FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Outdoor Rec / Local
HELP WANTED
MayDay, Inc is hiring a part time, 20 hours a week, position for Program Coordinator. Taking applications till Sep-
tember 22, 2017. Please go to the MayDay office to apply. 9.15
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Baker City, Oregon is currently accepting applications for a full time, per-
manent, Program Technician. Applications and materials are available online at www.usajobs.gov, and will be accepted
beginning August 29, 2017 and closing September 19, 2017 11: 59 p.m. EDT. Salary begins $29,356 - $52,893 per year
($14.07 – $25.34 per hour) based on qualifications and experience.
Applications must be submitted through USAJobs. For more information please contact the FSA Office at 3990 Mid-
way Drive, Baker City, OR 97814 or (541)523-7121 x 106. FSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 9.15
One big,
beautiful bull
My misadventures in bow hunting
Second,
with the
significant
reduction in
the number
of tags the
Oregon
Department
of Fish and
Wildlife
(ODFW)
would issue
this year
for deer and
antelope
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
because of
By Todd Arriola
the previous
winter, that
On the day I wrote this
translates to
article, in the post-eclipse
more of a crapshoot with
and wildfire-caused hazy
the drawings, which cause
world of Baker Valley, I
me great pain to begin with
pulled my compound bow
(I applied for nine tags last
from its case, for some
year and only drew one,
more much-needed target
though on the positive side,
time.
this can be considered a
I’ve been spoiled for a
small donation to ODFW).
year, opting to carry my
I just paid the archery tag
trusty .30-06 rifle, rather
fees this year, and I was
than suffer through the tor- issued the tags—a simple
ture of actually preparing
process.
for the big game seasons,
Third, there are excep-
the main focus of which is
tions and restrictions, in-
archery this time.
cluding getting permission
Bow hunting under-
from private landowners,
standably isn’t everyone’s
but in general, the region
cup of tea, but I had sev-
is a wide open space to
eral reasons for choosing
bow hunting, without the
this method this time, for
limitation of one or a few
deer and elk seasons.
Wildlife Management
First, the two simultane-
Units (WMUs).
ous seasons, which have
Forth—and again, it’s
already begun, are about
understandable, consider-
a month long in general,
ing the increased difficul-
which means more op-
ty—there are generally less
portunities for successful
people bow hunting than
hunts, thought I’ve made
rifle hunting, which means
the mistake before of wait- there’s less competition,
ing until nearly the last
and less crowded country,
day.
resulting in more chances
for success.
A spooked deer or elk
can very quickly be out
of bow range within very
little time, and with my
luck, they’d be in the next
county before I could fig-
ure out a new game plan.
Being out of practice
for a while didn’t hurt my
shooting any, to my sur-
prise, at either the roughly
30-yard or the 60-yard
marks (I try to be modest
with my expectations), but
I appreciate, every time
I do shoot the bow, that
I don’t have any kind of
issue with my shoulders.
One of my buddies isn’t so
lucky because of a shoul-
der injury, and I think he
silently (or not so silently)
cursed at me, while he was
texting about the wonders
of fly fishing, which I’m
light years away from
mastering.
My first article for this
column included a story
about a failed bowhunting
adventure of mine, though
I couldn’t blame any of
my gear for the disappoint-
ment.
I have my father’s Pear-
son Spoiler Plus, which
had been updated by the
Jensens of Bowen Valley,
with a new sight, a string
D-loop and string release,
and six custom carbon
arrows.
The equipment worked
well—the operator, well,
not so much.
The hunt didn’t go well,
but I can’t really blame the
doe that snorted and scat-
tered the herd, either, be-
cause I should have stayed
put, in my semi-decent
hiding spot above the draw,
behind a small juniper tree
(bush, really).
The draw was a perfect
bottleneck and ambush
point, with me downwind
and hidden, where I could
catch a buck before it
reached the alfalfa field.
I wanted to move to
a “better” spot, which is
where I made a mistake,
because I tried to sneak
back toward the herd when
I saw it move down the
draw, and I might as well
have been walking and
waving a flag at them.
I noticed posts on
Facebook with already
successful hunters, posing
happily with their trophies,
and while that prompted
some feelings of jealousy,
I haven’t been out to bow
hunt (as of this writing),
and I’m sure there’s a buck
deer and bull elk still wait-
ing for me to get my rear
in gear.
Even though I have sev-
eral spots in mind, I don’t
expect “easy” hunting this
year, because there are
numerous factors involved,
including proper timing
and location, and the need
to bring my A-game. Or,
at the very least, my B-
game, or C-game. What-
ever works.
It might help to have
some sort of mask, too,
because this smoky valley
is beginning to resemble a
smog-filled city, and I’ve
done plenty of rain dances,
with very little response...
Public urged to take care in the smoky air
The Baker County
Health Department would
like to remind you how
to recognize and protect
yourself from poor air
quality due to smoke from
wildfires which can reduce
air quality.
“Wildfire smoke con-
tains fine particles. When
the particles in the air are
concentrated, the air qual-
ity decreases. When people
breathe this air, it can make
them sick. People at the
highest risk of illness are
those with chronic lung
or heart conditions, the
elderly and children,” said
Dr. Eric Lamb, Health
Officer. “People who
have asthma or other lung
conditions should follow
their breathing manage-
ment plans. They should
keep medications available
and contact their healthcare
provider if necessary.”
The change in air qual-
ity can affect individuals
differently. The Baker
County Health Depart-
ment reminds you to listen
to your body and take the
following precautions to
avoid breathing problems
or other symptoms when
wildfire smoke is present:
Be aware of the level of
smoke in your area. Avoid
areas with highest concen-
trations. For Baker County
we have one air monitor
located in Baker City.
However, the air quality
can change from location
to location based on sev-
eral conditions including
terrain and weather. These
Submitted Photo.
Of all the brag-worthy hunting photos The Baker
County Press has seen this year, this one tops them
all. Above, Wyn Lohner with a behemoth of a bull
elk harvested in one excellent shot from an off-the-
record location in the Eagle Cap Wilderness this
week.
Ladies golf
and bridge
scores
Below are the scores from The Quail Ridge Ladies Golf
and Bridge Ladies Day for August 2:
Golf Winners: 1st Flight Myrna Evans, 2nd Flight
(None), 3rd Flight Roxanne McAdams
Bridge Winners: 1st Place Marlene Cross, 2nd place
Kathy Eidson, 3rd Place Carol Arnstein
August 9:
Golf Winners: 1st Flight Judy Karstens, 2nd Flight
Kathy Hopkins, 3rd Flight Carol Irvine. Birdies: Linda
Taylor, Judy Karstens.
Bridge Winners: 1st Shirley Dodson, 2nd Carol Arn-
stein, 3rd Linda Triplett.
August 16:
Golf Winners: 1st flight Linda Taylor, 2nd flight Sam-
mye Linzel, 3rd Flight Carol Irvine. Birdies: Sammye
Linzel, Jennifer Godwin, Judy Karstens.
Bridge Winners: 1st Janice Smull, 2nd Kathy Eidson,
3rd Della Steele
9-week Winners:(bridge) 1st Marlene Cross, 2nd Joan
Colton, 3rd Carol Arstein, 4th Della Steele, 5th Martha
Cassidy, 6th Carmen Ott
August 23:
Golf Winners: 1st Flight Linda Taylor, 2nd Flight Sam-
mye Linzel, 3rd Flight Marianne Klinger
Bridge Winners: 1st Della Steele, 2nd Lavelle Raley,
3rd Judy Karstens.
Reduced bag
limit in Snake
River
Bag limits for hatchery summer steelhead were reduced
to one fish per day for the Grande Ronde and Imnaha
Rivers when the season opened on Friday, Sept. 1. In ad-
Submitted Photo. dition, there will be no harvest allowed in the mainstem
How to use the 5-3-1 Visibility Index:
Snake River but catch-and-release will be allowed.
1. Determine the limit of your visual range by looking for distant targets or fa-
Fishery managers decided to reduce the bag limit to
miliar landmarks such as mountains, hills, or buildings at known distances. The
correspond with the historically low Columbia River
visual range is that point at which these targets are no longer visible.
steelhead counts observed in 2017. As of Aug. 28, only
2. Ideally, the viewing of any distant targets should be made with the sun behind 70,000 hatchery and 25,000 wild steelhead had passed
you. Looking into the sun or at an angle increases the ability of sunlight to reflect Bonneville Dam, which is only 30 percent of the most
off of the smoke, thus making the visibility estimate less reliable.
recent 10-year average. The catch-and-release regulations
3. If you are using 24-hr. PM2.5 in addition to the Visibility 5-3-1 Index, use the
in the Snake River mirror those implemented by the state
more conservative of the two metrics found in the figure above.
of Idaho on Aug. 17, which restricted steelhead fishing to
catch-and-release statewide.
Oregon officials expect the reduced bag limits to be
changes might be better
should always use caution
from wildfire smoke. If
temporary, but support a conservative start to the season
or worse than those being
and avoid going outside
smoke is thick for a short
when facing a hatchery and wild steelhead run this low.
reported from the nearest
if visibility is limited, espe- time, people in these sensi- “Despite the poor outlook, our current estimates suggest
air monitor.
cially if you are sensitive
tive groups should stay
enough fish will return to sustain hatchery programs and
Check the current air
to smoke.
indoors.
provide fish for recreational harvest,” said Jeff Yanke,
quality and the latest for
Avoid smoke by stay-
If possible, they can use
ODFW District Fish Biologist in Enterprise. “A one-fish
fires across the state at Or-
ing indoors when smoke
an air filter to clean harm-
limit allows for a small level of harvest, but also prevents
egon Smoke blog at http://
is thickest. If you stay
ful particles from the air.
a situation where anglers are forced to put back an injured
oregonsmoke.blogspot.
indoors, close as many
If smoke is likely to last
hatchery fish.”
com/. Avoid outdoor ac-
windows and doors as
for more than two days,
Managers will hold off on further changes until more
tivities when air quality is
possible.
leaving the area until the
of the steelhead run arrives closer to home. So far, only
unhealthy and hazardous.
However, don’t let your
smoke clears is the best
5 percent of Grande Ronde and Imnaha steelhead have
You can also use the 5-3-1
home overheat. Use a filter way to avoid health prob-
moved upstream of the Columbia River. Yanke expects to
Visibility Index found in
in your heating and cooling lems from smoke.
have a much clearer picture by late October.
the figure below. Making
system that removes fine
Avoid strenuous outdoor
“This is the lowest run we’ve seen in decades, but I’d
visual observations using
particles.
activity when smoke is
encourage anglers not to panic and give up on fishing this
the Visibility Index is a
People with heart or lung heavy. Young children, the year. Coupled with the right river conditions, even in a
simple way to estimate
disease, the elderly and
elderly, and people with
low run year, we can still have a worthwhile steelhead
smoke levels. While this
children are more sensitive heart or lung problems are
fishery,” Yanke added.
method can be useful, you
to serious health effects
especially vulnerable.