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10 CapitalPress.com January 13, 2017 Oregon Investigation turns up dead, malnourished cattle in E. Oregon Sheriff’s office recommending animal neglect charges By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group HERMISTON, Ore. — Fourteen dead cattle were dis- covered Jan. 7 at a property on Columbia Lane and South Edwards Road in Hermiston, which the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office is investigat- ing as a case of animal ne- glect. Fifteen other cattle were so malnourished they could not be moved safely, accord- ing to Sheriff Terry Rowan. One calf was so weak it could not stand and had to be euth- anized, Rowan said. None of the sick animals appeared to have enough food or water. Authorities are working with a special prosecutor from Benton County who special- izes in animal neglect cases, and reports should be turned in to the Umatilla County dis- trict attorney soon. Rowan said investiga- tors will recommend press- ing charges against the cattle owner, 55-year-old Michael Hockensmith of Hermiston. For now, though, the cattle have technically been seized, but Rowan said the animals will be left in place due to their numbers and fragile health. Officers will be check- ing daily to make sure they receive proper care. “We do not believe they can be transported without fur- ther loss,” Rowan said. “From this point forward, we’re just ensuring continued care.” The incident was first re- ported Jan. 5 by an anony- mous caller who noticed sev- en dead cows that were clearly visible from across Columbia Lane. A search warrant was served Jan. 7, and Rowan said they found a total of 14 dead cattle — mostly yearling calves. Fifteen more cows were badly malnourished, Rowan said, and separated from the rest of the herd where they were treated by veterinarians. During their investigation, officers found that a water trough for the sickest animals was frozen over with six inch- es of ice. “They weren’t able to get to water for a couple of days,” Rowan said. Some of the cattle were also very skinny, Rowan said, with their backbones and hip bones showing. “These are Angus cattle that are typically well-round- ed animals,” he said. “Our evaluation and evidence would point to neglect or in- adequate feed.” The carcasses of the dead animals had been left outside for several days, Rowan said, though state law requires car- casses be buried or burned within 15 hours. Hockensmith, who did not return calls for comment, was apparently the only one caring for the animals. Row- an said Hockensmith seemed willing to work with the sher- iff’s office to care for the ani- mals while they remain on his property. “Hopefully, we can create a partnership there to where he is willing to provide ade- quate care,” Rowan said. “We will just continue to monitor it.” Environmentalists win $60,000 for blocking juniper removal Ranchers worry the prohibition will impede sage grouse recovery By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press An environmentalist group has won more than $60,000 in attorney fees for blocking ju- niper removal with motorized vehicles on 80,000 acres in Eastern Oregon. U.S. District Judge Garr King has awarded the Oregon Natural Desert Association nearly $63,500 because the nonprofit prevailed in a lawsuit opposing the use of motorized vehicles in an 80,000-acre “wil- derness study area” near Steens Mountain. Ranchers and local officials worry the prohibition against motorized vehicles will im- Eric Mortenson/Capital Press File A mature Western Juniper was cut down as part of a removal proj- ect on private land near Prineville, Ore., in this 2015 photo. pede juniper removal to the detriment of habitat for the sage grouse. The bird’s declining popula- tion has prompted restoration ef- forts in the arid West to forestall its designation as a threatened species, which would likely cur- tail cattle grazing on public land. In 2015, King found that the U.S. Bureau of Land Man- agement had interpreted its au- thority too broadly in allowing for the “administrative” use of off-road motorized vehicles to cut and remove juniper trees, which crowd out sage brush and sap water. Since then, ONDA has sought $70,000 in attorney fees from BLM under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which requires compensation for plain- tiffs who successfully challenge government actions that aren’t “substantially justified.” The BLM argued that ONDA doesn’t qualify for attor- ney fees in this case because the agency was substantially jus- tified in trying to reconcile one legal provision that requires ju- niper management with another that restricts off-road motorized vehicles. The judge said that while he’s “sympathetic” with the dif- ficulty of removing juniper on a large scale without motorized vehicles, BLM’s attempt to rec- oncile the two provisions was “simply not reasonable.” King also said the amount of time ONDA’s attorneys spent on the case was “eminently rea- sonable” and found their hourly rates were justified “considering their experience, skill, and repu- tation.” Counties pressured to exit $1.4 billion forest lawsuit Class action seeks compensation for change in forest policy By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Fifteen Oregon counties must soon decide whether to opt out of a class action law- suit seeking $1.4 billion for allegedly insufficient logging in state forests. As the Jan. 25 deadline ap- proaches, a coalition of envi- ronmental and fishing groups is urging counties and the taxing entities within them — including school and fire dis- tricts — to exit the litigation. The North Coast State Forest Coalition, which rep- resents the seven organiza- tions, hopes to send a message that counties and taxing dis- tricts see state forests as more than just “piggy banks,” said Chris Smith, the coalition’s coordinator. Linn County is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit but its boundaries contain far fewer acres of state forestland than Tillamook, Clatsop and Wash- ington counties, he said. “If some of the bigger counties opt out, the merits of the case are then suspect,” said Smith. John DiLorenzo, the attor- ney representing Linn Coun- ty, said the groups within the coalition have nothing to lose with their request, but coun- ties and tax districts will suf- fer remorse if they opt out. “It’s a half-baked strate- gy,” DiLorenzo said. The lawsuit simply aims to recoup revenues lost by the counties when the State of Or- egon changed forest policies in 1998 to focus on the en- vironment and recreation in- stead of maximizing logging, he said. By making that deci- sion, Oregon’s government Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Fifteen counties and roughly 130 tax districts are being pressured by environmental and fishing groups to opt out of a $1.4 billion lawsuit that accuses Oregon’s government of insufficiently logging state forests. breached its contract with counties, which turned over their forestlands in the early 20th Century in return for a portion of timber revenues, DiLorenzo said. Counties and tax districts that exclude themselves from the lawsuit won’t impact for- est policy because the case is purely about financial damag- es, he said. “Opting out is a useless gesture that amounts to turn- ing down money,” DiLorenzo said. “They will have a lot of explaining to do the next time they ask voters for more mon- ey.” Entities that exit the litiga- tion also won’t have any influ- ence if Oregon does decide to enter settlement negotiations, he said. “You have to be at the table to have a judge listen to you.” Smith, of the North Coast State Forest Coalition, coun- tered that counties and other entities that opt out of the case will reduce the state’s possi- ble liability and thus the pres- sure to settle. “They haven’t won the case yet and I’m not at all sure they will,” he said. ROP-51-6-2/#13
