like it
used to.
That has been the story for almost a year
straight here and in much of Eastern Oregon.
Meanwhile, Multnomah, Washington and Clack-
amas counties in the most population-dense area
in the state have been allowed in-person dining
since Feb. 12.
Sure, it’s at 25% of capacity, but it still leaves
plenty of us in Eastern Oregon scratching our
heads. Why can those restaurants serve patrons
indoors when so many other places can’t?
We have editorialized before that the gover-
nor’s office needs to do a better job of informing
the public about why it is making the decisions
on the coronavirus that it does. We’ve even
heard from Eastern Oregon lawmakers who have
asked for those explanations and haven’t received
decent answers.
How does Brown and her team derive the stan-
dards for the risk categories? Why is two weeks
better than one week or five weeks when it comes
to reevaluating? All of it seems arbitrary. What’s
the science that supports any of this?
We’re not calling out the local restaurant
owners and operators for making the decisions
they are making. We also are not encouraging
people to defy state mandates that aim to cur-
tail the spread of this virus. But we do encourage
locals to order takeout from these establishments
when they can.
We want our local restaurants to survive —
and get back to thriving as soon as possible.
While government grants and low-interest loans
have been necessary to help any number of busi-
nesses, regular patrons are probably the best
answer for their success.
But the governor and the Oregon Health
Authority need to better explain the reasons
behind the risk categories and evaluation period.
She and her administration owe that to the public.
Other Views
The Blue Mountains are important to us
JEFF
BLACKWOOD
EO CLIMATE CHANGE
COALITION
T
hese lands where we live help
define us as individuals and
communities. With warming
temperatures there are changes hap-
pening, however, to these lands we
love.
The Blue Mountain Adaption
Partnership was developed to iden-
tify climate change issues relevant
to resource management in the Blue
Mountain region. It is a partner-
ship between the U.S. Forest Service,
Oregon State University and the Uni-
versity of Washington. In 2017, the
original findings were published by the
USDA Forest Service in a report enti-
tled “Climate Change Vulnerability
and Adaptation in the Blue Mountains
Region.” The 330-page report focused
on hydrology, fish, upland vegetation
and special habitats, chosen as areas of
primary concern to our communities.
The vulnerability assessment con-
cluded that “effects of climate change
on hydrology would be especially sig-
nificant.” Climate scientists predict that
although overall precipitation may not
change significantly in the mountains,
more rain will mix with snow, espe-
cially in the mid-elevations. Spring
snowmelt and runoff is already hap-
pening earlier, resulting in low summer
flows occurring sooner in the summer.
Coupled with longer, drier summers,
this will affect downstream water use,
fish and other aquatic environments.
Infrastructure, such as roads, trails,
culverts and communities, will be
impacted by more intense runoff from
severe storms and rain-on-snow events.
Over the next few decades, spe-
cies such as Chinook salmon, red band
trout, steelhead, bull trout and other
aquatic life may be drastically reduced
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in abundance and distribution. This
will depend on local conditions of
reduced streamflow and warmer water
and air temperatures.
Increasing air temperatures, drier
soils and longer summers are pro-
jected to cause changes in vegetation,
favoring those species that are more
drought tolerant, such as ponderosa
pine. A warmer climate will increase
natural disturbances, such as insects,
disease and wildfire. The assessment
predicts that with current trends, the
annual acreage burned in the Blue
Mountain region could be as high as
six times the current average by 2050.
Grasses and shrubs, so important for
wildlife and livestock, are maturing
earlier in the summer. While providing
some protection from late-summer
drought, this seasonal change means
reduced nutrition for those depen-
dent on fall forage for winter health.
Drought-tolerant invasive grasses will
continue to increase in abundance in
forests and rangelands.
Finally, the assessment examined
“special areas,” mainly wetlands and
groundwater-dependent ecosystems,
predicting additional stresses as tem-
peratures rise. Although these special
areas make up a small portion of the
landscape, they are rich in biodiver-
sity and are key components of healthy
watersheds.
Along with assessing vulnera-
bilities, the BMAP process recom-
mended a host of adaptive prac-
tices. While they will not necessarily
reverse current climate trends, these
practices would be helpful in buff-
ering and potentially reducing some
adverse effects of climate change.
These primarily focus on managing
for healthy watershed and riparian
conditions. Many of the recom-
mended practices are being applied
today by the various public agencies,
tribes and landowners. Thinning small
trees, reducing fuel loads, prescribed
burning and streamside protections are
activities being implemented today. It
will take persistence, commitment and
funding to invest in sustaining more
resilient landscapes in the Blues.
These mountains and canyon-
lands are so valuable to so many of
us, as well as being cornerstones for
our regional cultures. Many of us had
our first experience in the outdoors
in these mountains, creating lifelong
memories. These places and experi-
ences embody our history, culture and
who we are.
Nature is not static. Over the past
several decades, however, we have
accelerated the pace of change. This
will impact us all, whether our inter-
ests are in First Foods, recreation,
making a living or the many more
experiences yet to come. By under-
standing the changes, threats and
opportunities with a changing climate,
and applying the best science in prac-
tices and policies, we will be more
successful in sustaining what we value
in these nationally treasured lands.
Free copies of the report are avail-
able by contacting USDA Forest Ser-
vice, Pacific Northwest Research Sta-
tion, 1220 SW Third Ave., Suite 1400,
Portland 97208-3890, or by contacting
local Forest Service offices.
———
Jeff Blackwood retired from a
career with the U.S. Forest Service.
He is a member of the Eastern Oregon
Climate Change Coalition.