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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2017)
FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local HELP WANTED The Baker Valley Soil and Water Conservation District is accepting applications for a seasonal irrigation system worker. This position will be responsible in assisting partnering agencies with the implementation of small scale irriga- tion systems and riparian vegetation. Candidates must have the following; 1.) Valid Drivers License 2.) Basic knowledge of household irrigation systems, small pumps, and controllers 3.) Ability to use hand tools 4.) Ability to operate small engines/equipment 5.) Ability to perform routine tasks for long periods of time 6.) Basic knowledge of weed identification and treatments 7.) Strong communication skills 8.) Ability to make maintenance decisions with little or no supervision This position will be from May 2017 to approximately November 1, 2017 and will require a 32 hour work week. The rate of pay will be $13/hr. To apply, please drop off or email resume along with a cover letter explaining your qualifications for the position to; Whitney Collins 3990 Midway Dr. Baker City OR 97814 or whitney.collins@bakercountyswcds.com. All applications must be in by 3:30pm, March 30th 2017. “Baker Valley Soil and Water Conservation District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.” For questions, please feel free to contact me at 541-523-7121 x 109. 3.31 PETS FREE CATS! Three adult cats. 2 white manx, mother and son, blue eyes. One female, calico, fixed. All shots given. Call 541.755.5003 in Granite. Wolf Depredation Compensation Committee discusses ODA concerns BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Wolf Depredation Compensa- tion Committee met on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 2:30 p.m., in the Commission Chambers of the Baker County Court- house. The main purpose of the meeting was primar- ily to address concerns of Oregon Department of Ag- riculture (ODA) Program Area Director Jason Bar- ber, regarding the total for missing livestock claims, among other details. Present were Chair (and Baker County Commis- sioner) Mark Bennett, Tom Van Diepen, Mike Durgan, Mike Colton, Martin Ar- ritola, and Baker County Commission Executive Assistant Heidi Martin. The main topics for dis- cussion were in reference to an email Barber had sent to Martin, first noting the total amount submitted for missing livestock claims, $54,787, from four pro- ducers, with a total of 73 animals—54 calves, 18n cows, and one bull. Barber said, “With only having a grand total of approximately $150,000 to $160,000 to award for the entire state, the ODA is having a hard time recon- ciling/justifying this Baker County’s missing livestock claim...” Barber’s reasons in- cluded: “This is the largest missing claim request re- ceived in the history of the program and approximate- ly five times larger than Wallowa’s or Umatilla’s missing claims for 2017 ($10,140 and $14,950 respectively); “According to ODFW’s (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) wolf web page, Baker County did not have a single confirmed or probable dep- redation claim for 2016. “Further, Baker County did not appear to have a single depredation inves- tigation of any kind for 2016; It is our understand- ing that there have only been three wolves in Baker County area for most of 2016 (OR 29, 36 and 37) and OR 37 has no known depredation history.” In order to gain more in- sight, Barber included four questions, requesting infor- mation regarding whether the claimed losses were above the historical level caused by other factors, and whether other causes have been ruled out; where the missing livestock were located, in relation to pub- lic versus private ground, and areas of known wolf activity (AKWA); what criteria the committee used to determine the producers implemented best manage- ment practices, to deter wolves; and what docu- mentation was provided, regarding the number of head turned out, including pregnancies. Durgan said, “I’m confident that the number 73 isn’t the number that caused the scrutiny; it’s the number 52, from one producer (Chad Del Curto. The last meeting was detailed in the Friday, Feb- ruary 17, 2017 issue of The Baker County Press)... It doesn’t matter whether we believe it or not; it matters that they believe it...” Durgan said the claim documents are public, and the well-funded, extreme environmental group, Or- egon Wild, had requested the applications. He said that one of Barber’s concerns is that Oregon Wild would see Del Curto’s claim, “... go crazy,” and retaliate in some form. Arritola said, “The whole thing is so back- wards; they mandate this money, and mandate what you do... Going forward, you might get claims that look like that (Del Cur- to’s), that are real...I don’t think anybody on this com- mittee thought they were lying to us, as they (the producers) all sat here...” Van Diepen said he believed Del Curto, partly because he’d hunted on De Curto’s land, “...until the wolves killed everything; now, I don’t hunt there anymore... Everything he (Del Curto) said didn’t seem unreasonable to me...There are a lot more wolves in that Fish Lake area... There’s tremen- dous evidence that they’re there...” Durgan said that, ac- cording to ODFW, there are three radio-collared wolves in Baker County. Bennett said, “And, I don’t think that we agreed with that.” Durgan said, “Of course not.” Van Diepen agreed, say- ing that he saw just that amount of wolf tracks in one place. Arritola said, “This is not a zoo, where everything’s locked up, and all these factors are controlled, and we know how many animals are there... “It’s not a science experi- ment ... “They spent all winter trying to find the ones that they knew were there... This whole concept... that there are only three wolves in Baker County, and that’s what we’re operating off of, is garbage...” Durgan said that, while the committee members agree that there are more than three wolves in Baker County, ODFW’s stance— and Barber’s—are that there are three, and the documentation needs to be complete, and Barber needs to be convinced that the missing livestock claims are realistic. In speaking about what methods were used to deter wolves, Colton asked about the range rider, Halfway-based James Chetwood, and Martin provided some details, in- cluding the hours of riding time logged, 318, in 2016 (his rate was $22 per hour, for a total of $6,996). Durgan suggested getting stakeholders together— ODA, ODFW, producers, etc.—so everyone can discuss and determine together what is expected of the producers and the County, regarding miss- ing livestock claims and information provided. Van Diepen said that County committee mem- bers are in a position to know more about the local producers than staff in Salem, and that once a determination is made by the committee regard- ing the validity of claims, it shouldn’t be second- guessed. The committee discussed the missing livestock application form, and members suggested adding some additional items, to develop a more complete form, including more spe- cific information regarding the number of cattle turned out, versus the number recovered, and the number of pregnancies, when ap- plicable. Martin said that, during the last meeting, sugges- tions including adding the number of cattle turned out, the dates they were turned out, and whether there was a contract in- volved. In discussing the com- mittee’s concerns regard- ing answering Barber’s questions as thoroughly as possible, Van Diepen voiced frustration about the process and delay. Durgan said, “He (Bar- ber) told me, if we submit- ted accurate information, and answered the best we could, if it’s satisfactory to him, we could get between $9,000 and $12,000, for the County.” This prompted laughter from Martin, who said, “Is that it? That’s not even enough to cover the range rider.” The committee dis- cussed each question, and solutions for Barber’s con- cerns, including, among other details, seeking more thorough documentation from producers for his- torical losses, versus losses above that level; making Barber aware of the meth- ods the producers are using to deter wolves, such as using a range rider, moving bone piles, and riding and using aircraft to moni- tor cattle; and attaching AKWA maps to applica- tions, so the producers can indicate where and when losses were incurred. In addressing Barber’s question regarding preg- nancy tests before turning cattle out on to allotments, to determine the number of pregnant cows, Arritola said, “That’s not practi- cal... I don’t know any single producer who preg checks, before they turn out on the Forest Service (allotments)...” though more specific informa- tion regarding the number of cattle turned out, how many pairs there were, etc., was suggested, to provide more detailed ap- plications. Arritola emphasized that the form should include a statement about including any documentation that could help the committee make a determination, and streamline the state com- pensation process. Arritola said, “I don’t think we did anything wrong; they (the ODA) just didn’t convey to us exactly what they wanted... They want to see the decision-making process.” The committee discussed what the dispersal of the compensation would be, if the County receives sig- nificantly less than what is requested, which is highly likely. Arritola suggested that each producer’s compensa- tion should be based on what percentage it is of the total monetary loss submit- ted by the County. Martin began a discus- sion about where to place the County’s VHF (very high frequency) direction- finding antennas, used for locating wolves, and this prompted a range rider discussion, and concerns about spending funds on that program, with so little compensation provided to the County, to begin with, and the difficulty in finding local people, willing to fill the position. The next committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5, 2017, 2:30 p.m. Prescribed burns scheduled on WWNF The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest will begin implementing its prescribed burning program as early as next week and extending over the next several weeks. As the snow melts and drier weather sets in, conditions will be good to manage prescribed burning operations. Fire managers are planning to implement hazardous fuel reduction burns at many project sites throughout the For- est. Prescribed fire is a major component of the Cohesive Wildfire Strategy to meet the goals of restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes and creating fire adapted communities. Prescribed burning is done to reduce dead and down fuels, selectively thin understory trees in densely forested stands, stimulate fire tolerant plant species, enhance forage for wildlife, reduce the risk of large-scale, stand- replacement fires, create strategic fuels breaks in the urban interface, and bring back fire’s natural role to the landscape. Prescribed burns can range from ten acres to thousands of acres in size. Prescribed burns are often accomplished in cooperation with local rural fire departments, contractors, and State and other federal fire agencies. Fire history studies have shown that fire was a domi- nant natural influence in the Blue Mountains, maintaining a more open and park-like condition throughout the low- to mid-elevation forests. Low-intensity surface-fires burned throughout these drier forests and grasslands, perpetuating fire tolerant tree species such as ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and larch. Hazardous fuel reduction is not without impacts. Smoke associated with prescribed burning is a major concern and the hardest to forecast in the implementation planning process. Prescribed fire managers work closely with the Oregon State Smoke Forecast Center in accordance with the Oregon Smoke Management Plan to determine when, where, and how much is burned on a daily basis. Smoke dispersion models are used to look at the volume of smoke, the direction of spread and the mixing height prior to each burn. If a burn is forecasted to produce smoke that will cause a significant impact to a community or sensitive area, it is rescheduled until there is a more favorable weather forecast. Burning in the spring is also an important way of reducing the amount of smoke that typically impacts communities during the fire season. The intent is to keep smoke out of populated areas. Burning under controlled conditions, in many cases in 10 to 15 year rotations, reduces surface and ladder fuels setting the stage to limit future high intensity unplanned fires and the smoke that they would produce. Wallowa-Whitman forest managers have been success- fully conducting prescribed burning operations for fuel reduction for over 20 years, and plan to continue into the foreseeable future. Twenty-four thousand acres of hazardous fuels were treated last year. The Wallowa-Whitman plans to burn approximately 8,000 acres across parts of the forest this spring although actual acreage could be more or less depending on weather and other factors that determine where and when ignition actually takes place. For more information about the Wallowa-Whitman prescribed burning program, you may contact Steve Hawkins at 541-523-1262, or visit the forest web site at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/Fire-Aviation to view the spring 2017, burn unit maps. Whitman Ranger District (WRD) – 541-523-4476 (Baker, Halfway, and Unity). The WRD plans to conduct prescribed burning on 3,000 acres this spring, which may include: Foothills (100 acres) – 4 miles west of Baker City ,OR Deer (500 acres) – 2 miles northeast of Sumpter, OR · Union Miners (400 acres) – 7 miles east of Sumpter, OR Mile 9 (750 acres) – 5 miles west of Unity, OR Goose (300 acres) – 17 miles northwest of Richland, OR Pine Valley (350 acres) – 7 miles north/northwest of Halfway, OR East Pine (150 acres) – 5 miles north of Halfway, O5 Barnard (350 acres) – 6 miles northwest of Halfway, OR California (500 acres) – 10 miles southwest of Sumpter, OR Broman (500 acres) – 8 miles northwest of Unity, OR The Wallowa Fire Zone (WFZ) - 541-426-4978 (Wal- lowa Valley Ranger District, Hells Canyon NRA and Eagle Cap Ranger District). The WFZ plans to conduct prescribed burning of up to 5,000 acres this spring, which may include: Ches Elk (5,300 acres) – 30 miles northeast of Enter- prise, OR B-Vine (7,900 acres) – 30 miles north/northeast of Enterprise, OR The Grande Ronde Fire Zone (GRFZ) – 541-963-7186 (La Grande Ranger District). The GRFZ plans to conduct prescribed burning on up to 1000 acres this spring, which may include: Blue Fly (185 acres) – 15 miles southwest of La Grande, OR near Vey Meadows and Blue Springs Trail (500 acres) – 10 miles northwest of La Grande, OR near the Mt. Emily Road Bird Track (550 acres) – 9 miles west of La Grande, OR near Spring Creek Sugar (200 acres) – 8 miles south west of La Grande, OR near Hilgard.