FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Classifi eds / Outdoors
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Bow hunting for the first time
sessed in the
areas of gear
and skill,
which is to
say, nothing
at all. What
I defi nitely
needed to
begin with,
hope-
fully without
requiring
a small
fortune, was
a bow.
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
As luck
would
have
By Todd Arriola
it, neatly
preserved
Last year, I decided
for
around
20
years in a
to try something that had
closet
in
my
parents’
home
been on my mind for quite
were
several
compound
some time, but with doubts
about my potential success, bows, one of which I was
privileged to be able to use
had never been attempted
for hunting, owned by my
before—bowhunting.
father.
I knew that after being
Whether I’d be able to
so used to using fi re-
use
the bow as-is was a
arms for hunting, using a
concern,
so I decided to
bow would be a foreign
seek
some
expert advice.
concept, and would be
After
weighing
the
awkward at fi rst. But, if I
advantages
and
disadvan-
never tried anything new
tages, in my specifi c case,
based on the possibility of
of using an older bow
awkwardness, discomfort
versus purchasing a newer
or failure, I wouldn’t have
bow, I decided to go with
learned to hunt or fi sh (or
tried anything else) to start upgrades for the older
bow, a Pearson Spoiler
with.
Plus. The bow was given
Like anyone beginning a
a new sight, a D-loop was
new venture of this kind, I
installed for the newly-
had to take stock of what,
acquired, spring-loaded
exactly, I already pos-
string release, and six new
carbon arrows replaced the
older aluminum ones. It
was ready for action.
I had no idea if the bow
would truly work for me,
but at the very least, I
had to sight it in, which I
did, using hay bales as a
backstop. I shot from 20
yards on up to 60 yards,
and I realized something
immediately obvious--it’s
not easy. With a rifl e, 60
yards can seem like noth-
ing, but with a bow, such
is not necessarily the case,
with many factors affecting
range and accuracy.
But, determined to stick
with it, I eventually felt
more comfortable and
confi dent, and I was ready
to tackle the seemingly im-
probable task, at the time,
of harvesting a deer, an
elk, and an antelope, in the
fi rst year of my attempted
experiment as a bowman.
Why I chose to pursue
the fastest land animal in
North America in addition
to the deer and elk my fi rst
time with a bow I can’t
fully answer, but you never
know unless you try.
One of the reasons bow-
hunting appealed to me is
the length of the deer and
elk season, a month long,
from the end of August
through the end of Septem-
ber. Another is the open
hunting area, basically al-
most all of eastern Oregon,
with a few exceptions, and
of course, with permission,
on private ground.
Most of the time I spent
with the bow in hand was
in the pursuit of deer, a
buck specifi cally. I had
permission to hunt on
some private land, which
included a hay fi eld next
to sagebrush I had my eye
on, in the South Sumpter
Unit area, so I focused my
efforts there.
I noticed a pattern in
the times the deer, dif-
ferent herds of both does
and bucks, traveled down
from the sagebrush into the
fi eld, which was early in
the afternoons. The group
at times also included
several antelope, but my
antelope tag was valid only
in the Lookout Mountain
Unit area, so that was just
a cruel tease.
I had the advantage of
being both downwind
and beside the established
game trail, while I was
hidden behind one of the
small juniper trees in the
sagebrush, so I tried that.
I had on a white T-shirt,
but a camoufl aged light
jacket over it. I had on blue
jeans, which is basically
the worst color to attempt
to hide from deer in low-
light conditions, but since
I was there in the early
afternoon, I didn’t fret over
it. I should mention, I love
wearing white T-shirts and
blue jeans.
Anyway, after I made at-
tempts on different days to
be comfortable with a good
shot, I was in a situation
where the herd had already
passed into the hay fi eld,
because I moved to check
out another spot. I was in
the unfortunate position of
being upwind and having
to move to get closer to
them.
The sagebrush and fence
between it and the fi eld
provided some cover, but
I had to literally crawl—
with a bow—so I could
get close enough to feel
good about taking a shot.
Since a deer’s ability to
detect movement, albeit
with blurry vision, is bet-
ter than my ability at the
time to conceal that same
movement crawling with
a bow, I was busted. As I
approached within range,
a doe snorted at the herd,
and they all bolted to the
other side of the fi eld.
By that time, the last
day of the season, it was
becoming darker, so I was
about to call it quits. I no-
ticed the herd had grouped
at one end of the fi eld, so
I drove over to see what
I could accomplish. I had
an almost perfect shot at a
buck where I stopped, but
there were several reasons
why I didn’t.
I was beside my pickup,
on the highway, in low
light, with NO HUNTING
and NO TRESPASSING
signs attached all along the
fence surrounding the fi eld.
I had permission to hunt
on that property, but that’s
the only positive point in
that scenario. It’s better to
be sure, safe and legal, and
if necessary, to wait for
another opportunity. There
will be more.
The bad news is, I didn’t
fi ll any tags with the bow,
but failures are expected.
The good news is, I did
harvest a deer later in the
fall. I fi lled a doe tag in the
South Sumpter Unit area,
with a rifl e. Maybe not
the same doe who snorted
at the herd (and me), but
a good one, nonetheless.
Considering my fi rst not-
so-successful time hunting
with a bow last year, what
does that mean for this
year? It means I’m going
to most likely try again.
Good luck with your
adventures.
Mining Association talks about pivotal court case
By Todd Arriola
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
On Friday, January 2,
2015, the Eastern Or-
egon Mining Association
(EOMA) held its Board
meeting at 6 p.m., and its
general meeting at 6:45
p.m., in the Council Cham-
bers of Baker City Hall.
Present were Ken Al-
exander, President; Chuck
Chase, Executive Director;
Terry Drever Gee, Director
of Governmental Affairs;
Jan Alexander, Mineral
Policy Director; Carmelita
Holland, Recording Secre-
tary; and Bobbie Danser,
Treasurer.
Also present were Tork
and Wanda Ballard, Alice
Knapp, Jasper Coombes,
County Commissioner Bill
Harvey, Charles Cree, Jim
Iler and Richard Cochran
of the Baker County Chap-
ter of Oath Keepers, Kody
Justus, Keith Magnuson,
and Holland’s great-grand-
daughter, Kandice Holland.
The Board meeting was
called to order, and Hol-
land read the minutes from
the last Board meeting, on
Friday, December 5, 2014.
The minutes were ap-
proved with a motion from
Danser, and a second from
Jan Alexander.
Danser gave a treasury
report, including fi nancial
information about EOMA’s
general bank account,
silver medallions, legal
fund, etc. The report was
approved by the Board.
There was a discussion
about a possible discount
for bulk purchases of
EOMA’s silver medallions.
These medallions, minted
in the current and previ-
ous years, are one ounce
of .999 pure silver, with a
gold accent, sold currently
for $50 plus $5 shipping
on EOMA’s website (the
price is subject to change,
depending on the price of
silver).
During a fi ve-minute
break between the Board
and general meetings, Ken
Alexander informed those
present that there would
be a drawing held at the
conclusion of the meetings,
for one of EOMA’s silver
medallions. Several indi-
viduals each purchased six
tickets for $5, for a chance
to win the medallion.
The general meeting
was called to order at 6:45
p.m., and Holland read
the minutes from the last
general meeting, on Friday,
December 5, 2014, at 6:45
p.m. The minutes were
approved with a motion
from Jan Alexander, and a
second from Danser.
Chase began a discus-
sion about nominations for
Board members for 2015.
He said that Ken Alexan-
der consented to run for
President again, Ed Hardt
for Vice President, Chase
consented for Execu-
tive Director, Danser for
Treasurer, Gee for Director
of Governmental Affairs,
Jan Alexander for Mineral
Policy Director, along with
others who seek to run
again. The Board is seek-
ing candidates for Hol-
land’s position, as she may
resign.
Those nominated will
be listed in the February
EOMA newsletter, and vot-
ing will be in March, with
the results published in the
April EOMA newsletter.
Ken Alexander informed
those present that Jerry
Hobbs, who was President
of Public Lands for the
People (PLP), a land rights
advocacy group, and who
played a vital role in the
fi ght against the California
dredging ban, passed away
on December 28, 2014.
Hobbs’s efforts for the
last ten years included law-
suits against environmental
groups and government
agencies. One of his last
arguments in court, ironi-
cally, was the irreparable
harm the delays in seeking
an injunction to the ban
was causing, as miners
were aging and passing
away.
Ken Alexander and
Chase, along with others
present, echoed the senti-
ments of Hobbs, discussing
issues with delayed deci-
sions, stall tactics, and lost
mining opportunities, etc.
There was a discus-
sion about a pivotal court
case, People v. Rinehart
(California), concerning a
miner, Brandon Rinehart,
who was charged with
illegal mining on June
16, 2012, on his Federal
mining claim, “Nugget
Alley,” in Plumas County.
Rinehart was charged with
dredging without a permit,
however, since Federal law
allows the dredging, and
permits aren’t issued, the
argument from Rinehart’s
attorney, James Buchal,
is that the State has no
authority to cite a dredger
for this. A ruling on the
basic argument, Federal
preemption of the State’s
ability to prohibit mining,
is expected this month.
The outcome of the case
could affect mining in
Oregon, too, according to
Ken Alexander and Chase.
The Board discussed plans
to make a donation to the
Rinehart legal defense
fund.
During the meeting,
Harvey was asked by
Ken Alexander to present
his thoughts about issues
miners face, like those
discussed.
Harvey said he’d like to
help, but more information
from EOMA concerning
the issues would be needed
in order to provide effec-
tive assistance. He said that
he was confused as to why
a miner would be forced
to wait years to be able to
resolve an issue on federal
land. “Let’s take one issue
at a time, and win some
battles,” Harvey said.
Iler echoed Harvey’s
thoughts, and added that
Oath Keepers and the
EOMA could work to-
gether to accomplish some
mutual goals.
“We feel that we have
a strong base that would
compliment the local
miners in our foundational
goal of holding the federal
government to its limits,”
he said.
Iler talked about assisting
with mining legal issues,
concerning drafting proper
complaints, arguments,
etc. He informed the Board
that Oath Keepers meet
on the third Thursday of
the month, and he plans to
possibly use City Hall as
the meeting place.
Both Harvey and Iler
congratulated the Board on
the quality and thorough-
ness of EOMA’s mining
newsletter, published
monthly.
Gee mentioned the
upcoming mining forum,
presented by Greg Smith,
Baker County Economic
Developer, and Rich
Angstom of the Oregon
Concrete and Aggregate
Producers Association
(OCAPA), scheduled for
Friday, January 27, 2015,
from 2 to 5 p.m., at the
old armory in Baker City.
Metal miners, sand and
gravel operators, support
industries, ranchers, ATV
advocates and more repre-
sentatives are expected to
attend the event.
Upon adjournment of
the meeting, the draw-
ing for the silver EOMA
medallion previously
mentioned was completed,
and Wanda Ballard held
the winning ticket.
EOMA’s next Board
and regular meetings are
scheduled for Friday, Feb-
ruary 6, 2015, at 6 p.m.,
and 6:30 p.m., respectively,
in the Council Chambers
of Baker City Hall.
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