FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Outdoor Rec / Local
Signs of Fathers Day—literally Ladies golf
brands, sat in
the Burnet-
tos’ cabin in
Bridgeport
for a few
years, before
the push to
finally install
them last
weekend.
The Bur-
nettos began
construc-
tion on their
cabin over
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
15 years ago,
and have been
By Todd Arriola
regular visi-
This past Father’s Day
tors and hunt-
Sunday, facilitated by
ers in the Bridgeport area
the clear weather, a sign
since that time, bringing
structure was installed on
family and friends, from
the Arriola Ranch, compli- time to time, including last
ments of two individuals,
Father’s Day. They’ve
father and son, Frank and
gifted my father some
Rod Burnetto, of Portland,
interesting items over the
whom my father, in the
years, including the awe-
direct and appropriate
some-looking signs, and a
Basque way, dubbed “The
beautiful, custom-stocked
Squirrel Hunters.”
rifle, engraved with his
This sign—or, rather,
name—Pat Arriola—as
signs, since there are
“the steward of the land.”
actually two—sits on a
As their nickname sug-
nearly bomb-proof, square
gests, they made a point of
metal tube frame, all of it
seeking out as targets each
custom-built by the Bur-
year those animals which,
nettos, several years ago.
frankly, no farmer or
The metal signs, one a
rancher, to my knowledge,
“rocking E,” and the other, has fallen in love with at
“AY,” both Arriola cattle
any point in time. No,
they’re not trigger-happy,
bloodthirsty savages—just
practical, helpful (and
entertaining) individuals,
who fit in well, whether
at their home west of the
Cascades, or in eastern
Oregon.
That particular weekend,
I had attempted to mow
my mother’s and grand-
mother’s lawns, but the
rainy weather on Saturday
wouldn’t allow it, making
the return journey out there
on Sunday a necessity,
which worked well, as it
turned out. Sunday morn-
ing, while I mowed my
mother’s lawn, Dad and
the Burnettos worked out
a plan to mount the signs,
and I joined the crew after
I finished mowing.
A hole was drilled near
the top of a large post, one
of two which hold and se-
cure the main corral gate,
both timber set in place 35
years ago, from the former
radar tower atop Dooley
Mountain. Assisted by
mighty Basque strength
(i.e., Dad used a tractor
with a bucket), the frame
was lifted up, and Rod
bolted the top part of it to
the post. Rod marked the
bottom hole, the frame was
leveled, and the bottom
part was bolted to the post.
Dad held us up in place,
and I helped Rod mount
the signs, which are ori-
ented to be seen properly,
if one is heading east, on
Bridgeport Lane.
During the whole
process, naturally, I
snapped some photographs
(I couldn’t resist play-
ing reporter), and post-
installation, the entire crew
basked in the glory of the
accomplishment, which
included, as expected, even
more photographs, to mark
the momentous occasion
for posterity.
Unfortunately, I could
not attend the evening
dinner which included
chili (and, possibly some
such beverage as wine, or
whiskey, and the resulting
entertaining conversa-
tions), courtesy of the
Burnettos, at their cabin.
But, it was a constructive
day, and I have no doubt
that Dad and Mom were
pleased with the project,
though it was years in the
making. I can assure the
Burnettos, as they made
their way back to Portland,
they had no need to doubt
whatsoever that their gift
was the center piece of a
great Father’s Day...
Winds spur hazard tree removal
A wind event this spring
caused several dozen haz-
ard trees to fall across For-
est Road 39 and 3960 be-
tween Indian Crossing and
Blackhorse campgrounds.
Coverdale campground,
located in the middle, was
impacted the most heavily
and both roads were not
passable due to the downed
trees.
Forest Service Rec-
reation and Fire Crews
pulled together immedi-
ately in order to remove
the downed hazard trees.
Fire Crews focused on
removing the trees from
the roadways while the
Recreation Crew focused
on the Developed Recre-
ation Sites. “I’m happy to
say we were able to pull
together and take care of
this public safety event
quickly and with as little
impact to the public as
possible,” said Deputy Dis-
trict Ranger, Jake Lubera.
Hazard trees are defined
as having a likelihood
of property damage or
personal injury from tree
failure. For the U.S. For-
est Service it is an issue
primarily in developed
recreation areas.
A program of hazard tree
management is neces-
sary to reduce the risk of
property damage, injuries
and fatalities due to tree
failures in developed areas.
This event emphasizes the
need to do more preventa-
tive hazard tree removal
across the Wallowa-Whit-
man National Forest.
There are several places
that are in need of hazard
tree reduction near devel-
oped areas.
Plans like the Lostine
Corridor Public Safety
Project are intended to
address this problem. The
Lostine Corridor projects
project seeks to increase
public safety in conjunc-
tion with improving forest
health and resiliency in
a high-use public area
leading into the Eagle Cap
Wilderness. More informa-
tion on this project is avail-
able at www.fs.usda.gov/
project/?project=48592
One startling fact about
the blowdown events along
the Imnaha is that almost
all of the trees were broken
off roughly 15 feet from
the ground.
This occurred to the trees
no matter what size they
were, from very small to
very large.
This type of blow-down
suggests that the trees were
suffering from bark beetle
infestation prior to the
windstorms.
Commercial drivers licensing
procedure is changing
If you are seeking
an Oregon commercial
driver license (CDL), some
changes are under way at
DMV that will take effect
this year.
The changes are re-
quired to comply with Fed-
eral Motor Carrier Safety
Administration regulations.
Oregon is adopting these
changes by switching from
a CDL “instruction permit”
system to a new “com-
mercial learner permit”
program. The new com-
mercial learner permit is
more like a CDL in that it
has a class, endorsements
and restrictions.
The law took effect July 8,
2015, and Oregon is mak-
ing the changes in phases.
To ease the transition,
Oregon DMV is changing
its CDL drive test appoint-
ment scheduling policy
and procedure this sum-
mer:
• Effective June 28,
2016, customers must
have a valid Oregon CDL
instruction permit and
applicable commercial
knowledge test scores on
record with DMV before
scheduling a CDL drive
test appointment occurring
on or after Sept. 26, 2016.
• On or after Sept. 26,
2016, customers must have
either a valid Oregon CDL
instruction permit and
applicable knowledge test
scores on record or a valid
Oregon commercial learner
permit before scheduling
a CDL drive test appoint-
ment.
These changes are being
made to enforce the re-
quirement, beginning Sept.
26, that applicants must
hold a valid Oregon CDL
instruction permit or com-
mercial learner permit in
order to take a commercial
driver skills test.
Additional information
about Oregon’s transition
to the commercial learner
permit will be distributed
in future releases. For
more information, visit
OregonDMV.com.
Owyhee Canyon fire assessment done
The Owyhee Canyon
Fire burned 22,000 acres
along the Owyhee River
Canyon on June 5-8, 2016.
Vale District Bureau of
Land Management (BLM)
fire suppression personnel,
along with the Jordan Val-
ley Rangeland Fire Protec-
tion Association (RFPA)
and contracted resources
contained the fire.
Bureau policy requires
BLM staff to create a draft
plan for Emergency Stabi-
lization and Rehabilitation
of the area within seven
days of containment. A
more comprehensive final
plan will be submitted by
June 28.
The initial plan states
that of the 21,776 acres
burned, 21,075 acres of
it is BLM managed land
and 701 acres is privately
owned. The fire area is
identified as general sage-
grouse habitat as well as
mule deer winter range.
One sage-grouse lek (a
mating area for sage-
grouse) was identified
as being within the burn
perimeter. The fire also
burned 4,120 acres of the
Owyhee Canyon Wilder-
ness Study Area (WSA),
one livestock grazing
allotment and damaged 16
miles of livestock manage-
ment fences.
The burned areas will ad-
versely affect sage-grouse
and other sage-obligate
species. Invasive species
such as Scotch and bull
thistle, whitetop species,
Russian knapweed, and
rush skeletonweed have
all been documented in the
area. With the burning of
competing native veg-
etation, these species are
highly likely to spread into
the affected area unless
they are treated.
Potential treatments
include: Inventory and
treatment of noxious
weeds in and around the
fire perimeter; Repair of
fences, gates and livestock
management infrastructure
; Temporary deferment or
closure of affected grazing
allotments; Construction
of temporary fences to
keep livestock out of the
affected area; Herbicide
application to prepare for
planting and/or to remove
invasive annual species
competition; Sagebrush
restoration; and Ongoing
monitoring to determine
treatment effectiveness and
appropriate time to reopen
grazing allotments.
scores
Scores for the June 8 Ladies Golf Day at Quail Ridge
are:
Golf Winners
1st Flight: 1st Myrna Evan, 2nd Lavelle Woodcock;
2nd Flight: 1st Kathy Hopkins; 3rd Flight: 1st (tie) Rox-
anne McAdams: Carol Irvine; Birdie Carp; Irvine
Bridge Winners: 1st Margo Kenworthy; 2nd Dianne El-
lingson; 3rd Marlene Cross
9-Week Bridge Winners are: 1st Joan Colton, 2nd Deni
Smith, 3rd Janice Smull.
SWCD looks at
‘waning water
woes’ with projects
Submitted Photo.
One of four rubber tire troughs for off stream live-
stock watering.
Irrigation and livestock water: two things which are
absolutely essential to the livelihood of local farmers
and ranchers; but four straight years of drought do not
help the cause. The Baker County SWCDs, consisting of
Baker Valley, Keating, Burnt River, and Eagle Valley, put
a major focus on water developments and improved ir-
rigation efficiency this year; helping landowners develop
springs, install pipelines and watering troughs, as well as
install diversion structures and head gates.
Two small grants, one in the Baker Valley District, and
the other in the Burnt River District, improved irrigation
delivery by upgrading from flood to gated pipe. While
flood irrigation can be very effective, it also increases
the risk for erosion, sediment runoff, and does not allow
for proper control or water management. Gated pipe will
allow these two landowners to more evenly disperse ir-
rigation water throughout their pastures while improving
water quality by eliminating much of the tail water.
A Technical Assistance grant was recently completed in
the Baker Valley District that also aims to improve irriga-
tion efficiency and water delivery. The MaHarry-Blevins
Ditch conveys water to the P-2 Pipeline, and is supplied
by Wolf Creek Reservoir. About 1.5 miles of the ditch is
open, and experiences considerable ditch loss by leaching
through the banks, as well as through evaporation. After
an Optimization Study was completed on the MaHarry-
Blevins in 2013, it was determined that the ditch was
losing up to six acre-feet per day, or 1,955,108 gallons of
water per day! To account for ditch loss in the summer
months, and to meet the irrigation needs of the producers,
nearly twice as much water than needed must be released
down the ditch. This project used grant funding to hire a
licensed engineer to develop a 100% construction-ready
design for installing a pipeline in the 1.5 miles of the
open MaHarry-Blevins Ditch.
In the Burnt River District, due to maintenance defi-
ciencies, pushup style dams were previously in use on
two of the main diversion structures to divert water from
Camp Creek. Two other diversions were in critical shape,
and did not allow for adequate fish passage. Camp Creek
was also experiencing severe bank erosion and a reduc-
tion of stabilizing woody vegetation, therefore releas-
ing sediment into the Camp Creek system. This large
restoration project replaced four pushup dams with four
concrete sill/wing-wall diversion structures. Head gates
were also installed at each diversion, as well as streambed
material to aid in fish passage. To minimize stream bank
erosion, 44 juniper skeletons were installed along the
worst sections of cut banks. Along the same section, 26
willow clumps and 18 vertical bundles were planted to
help reestablish woody vegetation. There was 5,000 feet
of wildlife friendly fence installed to restrict livestock ac-
cess to Camp Creek, thus protecting the newly stabilized
riparian area.
Upland restoration, although not tied directly, still plays
a key role in water quality in Baker County. A large resto-
ration project is just wrapping up in the Keating District,
which focused on off stream watering and improved live-
stock distribution. A lack of a reliable water source can
cause livestock to congregate in certain areas, typically
overgrazing those areas and opening up niches for inva-
sive species, like medusahead rye. Medusahead crowds
and competes with native grasses and forbs, deteriorating
forage for livestock, as well as habitat for wildlife such
as Sage Grouse. This conservation project developed four
springs on the property, and installed pipeline to convey
water to four individual watering troughs. The newly
developed springs were enclosed with wildlife friendly
fence to aid in protecting the springs from trampling. A
4,500 foot cross fence was also installed as a part of this
project, creating two separate pastures to aid in livestock
distribution. These activities will greatly improve range-
land health and native species in the area, while allowing
the landowner to better manage grazing on his private
ground.