FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Outdoor Rec / Sports
What lies beneath the winter snow
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
By Todd Arriola
It appears Mother Nature enjoys
teasing us constantly with her twisted
game of “Guess What Season It Is?”
allowing us to bask in the warmth
and sunshine on certain days, show-
ing promise of spring, and with that
display, showcasing periodically
what has remained hidden under
beautiful, sparkly, white blankets of
snow: trash.
Winter seems to somehow grant us
all an extremely convenient reason to
wait until it’s basically over with in
order to begin the process of cleaning
up what should have been cleaned up
before it basically began.
It seems much more appealing to
expend energy figuring out clever
ways of fattening up and hibernat-
ing indoors, or, spending the least
amount of time humanly possible
outdoors, than it does to pick up trash
in the snow, wind and cold.
It’s easy to see signs of human
So I was
thinking ...
The
American
sports fan
By Jimmy Ingram
Special to
The Baker County Press
Sports are an integral part of Ameri-
can life.
Ask anyone what sports team they
follow and they’re bound to express
their undying allegiance to one, two
or multiple sports teams.
But fans come on many different
levels, some casual and some dedi-
cated almost beyond reason....
(Level 1) Fair Weather Fan: Fair
weather fans are the ire of truly dedi-
cated sports fans.
They set out each year in search of
whichever team is at the top of the
standings.
Their biggest challenge as a fan is
coming up with enough money annu-
ally to buy new gear from whichever
front runner they’ve latched onto.
They’ve never experienced a losing
season and like to brag about how
much better their team is than yours.
They’re often heard using the
phrase, “Been with the team since
day one.” Universally annoying,
fair-weather fans lack any credibility
whatsoever in the world of sports.
(Level 2) Casual fan: Casual fans
are fairly low key about their sports
teams.
They may own a team hat or a shirt
and watch one or two games a year.
They have a general knowledge of
the team and may be able to name a
player or two, but typically avoid any
conversation that will give away their
lack of true interest in the team.
When cornered with discussion
they will usually disclose they “have
been busy and haven’t really been
paying much attention to the games.”
(Level 3) Semi-dedicated fans:
These fans would be bronze medal
presence, even in the most
peculiar areas, courtesy of the
inexplicable amount of trash left
behind.
I once stumbled onto the
remains of what must have been
one wild party in the Dooley
Mountain area, complete with
40-ounce empty bottles of beer,
but, I felt overwhelmed with
picking anything up, as I don’t
usually carry a box of contractor-
size trash bags with me.
A significant amount of beer
cans has been observed “depos-
ited” throughout the County, even
in the less remote, more urban
locales, but this can’t be solely
attributed to one group or another
(you didn’t really think I’d just blame
this on hikers or teenagers, did you?)
Admittedly, we Oregonians play
the west-side/east-side blame game
too often, but we all use nature for
hiking, hunting, fishing, camping,
and, many other activities, so it
makes sense that we all can partici-
pate in the cleanup when possible.
This doesn’t require a crime scene
investigation to determine who’s
responsible for throwing out the bag
of fast food—it requires some time
and some exercise, or the consider-
ation to avoid throwing it out in the
first place.
Each year, the Powder Basin Water-
shed Council (PBWC) usually rallies
the troops (volunteers) in the spring
and fall to clean up portions of the
Powder River, which is by no means
void of signs of trash.
This trash, most of it human-
caused, can also be, partially at least,
hidden in the winter, and, the river
can carry tons of it.
Last fall, the volunteers cleaned up
a significant amount of it, and re-
planted vandalized trees and shrubs,
but, sadly, the vandalism occurred
once again. Humans aren’t perfect,
but, it takes a special kind of callous-
ness to commit that offense twice in
the same place, destroying the efforts
of student volunteers.
Frankly, there are a heck of a lot
of places in the City, too, in need of
some cleansing, a fact that seems to
be showcased when spring arrives.
Along Campbell Street, for exam-
ple, at least one particular residence
has resembled a stand-in landfill/
junkyard for years, which is an amaz-
ing feat, considering its location, and,
the City’s tendency to promptly re-
mind anyone with weeds or grass at
an unacceptable height that it’s time
to dust the cobwebs off, and gas up,
their lawnmower or brush cutter.
This is understandable, since the
City has standards, even for the sig-
nificant amount of neglected proper-
ties, many of which would see more
improvement and less financial woes
with demolition than with remodel-
ing, as my father might suggest.
I enjoy walking along some dirt
road, trail or even City street, sans
trash that belongs in the nearest gar-
bage can, or landfill, but I also know
that we’re all human, and most of us
are guilty of depositing or leaving
trash where we know it shouldn’t
really be at one point or another,
whether out of laziness, convenience,
or maybe just plain indifference…
winners if sports fandom was an
Olympic event.
They are fairly knowledgable
about the team, coach, players,
and have a mild appreciation for
strategy and what can be done to
improve the team. They usually
have enough gear to don a com-
plete outfit dedicated to the team
and do their best to catch 50% or
more of the season.
Their dedication is a noble ef-
fort, but they’re able to be distract-
ed from games by smaller events
like work parties, weekend yard
work, and fishing trips.
Submitted Photo
Semi-dedicated fans can be
Jimmy
Ingram
is
a
local
farmer
and
heard saying things like “this
father
of
two
who
enjoys
people
year’s team looks better than last
year’s,” or, “I really wish we had watching within our wonderful com-
munity and beyond.
a better defense.”
(Level 4) Dedicated sports fan:
moping after a devastating loss.
These fans know what’s going on.
If you ask a Superfan about a year
They can tell you about what each
or a period of their life they probably
player on the team has to offer, freely
won’t bring up things like the year
criticize the coach’s decision making,
they were married or the year they
and offer viable solutions for what
bought their house.
upper management needs to do to
Chances are, you’ll hear about the
make the team better.
team’s win-loss record that year, the
They normally have a wide array
mistakes they made in the playoffs,
of team gear dating back several
and conspiracy theories about referee
decades and can give you a fairly
or umpire bias against their teams.
accurate and emotional description
Approximately 75% of the Super-
of the season when the team nearly
fan wardrobe has the team logo, and
“won it all.”
they have 2-3 stickers covering every
Dedicated fans typically watch
square foot of glass on their vehicle.
every game, understand point spreads
Team flags hang at all times from
and statistics, and have a habit of
their home, automobile, RV, and are
yelling loudly at their TV screens
spontaneously hung from unsuspect-
when things go wrong for their team
ing rival fan’s belongings strictly out
during a game.
of spite.
They likely have a team sticker
To the Superfan, conversations
on their vehicle and can be heard
with less knowledgable fans are
uttering phrases like, “Why the hell
considered fruitless endeavors; there
would Mark Helfrich have Lockie
isn’t anything they can be told about
under center when Vernon Adams
the team they don’t already know.
completed 80% of his passes last
They aren’t egotistical or mean,
week?”
just way too focused to deal with
(Level 5) Half-crazy Superfan:
team analysis by amateur fans.
Superfans are to sports teams what
They’ve sat through impossible
Van Gogh was to the world of art:
victories, heartbreaking losses, a
they’re incredible at what they do
dozen coaches, hundreds if not thou-
and completely insane.
sands of players, and season after
They not only know every team
season after season. They’re not just
and player statistic past and present,
a fan. They are THE fan.
but can likely tell you each players
So which type of sports fan are
favorite movie, aftershave, and life
you?
story.
There really is no wrong answer,
They attend multiple games in per-
unless of course you say “I don’t re-
son each year and watch the rest on
ally watch sports.”
tv in a dark, locked room eliminating
This is America, and that would be
the possibility of any outside force
ridiculous.
that may distract them from the game
Now go support your team, who-
or bring bad luck to the team.
ever that may be.
Things like weddings, child birth,
work, and self hygiene have likely
been ignored at some point in their
Look for the next So I was Thinking
years as a fan, either for the sake of
the first Friday in February!
watching a game, or as a result of
Bighorn sheep
capture continues
restoration efforts
SALEM, Ore.—Bighorn sheep capture and transplant
operations this week in eastern Oregon are continuing
decades-long efforts to restore this rare native animal to
its historic range.
Since the first California bighorn sheep were brought
from Williams Lake, BC, Canada in the 1954, the popula-
tion has grown to 3,500-3,700 among herds in southeast
Oregon. Northeast Oregon’s Rocky Mountain sheep have
grown to about 800 since the first successful transplant of
40 animals from Jasper National Park, Canada in 1971.
ODFW’s yearly capture and transplant operations help
thin too-large herds, supplement herds that need more
numbers and increase genetic diversity. This year, efforts
focused on reducing the size of the I-84 herd. A total of
26 animals from the herd were relocated to the Diablo
Mountain and Coglan Buttes herds in Lake County.
ODFW also captured 7 Rocky Mountain sheep in the
Lookout Mountain Unit and transported them to Wash-
ington State as part of the Hells Canyon Initiative, a joint
effort by state and federal agencies and sportsman groups
to restore bighorn sheep in the area.
During the capture operations this week, a helicopter
was used to locate sheep before they were captured using
a net fired out of the helicopter from a specially-designed
gun. Once captured, the sheep were blindfolded and
restrained to calm them, then hoisted in the air by the he-
licopter and taken to a location where ODFW biologists
and veterinarians processed the animals. Each bighorn
sheep was disease-tested and many were fitted with a
GPS transmitter so their movements can be tracked. Vol-
unteers from the Oregon Foundation for North American
Wild Sheep (Oregon FNAWS) also assisted in the opera-
tion.
Disease concerns for wild sheep: 2016 Owyhee
hunts cancelled
After completing the I-84 sheep capture operation,
ODFW moved to southeast Oregon to disease test and
collar nearly 60 sheep in Whitehorse Unit. ODFW will be
stepping up surveys and disease sampling in herds in Or-
egon’s southeast corner (Whitehorse and Owyhee Units)
due to disease concerns.
A strain of pneumonia from a previous outbreak in
Nevada’s wild sheep is now affecting wild sheep in the
Whitehorse Unit. Testing of sheep in the Rattlesnake and
10-mile area of the Whitehorse Unit has confirmed the
strain is one that led to a loss of sheep in Nevada’s Santa
Rosa Mountains in 2003-04. “These bacteria can persist
in sheep populations over long periods of time, even de-
cades, and move long distances and across state boundar-
ies,” said Dr. Colin Gillin, ODFW wildlife veterinarian.
The Owyhee Unit is experiencing a more current
disease outbreak after a new strain of Mycoplasma
ovipneumonia (M.ovi), the respiratory pathogen that can
cause pneumonia, was detected in this herd in late 2015.
ODFW’s mid-December 2015 helicopter surveys detected
50-60 percent fewer sheep in the Owyhee unit than in
March 2015. Samples testing positive for the pathogen
have come from hunter-harvested sheep on both sides of
the Owyhee Canyon (from Leslie Gulch to Hole in the
Ground, a distance of 37 river miles). Further monitor-
ing will help determine the extent of the outbreak and
whether the disease has run its course or if more sheep
are getting sick or dying.
“Our biggest concerns at this point is the level of
infection, how prevalent the bacteria is in our herds, and
whether we can devise a management strategy to mitigate
the effects of a pneumonia outbreak,” said Gillin.
Due to the outbreak and concern that hunting opportu-
nity could be poor, ODFW is cancelling bighorn sheep
hunting in the Owyhee Unit for 2016. In recent years,
the unit has been offering 10 bighorn sheep tags spread
across three hunts.
Any hunter who has already applied for this hunt as
a first choice may cancel the application for a refund,
make their second choice sheep hunt their first choice, or
change their application. See page 14 of the Oregon Big
Game Regulations for details or call ODFW Licensing at
(503) 947-6101.
Disease was one of the factors behind bighorn sheep’s
extirpation in the 1940s, along with unregulated hunting.
But sport hunters have since been instrumental in restor-
ing bighorn sheep in Oregon. ODFW’s annual auction
and raffle of special bighorn sheep tags have generated
thousands of dollars for their management and for re-
search here in Oregon. Groups like Oregon FNAWS have
also contributed money and time.
Bighorn sheep are one of the rarest game mammals in
Oregon today. Less than 100 bighorn sheep tags were
offered to hunters last year on a “once-in-a-lifetime” hunt
basis. ODFW also auctions and raffles off a bighorn sheep
tag each year at events sponsored by sportsmen conserva-
tion groups; proceeds from the sales benefit the manage-
ment of bighorn sheep.
Swim results
Riana Scott (13) attended the 2016 Washington Open
swim meet on January 14-17 in Federal Way, WA. This
meet required qualifying times to enter and was highly
competitive. There were 999 athletes representing 76
teams from the Western states and British Columbia.
Riana achieved personal best times most of her events
and the following are her results:
Women's 200 IM 2:17.25 70th
Women's 50 free 26.48 116th
Women's 200 free 2:02.23 88th
Women's 100 Breast 1:12.17 73rd
Women's 100 Back 1:06.43 166th
Women's 100 free 56.87 118th
Women's 200 Breast 2:34.14 43rd