FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
Sumpter hears more about bears Wolf
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH
Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Sumpter City Council
met November 14th with
Mayor Cary Clarke and
Coucil members Samantha
Rowan and Linda Wise in
attendance. Minutes of the
10/10/17 Council meeting
and payment of bills were
unanimously approved.
Fire Dept. Report
Fire Chief Kurt Clarke
expressed his appreciation
for the generous donation
to the Department from the
family of Glen Wullf. He
also thanked everyone who
helped with the Spaghetti
Feed. They had about
20-30 more in attendance
than in the past with profits
at right at around the usual
$1,000.
The second burn pile
day went well; they were
busy all day. On the last
drill day, they changed
antifreeze and did other
maintenance. They also
picked up benches and put
them under the pavilion
one night.
The last month saw
three EMS calls and one
fire call in which Sumpter
was responding as mutual
aid. They were half-
way through town when
advised to stand down as
Powder River said they
could have put out the fire
with a Tonka truck.
Clarke reported attend-
ing the Urban-Wildland
Interface training in La
Grande and said it was a
good class and the infor-
mation quite applicable to
Sumpter.
Planning Report
John Young reported
the Commission held one
meeting. They had one
application that they took
care of. They also worked
a bit on Goal 12 of the
Comprehensive Plan.
Mayor Clarke asked
about progress on the
Evacuation Plan. Young
stated he has been work-
ing on it and will have it
to Council no later than
March.
Bears
Brian Ratliff and Nick
Myatt from the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife (ODFW) ad-
dressed Council and the
audience about Sumpter’s
unusual bear activity this
fall.
Ratliff said reports
started in September. One
bear was on a porch and
stuck its head in when the
homeowner opened the
door. The owner shot the
bear and it ran off. More
reports were received of
bears trying to get into
porch freezers and refrig-
erators, climbing over cars,
and getting into various
things.
Meghan Andersch / The Baker County Press
At left, Brian Ratliff of ODFW talks about Sumpter’s recent bear problem.
ODFW put out some
traps and caught a bear the
24th in the Sawmill Gulch
area. This particular ani-
mal had been in a fridge on
a porch. The owner locked
up the fridge and the frus-
trated bear threw it off the
porch. The bear had to be
euthanized. ODFW kept
running traps in the City
limits and caught two more
bears.
On October 5th, a
bear actually entered a
residence, getting into a
closed porch area with a
door that wasn’t too hard
to open. After leaving the
residence, the bear climbed
all over the owner’s car.
ODFW put out a trap and
caught a bear on the 6th.
It turned out this was the
same bear that had been
shot in the bridge of the
nose a month prior.
Ratliff said ODFW is
not concerned with the
bear that knocks over a
garbage can and keeps go-
ing. A habituated bear is a
concern, however. It will
continue seeking out hu-
man food sources. These
bears cannot be relocated
as there is too much poten-
tial that they could walk
into a camp or another
place and hurt someone.
Ratliff said there have
always been bears around
Sumpter but this was an
exceptional year for bear
sightings. Sometimes,
ODFW is able to address
a specific source that is
drawing bears in. That
was not the case this year.
Ratliff said if a bear tries
to get into a fridge or
freezer and is unsuccessful,
chances are he will ignore
them from that point on. If
the bear tries and succeeds,
all fridges and freezers will
become a target. Ratliff
said he has never seen
a town with more porch
fridges and freezers.
Ratliff suggested the City
communicate with citizens
about simple prevention
measures that can help
head off future problems.
These include putting
garbage out the morning
of pick up, storing fridges,
freezers, and coolers in the
garage if possible, and not
storing pet food outside in
garbage cans. Fruit trees
can be protected with an
electric fence. He recom-
mended the site bearsmart.
com for more practical
information.
City Recorder Julie
McKinney asked why the
only bears trapped were
males. Ratliff said he did
not know. He would have
expected to catch some
younger females, but did
not.
Myatt said there has
been an exceptional bear
problem all over Northeast
Oregon and it would be
interesting to look at the
trends of males versus
females.
Kurt Clarke asked if
the bear population of
Eastern Oregon is grow-
ing and what the estimated
population is in a 10-mile
radius of town. Myatt
stated the population is
static, but robust. It’s hard
to get a good count of the
bear population. Ratliff
explained the process and
challenges of marking
bears.
Ratliff said if Sumpter
works on it now and can
get a 60% response rate
from citizens, he thinks the
issue can be nipped in the
bud. Though, “I’m sure
you will have bears every
few bears and occasionally
we will have to come in
and deal with them.”
Young asked about
wolves in the area. Ratliff
that said he wouldn’t be
surprised and that they are
really good at covering
country. He mentioned a
lone male wolf hanging
out in the North Fork of
the John Day wilderness
area who was collared.
He traveled to the Bridge
Creek wildlife area, and
recently made a big swing
by Anthony Lakes, back
by Crane Creek and then
back to Bridge Creek. The
winter before last, a group
of collared wolves moved
through Auburn. Ratliff
said they could be any-
where. He likes to keep
track of them, and encour-
aged anyone to call with
reports of wolf sightings.
The field office number is
541-523-5832.
Baker County Nui-
sance Ordinance Review
Council agreed to review
Baker County’s new nui-
sance ordinance, revised to
have “more teeth” and dis-
cuss it at the next Council
meeting.
Resolution 345: Move
Budget Capacity to pur-
chase Fire Tender
McKinney read the
resolution to move bud-
get capacity within the
2017/2018 general fund to
accommodate purchase of
a tender from Powder Riv-
er Rural Fire Department,
as approved by Council on
8/8, and to allow utilization
of donations for purchas-
ing large equipment to
this purchase. Movement
within the fund does not
increase or decrease total
funds. Council unani-
mously approved adoption
of the resolution.
Public Input
Young presented
Council a letter from the
Sumpter Volunteers, who
are putting together this
year’s Christmas celebra-
tion. They are planning
to use the regular parade
route and intend to honor
Glen Wullf. Young said he
was a parade regular and
when he showed up they
knew it was dark enough
to start. Council unani-
mously approved holding
the parade. It will take
place December 9, along
with the Christmas train
and bazaar.
BMTD describes outages
TV channels operated by
the Blue Mountain Transla-
tor District are undergoing
a re-tuning process in order
to vacate the 600 Mhz
frequency as a result of the
Federal Communication
Commission’s March 2017
Incentive Auction. Viewers
in Baker and Union Coun-
ties should expect irregu-
lar disruptions in service
until November 27 when
the District is scheduled
to complete our channel
re-tuning operations. For
more information, please
contact the District at
541-963-0196 or bmtd.
org@gmail.com .
Call goes out to local artists
Crossroads Carnegie Art
Center February Open Re-
gional Show titled, “Places
of the Heart” call to artists.
This year’s Open show
has been moved from
April to February due to
other show commitments
and Crossroads is taking
advantage of the situation!
Places of the Heart... not
necessarily a place, but
perhaps somewhere or
something for which you
feel a deep affection for
or connection with; which
can be a place or person
you love, or something you
love to do. Something or
somewhere that gives you
calm, calls to your heart,
gives you peace, allows
you to be you, to breath...
where we feel alive and
love.
Accepting artwork:
Monday, January 29,
2018 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Show opens: Friday,
February 2, 2018 5:30-8:00
p.m.
There will be a “People’s
Choice” award of $100
to be selected during the
opening reception.
For show details see the
Crossroads website page,
look under quick forms
link for “Places of the
Heart - Feb 2018”
“The hunter, a 38-year-old male, from Clackamas,
told the trooper he had been hunting elk alone, when he
repeatedly noticed some type of animal moving around
him. A short time later, the hunter observed three of what
he assumed would be coyotes. He said at one point one
of them began to run directly at him, while another made
its way around him.
“The hunter stated he focused on the one running
directly at him. He began to scream at it, and, fearing for
his life, shot it one time. He said what he still believed
to be a coyote died from the single shot. He stated that,
after the shot, the other two disappeared out of sight.
“The hunter said he returned to his camp, and told
fellow hunters what had occurred. He said he was still
uncertain if what he shot was a coyote. He said they re-
turned to the location, and came to the conclusion it was a
wolf. The hunter then notified ODFW and OSP.
“Further investigation at the site of the shooting
indicated the hunter was 27 yards from where he shot,
and where the wolf died. The wolf was seized, and later
released to ODFW for examination. The Union County
District Attorney’s Office was consulted regarding the
investigation, and based upon the available evidence, the
case will not be prosecuted, as this is believed to be an
incidence of self-defense.
“It is unlawful to kill a wolf in Oregon, except in
defense of human life (and in certain instances involving
wolf depredation of livestock).
“According to ODFW, this incident marks the first
time that a wolf has been reported shot in self-defense in
Oregon since they began returning to the state in the late
1990s.
“ODFW examined the wolf shot, and determined it
was an 83-pound female associated with the OR30 pair
of wolves occupying the Starkey and Ukiah WMUs
in northeast Oregon (Union and Umatilla Counties).
Initial examination does not indicate that the wolf was a
breeding female, but the wolf’s DNA will be analyzed to
confirm this.
“’Dangerous encounters between wolves and people are
rare, as are such encounters between people and cougars,
bears and coyotes,’ said Roblyn Brown, ODFW Act-
ing Wolf Coordinator. ‘They will usually avoid hunters,
and leave the area when they see, hear, or smell people
close by. If you see a wolf or any other animal, and are
concerned about your safety, make sure it knows you are
nearby, by talking or yelling, to alert it to your presence.
If you are carrying a firearm, you can fire a warning shot
into the ground.’”
According to ODFW, wolves weren’t “reintroduced” to
Oregon, but the ones currently here migrated from Idaho,
or were born here. “Wolves were captured in Canada and
released in central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park
in the mid-19901, but they were not released in Or-
egon. State wildlife managers have not captured wolves
elsewhere and released them in Oregon, and there are no
plans to do so,” according to ODFW information.
In an email to The Baker County Press, on Wednes-
day, November 8, Oregon Wild Executive Director
Sean Stevens said that Oregon Wild did receive the OSP
report, case number SP17-393843, and several photos of
the skinned wolf carcass from other sources, including
KGW News (NBC, Channel 8). Since that time, Oregon
Wild has received the same information from OSP, plus
the OSP dash cam video (the body cam video had been
redacted at that time, Stevens said).
Stevens said, “The photos of the exit and entry wounds
do not seem to match up with the OSP report and the
interview with the hunter. We are simply asking that the
OSP reopen this case, and do a better job of explaining
this discrepancy to the Oregon public.”
According to Stevens, after the incident on Friday,
October 27, ODFW obtained the carcass, skinned it on
Monday, October 30, disposed of it, on Wednesday, No-
vember 1, and OSP and ODFW issued the press releases
on Thursday, November 2.
He said, “Somewhere in that timeline, the Union Coun-
ty DA declined to bring charges. We have made a request
to the DA to get more information on the investigation
from the prosecutor’s perspective, including the timeline.
Other than the police report, it seems that OSP is remain-
ing mum, despite the fact that the west’s preeminent wolf
biologist is calling into question their version of events,
based on photographic evidence.”
The wolf biologist referenced in the email, and in the
letter to the Governor’s Office, from Stevens and mem-
bers of the other organizations, on Thursday, November
9, is retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Biologist Carter Niemeyer, who lives in Boise, Idaho, and
who questioned the elk hunter’s version of events, in an
article by Eric Mortenson (the reference was to Morten-
son’s article on the subject for the Capital Press, on No-
vember 6, 2017. A duplicate of this article also appears
for the East Oregonian, on the same date).
The letter stated, “We are writing to request that
you direct the Oregon State Police...to reopen its
investigation...A public records act request has revealed
photographic evidence that directly contradicts OSP’s
official report of the incident. Therefore, we also request
that the investigation be conducted with independent
oversight from the Office of the Attorney General, and
that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife...be di-
rected to fully cooperate...A failure to hold OSP account-
able in this case could set a dangerous precedent, and
send a message that Oregon will look the other way when
it comes to illegally killing wolves and other wildlife...”
Niemeyer’s argument is based on his experience with
observations of general wolf behavior, and how he
interpreted the photographic evidence, though he wasn’t
involved in the investigation.
SEE WOLF
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