FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2016 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local Bow hunting after the big fires how last year went. This was before the current fires, and I felt optimis- tic, too, but I replied with something smart, like, “Well, there isn’t much left to burn.” We both knew there’s THE OUTDOOR COLUMN certainly plenty left, By Todd Arriola and the season I drove south over Dool- of wildfire ey Mountain this week danger is far from over. toward Bridgeport, and Plenty of people, includ- as I reached the peak and ing me, have played the I thought about scouting blame game regarding around prior to deer hunt- the management, or the ing season, I had mixed mismanagement, of federal emotions, as I noticed the public lands, but that effort devastation caused by last seems to be eclipsed by year’s wildfires, and I cal- our County Commission- culated my odds of filling ers, who are engaged in big game tags. a continuous fight with This trip up and down the U.S. Forest Service the mountain via High- (USFS), and the Bureau of way 245 didn’t reveal any Land Management (BLM), surprises, as I’ve become in an attempt to have all used to the view—the very entities getting along and distinct difference in the playing well with each way the north side looks, other at some point, and compared to the south side. accomplishing the end Looking north, I thought, goal—proper management. “It doesn’t look great, but To their credit—including it might be okay, given the USFS, and the BLM-- time.” Looking south, I there is constant dialogue thought, “This looks like a and small victories, so, nuclear testing ground that there may yet be hope. was used recently.” When I reached Bridge- I stopped at my favorite port, I was glad to be clear gas station the other day, of the charred remains of and the attendant com- the south side of Dooley, mented that, given the tim- and I was able to check ing, we seem to be doing out my “sweet spots” for fairly well in the County, signs of deer activity, regarding the avoidance later in the day. I may of wildfires, considering have been too early in the day with my timing, or I may have been too early in the year, or I may see a totally different picture this year, because I didn’t see much activity, or at least, not as much. That’s not surprising, because, with hunting, anything can happen, including nothing at all. I made the remark to someone once that that’s why it’s called “hunting,” and not “shooting,” and why “fishing” is not called “catching.” As far as my odds are concerned, I don’t know quite how to calculate them. General bow season for deer and elk is coming up at the end of the month, and I already have a rifle tag for elk, so I only have deer on the menu this sum- mer. I checked some of my “sweet spots” already, but since about all of eastern Oregon will be fair game for a bow shooter (with some exceptions) once the season starts, there are plenty of oppor- tunities to harvest one. If I purchase a tag, and I don’t get the job done, I’ll have only myself to blame. Most likely, I’ll avoid the wide open spaces, i.e., the ones that used to be not so wide open, before the fires. I can see much farther through a forest with no leaves, grass, or brush, but deer can see me, too, though I’ll worry more about positioning myself to avoid detection with their ears and noses. Anyway, the point is, I’ll probably set still in a spot from where I can ambush one, ideally from above. I’ve learned a couple of new tricks this year, which may help with the bow hunting. Actually, I meant to say that I’ve decided to try a couple of things, and to avoid some stubborn habits. One of them is the change in the way I grip my bow, while drawing the string. I used to grip it like I was holding on for dear life, with all of my fingers wrapped around the front, because I couldn’t quite trust that it would stay in my hand, when I let the ar- row fly. When I started to allow my fingers to point straight out and down, and my thumb to point the same direction without a death grip, I noticed that I was more relaxed. The second change involved shortening my string release, so that I could trigger it with the middle joint of my index finger, instead of the tip of it. That helped, too. Wildfires have changed the landscape, and the way we hunt and where we hunt, but we’ve always adapted to those changes, because there really was no choice. We can continue to voice our concerns about the way public lands are managed, but somewhere in there, we need to get some hunting done, too, along with the discussions. “Just get to it,” as some say. Like my grandfather, Segundo, said sometimes, when he noticed someone pondering over their next move: “Do something, even if it’s wrong...” City Council hears Justice Court updates, 6 of 7 seats open BY GINA K. SWARTZ Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com The August 9, 2016 regular City Council Meet- ing began with Councilor Abell leading the pledge of Allegiance and giving the invocation, where she ac- knowledged the fire season already in full swing said, “I would ask that each of us to reach out a helping hand if we are able to do that.” City Recorder Julie Smith called role to which all councilors answered be- ing present with the excep- tion of Mayor Mosier. Vice Mayor Downing conducted the meeting and he quickly moved forward with the meeting calling for a motion to approve the consent agenda, which consisted of minutes from the June 28 and July 26 Council meetings. He asked if there were any corrections. With none noted, Councilor Thomas made a motion to approve with a second by Councilor Lowe. Council voted to unani- mously pass the motion. Vice Mayor Downing called for Citizen Partici- pation in which members of the Public Arts Commis- sion Mary Miller, Corrine Vegter and Damon Rose came forward. Miller addressed council advised, “The Public Arts Commission would like to announce to the City Council that we’ve used funds from our budget to purchase eight pieces from ‘Little Big Show’ that took place on First Friday.” Miller went on to note charities that benefited from the purchase of pieces sold during the First Friday event and the local businesses the pieces were purchased from. Among those mentioned were Short Term Gallery, they donated 25% of the pro- ceeds to The Baker Middle School Backpack program. Peterson’s Gallery donated to YMCA youth sports programs to keep costs low for children. Earth and Vine Wine Bar donated 25% of their pro- ceeds to the Ronald Mc- Donald House at OHSU in Portland. Dot and Rosie’s, 25% to the Baker High School Art Department for the purchase of need art supplies. The Castle Gallery (The Pythian Castle, home of Historic Baker City) 25% of their proceeds went to purchase art banners for Resort Street as part of Historic Baker City. Miller speaking to the success of First Friday, said, “50% of available pieces of art were sold. There were about 560 pieces available each sold for $40 apiece. That was quite huge turnout.” The eight pieces that the Public Art Commission purchased were donated to the City and will be hung in City Hall. After briefly viewing the pieces and thanking them the Council moved forward with the agenda. Boards and Commis- sions Appointments Smith advised Council one position on the Tree Board was vacant due to term expiration. She stated that George Wheaton had completed an application for the three-year term empty position. She then moved to Historic District Design Review Commission. One position on that commis- sion was available due to a resignation. This term expires in Jan- uary 2019. Carly Anabele successfully completed the application. Smith recom- mended to the Council that both applicants be appoint- ed to the position in which they had applied. Councilor Lowe moved to appoint both candidates with a second by Councilor Abell. Council voted unani- mously to appoint them both. Council Representative Appointment to Sam- O Swim Committee City Manager Warner advised council that he had spoken with Mayor Mosier earlier in the day and she advised that Councilor Joseph had approached her with interest in the ap- pointment. Councilor Langrell moved to appoint Joseph as the Council representa- tive to the commission with a second by Councilor Thomas. With a unanimous vote Joseph was appointed to the Sam-O Swim Com- mittee. SEE CITY COUNCIL PAGE 8 Snake River fee proposal comments sought The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (WWNF) is extending the public input period associated with the proposed Special Recreation Permit Fee on the Wild and Scenic Snake River to September 30, 2016. “Since being published in the Federal Register on June 22, we have received significant input associated with the fee proposal,” said Wallowa Mountains Office, Deputy District Ranger Jake Lubera. “We have heard ideas as- sociated with; alternative fee structures, the use of the facilities and the willingness from many individuals and groups to help address the stewardship needs of the river. Other boaters have commented on their limited use in the Scenic river section, and concerns about the impacts of a permit fee for families. To honor this active public process as well as provide additional time, we would like boaters and other interested publics to continue to com- ment until the end of September,” said Lubera. Public input can be submitted at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ SnakeRiverPublicInput . Following the close of the public input period on September 30, remarks will be made available for review on the WWNF website. After that time, the WWNF will analyze the input for presentation to the Resource Advisory Council. No decision regarding the fee proposal has been made at this time. This proposed Special Recreation Permit Fee ranges from $5 to $10, depending on public input received. If implemented, it would be, a per-person, per-trip that is collected from all boaters and passengers during the pri- mary river season. Exemptions to the proposal would be outfitters and their employees, travel by land owners and guests to private land inholding; and any person who has right of access for hunting or fishing privileges under spe- cific provisions of treaty or law. The proposed fee would be used to help provide a sustainable funding source for stewardship of the Wild and Scenic Snake River such as improving maintenance of developed facilities and his- toric sites used for recreation, expanding interpretation, addressing health and safety concerns and providing extra river patrols. For more information, questions or to submit input about any of these new fee proposals, please contact Jake Lubera, Deputy District Ranger, Wallowa Mountains Of- fice at 541-426-5581 or jlubera@fs.fed.us or Mike Ball, River Manager, Clarkston Office at 509-758-0616 or and comments-pacificnorthwest-wallowa-whitman@fs.fed.us Please visit the 2016 Wild and Scenic Snake River Fee Proposal website at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/WildScenicS- nakeRiverProposedFee to submit input and thank you for participating in this public sensing process. Swimmers compete in CA Submitted Photo. Jared Miller. Submitted by Noel Scott Jared Miller and Riana Scott completed their season by qualifying for and competing at championship meets in California. The following are their results. Jared Miller competed in the USA Swimming Futures Championship held August 4-7 at Stanford University. He swam personal best times in all of his events. 400 IM 37th 100 Back 33rd 200 Back 7th Riana Scott competed in the Western Zone Senior Championship meet held August 2-6 in Clovis, CA. There were over 940 athletes entered in this meet. She swam personal best times in almost every event. 100 Free 154th 200 Breast 68th 200 Free 162nd 400 IM 39th 200 IM 80th 50 Free 251st 100 Breast 100th She was also a member of the Inland Empire All Stars relay teams. 800 Free relay 39th 400 Medley relay 28th 400 Free relay 27th