Opinion
A4
Saturday, April 16, 2022
OUR VIEW
Poaching wolves
only makes
matt ers worse
f anyone wanted to help out the animal rights
crowd in its eff orts to reinstate federal Endan-
gered Species Act protection to all wolves, all
someone would have to do is randomly kill the
predators.
Since wolves were reintroduced into parts of
the West, the animal rights crowd has been hol-
lering that, unless wolves are fully protected
under the ESA, they could be indiscriminately
killed.
In a few parts of Eastern Oregon, that appears
to be happening. In the past two years, eight
wolves were poisoned and seven were shot and
killed.
This was not people protecting themselves or
their livestock. This was people poaching and
breaking the law.
Animal rights and environmental groups are
pushing right now trying to convince the fed-
eral government to reinstate ESA protections
for wolves in the Northern Rockies. The Capital
Press recently published a column by two mem-
bers of the U.S. Senate making the case for state
management of wolves in Idaho and Montana.
The senators are 100% correct. Idaho, Montana
and other states where wolves have been imposed
on ranchers and others have done their best. Rein-
stating federal protections would take manage-
ment decisions out of the states’ hands.
If you think there are problems with wolves
now, wait until management decisions are
returned to the hands of federal bureaucrats in
Washington, D.C.
No one has been more vociferous than the
Capital Press in criticizing how the reintroduction
of wolves has been managed. Time and again, we
have stood up and pointed out the shortcomings
of federal wildlife managers and the unfairness
their actions have infl icted on ranchers, whose
livelihoods depend on their ability to raise cattle
and sheep.
The basis of those criticisms was that wolves
have been allowed to run roughshod through por-
tions of the rural West, attacking cattle, sheep,
wildlife and other animals such as working dogs.
We argued that ranchers also were the victims but
were willing to follow the law.
Ranchers have worked hard to use non-
lethal means of separating wolves from cattle and
sheep.
But all of that is for naught when irrespon-
sible parties take the law into their own hands.
It accomplishes nothing — except to put law-
abiding ranchers on the defensive.
We’ll say it again. We are unimpressed by
how federal wildlife managers have done their
jobs managing wolves. From the beginning, they
needed to do more to keep wolves away from
livestock.
But we are 100% opposed to illegally poaching
wolves.
Doing that only gives the animal rights and
environmental crowd more ammunition in the
court of law — and the court of public opinion —
to criticize ranchers.
Stop the poaching. It only makes matters
worse.
I
Is rural-urban divide myth or reality?
DICK
HUGHES
OTHER VIEWS
or your political reading plea-
sure, the early edition of the
state voters’ pamphlet for the
May 17 election — the Military/
Overseas Voters’ Guide — is online
from the Secretary of State’s Offi ce.
At the tail end are three local
ballot measures. Ones in Klamath
and Douglas counties would continue
the unlikely quest to merge Eastern
and Southern Oregon into Idaho. The
voters’ guide endorsements from Move
Oregon’s Border ask, “Who do you
trust with your child’s future: Idaho
government or Oregon government?”
The third measure, in coastal
Charleston, would tax short-term
lodging to promote tourism, support
public safety and spruce up the com-
munity. An argument in favor states,
“All of the funds stay within the
county and nothing is sent to Salem,
benefi ting the area directly.”
Ah, the fraught relationship
between rural Oregon and the state
capital, although more often it’s char-
acterized as the rest of Oregon vs.
Portland.
Is the rural-urban divide a myth or
daily reality? Talking with reporters
before this year’s legislative session,
state Sen. James Manning Jr., D-Eu-
gene, called it a myth because he rep-
resents both urban and rural areas. He
said it’s his responsibility to under-
stand all constituents’ concerns.
Does that happen with all, even
F
EDITORIALS
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express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of The Observer.
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most, legislators? In this election year,
it seems worth quizzing legislative
and gubernatorial candidates about
the urban-rural relationship. How
many urban candidates have visited
all 60 Oregon House districts? How
many rural politicians have gotten to
know every legislative district in the
Portland metro area?
Certainly, many issues are state-
wide, such as child care. Or housing,
which is in such short supply every-
where that Salem ranks even worse
than Portland in comparative housing
aff ordability. Hospitality workers in
tourist areas, whether along the coast
or in winter sports areas, cannot
aff ord to live there.
Yet vast diff erences exist between
big cities, with revenue to pay for gov-
ernment services, and sparsely pop-
ulated areas. For example, much of
rural Oregon must depend on state
police for law enforcement protection,
as Sen. Fred Girod, R-Lyons, reminds
his colleagues.
Drug cartels gained a foothold
in Southern Oregon for illicit mari-
juana grows, he said, because Ore-
gon’s population nearly doubled since
Tom McCall was governor while the
number of troopers dropped by more
than one-third.
Other rural examples: Klamath
County has the highest unemploy-
ment rate in Oregon, not having fully
recovered from the Great Recession.
Internet access is so poor in Jackson
and Josephine counties that 22% of
respondents to a recent survey said
they had considered moving.
Meanwhile, rural residents have
legitimate reasons for believing they
Dick Hughes has been covering the Oregon
political scene since 1976.
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have less say in state government.
They increasingly are outnumbered.
“This is why Oregon passes laws that
kill southern Oregon industries and
values,” said Mike McCarter, of Citi-
zens for Greater Idaho, in his voters’
guide argument.
It’s important to note, however,
that the 2022 Legislature took several
actions aimed at helping rural Oregon.
That included devoting $100 million
for rural projects vetted by a team
consisting of Reps. David Gomberg,
D-Otis; Mark Owens, R-Crane; and
Greg Smith, R-Heppner; and Senate
Republican Leader Tim Knopp, of
Bend.
Pollster John Horvick, of DHM
Research, recently pointed out that
only 42% of voters live in the Portland
metro area. Of the remainder, 27% live
in the other Willamette Valley coun-
ties, and 31% in the rest of the state.
However, a majority of Demo-
crats (53%) reside in the Portland area,
whereas a plurality of Republicans
(41%) live outside Portland and the
Willamette Valley.
Bear in mind that Democrats,
Republicans, Independent, unaffi li-
ated and minor-party voters can be
found everywhere, including Dem-
ocrats in drought-stricken Klamath
County.
Democrats included this state-
ment in their voters’ guide argument
against creating a county Border
Relocation Board: “It won’t rain any
more here just by calling ourselves
part of Idaho.”
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