The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current, January 15, 2016, Image 7

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The Baker County press., January 15, 2016, Page 7, Image 7

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Newspaper Page TextFRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Recreation Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race—a 200-mile adventure to ﬁrst place, 30% to second, and 20% to third, this year. While the race doesn’t actually begin until noon on Thursday at the Fergi Ski Area, Wednesday does kick THE OUTDOOR COLUMN off the event with free “Vet By Todd Arriola Checks,” As I traveled on a high- held on Main way outside of Baker (yes, Street in Joseph at 9 a.m., I call it that) the other day, followed by 1 p.m. checks I felt thankful, courtesy of in Enterprise. The Vet the nonstop sideways force Checks are described as of the wind and snow, for “…a fun way to meet the the false protection I felt, mushers and interact with in my warm cocoon of the dogs!” according to rubber, plastic and steel. ECE. I noticed many of our At 6 p.m. Wednesday, K-9 friends, bearing this the Musher Potluck will be “extreme” weather, which held at the Joseph Commu- led to my thoughts regard- nity Center. ing the topic for this week: Speaking of mushers, the the Eagle Cap Extreme following are included as Sled Dog Race, slated to competitors in the race: take place next Wednesday Aaron Peck, 36, a through Saturday. rancher from County The race, in its 12th year, Grande Prairie, Alberta is the West’s only Iditarod Canada, who will be run- and Yukon Quest qualiﬁer, ning Alaskan Huskies in according to host Eagle the 200-mile category; Cap Extreme (ECE), and Alea Robinson, 20, a col- it includes in its 200-mile lege student from Eagle course the Wallowa Moun- River, Alaska, who will be tains, running from the running Alaskan Huskies starting point at the Fergi in the 200-mile category; Ski Area, about nine miles Jessie Royer, 39, a rancher southeast of Joseph. from Darby, Montana, who In addition to the 200- will be running Alaskan mile course, which is a Huskies in the 200-mile 12 Dog Race and Iditarod category; and Yukon Quest Quali- Bryce Mumford, 35, a ﬁer, there’s a 100-mile, United States Postal Ser- 8 Dog Race, a 62-mile, vice (USPS) Mail Carrier 6 Dog Mid-Distance Pot from Preston, Idaho, who Race, and a 20-mile Junior will be running Alaskan Race, for 14 to 17 year- Huskies in the 200-mile old mushers, using 4 to 6 category; dogs. Sorry, Measure 91 Scott White, a custom fans, but the Pot Race is home builder from Wood- deﬁned as a race that pays inville, Washington, who out winnings which consist will be running Alaskan exclusively of the race’s Huskies in the 200-mile entry fees, with 50% going category; Mark Stamm, a boat re- pairman/builder from Riv- erside, Washington, who will be running Alaskan Huskies in the 200-mile category; Jennifer Campeau, 42, a technical recruiter from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada, who will be running Alaskan, Sep- pala, and Siberian Huskies in the 200-mile category; Josi Thyr, 22, an insur- ance agent from Cataldo, Idaho, who will be running Alaskan Huskies in the 200-mile category; Jason Campeau, 41, a Chief Operating Ofﬁcer (COO) from Okotoks, Al- berta, Canada, who will be running Alaskan Huskies in the 200-mile category; Brett Bruggerman, a dentist from Great Falls, Montana, and winner of last year’s 200-mile race, who will be running Alaskan Huskies in the 200-mile category; Laurie Warren, 52, a mule trainer from Council, Idaho, who will be running Alaskan Huskies in the 100-mile category; Hugo Antonucci, a retiree from Adin, California, who will be running Alaskan and Siberian Huskies in the 100-mile category; April Cox, 45, a clerk, musher and breeder from Adin, California, who will be running Siberian Huskies in the 100-mile category; Connie Star, 60, a mental health counselor from Cle Elum, Washington, who will be running Siberian and Alaskan Huskies, and a “Malberian,” in the 62- mile category; Carlleen Brehmer, 20, a college student from Meridian, Idaho, who will be running Siberian and Seppala Huskies in the 62- mile category; Laura Crocker, 77, a retiree from Trail, Oregon, who will be running Sibe- rian Huskies in the 62-mile category; Jane Devlin, 52, a pro- fessional dog trainer from Bend, Oregon, who will be running Siberian Huskies in the 62-mile category, and; Alyssa Martin, 26, a hair stylist from Truckee, California, who will be running Siberian Huskies, a German Shepherd, a Karelian Bear Dog mix, and a Malamute mix in the 62-mile category. At the conclusion of the race, an Awards Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, January 23, at 5:30 p.m., at the Joseph Community Center. The winner of this year’s 200-mile race will receive $1,700, while $925 goes to 2nd place, $575 to 3rd, $300 to 4th, $200 to 5th, $150 to 6th, and $75 to each placing 7th through 10th. The winner of the 100-mile race will receive $850, while $500 goes to 2nd place, $300 to 3rd, $175 to 4th, $125 to 5th, $75 to both 6th and 7th, and $50 to each placing 8th through 10th. In both the 62-mile and 22-mile category, 1st place receives 50% of the pot, 2nd place receives 30%, and 3rd place receives 20%. For the Best Cared for Team for both the 200-mile and 100-mile races, there is an award of $250. Check out eaglecapextreme.com for banquet tickets, and other information. “The all-volunteer race receives high marks for professionalism and for being very well-run. We focus on making the mushers’ experience as safe, comfortable and fun as possible. The mushers and their dogs really love their fans, especially all the school kids that make a special ﬁeld trip to see the event,” according to ECE. Day-use free during MLK Day Portland, Ore. - The U.S. Forest Service will waive fees at day-use recreation sites in Oregon and Washington on Janu- ary 18th in honor of Martin Luther King Day. "Our fee-free days touch on every season and serve as an enticement to new and repeat visitors to come out and enjoy their national forests and grasslands," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. "These public lands offer rich experiences for everyone, from the avid sportsman to the casual hiker or nature observer." This fee waiver includes many picnic areas, boat launches, trailheads and visitor centers. Concession operations will continue to charge fees unless the permit holder wishes to participate. Fees for camp- ing, cabin rentals, heri- tage expeditions, or other permits still apply. The fee waiver does not apply to SnoParks although they might be located on national public lands. The SnoPark permit program is sponsored by the States of Oregon and Washington. No fees are charged at any time on 98 percent of national forests and grass- lands, and approximately two-thirds of developed recreation sites in national forests and grasslands can be used for free. Check with your local forest or grassland or on Recreation. gov to see if your desti- nation charges a fee. Go online to ﬁnd a national forest or grassland near you. Mark your calendars for the following Forest Ser- vice fee-free days in 2016: • Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2016 • President's Day, Feb- ruary 15, 2016 • National Get Outdoors Day, June 11, 2016 • National Public Lands Day, September 24, 2016 • Veterans Day, Novem- ber 11, 2016 The Paciﬁc Northwest Region consists of 16 Na- tional Forests, 59 District Ofﬁces, a National Scenic Area, and a National Grassland comprising 24.7 million acres in Oregon and Washington and em- ploying approximately 3,550 people. To learn more about the U.S. For- est Service in the Paciﬁc Northwest, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/r6 ODFW releases new fishing regs Anglers this year may have noticed that Oregon’s ﬁshing regulations for 2016 are in a new maga- zine format publication. Over the past year ODFW worked on stream- lining and simplifying the angling regulations. ODFW has also expanded opportunities for trout and warmwater ﬁshing and provided more consistent seasons and bag limits. Anglers should notice plainer language and clearer descriptions of regulations. Content was also rearranged so that li- cense information and ﬁsh ID photos are in the back of the regulations. Updated full-color zone maps can be found at the end of each section. Here are a few changes that anglers will see in the 2016 ﬁshing regulations: Expanded year round op- portunities across the state for trout. In most areas where there were April openers, these rivers were expanded to be open year round. Reduction in the number of special regulations or exceptions. One thing to be aware of is that some of the waters that you ﬁsh may no longer be listed under the exceptions. This means that they are now covered under the zone regulations. Changes in fees. In 2016 there are fee increases on many angling licenses. This is the ﬁrst time the fees have increased in six years. A new youth license was created. For $10 dollars youths ages 12-17 will get a hunting, ﬁshing, shellﬁsh license, and Columbia River Basin endorsement. ODFW contracted with J.F. Grifﬁn Media to pub- lish this year’s regulations. They also provide an online version of the regulations that can be accessed from mobile de- vices, tablets and desktop computers. This version includes the latest corrections and clariﬁcation to a few regu- lations that were causing confusion. Lawsuit filed against wolf delisting CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “During the push to delist wolves, ODFW ignored a legal requirement to review its now outdated wolf plan. Ambiguity that led to wolf killing and conflict has re- turned and replaced requirements for transparency and ac- countability that provided certainty for all stakeholders… the state had a legal mandate to consider the best avail- able science when reviewing the status of the wolves. ODFW put forward a formal recommendation to delist wolves before the public deadline they set for scientists and others to provide input…” according to Oregon Wild. Michelle Dennehy, ODFW Wildlife Communications Coordinator, said, “ODFW is conﬁdent the department followed statutory and legal requirements in its process, and that the Commission acted legally when it delisted wolves from the state ESA. “Our scientiﬁc analysis was based on documented and veriﬁable information, and used a peer reviewed popula- tion viability model (this included review from the scien- tist who developed the model, along with other prominent wolf experts…) “The Commission’s decision to delist was based on the ﬁve factors under the ESA law: wolves’ rapidly expand- ing range in Oregon; the species’ growing population; the stability of the habitat; that over-use of wolves is not likely to occur, and; the protections (Wolf Management Plan) in place, regardless of any ESA listing.” The packet presented at the Commission meeting on November 9th included a scientiﬁc review of ODFW’s 40-page “Assessment of Population Viability of Wolves in Oregon,” a technical report of an updated individual- based population model which uses wolf data collected in Oregon through July 2015, according to ODFW. ODFW sent the assessment for review to eight scien- tists, and received four responses, from: Dr. Joe Bull, University of Copenhagen, who is the co-author of the published model modiﬁed by ODFW to conduct popula- tion viability analysis (PVA) of wolves in Oregon; Dr. Jon Horne, Research Biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game; Dr. Katie Dugger, Assistant Leader, U.S. Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit; and, Dr. Ryan Long, Assistant Professor, University of Idaho. “Dr. Bull’s review of our model was positive and did not identify any major issues with our approach or conclusions,” according to ODFW. Bull said, “Overall I think the application of the model makes sense, as do the conclusions drawn, although I had some questions which I think need addressing. Also, I think the language around the way the results are presented needs modifying in some cases to reflect the degree to which conclusions can be drawn from a modeling exercise like this.” Horne said, “All in all a very well-done and thorough analysis. But there were a couple of very big issues. I didn’t take much time to say all the good stuff I was thinking or really read the Discussion (a segment of the document) so in the interest of time, here you go.” According to ODFW, “While his (Horne’s) review had the most suggestions regarding our modeling approach, he never indicated our model was fundamentally flawed, nor were our conclusions inappropriate.” “Dr. Dugger had an overall favorable impression of our analysis,” according to ODFW. She said, “This was a substantial effort to predict wolf population growth in Or- egon relative to conservation and management objectives. You used a rigorous modeling approach and what appears to be the best data available. Most of my attached com- ments suggest that you increase transparency of the mod- eling process by including more information regarding 1) the source(s) of the data you used in your model (i.e., full citations should be provided somewhere for vital rates in Table 1), and 2) when data was not available, how/ why you decided to use the speciﬁc vital rates or values you chose (i.e., based on info for another species, “expert opinion,” or just a “best guess?”). In some cases, a better explanation of assumptions (and why you made them) would be helpful, too.” “Dr. Long provided the most positive review of our PVA,” according to ODFW. He said, “This was abso- lutely a hell of a modeling effort, and I enjoyed reading it, so, thanks for the opportunity. I have a handful of com- ments and/or questions scattered throughout, but certainly nothing major. As with any model like this, it would be easy to spend a bunch of time trying to pick apart your choices for parameterizing various components of the model, and ask a bunch of detailed questions about why you did one thing or another. There really doesn’t seem to be much point in that here, though. This is a rigorous, well thought-out modeling effort that appears to take full advantage of every bit of relevant data you could get your hands on. As you explain multiple times in the report, your results are likely conservative, and frankly, I ﬁnd them very convincing.” Spring break ski camp at Anthony Lakes Back again for 2016 is the annual Anthony Lakes Spring Break Camp for Kids. This ﬁve-day, all inclusive camp is open to the ﬁrst 100 skiers/riders ages 7-18. Each child will receive for ﬁve consecutive days a lift tickets, rentals and lessons for just $80. To register or for more information on times and dates, please email chelsea@anthonylakes.com or mail to An- thony Lakes Mountain Resort.