FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015
Outdoor Rec / Local
Coyotes: too friendly lately
do you lose
confi dence it
will be a suc-
cessful, clean
shot? As far
as too close?
Well, the fact
that they can
be spooked
easily, and
they can run
faster than a
turtle doesn’t
help any.
Now, it
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
appears,
coyotes are
By Todd Arriola
licking their
Shortly before this ar-
chops and
ticle was written, I noticed
displaying a bold tendency
how drastic a change can
to relocate even closer
occur in the behavioral
to humans and livestock,
patterns of animals with
without realizing that not
the devastation of wild-
all humans appreciate the
fi res. Specifi cally, coyotes
coziness. Our dog-like
are becoming much too
neighbors are well-camou-
friendly.
fl aged among the sage-
It seems that, before
brush in the hills, but, once
this period, I would see a
they make their way down
coyote that was either too
to the fi elds, not so much.
far away, or too close (yes, They stand out like a sore
that’s an issue sometimes), thumb (preferably on the
taking into consideration
non-hammer or non-trigger
a rifl e’s expected effec-
hand).
tive range. The issue of
A prime example of my
a coyote at too great a
personal observation of
distance would be obvious: this population explosion
ethically, at what point
occurred the other day,
while I was, not surpris-
ingly, looking for coyotes.
I had other non-hunting
tasks, but before and after
those were completed, I
used the time to search.
At the time, I didn’t know
that a neighbor had shot
seven coyotes within the
last couple of weeks, so
I wasn’t expecting to see
many. To say that I was
surprised and pleased
about how the day went is
an understatement.
I had with me a bolt-
action Winchester .30-
06, which is my usual,
cover-the-bases rifl e, and
a leather belt that held
20 extra cartridges. (I’d
received, as an early birth-
day gift from my father, a
bolt-action Savage Model
11, in .223, but it hadn‘t
been sighted in yet by this
time). I saw two coytoes
in the same fi eld that
morning, but, unsure about
having permission to hunt
there—always ask if you
don’t know—I moved on
around to the other side of
the valley.
As I was about to give up
looking on my way back
to the other side, I noticed
one not far from the live-
stock corrals of the afore-
mentioned neighbor, and I
shot him—the coyote, not
the neighbor.
I left to complete some
work, since it was time to
get to it, but at the end of
the day, I decided to look
again for more coyotes.
The fi rst two I saw ear-
lier were still amazingly in
the same fi eld, but I hadn’t
asked about permission to
hunt there yet. Once I did
that, I returned to fi nd both
of them in almost the same
place, and I shot success-
fully at the duo.
After that, as I was basi-
cally calling it a day, and I
saw yet another one farther
down the road, in another
fi eld. This one wasn’t as
close as the other ones had
been (the ranges weren’t
great), but the shot seemed
doable. Until he ran, and
I missed. It happens, and
three out of four isn‘t bad.
Keep in mind, this was
all from only a partial day
of searching for coyotes,
and I had no binoculars,
so, there are certainly
many more out there to be
harvested by anyone with
the proper equipment, time
and permission …
—ODFW Recreation Report—
Rifl e deer season opens
Oct. 3
Oregon’s most popular
hunting season opens this Sat-
urday Oct. 3. See the regional
recreation reports or the Big
Game Hunting Forecast to fi nd
out what wildlife biologists in
the fi eld are predicting. Condi-
tions remain dry so don’t forget
to check for restrictions and
closures before you head out.
Get your cougar and bear
tag by Oct. 2
Most cougar and bear are
taken when hunters are after
deer and elk. Don’t forget to
pick up a tag by the Oct. 2
deadline.
NE OREGON HUNTING
BAKER COUNTY
The 39 road near Halfway is
now open.
Hunters should fi nd DEER
around cool moist northern
aspects with good forage
nearby. The continuation of
warm temperatures will limit
animal activity to early morning
and late evening. Remember
to check the regulations for the
area you will be hunting.
Cougars can be found
throughout Baker County but
hunters should target areas
with high concentrations of
deer and elk. Setting up on a
fresh kill or using distress calls
can all be productive tech-
niques. Hunters are required
to check in the hide of any
cougar taken, with skull and
proof of sex attached. Remem-
ber to pick up a 2015 tag.
Bear season opened August
1. Successful hunters, remem-
ber check-in of bear skull is
mandatory; see the regulations
for details. Biologists recom-
mend propping the bear’s
mouth open with a stick after
harvest; it makes for easier
tooth collection and measur-
ing.
Coyote numbers are good
throughout the district. Try call-
ing in early morning and late
afternoon. Remember to ask
for permission before hunting
on private properties.
Grouse season starts Sep-
tember 1. Blue grouse can be
found in the higher elevations
while ruffed grouse are more
common in wetter areas. Hunt-
ers should expect an average
year for grouse. Successful
hunters are asked to place the
tails and wings from harvested
birds in the collection barrels.
Oct. 3. Deer populations ap-
pear to be increasing slightly
and a good number of mature
bucks were observed in last
fall surveys. Hunters should
look for areas of early seral
forage, like old burns or wet
meadows, as deer will key in
on those areas in late summer.
Grouse season starts Sep-
tember 1 and grouse popula-
tions appear to be similar to
last year. Blue grouse can be
found on ridge tops like Nipple
Butte, Aldrich Mountain or
Vinegar Hill. Ruffed grouse
can be found along riparian
area like Murderers Creek or
Camp Creek.
Cougar hunting remains
open. Successful hunters
should remember that check-in
of the hide with skull and proof
of sex attached is mandatory;
see the regulations for details.
Remember to pick up a 2015
tag.
Coyote numbers are good
in most of the district. Coyotes
may respond to distress calls.
Try calling in the early morning
and late evening.
GRANT COUNTY
The Canyon Creek Complex
Fire: Conditions and closures
are changing and hunters are
encouraged to visit inciweb for
updated fi re information.
Controlled rifl e deer opens
MALHEUR COUNTY
DEER controlled rifl e hunting
seasons open Oct. 3. As with
most of Oregon mild winter
conditions were favorable for
deer and over winter sur-
vival was good. Summer fi res
Why advertise with us?
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burned up portions of all the
hunt units in Malheur District,
hunters are encouraged to
view fi re maps or by contact-
ing the Vale BLM offi ce at 541
473-3144.
Cougar hunting is open.
Populations are healthy and
distributed throughout the
district in any area with a big
game prey base. Successful
hunters must check-in cougars
no more than 10 days after
harvest; please bring cougar
in thawed and with mouth
propped open for easier tissue
sampling, teeth collection and
tagging.
Coyote hunting is available
throughout the district. Repro-
duction this year appears to be
good which should enhance
calling opportunities. Areas
with livestock feeding and
calving operations are always
strong attractors for coyotes.
A mild winter and below
average precipitation helped
with over-winter survival of
adult birds but was unfavor-
able for chukar and quail in
the rangelands. Fortunately,
much of the county received
above-average rain fall in May
and early June which helped
improve range conditions.
While brood sizes are good,
overall bird populations are still
down. Hunters should expect
hunting conditions similar to
last year.
Chukar surveys on es-
tablished routes yielded 45
chukar per 10 miles and good
production with 10.3 chicks per
brood. This is a 6% decrease
from last year when 47 birds
per 10 miles were measured
and is 11% below the 10-year
average of 50.5 birds per 10
miles.
The Succor Creek/Leslie
Gulch area has only experi-
enced limited recovery. The
poor range conditions caused
by an ongoing invasion of
medusahead likely limits the
ability of birds in this area to
successfully raise broods. The
most productive routes were
South of Harper in the Cot-
tonwood Canyon, Freezout/
Dry Creek (west side of the
Owyhee reservoir), Cotton-
wood Mountain and Brogan
Canyon.
Pheasant
The surveys along estab-
lished routes yielded 10.8
birds per 10 miles which is a
45% increase in number of
birds observed from last year’s
survey and 32% above the
10-year average. Chick pro-
duction was above average at
4.3 chicks per brood. Hunting
prospects will vary depending
on the farming practices in the
area where you have permis-
sion to hunt. The outlying ar-
eas around Willow Creek and
Vale have higher bird numbers
than areas closer to Ontario
and Nyssa.
There is very little public land
pheasant hunting opportunity
in the area and the few parcels
that are available tend to get
hunted daily.
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
NRAC Plan
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
Gary Dielman spoke up saying that he had heard the
comment the Commissioners were dysfunctional if they
did not act as one unit, and stated, “That’s not what
you’re elected to do.”
Harvey replied, “Those were not her words. You said
she said one unit that is not what she said. She said work
together—”
Dielman interjected before Harvey had fi nished speak-
ing. “Will you just let me talk? Then you can comment on
what I am saying. Please do not interrupt me or any other
speaker until they’ve said their piece. You’re always do-
ing that and I don’t appreciate it.”
Harvey replied,“Thank you, please continue.”
Thus set the tone for the remainder of the meeting.
After all public comment was heard, the commission-
ers moved to vote unanimously to accept the Natural
Resources Plan with the understanding that after the fi rst
of the year a couple of hearings would be scheduled to
listen to proposed changes.
Commission Chair Harvey then advised that an altera-
tion to the agenda had been requested and was necessary
to accommodate Dielman’s desire to address an item on
the agenda regarding prayer discussion.
Dielman, who said he was suffering from a broken
wrist, had a doctor’s appointment he said he needed to
get to.
“I’ll let you discuss this in your own words,” Harvey
said to Dielman.
Dielman said, “I have presented you with a question,
‘Is this a Christian County Commission?’ The answer
I got from commissioner Bennett was ‘No’ and I said
‘Well, all of the invocations and prayers at the begin-
ning of your meetings are Christian.’ I disagree with
him that this is not a Christian (Commission). Because
if the other two commissioners always go along with
Christian prayer then that is the de facto prayer policy
for the County Commissioners. I have not heard back
as to whether or not there is a written policy or not but I
suggested that you have one and that you research what
the Supreme Court has said about promoting a certain
religion without representation from anyone else, never
asking anybody of a different religion to give an invoca-
tion.”
Dielman said he had provided a carbon copy of this to
all three commissioners as well as District Attorney Matt
Shirtcliff. He also indicated Shirtcliff could enlighten
them of a Supreme Court case, the name he was unable
to recall, that was really “en pointe to what I’m talking
about.”
With that he excused himself to attend his appointment,
saying he hoped someone would fi ll him in on the discus-
sion that was had after he left.
“You don’t want to listen, huh?” was heard from the
audience.
He held up his wrist as he walked out, saying, “I have
a broken wrist I have a doctor’s appointment for.”
As he continued to walk toward the door, witness ac-
counts tell of Dielman approaching John Creighton and
shoving his wrist into Creighton’s face. Creighton, who
is handicapped in the legal sense of the word with only
one hand, pushed Dielman away. Confl icting statements
ensued as to whether Dielman had grabbed or hit Creigh-
ton’s shoulder.
Commission Chair Harvey got up to intervene in the
scuffl e and calm the situation.
Creighton said to Dielman, “Keep your hands off of
me.”
Dielman yelled in response, “He assaulted me!” and
pointed to Creighton.
Creighton said, “No, you hit me fi rst.”
Deilman said, “I didn’t touch you.”
Creighton stated, “Yes, you did.”
Harvey was able to usher Dielman from the County
Coutroom after Dielman assured Harvey, “I’m fi ne. He
didn’t hurt me.”
Dielman stated over his shoulder as he left, “I don’t ap-
preciate my motives for leaving being questioned.”
After the crowd settled down some, Harvey was able
to continue on with the meeting. He said, “Everything is
emotional lately. Let’s just try and keep it under control.”
There was a discussion on the matter with some of
the witnesses referring to the same prayer issue being
ignited by Dielman within the City Council and tying
them up from addressing other City business for nearly
six months. The issue culminated in Dielman’s recall as a
City Councillor.
Harvey then turned his attention to Resolution 2015-
1005, supporting Malheur County’s Opposition to the
Owyhee Canyonlands. After discussion, the resolution
was agreed upon by the commissioners and passed.
A few other housekeeping items were addressed before
adjourning the meeting.
Sheriff Ash, who had been present at the beginning of
the meeting but left to attend another meeting before the
scuffl e between Dielman and Creighton, returned and
spoke with Creighton about the incident.
According to Ash, Creighton did not wish to persue
the matter. Ash did indicate that should Dielman wish to
move forward an outside agency, most likely the Oregon
State Police would be called in to handle any investiga-
tion into the matter.
Editor’s Note:
Since the meeting, Dielman has issued a series of
several emails cc’ing both media and Commissioners
asking for meetings over the issue of prayer, and writes,
among other items, “Without a public apology from John
Creighton, I will fi le charges against him for his criminal
assault on me and for the whitewashing of the assault by
the County Commission.”
Dielman has requested a private meeting with Com-
missioners after next week’s County Commission session
to further discuss the issue of Christian prayer before
meetings.