REGION
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A3
‘This time it’s worse’
State, local wildlife rehabilitation centers are
no longer accepting waterfowl due to avian flu risk
they can see which are sick and
get them tested for avian infl uenza
East Oregonian
without jeopardizing the health of
the other birds being seen at the
PENDLETON — Blue Moun-
clinic.
tain Wildlife Executive Director
All birds tested for avian infl u-
Lynn Tompkins said she is opti-
enza fi rst have their prelimi-
mistic the recent avian fl u out-
nary results confi rmed by a state
break might soon come to an end.
lab, according to Tompkins. In
The last time Oregon experi-
Oregon, that testing is in Cor-
enced an avian infl uenza epidemic vallis at the Oregon Veterinary
was 2014-15, Tompkins said, and it Diagnostic Lab, and in Washing-
ran its course by the
tion, it’s in Pullman
“This year more at the Washington
end of June.
“This time
Animal Disease
than ever, it is
it’s worse,” she
Diagnostic Labo-
said. “This is a lot
important to leave ratory. Labs then
more signifi cant
send results to the
wild birds in the national center
outbreak.”
The Oregon
confi rmation,
wild to give them for
Department of Fish
where they will be
and Wildlife on
the best chance added to the USDA
Thursday, June 2,
website.
reported many wild- for survival. If you
Tompkins has
life rehabilitators
tested only a few
see
young
ducks
are not accepting
birds for avian infl u-
waterfowl due to
or geese, please enza this year in
the spread of avian
two
keep pets under Washington:
fl u in wild birds.
goslings, a mal-
Because waterfowl
tight control. Not lard duckling and a
can carry the virus
crow. She also said
feeding waterfowl ODFW recently
without showing
symptoms, allowing
off a test for a
is also especially sent
them into rehabili-
bald eagle that was
tation facilities can
important during found at McCor-
put all the birds at
mack Slough in
this time.”
the facility at risk.
Morrow County
“I’m really
near Irrigon. Results
hoping the summer
— Oregon Department of
are pending for all
Fish and Wildlife
heat will help,” she
of those tests.
said.
Goslings, duck-
Tompkins said Blue Moun-
lings and adult waterfowl all can
tain Wildlife doesn’t normally get
carry the virus. If you fi nd healthy
much waterfowl in this area, but
ducklings or goslings without a
the center in Tri-Cities does. The
parent nearby, leave them alone
refuge there is no longer accepting and allow the parents to fi nd them,
sick birds of any kind, due to the
ODFW requested. If you choose
risk of avian infl uenza.
to interfere, they can be released
Tompkins is trying to change
at the nearest waterway. Injured
this by adding three sheds out-
ducks and geese may be brought
side their clinic for intake, eval-
to an ODFW offi ce for euthanasia.
uation and quarantine. That way,
Call ahead if you are bringing in
By CHARLET HOTCHKISS
and JOHN TILLMAN
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Samantha Castoldi, left, and Blue Mountain Wildlife Director Lynn Tompkins on Thursday, June 2, 2022, prepare to put a band on
the leg of a healthy American kestral at the Pendleton bird rehabilitation center. Construction displaced the bird from its nest.
BACKGROUND ON THE AVIAN FLU
In Oregon, wild avian fl u was fi rst detected in Canada goose gos-
lings at Alton Baker Park in Eugene, then in several red-tailed hawks
in May. Detection of the highly pathogenic virus has occurred only
in Linn and Lane counties, but the biologists expect it to spread over
the next several weeks.
This virus has been documented in more than 100 species of wild
birds worldwide since it was fi rst detected in December 2021 in New-
foundland and Labrador, Canada. It was believed to have entered
North America in an infected wild seabird or migrating waterfowl.
The virus circulating in Oregon and other parts of the world is very
contagious among birds. It can sicken and even kill many species,
including chickens, ducks and turkeys. Infected birds can shed avian
infl uenza A viruses in their saliva, nasal secretions and feces. Suscep-
tible species become infected by the virus after it is shed by affl icted
birds.
an injured duck or goose.
State fi sh and wildlife also
urged the public not to collect or
handle sick or dead wild birds
but report the incident directly to
a local ODFW offi ce, the Wild-
life Health lab at 866-968-2600 or
email at Wildlife.Health@odfw.
oregon.gov. Fish and wildlife staff
will conduct surveillance and col-
lecting/testing sick and dead wild
birds to monitor for the presence
Wild birds typically carrying the virus include waterbirds (such as
ducks, geese, swans, gulls and terns), shorebirds (such as sandpipers),
pelicans and cormorants. Dabbling ducks (such as mallards, pintails
and wigeons) serve as reservoir hosts for avian infl uenza A viruses,
although it often does not cause disease in these species.
The disease also can infect raptors (such as eagles and hawks) that
prey on or consume sick or dead waterfowl. The wild bird species in
Oregon most at risk from this strain of virus currently appear to be all
waterfowl, shorebirds, eagles and scavenging species, such as crows
and turkey vultures.
While very contagious and deadly for some birds, the risk to
human health is low, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
To see all confi rmed cases of avian infl uenza in wild birds and
domestic birds, visit the USDA’s website at bit.ly/3zcDDzw.
— Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
of the disease.
This is the time of year when
goslings, ducklings and other
young birds are commonly picked
up and brought into rehab centers,
according to ODFW. Well-inten-
tioned people mistakenly think
these young birds are orphaned
because they may be temporarily
separated from their parents.
“This year more than ever, it
is important to leave wild birds
in the wild to give them the best
chance for survival,” the state fi sh
and game department urged. “If
you see young ducks or geese,
please keep pets under tight con-
trol. Not feeding waterfowl is also
especially important during this
time. In addition to commonly
causing nutritional issues, feeding
congregates animals and results in
overcrowding and increased risk
of disease spread.”
UMATILLA COUNTY
ODFW confi rms wolf depredation
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
Blue Mountain Eagle, File
The parent company of the Prairie Wood Products sawmill in Prairie City intends to reopen the facility in
early July 2022 and plans on hiring roughly 50 employees.
Prairie Wood mill reopens in July
Company planning
to hire 50 workers
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
PRAIRIE CITY —
The parent company of
the Prairie Wood Prod-
ucts sawmill in Prairie
City intends to reopen the
facility in early July and
plans on hiring roughly 50
employees.
The D.R. Johnson
Lumber Co., Prairie Wood’s
parent company, announced
in a press release that the
sawmill will host a job fair
at Chester’s Thriftway in
John Day on Monday, June
13, and Tuesday, June 14,
from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
According to the press
release, the company is
looking to fi ll a variety of
jobs, from maintenance and
production to management
roles in human resources.
The wages, the press
release states, will be
“highly competitive” with a
“robust” benefi ts package.
The Prairie City mill was
purchased in 1976 by the
D.R. Johnson Lumber Co.
Two years later, the fami-
ly-owned company added a
stud mill and planer. Then,
in the late 1980s, the com-
pany installed a co-gen-
eration power plant at the
Prairie Wood Products mill.
The sawmill, which oper-
ated successfully in Prairie
City for more than 30 years
and employed upward of
100 people who worked two
diff erent shifts, shuttered in
2008 amid a housing market
crash that led to a lack of
available sawlogs.
D.R. Johnson restarted
the mill in early 2009 but
shut it down permanently
by the end of the year. The
cleanup of the mill, which
sits at the west end of Prairie
City, concluded in 2019.
Since then, much of the mill
equipment has remained,
along with the co-gen plant.
In the mill’s heyday, Don
“D.R.” Johnson expanded
the facility’s capacity by
adding a computerized stud
mill in 1981. In the late
1980s, Johnson followed
that up by installing the
co-gen power plant at the
mill.
UMATILLA COUNTY — Wolves
with the Ukiah Pack killed two sheep on
private land in Coyote Canyon, a ravine
tributary to McKay Creek, in late May,
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wild-
life reported.
A sheep herder found a dead 180-pound
ewe and 70-pound lamb in a 5,000-acre
pasture about 1 mile from his camp on
Monday, May 30. The sheep had bedded
down for the night in the private pasture.
The ewe had been mostly consumed,
while the lamb was entirely intact. ODFW
estimated that both sheep died no ear-
lier than the evening of May 29 or the
morning of May 30.
ODFW personnel shaved, skinned and
examined the carcasses. Both sheep suf-
fered multiple bite punctures and pre-
mortem hemorrhaging, indicating that
they had been attacked by a predator.
The ewe had premortem tooth punc-
tures up to 5/16-inch diameter on the
neck, with premortem hemorrhaging in
the remaining muscle tissue. The lamb
had numerous 1/4-inch premortem bite
punctures and multiple tears in the hide
on the neck, throat and left hindquarter
above the hock. Trauma to the neck pen-
etrated to the bone on both sides and dis-
located the neck. Premortem hemorrhage
on the left hindquarter was up to 1-1/2
inches deep. The severity and location of
injuries to these sheep are consistent with
wolf attacks.
Charles & Eileen
Stewart
10304 A 1st St.
Island City, OR
cstewartpc@gmail.com
541.910.5435
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