FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Outdoor Rec / Local
HELP WANTED
BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J is currently accepting
applications for a .5 FTE Culinary Arts position. For a
complete description of the position and the application
process go to www.baker.k12.or.us. You may also call
Norma Nemec at 541-524-2260.
The Baker City Public Works Department is seek-
ing qualifi ed applicants for the position of Mechanic II.
Closes April 29, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. For more information
and how to apply go to www.bakercity.com. The City of
Baker City is an EEO employer.
PUBLIC NOTICE: WEED SPRAY GIVEAWAY!
For 2016, Baker County Weed District will again be giving out herbicide on the following locations, dates, and times.
This fully mixed, ready-to-go herbicide will be targeting whitetop and scotch thistle. Folks need to bring chemical-resis-
tant containers, preferably gas or oil cans, and a pair of chemical-resistant gloves. Please, no food containers. There
will be a fi ve gallon limit imposed for each residence.
Note!!! New location for Baker City Giveaways!
Where
Huntington Service Station
Richland/Halfway - Wildfl ower Corner
Baker City - Old ODOT Building
1050 S. Bridge
Baker City - Old ODOT Building
1050 S. Bridge Street
Hereford Hall /Unity Hall
Hereford - Unity
Date
April 22
May 6
May 21
Time
8:00 - 11 AM
7 - 12 Noon
7 - 12 Noon
May 28
7 -12 Noon
June 3
9 AM - 10:30 AM
Talking turkey season
this spring
could show
an even
higher jump
in successes.
ODFW
Upland Bird
Coordina-
tor David
Budeau
reported that,
“Production
was good
last year,
and despite
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
more snow
this winter,
By Todd Arriola
we didn’t see
any signifi -
Today marks the fi rst
cant over-winter mortality
day of the general turkey
among turkeys. The above
hunting season, a month-
average precipitation
and-a-half long adventure,
should result in good habi-
with one new surprise for
tat conditions throughout
2016, sure to please most
the state.”
every gobbler seeker: the
We adults love to have
statewide season bag limit
our fun, and steal some
increased by one, for a
total of three legal turkeys. of the spotlight, but the
younger hunters have
Proudly the bearer of
been no slouchers, when
more good news, I have
it comes to success rates,
noticed that the Oregon
either, having taken 22%
Department of Fish and
of the total number of
Wildlife (ODFW) reports
turkeys harvested last year,
that the increase in spring
according to Budeau.
turkey harvests last year
One of the advantages
from the previous year of
the kiddos get to enjoy,
17%, at 4,948 birds, was
the highest since 2010, and is the price of their tag,
at $10.50, while we older
folks pay $22.50 per tag.
So, where are these tur-
keys to be found? South-
west Oregon continues
to be the top spot to fi nd
them, with the Rogue
Wildlife Management Unit
taking fi rst place in turkey
harvest two years in a
row, according to ODFW.
Statewide, ODFW relo-
cated about 400 nuisance
turkeys from private land
to public land, or pub-
lic accessible lands, this
winter, increasing hunter
access to the birds.
The western part of the
state isn’t alone in show-
ing plenty of bird hunting
activity, as nearly half of
the turkeys harvested dur-
ing the last spring season
were east of the Cascades.
The Mt. Emily, Sled
Springs, Ukiah, Heppner,
and Northside units have
shown a consistency with
high total harvests, and
individual hunter success
rates.
The Sumpter unit rated
“fair,” on a scale from
“good,” to “diffi cult,” ac-
cording to ODFW, as far
as hunter success, based
on the total harvest, and
individual harvest rate in
2013, compared to its rat-
ing of “diffi cult,” in 1993.
Across the state, within
that time period, other
units’ ratings have im-
proved, and turkey hunting
opportunities have drasti-
cally expanded, which is
all great news.
There’s plenty of time to
decide whether to pursue
turkeys this spring, since
the season lasts from April
15 through May 31, and
tags can be purchased dur-
ing that period. Personally,
I admittedly haven’t com-
pleted any kind of scouting
ahead of time, and I don’t
have any “sweet spots”
pinned down, however, as
pointed out, I don’t have to
immediately have concerns
about timing right now.
Having said that, I would
certainly encourage others
to take on the pursuit.
ODFW provided one
of the best comments I’ve
heard, regarding our neck
of the woods, hunting-
wise, or not, when it stated,
in reference to fi nding tur-
keys, “Don’t forget about
northeast Oregon.”
Don’t worry—we
won’t...
Quail Ridge ladies golf scores
Following are the results
for the April 6 Ladies Golf
Day held at Quail Ridge
Golf Course in Baker City.
Birdies: Myrna Evans,
Marianne Klinger, Tori
Brown.
Count Putts: 1st Myrna
Evans, 2nd Tori Brown
Bridge Winners: 1st
Dianne Ellingson, 2nd
Della Steele, 3rd Martha
Why advertise with us?
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Baker City, Haines
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Cassidy.
Spring
bear
update
Bear numbers are strong
in the Starkey Unit. The
warm temperatures during
March should provide
good forage for bears in
April and May. The snow
pack is receding and will
make for good access to
the Wallowa Whitman Na-
tional Forest lands within
Union County. Hunters can
expect snow to limit access
to some areas during the
month of April. Hunters
should focus efforts on
south aspects for best re-
sults. Walking in on closed
roads is a good way to
access bear habitat within
this hunt area.
The Dry Beaver Ladd
Canyon road closure area
offers diverse habitat and
provides limited motorized
travel. Other areas that
have good bear densities
are Spring Creek, open
slopes along Fly Creek and
public lands surrounding
Vey Meadows. It is also
quite possible to encounter
a cougar in these areas.
Fire service
exercise planned
Submitted by Gary Timm
On Saturday April 16th Federal, State and fi re agencies
from around the county will come together to participate
in the 12th Annual Baker County Fire Service Task Per-
formance Exercise, also know within the fi re service as
the Scavenger Hunt.
Originally created in 2005, the event was developed to
bring fi re agencies together to practice skills and miti-
gate realistic incident scenarios. An added bonus was to
highlight the need to fi nd new volunteer fi refi ghters for
Baker County fi re agencies. In 2016, the goals have not
changed – departments benefi t greatly by coming together
to participate in scenario based exercises, and the fi re
service is always interested in bringing on new personnel.
Those interested in joining a local fi re department/district,
should contact their local agency.
This year’s Fire Service Task Performance Exercise will
have several structural related task performance stations,
and a wildland-urban interface station. The event will be-
gin with Fire agencies being dispatched to a skill station
and upon arrival, perform a variety of fi refi ghting tasks.
While we develop new scenarios each year, past skill
stations have included – radio communications, technical
scene size-up, apparatus operation, working with equip-
ment such as ladders, hydrants and fi re tools. Each of
the Teams will have to successfully complete all scenario
based stations.
As in prior years, each Team will be required to work
through the emergency situation presented and will be
scored on safety, coordination and organization, com-
munications and appropriate completion of the scenario
based incident. The realistic scenarios will challenge the
crews, but in the end valuable lessons will be learned.
“Each year we create realistic and challenging scenarios
– but the overall goal is to allow agencies to evaluate and
improve response skills, and ultimately enjoy the day,”
said Gary Timm, Baker County Emergency Management.
“While this exercise could be seen as a fi re service pre-
paredness exercise, I’m hoping it will also be viewed as
dedicated local fi refi ghters’ coming together from around
the county to enhance their abilities to respond to all-risk
incidents within their own communities, and during
mutual-aid responses.”
Past Winners of the Baker County Fire Service Task
Performance Exercise:
2005 Keating Rural Fire Protection District
2006 Baker City Fire Department
2007 Baker Rural Fire Protection District
2008 Keating Rural Fire Protection District
2009 Baker Rural Fire Protection District
2010 Baker Rural Fire Protection District
2011 Baker City Fire Department
2012 Baker Rural Fire Protection District
2013 Baker City Fire Department
2014 Eagle Valley Fire Protection District
2015 Baker Rural Fire Protection District
Outdoors videos
wanted by USFS
In our public listening sessions over 700 people talked
about their relationship with the Blue Mountains. Their
voices matter, and so does yours. Share why the Blue
Mountains are important to you!
Please submit a video (under 60 seconds) in which you
introduce yourself and answer this question: “Why are
the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and Washington
important to you?”
Think about a place in the Blue Mountains that you
care about:
• Why does this place stand out?
• What do you do there? (Or what would you like to
do there?)
• What's your relationship with this place?
We will choose a variety of videos to highlight the
diverse people who care about these public lands. We will
not share all videos; rather we will share a selection of
videos that touch on different topics in the Forest Plans.
We will share these videos on this website and our forest
Facebook and Twitter sites.
Please see the following website for instructions on
how to submit your video, terms and conditions, and also
an example video. Please note that this is not intended to
be an opportunity for formal public comment on Forest
Service projects.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/wallowa-whitman/land-
management/planning/?cid=FSEPRD495538
Turkey tag
requirements
Spring turkey hunting is general season, and anyone
can purchase a tag any time before going hunting. Turkey
tags are $22.50 for residents, $10.50 for youth hunt-
ers (age 17 and under). Hunting licenses are $29.50 for
residents. New in 2016, all youth hunters age 12-17 can
get a $10 combination license (includes hunter, angler,
shellfi sh and Columbia River Basin Endorsement).
The daily bag limit is one male turkey or a turkey with
a visible beard (so hens with beards may be lawfully
taken). The season limit is three legal turkeys; hunters
must purchase a tag for each turkey.