FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Outdoor Rec / Local
Red Cross urges community
Forests
preparedness actions pre-eclipse prepare
The American Red
Cross is urging commu-
nity members who live in,
near or plan to travel into
the path of totality during
the eclipse to stock up on
emergency preparedness
supplies now. Specifically,
the Red Cross is recom-
mending assembling an
emergency preparedness
kit for your car and your
home.
With one million visi-
tors expected to come to
Oregon to view the eclipse
on August 21, travelers
could be stuck in traffic for
hours and people who live
in the path of totality may
face a supply shortage with
the influx of people.
It is essential to have
emergency supplies on
hand and ready now, days
ahead of the eclipse event.
The Red Cross recom-
mends having the follow-
ing items in your car:
• Ensure your vehicle has
a full tank of gas
• Bottled water—one
gallon, per person, per day.
Use heavy plastic bottles
made for water storage.
• Non-perishable food
items (power bars, canned
food, a manual can opener)
• A flashlight
• A battery-powered radio
• A first aid kit
• Daily vital medications
• Supplies for an infant or
children if applicable
• A multi-purpose tool
• Personal hygiene items
including toilet paper
• Cell phone chargers
• Extra cash in small de-
nominations ($1 or $5)
• Comfort items like toys,
games, coloring books for
kids, etc. to pass the time if
there are delays
• Blankets or a sleeping
bag
• Maps of the area
(printed copies)
• Jumper cables
• Emergency contact in-
formation written out on a
card to keep in your wallet
The Red Cross recom-
mends having the follow-
ing items at home:
• Water —one gallon,
per person, per day for a
minimum of three days
• The supplies included
in your car kit in greater
quantities (for a minimum
of three days):
• Supplies for your pets
if applicable
• View a full Red Cross
kit list here: www.redcross.
org/PrepareGuide.
How the Red Cross is
preparing:
The Red Cross is
coordinating with local
emergency agencies along
the eclipse viewing path to
ensure collective prepared-
ness for any contingency.
This planning is a stan-
dard part of our regular
collaborations with local
emergency management
officials with regard to
large-scale, public events.
If requested by local
authorities, the Red Cross
is prepared to shelter and
feed those who might be
displaced by disasters,
residential fires, wildfires,
or other events.
As part of normal Red
Cross readiness posture,
supplies such as cots, blan-
kets and water are already
pre-positioned across this
area and the country.
In addition, more volun-
teers and resources are on
standby in case they are
needed. Cellular service
could be impacted by the
large number of people
visiting the region.
If networks go down,
the Red Cross will use
ham radio or top-priority
emergency cell channels to
communicate.
No bag limit at Thief Valley
Reservoir beginning Aug. 16
Dry conditions in Eastern
Oregon and declining wa-
ter levels in Thief Valley
Reservoir have prompted
local fish biologists to
remove daily bag and
possession limits on the
reservoir starting Wednes-
day, Aug.16 until Sept. 30,
2017.
Size and harvest method
restrictions are also lifted
so anglers will be able to
take any size fish with a
rod, a net or by hand.
Thief Valley Reservoir on
the Powder River is cur-
rently holding significant
water, but the storage level
is declining at a rate that
would have it at ‘dead stor-
age’ level by the middle
of September. ODFW
biologist Tim Bailey said
that removing the bag
limit now will give anglers
a better opportunity to
harvest trout that will die
later when the reservoir is
drained.
“When the water level
reaches ‘dead storage,’
large numbers of trout get
trapped in isolated pools,”
said Bailey.
“Most fish will be
stressed in the warm, tur-
bid water and die.
“Conditions when the
reservoir is at ‘dead stor-
age’ are also not conducive
to the harvesting of fish,”
he concluded.
ODFW test drops juvenile trout
Thousands of juvenile
trout were airlifted to
the Wallowa Mountains
last week by the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife to supplement the
fish populations of lakes
within the 361,000-acre
Eagle Cap Wilderness.
The Eagle Cap Wilder-
ness has some of Oregon’s
most beautiful mountain
lakes, including the state’s
highest lake, Legore Lake,
at an altitude of 8,950 feet.
More than 40 lakes in the
Eagle Cap are over 7,000’.
“The extreme conditions
involved in maintaining
healthy fish populations in
a landscape above 7,000
feet has its own chal-
lenges,” said Jeff Yanke,
ODFW district fish biolo-
gist in Enterprise, adding,
“but anglers have consis-
tently told us that fishing
is one of the recreational
experiences they expect
when they go to the wil-
derness.”
ODFW stocks Eagle
Cap Wilderness lakes by
helicopter every two years.
The stocking program is
paid for with federal Sport-
fish Restoration Program
dollars, which is funded by
a 10 percent excise tax on
the sale of fishing equip-
ment. In this way, ODFW
seeds off-the-beaten-track
lakes with rainbow trout
that will hopefully grow to
become the eight inchers
that anglers legally retain.
The challenges juvenile
trout face in the high
mountains are consider-
able. First there is the
long fall from the aerial
stocking device (ASD)
or “shuttle” underneath
the helicopter to the cold
waters of the high lake. In
some of those lakes, the
rainbows may encounter
eastern brook trout, which
were stocked in the high
lakes decades ago and
are a voracious predator.
Freezing cold water is
another factor in the high
lakes that can take a toll.
One way to improve sur-
vival rates is to start with
larger fish. Fish biologists
have long known larger
fish are better able to with-
stand the forces of nature
than smaller fish. However,
larger fish also take up
more space, which means
fewer of them will fit into
the two-gallon containers
on the helicopter shuttle
that ODFW uses to trans-
port fish to the high lakes.
This year ODFW’s Enter-
prise office began testing
three sizes of rainbow trout
to see which one may fare
better with the presence
of brook trout in Oregon’s
highest lakes. The con-
trol group, raised to a
target size of 2.5 inches,
is similar to what ODFW
has released into the high
lakes in the past and most
commonly used for aerial
stocking in other locations.
This year two larger sizes:
3- and 4-inch rainbows –
were also tested to see if
there is any improvement
in survival rates as the
result of using larger trout.
This part of the study will
be completed in three to
four years.
One of the concerns was
that larger fish might suffer
more severe injuries when
they hit the water after a
70-foot free fall because
their bodies have more
surface area to injure. Pre-
liminary results indicate all
three size groups have high
post-drop survival rates.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Human-caused wildfires are a significant concern, given
the extreme fire danger across eastern Oregon and the ex-
pected increase in campers and visitors for the upcoming
solar eclipse. To address this concern, the national forests
have activated a National Interagency Wildfire Prevention
and Education Team to assist with fire prevention aware-
ness in the days before and during the upcoming solar
eclipse. The team will be staffing information centers
throughout the three national forests to provide critical
fire prevention messages and visitor information. Several
information boards will also be placed throughout the
forests to provide key information, including maps and
pertinent regulations, as well as fire prevention informa-
tion.
“We anticipate that many individuals traveling to view
the eclipse may not be aware of the current wildfire
danger,” said April Phillips, Fire Prevention Team Leader.
Eastern Oregon hasn’t had significant rainfall since June,
so any spark can start a wildfire.
The Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National
Forests are now at the peak of fire season. The fire danger
rating is EXTREME across the three forests and Public
Use Restrictions banning campfires and chainsaw use are
in effect. Forest officials ask the public to obey campfire
restrictions and forest rules, avoid parking on or driving
on dry grass, and be sure there are no chains dragging
from vehicles. While this is a celebratory event, visitors
must leave all fireworks at home if they are visiting pub-
lic lands, because it is illegal to discharge or even possess
fireworks on public lands.
Most remote areas have limited services, facilities and
wireless coverage. Please plan ahead and contact one of
the national forest offices to make sure you have the latest
information, know the regulations, and come prepared
with the right supplies before heading into the forest.
Office hours may vary by forest leading up to, and during
the solar eclipse.
ODFW to take
out two wolves
ODFW confirmed another depredation by the Harl
Butte wolf pack. ODFW intends to remove an additional
two uncollared wolves (not pups) from this pack to limit
further livestock losses.
Note the Harl Butte wolf pack is larger than originally
estimated. ODFW has found evidence of at least eight
wolves remaining in this pack, not including three pups.
Two weeks have passed since ODFW first announced
plans to lethally remove wolves from the Harl Butte wolf
pack due to chronic depredation.
ODFW removed two non-breeding members of the
Harl Butte wolf pack last week. (One 33-pound wolf pup
of the year was unintentionally captured and released.)
During the past two weeks, the radio-collared wolf in
the pack, the breeding male, has been monitored closely
to determine if he and other members of the pack altered
their behavior and location. Removal of the two wolves,
increased human presence in this area and continued use
of non-lethal deterrents by livestock producers did not
result in a significant change in the pack’s behavior.
ODFW will continue to monitor the effectiveness of this
next removal and livestock producers will continue non-
lethal deterrents including daily human presence, removal
of any potential attractants, and hazing.
In a different pack, the Meacham pack, on the morning
of 8/13/17 an employee of the livestock producer found
a dead 550 lb. calf within a 4,000 acre forested pasture.
Wolf depredation was suspected and ODFW investigated
that afternoon. The eight month old steer was found on its
back with the left front leg removed, all internal organs
gone, and muscle tissue missing from the ribs, flanks, and
front of upper hindquarters. It is estimated that the calf
died on or about the evening of 8/11/17.
These injuries are adequate to confirm this incident as
wolf depredation likely by wolves of the Meacham Pack.