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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local Deer feeding CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Primus said that there are more deer (mule deer) down in the river corri- dor than what is typically seen, because of the winter conditions, and much of the time, they’re on the south-facing slopes, north of the highway. He said that with the feeding, the risk to both deer and driv- ers increases. “It’s really unsafe for vehicles. Bad for the deer, bad for the drivers,” Perrine said. Primus said that, while ODFW has seen fl akes and remains of alfalfa along the highway, and the deer congregating to feed on it, there’s been no success yet in identifying who, exactly, is feeding the deer, because they haven’t seen indi- viduals doing it, and they haven’t received informa- tion about who’s doing it. “I think they’re probably feeding daily,” Primus said. Some hay is placed along straight lengths of the highway, some on corners, some right along the highway, and some a short distance away from it, he said. Perrine provided a copy of an informational sec- tion on ODFW’s website, www.dfw.state.or.us, titled “Don’t Feed Deer And Elk,” pointing out some is- sues with feeding deer, elk, and other wildlife: “Artifi cial feeding con- centrates wildlife, which leads to the easier spread of disease and parasites and easier take by preda- tors; Feeding deer and elk attracts their natural predators like cougars and coyotes to areas of human activity; Once wildlife as- sociate people with giving them food, they come to expect it. Feeding will invite more deer and elk to your property and encour- age them to stay; Artifi cial feeding can cause deer and elk to become habituated to humans and aggressive towards them; Concentrat- ing deer and elk in human- settled areas can lead to an increase in vehicle collisions and confl icts between wildlife and pets; Concentrating deer and elk can hurt habitat by encour- aging excessive grazing.” Primus said that the Oregon State Police (OSP) is aware of the situation, and personnel have moved some of the feed, protein and salt blocks away from the highway, when possi- ble. Primus said that OSP personnel are attempting to determine who’s feeding the deer, so they could be informed of the traffi c hazards being created. Speaking about the effects biologically on deer, Primus said, “If you have a deer that’s in poor body condition, and you switch them over to alfalfa, that’s highly nutritious, the digestive enzymes in their stomachs aren’t able to cope with that, and that high-protein forage content will cause a deer to bloat, and it will kill them.” Pri- mus said that, for the most part, the body condition of most of the deer seems to be good, without many “skinny” deer observed. “We came into winter looking good; we had a good fall green-up, deer were healthy, things were looking good,” Perrine said. Despite the appearance of good body condition, “Every year, ODFW also sees seemingly healthy deer and elk die because they have been fed the wrong food by well- intentioned people. Their diet requirements actually change with the seasons and are best met by native forage. Deliberately feed- ing deer or elk may inhibit digestion and lead to death by starvation or infec- tion,” according to ODFW information. Primus said that, even with the surge of green, natural forage in spring, deer can get scours, due to the higher water content, and many can die, after surviving the winter. Primus also pointed out the economical aspect of feeding the deer (Primus said that deer typically eat about fi ve or six pounds of feed per day, while an elk eats about ten), because, once there’s a commitment to start, the number of deer may be small, but that herd could soon expand greatly, resulting in a fi nancial hardship, and an inabil- ity to continue with the endeavor. Once the deer expect to be fed regularly in a certain spot, he said, Fire destroys Huntington home Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press. Phillip Perrine of ODFW. if that feeding stops due to fi nancial woes, more deer could die as a result. Both Primus and Perrine said that, whether the public feeding is happening in rural areas, or within Baker City limits, for example, the issues are basically the same, with diet, disease, predators, and traffi c. Perrine said, “The thing is, most of these people who are feeding, we understand, care about wildlife, and, we do, too, but, feeding doesn’t always mean you’re helping them...” Both understand and appreciate that, with the onset of winter, the natural public instinct is to worry about and to try to feed wildlife, but, as Pri- mus pointed out, “It really doesn’t do the deer any good, in the long run...One thing I think folks should strive for, rather than the artifi cial feeding in the winter time, is having a good brush component, and good habitat, that’s still available, above snow level for deer this time of year. So, if we had better brush, mahogany stands, they’re going to stand up above the snow, and they aren’t going to have to dig for those...If we had more areas of higher quality for- age component, snow and winter conditions wouldn’t really have an impact on deer.” Perrine echoed Primus’s sentiments, stating that for- age improvement projects are preferred, “...instead of spending more money on a feeding program that we discourage.” Primus said that there are a number of different funding programs which can assist landown- ers in completing improve- ment projects, whether through ODFW, or through another agency, such as the Natural Resources Conser- vation Service (NRCS). One example Primus gave, from the ODFW Why advertise with us? David Conn david@thebakercountypress.com or call 541.519.9198. Baker City, Haines • Low rates per column inch & promotional deals • Color at no additional charge as space permits • Friendly, professional sales staff Wendee Morrissey wendee@thebakercountypress. com or call 541.805.1688. Sumpter, Bates, Richland, Halfway, Medical Springs, Keating Family owned and operated. Packed with local news! • All display ads are also posted to our Facebook page, which means thousands of individuals see your ad from that source alone. We’re the only local paper that offers this service! side, is that the Keating Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) is a Mule Deer Initiative (MDI) unit, which means that “...the Department has funding to do whatever kind of projects we want to do.” Perrine added that dona- tions can be made in a number of ways to support programs such as MDI. ODFW established the Elkhorn Wildlife Area (EWA, one of numerous feed stations), located about 10 miles west of North Powder, which feeds roughly 800 deer and 1,400 elk during the win- ter, with 10 feeding sites located there, “...to keep deer and elk from feed- ing on private agricultural lands when they migrate down from snow-covered higher elevations...” ac- cording to ODFW. Perrine said, “There’s a differ- ence between the Elkhorn Wildlife Area, and the Keating stations that are set up, and the rest of our District. The EWA was put into place to alleviate dam- age, because of the lack of winter range. There is literally no winter range for the deer and elk, on the face of the Elkhorns...The rest of the District, in the places where people are feeding, we don’t lack that winter range...There’s a big difference...That’s why we feed over here (at the EWA)...” The EWA has a gate system for feeding deer and elk, Primus and Per- rine said, which helps keep them separated, and alfalfa and alfalfa pellets are fed there, “...early in the season so deer and elk’s digestive systems do not have to quickly readjust to new food types, and continues every day, no matter what, until forage conditions improve. Feed- ing areas are located away from human-populated areas to decrease confl icts. ODFW also conducts disease testing at some feeding sites,” according to ODFW information. Primus and Perrine said that they have some improvement projects in mind for this spring, which are in the planning stage, and they encourage interested landowners to develop some plans also, and to contact ODFW for assistance. “We encour- age people to come up with ideas in the Keat- ing unit (part of the MDI program),” said Perrine, and Primus echoed that sentiment. They said ODFW is already planning on completing riparian, invasive grass species, and aspen stand projects. Primus said, “Whether you’re for feeding, or against feeding, at least people are concerned about the wildlife around them, and they’re wanting to take an active role in seeing them do well in the future.” Perrine said, “We encourage people to care about wildlife. We’re not discouraging them from that. We just want people to know the facts, that feeding isn’t always the best route.” Eileen Driver / The Baker County Press. A home was destroyed in a blaze this Tuesday. BY EILEEN DRIVER Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com The home of Tracy McQue, Huntington City Recorder and Travis Young, former Mayor and current Deputy Fire Chief of Huntington, was burned to the ground on Tuesday, January 24. The fi re that was reported about 11:00 a.m. burned up the entire four-bedroom, 1,352 square-foot home built in 1890, located at 585 Oregon Trail Blvd. / Old Hwy. 30, in a matter of two hours in a hot blaze, the cause of which is as yet unknown. Firefi ghters managed to contain the fi re to the residence, thanks to the inmate work crew that unburied the fi re hydrant from the snow just that morning, and were able to keep it from spreading to the out-buildings or the sur- rounding homes. Tracy McQue heard about the fi re from a neighbor who called her a City Hall to tell her there was smoke pour- ing out of the back door of her house. She immediately rushed home to see what was happening and try and save her dog and two cats that were inside the home but it was too late as the home was fully engulfed by then. McQue stated, “ I am just glad that no one was home when it happened. I had the neighbor’s little girl over this morning and am so glad she wasn’t here when it started.” Young reported, “ I got a call over my fi re radio at work about a fi re at my address!” He then called McQue to confi rm that it was correct and rushed home to see for himself. While most of their fi rearms and valuables are secured in a large fi re proof safe a brand new rifl e just purchased by Travis was sitting on the dining room table along with its ammunition, which started going off in the fi re. Luck- ily no one was injured by the small explosions or stray bullets. The couple is hoping that at least the safe held as oth- erwise they are left with the clothes they are wearing and the contents of their garage. Friends at the scene said they are planning to open a “go fund me” account to help the couple get back on their feet. Huntington declares disaster BY EILEEN DRIVER Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com On January 19th the City Council of Huntington issued a declaration of local disaster due to the massive snowfall that has continually been bombarding the town. With the town’s public works employees plowing the roads practi- cally 24/7 in an effort to keep them safe for residence and make them passable the worst possible thing to happen did happen. The plow truck blew the transmission and the streets of Huntington remained unplowed while yet an- other winter storm passed over making the roads virtually unusable for two days while they worked to fi x it. With fi re hydrants buried in the snow and storm drains iced closed, the City knew they needed help and had to act fast to fi x this problem before it became even worse. As reports of carports, sheds and porches collapsing began to come in, the City along with the Chamber of Commerce began rounding up volunteers to shovel snow off roofs and sidewalks of elderly and disabled citizens who could not do it for themselves. Welfare checks of housebound residents were performed by Sandra Vaughn of the Huntington Senior & Youth Organization, which found everyone safe and sound to this point. Huntington Food Bank volunteers Allan Driver and Betty Tamburello dug a literal tunnel through the snow berm surrounding Lion’s Park so that citizens who have been unable to get to Ontario to grocery shop could get access to the Food Bank for emergency supplies. Sean Mckay of Burnt Riv- er Farms drove his tractor with snow plow attachment all over the City plowing out the VFW Hall and anyone else who needed help. All available volunteers with shovels in hand did their best to clean roofs and carports. According to Deputy City Recorder Shellie Nash, “Citizens are stepping up and doing everything they can to help neighbors, but it ( the storms) never seems end.” Working with Jason Yencopal of Baker County Emer- gency Management the City has secured a snow plow from the Baker County Road Department to use during this crisis to help with keeping the streets clean and an inmate road crew from the department of corrections was brought down to un-bury the fi re hydrants that are under three feet of snow, as well as to unclog the storm drains so when the snow does melt it has somewhere to go other than the streets and basements of those who live in the lowest elevations. Citizens are hoping the three or four days of non-snowy weather happening now will allow snow to melt and make a dent in the snow and ice accumulating on roofs.
