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.