Outdoors
Rec
B
Saturday, August 13, 2022
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Snake
Shot
An
unexpected
encounter with
a rattler
a diamond-patterned snake
headed straight away toward
GARY
the base of the cliff .
LEWIS
“Snake,” I warned Jen-
ON THE TRAIL
rouble comes in all
nifer, and then saw its head
sorts of packages. We
and tail. “A rattler.”
were headed into the
It ran out of options when
wilderness to fi sh a mountain creek. Rattle-
it got to the cliff wall and gathered itself, cor-
snakes did not cross my mind.
nered. It turned and headed straight back at me
My daughter, Jennifer, and I had planned
on the narrow trail, its head up eight inches in
this hike and camping trip for a few months.
the air. That’s when I shot it.
Now we shouldered backpacks and started up
Hit, the snake pushed off the bank and tum-
the trail. I carried a Model 1873 single action
bled toward me. I shot it again and once more
loaded with 158-grain hollowpoints in a hol-
then stepped out of the way as it went by me
ster on my hip, while Jennifer packed her Ruger into the creek. I fi shed it out, a gorgeous, hid-
SR22. Fly rods were strapped to our packs. Our eous creature, and counted three bullet holes.
goal was to fi nd a good place to sleep for the
The fi rst was a bit off -center, about six inches
night then cast dry fl ies for wild rainbows in the down from the head, while the second two were
morning.
less than an inch apart, about three inches below
After an hour we found a spot where trail
the head. Even after three hits and three minutes
and creek diverged and then a nice place to
in the water, it still was trying to snap at me. I
throw down our sleeping bags.
cut its head off and put the dangerous part in the
In the morning, we hiked down the creek
creek where no other creature would step on it.
then worked our way back up, pool by pool. The
We were rattled.
little rainbows took our dries with wild abandon
Jennifer, who had my camera when the
and when we had both caught close to a dozen,
shooting started, captured the action in stills,
when the only thing on our minds was dead-
the fi rst two of which she took with the lens cap
drifting a Parachute Adams down the next riffl e, on. When we encountered the rattler, Jennifer
a quick movement alerted me.
was only a few feet behind me. When I looked
We were on a narrow ledge between a deep
again she was way up on the hill.
hole in the creek and a rock wall.
See, Snake/Page B6
Leaves shuddered and the twigs moved and
T
ABOVE: Fishing a tiny creek in Central Oregon, the author carried
a handgun, just in case. The rattlesnake encounter took place less
than 25 yards from where Lewis and his daughter camped the night
before.
TOP: Jennifer Lewis left a warning for the next campers.
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photos
Fish get a lift to safer waters in the Blue Mountains
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — Dozens of
fi sh in a Blue Mountain stream
got a ride to a new home recently.
A safer new home.
The relocation was intended to
protect the fi sh from the eff ects of
a bridge construction project on
Limber Jim Creek, a major trib-
utary of the upper Grande Ronde
River south of Starkey.
Employees from the Wal-
lowa-Whitman National Forest
and Grande Ronde Model Water-
shed captured the fi sh and moved
them upstream.
The movement was an
important part of the project to
remove an undersized, poorly
aligned culvert that directs the
stream beneath Forest Road 5125,
the upper Grande Ronde River
Road.
The previous culvert made
it impossible for fi sh to migrate
when the creek was running low,
and its alignment caused the
Joseph Black/Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Sarah Brandy, fi sh biologist with the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Marie
Gaylord, biological fi eld technician with the WWNF, along with Trey Montgomery
and Corrina Stadler, biological fi eld technicians with the Grande Ronde Model
Watershed, set up and secure a block net before fi sh rescue/salvage from the
construction area.
stream to erode the road on the
upstream side at high fl ows.
The new concrete bridge is
wide enough to allow fi sh to move
more easily, and it eliminates the
erosion problem.
“Correcting obstructed fi sh
passages is a high priority for con-
serving and restoring fi sh pop-
ulations,” said Sarah Brandy,
fi sh biologist for the Wal-
lowa-Whitman. “It helps con-
nect fi sh habitat and gives fi sh
and other aquatic life access to
upstream areas.”
The construction during July
posed a threat to fi sh in nearby
reaches of the stream, which
prompted the relocation.
“When the U.S. Forest Service
has project work that occurs in
stream channels, we are required
to work within a certain time-
frame that will have the least
amount of impact on fi sh and
aquatic life,” said Brandy, who led
the project. “We also follow per-
mits that require isolating a con-
struction area, removing fi sh from
this area and moving them to a
safe place upstream until the work
is complete.”
To move fi sh, workers set up
two block nets, then caught the
fi sh in between.
The salvage crew then walked
up and down the stream, using
an “electrofi shing” device, which
uses an electrical current to tem-
porarily stun fi sh, making them
easier to net.
“A fi sheries biologist with
appropriate training in both
human and aquatic safety, runs
the backpack electrofi sher,
ensuring that the voltage is on
the lowest eff ective settings so
that fi sh and aquatic life are not
harmed or damaged,” Brandy
said.
The other technicians captured
the fi sh in nets and moved them
upstream.
“By placing the fi sh upstream,
they are able to migrate freely
while remaining safe from the
dangers of a construction site,”
Brandy said.
The construction project was
funded by the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, Bonneville Power
Administration and the Forest
Service.