FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Outdoor Rec / Local
HELP WANTED
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. BAKER COUNTY CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE is accepting applications for the position
of Executive Director. APPLICATION DEADLINE: Oct.
15, 2015. JOB LOCATION: Baker City, OR. HOURS PER
WEEK: 40. REQUIREMENTS: 1) Bachelor’s degree in
marketing, public or business administration, economic
development, or related field. 2.) Minimum of 3 years
experience in management, business development, tour-
ism or related field. 3.) Must be a creative thinker, detail-
oriented, and have outstanding people skills. 4.) Must
have advanced computer skills, knowledge of budgeting,
accounting, and financing and experience in creating a
business plan. Please send cover letter, resume and a list
of 3 professional references to: Chamber, P.O. Box 305
North Powder, OR 97867.
10.16.
REPORTER wanted to cover City Council meetings
in Halfway and Richland, serve as backup reporter for
events in those areas. Send letter of interest to editor@
thebakercountypress.com.
BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J is currently accepting
applications for an Assistant Girls Basketball Coach
and an Assistant Boys Basketball Coach at Baker High
School. For a complete description of the position go to
www.baker.k12.or.us or contact the employment division.
You may also call 541-524-2261 or email nnemec@baker.
k12.or.us.
10.9
EOMA hosts BLM guests at
October 2nd meeting
BY SUNNY WERNER
Sunny@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Eastern Oregon Min-
ing Association (EOMA)
President Ken Alexander
led the meeting on Friday
October 2, held at Baker
City Hall.
A brief general meeting
followed, which was soon
followed by an introduc-
tion by Alexander of Don
Gonzales from Bureau of
Land Management, Vale
District Manager.
Gonzales was accompa-
nied by Steve Flock, Baker
Resource Area.
The attendant group
was very interested in what
they were told by Gonza-
les; namely, that although
the proposal to list the
Greater Sage-Grouse as an
endangered species had not
been passed, their abilities
to work their mines was
still going to suffer a huge
impact.
As the EOMA newslet-
ter stated, “It now looks
like the Sage Grouse list-
ing was just smokescreen
to get Land Use Plans to
lock up more land.”
Gonzales brought a
handout, copies of the
Federal Register, Sept.
24, 2015. Copies of this
handout are available at the
BLM Baker Resource Area
Office at 3100 H Street,
Baker City.
Summarized, the Fed-
eral Register states that
the Assistant Secretary of
the Interior for Land and
Minerals Management has
approved an application to
withdraw 10 million acres
of public land and National
Forest in Montana, Idaho,
Nevada, Oregon, Utah,
California and Wyoming.
This action prohibits
“location and entry under
the United States mining
laws to protect the Greater
Sage-Grouse and its habi-
tat from adverse effects of
locatable mineral explora-
tion and mining.”
The notice temporarily
segregates the land for up
to two years, while the ap-
Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers of the
Baker City Work site concluded a 10-month investigation
involving the unlawful taking and wasting of multiple
buck deer in a closed season. The investigation began
in November of 2014 following a tip that came into the
“Turn In Poacher Program.” The tip was alleging that
certain individuals were suspected of poaching activity
involving deer.
As a result of the “TIP” and the investigation, two
Baker City, Oregon Residents have been charged with
numerous Wildlife offenses. Dustin Reid Hellbusch, 18
years of age, was charged with the following: 10 counts
of Take/Possession of buck deer, eight counts of Waste of
a Big Game Mammal-deer, and one count of Tampering
with Physical Evidence. Taylor Michael Morris, 18 years
of age, was charged with the following: eight counts of
Take/Possession of buck deer, seven counts of Waste of
a Big Game Mammal-deer, and one count of Tampering
with Physical Evidence. Additional charges are expected
for additional suspects.
The Oregon State Police is seeking the public’s help
and requesting anyone who may have further information
regarding this incident contact Senior Trooper McNeil at
541-523-5867 ext. 4171 or call the TIP Hotline at 1-800-
452-7888 or TIP E-mail at TIP@state.or.us.
Ladies golf
and bridge
Sunny Werner / The Baker County Press
Don Gonzales (at right) and Steve Flock were the guests at EOMA’s monthly
meeting last week.
plication is processed.
In Oregon, that impacts
1.9 million acres in Lake,
Harney and South Malheur
counties.
The “comment” dead-
line for this is December
23, 2015.
If this proposal is passed
(made permanent), the
following steps by the
Department of the Interior
will lead to “a 20 year
moratorium,” according to
Gonzales.
He went on to explain
that “even if miners have
an existing established
claim, they may still be
challenged to prove valid-
ity.”
Proving validity will
cost miners. There is a
process that obtains when
there is a challenge of
validity, and it will incur
legal fees for which the
miners will have to pay.
Gonzales went on to
speak about the possibility
of “segregation,” which
would be the withdrawal
of permission to mine in
assorted areas.
One of the many com-
plaints from the attendees
was the fact that there was
no prior warning and no
public input prior to the
Assistant Secretary of the
Interior gave approval for
this move.
Gonzales went on to tell
the miners that “The plan
originated by BLM, to
ensure grouse would not be
listed as endangered.”
He explained that “ODF
(Oregon Department of
Forestry), FWS (Fish and
Wildlife Service), and
BLM (Bureau of Land
Management) operate with
the understanding that
properly managed grazing
does not affect the birds,
but mining does.”
When asked to clarify,
he explains that often min-
ing involves some noisy
equipment, thus disturbing
the birds in their nesting
and strutting sites.
Gonzales explained that
the populations of Sage
Grouse have changed in
different areas.
He said, “Some are in
areas where their popula-
tion has decreased by 40%.
Their eggs are eaten by
crows, which in that area,
have increased in popula-
tion during the same time
by 400%.”
Oregon has passed a
resolution to develop a
“Mineral Potential Re-
port,” which will be cover-
ing the same information
as the Federal report.
Comments are open to
the Oregon government
during the development of
the Mineral Report, and
again once the report is
complete.
Gonzales explained that
the Secretary of the Inte-
rior has legislated authority
to freeze up to 2,500 acres
of land; anything larger
required Congressional
approval.
Flock explained, “The
Assistant Secretary of the
Interior is responsible for
segregation. Once segrega-
tion is established, then
the scoping (refining and
identifying locatable and
usable land) takes place. If
the scoping meets require-
ments, then the land will
be withdrawn.”
Flock went on to an-
swer questions about the
areas under consideration,
and how the choices had
been made. “The one good
thing,” he explained, “is
that areas with good grouse
habitat have stronger
importance; for example,
more Federal fire equip-
ment is sent to areas be-
cause of grouse habitat.”
Chairman Alexander
closed the meeting with
a strong recommendation
to the attendees that they
begin calling their legisla-
tors.
October is worst month for
wildlife-vehicle collisions
October is the busiest
month for vehicle-wildlife
collisions in Oregon. With
deer and elk on the move
due to breeding season and
migration to winter ranges,
more wildlife are crossing
roads all over the state.
The Oregon State Police,
Oregon Department of
Transportation, and Or-
egon Department of Fish &
Wildlife urge motorists to
be on alert and be ready to
slow down. Signs placed in
particularly popular areas
for wildlife crossing are
one tool to help drivers
avoid collisions.
Baker City
men charged
with poaching
Being especially watch-
ful around sunrise and
sunset is another tip that
can help reduce vehicle-
wildlife incidents. Wildlife
undercrossings are another
way to help save lives.
According to statistics
from ODOT’s Crash
Analysis & Reporting Sec-
tion, there are about 1,250
wildlife-involved traffic
collisions each year in the
state. In 2014, there were
1,243 reported crashes in-
volving wildlife, resulting
in two people being killed.
In 2013, there were 1,274
such crashes with three
fatalities, and in 2012,
1,283 crashes with three
fatalities.
Officials believe the
numbers are actually high-
er because most collisions
involving wildlife result in
property damage only to
the involved vehicle and
do not get reported to po-
lice or DMV. For example,
ODOT’s southern Oregon
dispatch center received
2,591 calls about dead
animals on or near roads in
2014. The central Oregon
dispatch center received
another 2,591 calls. Com-
bined with ODOT’s other
dispatch centers, in 2014,
there were 6, 629 calls
reporting wildlife inci-
dents/animals near roads –
compared to the 1,243 that
were reported as crashes.
In 2013, the number of
calls statewide was 5,842.
Klamath, Lane and
Jackson counties had the
highest number of reported
vehicle-wildlife crashes
in 2014 (112, 89 and 82
respectively), followed by
Clackamas County with
71 and Deschutes with 70.
The statistics prove that
crashes can and do occur
everywhere in the state.
The Quail Ridge Ladies Golf wnners for Friday,
September 25 are: 1st Flight, 1st Jennifer Godwin, 2nd
Judy Karstens; 2nd Flight, 1st Kathye Corn. Bridge win-
ners are: 1st Lavelle Woodcock, 2nd Judy Karstens, and
3rd Shannon Sullivan.
Bridge winners for September 30 are: 1st Shannon Sul-
livan, 2nd Lavelle Woodcock and 3rd Kitty Nichols.
Baker City
Soroptimists
offer three
awards
The Soroptimist Live your Dream: Education and
Training Awards for Women is a cash award given to as-
sist women who provide the primary source of financial
support for their families by giving them the resources
they need to improve their education, skills and employ-
ment prospects.
The award amount is $1,000. The application deadline
is November 15, 2015. Qualified applicants may send
request for Soroptimist Live your Dream application to
jmacy@otecc.com. Women who plan to achieve their
GED certificate at a community college are eligible to
apply for the Award.
The Violet Richardson Award is for young women be-
tween the ages of 14 to 17 who exhibit leadership quali-
ties as a volunteer in their community or school. The cash
award is in recognition of young women leaders who
make the community and world a better place through
volunteer efforts.
The program offers a $150 award to the recipient and
to $250 the organization for which they volunteer. The
application deadline is December 1, 2015. Qualified ap-
plicants may send request for Soroptimist Violet Richard-
son Award application to jmacy@otecc.com.
The Soroptimist Ruby Award honors women who are
working to improve the lives of women and girls through
their personal or volunteer efforts, or through profession-
al avenues. The award recipient receives a $200 donation
to the charitable organization of her choice. The applica-
tion deadline is December 1, 2015. Qualified applicants
may send request for Soroptimist Ruby Award applica-
tion to jmacy@otecc.com.
The Live your Dream: Education and Training Awards
for Women, the Violet Richardson Award, and the Sorop-
timist Ruby Award are projects of Soroptimist Interna-
tional of the Americas.
Soroptimist International of Baker County is one of
nearly 1,400 clubs that make up Soroptimist International
of the Americas.
Each year Soroptimists in the 19 countries and ter-
ritories of our Federation assist women in overcoming
personal difficulties and improving the lives through
education and skills training.
—Clarification—
Last week’s issue contained an article reporting on the
meeting between Baker County Commissioners and
USFS officials. We would like to clarify that Tom Mon-
toya said the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has an
average annual timber target of 25-30 million board feet,
not that the salvage projects could produce 25-30 million
board feet. We regret any confusion.