2A — THE OBSERVER
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On Feb. 27, 1933, Germa-
ny’s parliament building, the
Reichstag, was gutted by
fi re; Chancellor Adolf Hitler,
blaming the Communists,
used the fi re to justify sus-
pending civil liberties.
ON THIS DATE:
CORRECTION
The Tuesday,
Feb. 23, 2021, fea-
ture “Changing of
the sheriff” misstated
information about
Union County Sheriff
Cody Bowen. He moved
to Pendleton to follow
his signifi cant other,
who was attending
Blue Mountain
Community College.
Yakima
Capital Press
SALEM — Opponents
of a 300-mile transmis-
sion line in Eastern Oregon
claim the U.S. Bureau
of Land Management’s
approval of the route across
its property violated federal
laws.
The Stop B2H Coalition
— which is challenging
the high-voltage power line
between Boardman and
the Hemingway substa-
tion in Idaho — is asking
a federal judge to overturn
BLM’s permission for the
project.
Among the transmis-
sion line’s critics, the
agriculture industry has
raised concerns about the
project taking prime farm-
land out of production and
impeding farm practices.
The agency didn’t
comply with the National
Environmental Policy
Act by selecting a pre-
ferred route and a variant
in 2017 that were different
than what it had analyzed
in a draft environmental
study, according to the
coalition.
The newly chosen route
is problematic because
it’s only a half-mile from
La Grande, runs across
an intact portion of the
Oregon Trail and passes
near ecologically sensitive
areas, critics say.
“The public had no
way to anticipate the two
new routes that would
R.
Col u m bia
EO Media Group, File
run through that area. It
deprived residents of La
Grande and Union County
of the right to weigh in on
disproportionately adverse
effects,” said David
Becker, attorney for the
coalition, during Feb. 22
oral arguments.
The coalition also
argues that BLM didn’t
properly evaluate the
transmission line’s “syn-
ergistic” effects with live-
stock grazing, which the
group argues will have
cumulative impacts on the
sage grouse in the region.
The BLM and Idaho
Power, the utility company
that would construct the
project, are defending an
inadequate NEPA analysis
of the transmission line’s
effects, Becker said. “They
really are trying to piece
together and point the
Hermiston
Umatilla Indian
Reservation
Pendleton
La Grande
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Matthew Henneke and his horse-drawn carriage cross Fourth Street and Jefferson Ave-
nue in La Grande on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021.
Teachers off ered certifi cate in
trauma-informed education
needed to work effectively
in their classrooms and in
their larger school com-
munities to support stu-
dents who have experienced
trauma,” education pro-
fessor Karyn Gomez said in
a university press release.
“Classroom and school-
wide practices that support
students and provide trau-
ma-informed learning envi-
ronments will ultimately
provide a more equitable
education for all students.”
Area group
fights power
line project
Baker City
Source: Bureau of Land Management
Similarly, the agency
doesn’t have to arrive at
the conclusions preferred
by the opponents, Perez
said. “I don’t think there’s
any question NEPA does
not mandate particular
results.”
Beth Ginsberg, an
attorney for Idaho Power,
said that both the Obama
and Trump administra-
tions have recognized the
transmission line as a crit-
ical connection between
the electrical grids of the
Pacifi c West and Inter-
mountain West.
95
IDAHO
26
Ontario
The Stop B2H Coalition is
committed to preventing Idaho
Power from running a 300-mile
high-voltage power line from
Boardman, Ore., to the Hemingway
court in 25 different direc-
substation about 50 miles southwest
tions and say, ‘We deserve
of Boise. Coalition members contend
deference.’”
the line would disrupt elk habitat,
The BLM countered
its preferred route was
a Falls blight scenic views and threaten
Klamath
sections of the Old Oregon Trail.
permissible “logical out-
growth” of alternatives
examined in a draft envi-
ronmental impact state-
ment, or EIS, and doesn’t
require a supplemental
NEPA study.
The agency wasn’t
required to study burying
a section of the power line
and it suffi ciently evalu-
ated the implications of
grazing while examining
the route’s effects on veg-
etation, said Krystal-Rose
Perez, attorney for the
BLM.
“The EIS is not orga-
nized in the way plaintiffs
want, but it’s up to BLM’s
discretion how to disclose
that information,” she said.
Idaho
Ore.
Boardman
395
84
20
Boise
Caldwell
Nampa
ak
Project
substation
Selected
transmission
line route
e
Riv
er
20 miles
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
“The importance of a
project like this cannot be
understated,” Ginsberg
said. “No shortcuts were
taken. Every I was dotted,
every T was crossed.”
The BLM conducted
the necessary analysis
of the project’s impacts
on sage grouse popula-
tions, but this information
doesn’t need to be isolated
in a special “cumulative
impacts” section, she said.
“This is a ‘gotcha,’”
Ginsberg said. “This is
another example of trying
to weaponize NEPA.”
Union County to open offi ces
March 1 in Chaplin Building
The Observer
ognizes. According to a
press release from the uni-
versity, teachers who com-
plete the certifi cate program
can add a specialization to
their teaching license. With
18 credits spread over six
courses students can earn
the certifi cate in just less
than a year, fully online.
“The program is
intended to continue the
professional development
of educators who seek
the skills and knowledge
12
ORE.
A crew works on a transmission line tower outside Board-
man. Oral arguments were held in federal court over a
proposed transmission line between Boardman and the
Hemingway substation in Idaho.
Area in detail
Wash.
Walla Walla
84
By DICK MASON
LA GRANDE —
Eastern Oregon Universi-
ty’s new Trauma in Edu-
cational Communities
Certifi cate responds to
increased isolation, ill-
ness and fi nancial hardship
many families face.
EOU opened the cer-
tifi cate for enrollment in
fall 2020, and it is the only
one of its kind the Oregon
Teacher Standards and
Practices Commission rec-
Kennewick
WASH.
Cruising La Grande in style
The Observer
82
97
e River
ak
Sn
In 1922, the Supreme
Court unanimously upheld
the 19th Amendment to the
Constitution, which guar-
anteed the right of women
to vote.
In 1951, the 22nd Amend-
ment to the Constitution,
limiting a president to two
terms of offi ce, was ratifi ed.
In 2003, children’s televi-
sion host Fred Rogers died
in Pittsburgh at age 74.
In 2010, in Chile, an 8.8
magnitude earthquake and
tsunami killed 524 peo-
ple, caused $30 billion in
damage and left more than
200,000 homeless.
In 2015, actor Leonard
Nimoy, 83, died in Los
Angeles.
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
S na
ke
Riv
er
Today is Saturday, Feb. 27,
the 58th day of 2021. There
are 307 days left in the year.
Fed court hears arguments over B2H line
Sn
TODAY IN
HISTORY
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2021
LOCAL/REGION
LA GRANDE —
Union County is set to
reopen three offi ces it
has kept closed the past
three months due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The Union County
assessor, clerk and plan-
ning offi ces all will wel-
come the public back in
the Chaplin Building, 1001
Fourth St., La Grande,
starting the morning of
Monday, March 1. The
three offi ces will be
open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Thursday,
and the clerk’s offi ce will
be open as well on Fridays
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The offi ces
will close on weekdays for
lunch noon to 1 p.m.
The closure is ending
because Union County
moved out of Oregon’s
extreme risk category
for COVID-19 to mod-
erate, which went into
effect Friday, Feb. 26.
Union County Clerk
Robin Church said she is
delighted for the change.
“I’m excited to be
open to the public again,”
Church said.
She said she appre-
ciates how patient and
understanding people have
been while her offi ce has
been closed to the public,
forcing its staff to do
their work via phone and
electronically.
“People have been very
good,” Church said.
The Union County
Clerk’s offi ce closed last
summer to the public and
then reopened Sept. 1 so
it could better handle mat-
ters related to the then
upcoming November
2020 general election. The
clerk’s offi ce closed again
Nov. 18 by order of the
state. The planning and
assessor offi ces have been
closed since the summer
of 2020.
Church said everyone
coming into the Chaplin
Building older than 5 will
be required to wear masks.
“If you refuse to wear a
mask, don’t come. Call and
someone will meet you
outside of our building to
help you take care of busi-
ness,” Church said.
COVID-19 restrictions
limit occupancy to just
three people at one time,
including children, in the
lobbies of the offi ces. The
planning and assessor
offi ces share a lobby while
the county clerk’s offi ce
has its own.
Church said individ-
uals coming to the clerk’s
offi ce to purchase a mar-
riage license must schedule
an appointment and limit
their visit to 30 minutes.
They will need to have all
of their information ready
plus photo identifi cation
and a payment of $50 with
them.
People applying for
a passport at the clerk’s
offi ce also much make
an appointment and limit
their visit to 30 minutes
and bring all their neces-
sary materials and infor-
mation, including birth
certifi cate and valid iden-
tifi cation, according to
a Union County press
release. The county will
accept one check for the
processing fee and one
for each application. Pass-
port applicants also must
have their application form
completed at the time of
their appointment.
“You will not be
allowed to fi ll out forms at
our counter,” Church said.
Passport applicants who
are not ready will need to
make another appointment
and come back.
The Union County
Clerk’s public resource
room also will be open for
limited use starting March
1 with a limit of three
people at time.
Wallowa County-raised fi lmmaker looks at wildfi re impact in new fi lm
By ELLEN MORRIS
BISHOP
For the Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY
— After last summer,
there’s no doubt the West
has entered an era of cata-
strophic forest fi res.
“The West is Burning,”
a new feature-length doc-
umentary fi lm shot, pro-
duced and directed by
Wallowa County native
Cody Sheehy, explores
this new era of megafi res
and offers solutions that
can bring greater pros-
perity to rural communities.
It aired Thursday night,
Feb. 25, on Oregon Public
Broadcasting.
The late Doug McDaniel
inspired and launched the
fi lm.
“A key thing for Doug
was how management prac-
tices, management objec-
tives and market values
have changed,” said Nils
Christoffersen, execu-
tive director of Wallowa
Resources. “A lot of pri-
vate landowners in
won two Emmys for
Eastern Oregon are
his documentaries.
good examples of how
“If you want to
get a story in front
we can do forest stew-
of as many people as
ardship, protect wild-
possible, you need
life and salmon hab-
Sheehy
to frame it around
itat, reduce fi re risk,
what is attracting the
and still make some
most public, polit-
money from (our
ical and media atten-
land). We wanted to
tion,” Sheehy told
… create a movie that
Christoffersen.
put this story in front
And so, they
of people.”
focused on recent
Wallowa
Christ-
megafi res.
Resources served as
offersen
“As a kid,
a launching pad and
growing up in a
home base for the
former logging
project.
town … we didn’t
“We pulled this
have fi res like this,”
together on a fairly
Sheehy said. “I
tight budget thanks
wanted to know what
to the support of the
Webb
had changed and what
University of Arizona
we could do about it.”
and a lot of colleagues and
The fi lm, two years in
friends across the West who
the making, begins with
we’ve worked with for two
the catastrophic wildfi res
decades,” Christoffersen
in California and Oregon
said.
from 2015-20, including
They engaged Sheehy,
a Wallowa-born fi lmmaker
the 110,000-acre Canyon
who holds a master’s degree Creek Complex fi re near
in range ecology and has
John Day, then moves into
Contributed Photo
“The West is Burning,” shot, produced and directed by
Wallowa County native Cody Sheehy, examines why
megafi res have become annual catastrophes across the
West and what we can do about them. Oregon Public
Broadcasting aired the fi lm Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021.
how practices in forest
management have changed
over time. It also explores
community actions that
are reducing catastrophic
wildfi re risk and oppor-
tunities to revitalize rural
economies. Those include
new forest products, from
biochar to new innovations
like nanocrystalline cellu-
lose made from wood pulp
that can be used in the
clear part of windows as
tuneable refl ective fi lters in
smart windows.
Mark Webb, executive
director of the Blue Moun-
tain Forest Partners and
a former Grant County
judge, is included among
those looking to improve
forest management prac-
tices and economic oppor-
tunities. His community
was hit hard by the 2015
Canyon Creek Complex
fi re.
“I think the general mes-
sage (of the fi lm) is right,”
Webb said. “The status quo
is unacceptable. We can’t
continue to move forward
without changing how we
manage our landscapes.
That’s going to require a
change in attitude as well
as new partnerships and
relationships and acknowl-
edging that maybe we got
some things wrong in the
past.”
Wallowa Resources is
developing educational
guides so the fi lm can be
used in the classroom.
There are also plans to
offer Filmstacker, a video
platform for collabora-
tive storytelling, to gen-
erate community-based
learning and action.