REGION
TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A3
Wolves kill dog near Halfway Testing of drones is becoming
more integrated into Pendleton
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — A
wolf or wolves from the
Cornucopia pack infl icted
fatal injuries on a working
dog on a cattle ranch near
Halfway this week.
And a state wildlife biol-
ogist who monitors wolves
in Baker County said
wolves from the Cornu-
copia and Keating packs —
a total of at least 15 animals
— have been making some
unusual movements over
the past month or so.
“It makes it harder to
predict what’s going to
happen, and it makes it
harder on producers,” said
Brian Ratliff , district wild-
life biologist at the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s Baker City offi ce.
Six wolves — three from
each pack — are fi tted with
GPS tracking collars, but
Ratliff said that in the past
week or so two of those col-
lars, one from each pack,
ceased working.
The collars don’t allow
anything approaching real-
time information about the
wolves’ location, Ratliff
said.
The collars typically
report their location once
a day although some col-
lars can report more often
— the time varies to give
a wider range of data —
which is usually enough to
allow Ratliff to spot trends
and, when necessary, to
alert ranchers that wolves
have been frequenting a
specifi c area.
That’s been the case
recently in the north end of
the Eagle Valley, north of
Richland, Ratliff said.
Ranchers have frequently
been hazing wolves in that
area. Ratliff said he has
hazed wolves there as well.
So far there have been no
reports of wolves attacking
livestock in that area, he
said on Thursday, March 17.
The fatal attack on the
working dog, a 40-pound
heeler, happened across the
Halfway Grade in the south
end of Pine Valley, near
Pine Town Lane.
The dog’s owner found
the animal by its kennel the
morning of March 15, Rat-
liff said.
The dog died later, after
being treated by a veteri-
narian, and Ratliff said the
owner, after burying the
animal, called ODFW.
Ratliff said the dog was
disinterred and, after he and
another biologist examined
its wounds on March 16,
they confi rmed that it had
been attacked by a wolf or
wolves.
He said it’s not certain
where the attack happened,
but he doesn’t think the
dog, given the severity of its
injuries, could have traveled
very far after the attack.
According to the ODFW
depredation report, the dog
had “premortem bite punc-
tures to the head and throat
with associated muscle
tissue trauma. Bruising of
the hide and muscle trauma
were found on the back,
hips, and groin. The loca-
tion and size of the tooth
marks are consistent with
wolf attack injuries on
dogs.”
According to the report,
GPS collar data from a
yearling male wolf from
the Cornucopia pack placed
that wolf a half-mile from
By ANTONIO SIERRA
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife/Contributed Photo, File
A wolf or wolves from the Cornucopia Pack infl icted fatal injuries on a
working dog on a cattle ranch near Halfway last week.
the ranch where the dog
lived, at 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
on March 15.
Ratliff said the rancher
told him that another of his
dogs died on Christmas
Day after showing up with
severe injuries. Although
ODFW biologists didn’t
examine that dog, Ratliff
said he looked at GPS collar
data from that day and a
wolf was near the ranch
then, and it’s possible a wolf
or wolves also attacked that
dog.
Ratliff said he’s con-
cerned about a pit, which
is one mile from the ranch,
where cattle carcasses are
dumped.
He said wolves have
roamed near that pit occa-
sionally over the past sev-
eral years, and he worries
that it will continue to lure
the predators.
Ratliff said ranchers
who use that pit have par-
tially buried and in some
cases burned carcasses, but
the site continues to remain
a potential attractant for
wolves.
Burying carcasses is
the best way to avoid that
problem, he said.
“I know it’s a lot more
work for producers,” Ratliff
said. “I don’t have a perfect
solution. Sometimes even
when carcasses are buried
there’s still scent there. But
burying carcasses is the
best option.”
Wolves from two packs
mingling
Ratliff said wolves from
the Keating and Cornu-
copia packs have been min-
gling, and at times traveling
together recently.
That’s uncommon, he
said.
Wolves from the Keating
To our family,
friends and
relatives:
We love and
appreciate each and
every one of you.
Wyatt, Larry, Jan,
Kyle and Tanner
Hallgarth
VERIZON STARTS TESTING AT PENDLETON
UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS RANGE
East Oregonian
Pack, which numbers at
least 10 animals, including
fi ve pups born in the spring
of 2021, had spent much of
the winter around the north
side of Keating Valley.
But recently at least
fi ve Keating wolves had
moved east into the Low
Hills country southeast of
Halfway. That’s an area
where wolves from the
former Pine Creek Pack
attacked cattle repeatedly
during the spring of 2018,
killing four and injuring at
least seven.
Wolves from the Cor-
nucopia Pack, meanwhile,
have moved west and have
been lingering in the north
part of Eagle Valley.
The Cornucopia Pack
consists of at least fi ve
wolves, but the pack has no
breeding male, and Ratliff
said it’s possible the pack’s
breeding female won’t have
a litter of pups this spring.
On March 18, wolves
from the Cornucopia Pack
had moved back across
the Halfway grade and
were in the northern part
of Pine Valley, Ratliff said.
He alerted ranchers in that
area about the wolves’ latest
movements.
The pack’s breeding
male was illegally shot and
killed in late September
2020 near Eagle Forks
campground. A second
wolf, a subadult female,
was shot and killed in late
October 2020 northeast
of Halfway. It’s not clear
whether that wolf was a
member of a pack.
More recently, a
2-year-old male wolf from
the Cornucopia Pack was
hit by a car and killed along
Highway 86, about 5 miles
west of Richland, in April
2021.
PENDLETON — Pend-
leton’s drone testing pro-
gram is starting to come off
the hill.
In February, the
unmanned aerial sys-
tems company Spright
announced it was starting a
proof-of-concept program
with Interpath Laboratory
and Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center to transport
medical tests from inter-
path’s 2640 S.W. Perkins
Ave. facilities to Yellow-
hawk’s clinic in Mission.
Spright ran its fi rst test
in mid-February, but it was
a long time in the making.
Pendleton Economic
Development Director
Steve Chrisman said the
origins of Spright in Pend-
leton can be traced back
to a conference sponsored
by the Association for
Unmanned Aerial Systems
International last year.
“It was just kind of for-
tuitous, bumping into each
other,” he said.
Chrisman didn’t bump
into the people behind
Spright, an Arizona sub-
sidiary of a medical trans-
port company, but instead
found himself at the booth
for Wingcopter, a German
aerospace company that
was situated across the way
from Pendleton’s booth.
Chrisman began chatting
with a man from Wing-
copter, who told Chrisman
the company was working
with a customer who spe-
cialized in unmanned med-
ical test delivery.
Chrisman connected the
dots between Interpath’s
presence in Pendleton and
Spright, which eventu-
ally led to Spright renting a
hangar from the Pendleton
UAS Range.
In an email, Justin
Steinke, Spright’s vice presi-
dent of operations, explained
what drew the company to
PENDLETON — The telecom giant Verizon is now one of the Pendleton
Unmanned Aerial Systems Range’s newest customers.
Verizon Robotics announced on Tuesday, March 15 that it is now running
tests at the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range. According to a
press release, testing at the range will focus on improving their research
and development eff orts, which will include training range staff in how
to use a mobile command vehicle to communicate with its drones.
“The operations we are deploying at Pendleton Range will help advance
R&D initiatives for customers,” Verizon Robotics President Mariah Scott
said in a statement.“The range’s location helps create a local innovation
testbed that can emulate real-life conditions, helping to bring products
and services to market faster.”
In the press release, Verizon touted its eff orts at developing UAS software
that will help integrate drones into the national airspace, which is the
main reason the Federal Aviation Administration designated Pendleton
and other communities around the country as designated test sites.
Verizon is just the latest large corporation to take an interest in Pend-
leton. Amazon recently confi rmed that it was testing drones at the range.
—East Oregonian
Pendleton. While Spright’s
unmanned vehicles are
undergoing the Federal Avi-
ation Administration cer-
tifi cation process, Steinke
said Interpath and Pendleton
off ered the right conditions
for it to test its product.
“Interpath Laboratory is
located inside the current
test range, which allows us
to accelerate the testing of
the aircraft and the business
case,” he wrote. “Having
usable airspace to test and
validate our operations
in Pendleton is enabling
Spright to accelerate the
development of our solu-
tions and more rapidly help
people around the globe.
Most importantly, Spright
intends to continue to
operate with Interpath after
the testing phase is com-
plete, making it an innova-
tive win for the community
of Pendleton.”
Steinke said Spright
intends to test for the next
six to nine months in loca-
tions around Pendleton
before making its product
fully available next year.
Interpath CEO Tom
Kennedy did not return a
request for comment, but in
a press release, he explained
why the lab testing com-
pany would be interested in
investing in drones.
“Medical laboratory
services in rural areas fre-
quently must invest inten-
sive time and resources into
sample pick-up,” Kennedy
said in a statement. “We
anticipate Spright’s drone
delivery service will alle-
viate many of the draw-
backs and costs associ-
ated with automobile-based
delivery. This initiative rep-
resents an example of our
embrace of innovative solu-
tions that provide more effi -
cient and eff ective services
to our clients.”
Yellowhawk became the
third partner in the group
through Interpath, which
processes the medical tests
conducted at the Mission
clinic.
Yellowhawk CEO
Aaron Hines said the med-
ical center was attracted to
the test program because
it could mean faster test
results for their patients.
As it stands now, an Inter-
path vehicle picks up tests
at Yellowhawk once per
day. But if UAS took over
test delivery, Yellowhawk
could deliver and receive
tests multiple times per
day, meaning their patients
could be treated more
quickly.
March
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We cannot thank you enough for the thoughtfulness
and love you have shared with our family during
this difficult time with the loss of Ty, our son, father,
brother and uncle. We are truly grateful for your
visits and the stories that were shared of special
times spent with Ty. Thank you for your calls, cards
and thoughtful words, prayers, food, flowers and
generous contributions to Wyatt’s college fund. You
have all made this tragedy a little more bearable
for our family. We would like to have been able to
thank each of you personally. Ty’s death has left a
huge hole in our hearts, as well as in the hearts of
his friends and relatives.
A special thank you to everyone who was able to
attend Ty’s Celebration of Life, either in person or
online. Your presence brought light and comfort to
our family. To the Elgin Stampeders for the won-
derful dinner following the service, and to everyone
who contributed food for the dinner and helped
serve. Also, those who helped set up the hall and
for cleaning up after. Thank you all.
Thank you to Marty Campbell for officiating, Bud
Scoubes, Kyle Evans and Kevin Loveland for
speaking at the service. Thank you all for delivering
such a heartfelt tribute to Ty.
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