FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2018
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Outdoor Rec / Local
More to the beaver story ...
but he didn’t
locate any
projectile.
He said
he could
tell that a
projectile of
some sort
had entered
the rear of
the skull, and
exited out
the front, but
a distinction
between an
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
air rifl e pellet
and a rimfi re
By Todd Arriola
or centerfi re
I wrote an article in the
rifl e bullet
Friday, December 22, 2017 couldn’t be made with
issue of The Baker County
just that evidence. (Risley
Press, about a beaver that
stated to Baker City Police
had been trapped at some
(BCPD) offi cers that he’d
point, had somehow freed
used an air rifl e, and he
itself with the trap still
showed them the rifl e. The
attached to a hind leg, and
BCPD didn’t charge Risley
had been put out of its mis- with any violation).
ery with an air rifl e, near
Echoing Oregon Depart-
Charles Risley’s property
ment of Fish and Wildlife
on Kirkway Drive, directly (ODFW) District Biologist
east of the Powder River.
Brian Ratliff’s assessment
However, one mystery re-
of the beaver at the scene,
mained: who’d trapped the Cyr said, “That beaver
beaver in the fi rst place?
had gangrene, so, that trap
In an attempt to fi nd an
had been on there for quite
answer to that question,
some time. It was in a
I spoke to Oregon State
condition where, had I re-
Police (OSP) Wildlife
sponded to it, I would have
Trooper Sergeant Isaac
shot it myself, for humane
Cyr, of the Baker City OSP reasons. Had he not shot
offi ce, at the intersection of it, we would have, because
10th Street and Pocahontas it needed to be put down.”
Road.
Cyr didn’t fi nd any vio-
Cyr wasn’t involved with lations, from a wildlife law
the initial response, but he
standpoint.
was called in to determine
Cyr showed me the trap
whether there were any
itself, a solid-looking steel,
State wildlife violations.
coil spring model, with
As part of Cyr’s inves-
a jaw that has a spread,
tigation, he performed a
or inside diameter, of 6.5
necropsy (autopsy) on the
inches (a No. 4 size) when
beaver, and ran a metal
set, manufactured by the
detector over the carcass,
Duke Company, of West
Point, Mississippi.
Cyr had to remove
enough rust with a wire
wheel grinder in order to
reveal that information
during the investigation,
but he couldn’t fi nd any
form of identifi cation, such
as a unique brand number,
which is issued by ODFW,
to each properly licensed
trapper.
The reason the beaver
had been able to escape
with the trap to begin with
became obvious, once Cyr
showed me the chain—a
dog leash-type spring load-
ed metal clip was attached
to the end of it, which
meant that the trap chain
could have been pulled
loose from its anchor point
without much diffi culty.
Cyr said, “To me, some-
one who knew what they
were doing with trapping
would never use something
like that.”
In order to legally use
the trap itself, Cyr said,
and according to ODFW
regulations,for a trap of
this size, there needs to be
a space between the jaw,
when the trap is sprung, of
at least 3/16 of an inch.
The trap doesn’t have
that spacing, but he said
that the general remedy
for a trap of this type is
to weld a bead on either
side of the jaw, creating
that spacing (the spac-
ing is required in case a
bird springs the trap, for
example, instead of the
intended target, and it can
free its leg, or legs).
Regardless, Cyr said,
trapping isn’t normally
allowed within City limits
anyway, let alone using
that type of trap (while Cyr
said he thinks the trap was
set within City limits, and
he’s seen traps set along
the river, there was no way
to determine the original
location, and the investiga-
tion didn’t associate Risley
with the trap).
A cage type trap, meant
to capture the animal alive,
would be authorized, with
the proper permission and
permit from ODFW.
Cyr said that Risley
had issues in the past with
damage to his property
from beavers, and at that
time, he did have a permit
from ODFW to address
that issue, along with a
cage trap.
Chief Wyn Lohner
forwarded the BCPD
report to District Attorney
Matt Shirtcliff for further
review, since, according to
Lohner, the only potential
charge probably would
have been Recklessly En-
dangering—the Leo Adler
Memorial Pathway sits
to the west of the Powder
River, across from Risley’s
property at that location,
with a 60-acre farm fi eld,
owned by Charlotte Ward,
to the west of that.
Shirtcliff said, consider-
ing all of the evidence,
“We reviewed it, and de-
termined no charges would
be fi led.”
A fi tting end to an inter-
esting scenario, though the
mystery still remains of
who originally set the trap,
and where.
Whatever the case, there
usually is more to every
story ...
BLM’s wild horse gather ahead
As part of the Bureau
of Land Management’s
commitment to keeping
public landscapes healthy
and productive, the Vale
District announced plans to
conduct a helicopter gather
of wild horses within the
Cold Springs and Hog
Creek Herd Management
Areas beginning in Janu-
ary/February 2018.
The Cold Springs HMA
is located approximately
45 miles southwest of Vale,
Ore., 25 miles southwest of
Harper, Ore., and 45 miles
southeast of Juntura, Ore.,
in Malheur County.
The Appropriate Man-
agement Level (AML)
– the number of horses the
range can sustainably sup-
port in conjunction with
other animals and resource
uses – is 75 to 150 horses
for this area. The current
population is over 175.
The Hog Creek HMA is
located approximately 20
miles west of Vale, Ore.,
and fi ve miles west of
the town of Harper, Ore.,
in Malheur County. The
AML for this area is 30 to
50 horses and the current
population is over 60.
Heavy to severe wild
horse grazing jeopardizes
the health of rangelands,
wetlands, wildlife habi-
tats, and ultimately animal
health and condition.
Both gathers will reduce
the wild horse popula-
tion to levels within AML
and immediately reduce
resource impacts.
Each gather will likely
last less than one week,
though exact start and end
dates will be determined
by the weather and con-
tractor’s availability. BLM
will host public viewing
days during the helicopter
gathers.
The public is welcome
to attend the gathers and
must read the Field Obser-
vation Protocol informa-
tion before visiting. Ob-
servation will be held daily
during the gathers, with a
maximum number of 15
people attending each day.
If you are interested in
observing the gathers, you
must contact Larisa Bogar-
dus at the BLM Lakeview
District Offi ce, (541) 947-
6237 or lbogardus@blm.
gov, to have your name
added to the viewing list.
Observation will be
offered on a fi rst-come
fi rst-served basis for each
day of the gathers. Ob-
servers must personally
check in with the BLM
offi cial at the meeting site
(Vale District BLM Offi ce
–100 Oregon St. Vale, OR
97918) to be considered.
Observers will be led
by caravan to and from
the gather site by BLM
employees. Personal, high
clearance, 4-wheel drive
vehicles are REQUIRED.
If you do not have ad-
equate transportation to the
observation area, you may
attempt to carpool with
other observers (at their
discretion), but this option
is not guaranteed.
Access to and distance
from the capture site loca-
tion will be determined
jointly by the contractor
and the BLM’s Contracting
Offi cer’s Representative
prior to gather operations.
Safety of the horses, crew
and public, is our top prior-
ity.
Viewing opportunities
and gather reports will
be shared here: https://
www.blm.gov/programs/
wild-horse-and-burro/
herd-management/gathers-
and-removals/oregon-
washington.
The supporting planning
documents for the Cold
Springs and Hog Creek
gathers are available on
BLM’s ePlanning website
at: https://eplanning.blm.
gov/epl-front-offi ce/eplan-
ning/nepa/nepa_register.do
Animals selected for re-
moval from the range will
be transported to Oregon’s
Wild Horse Corral Facility
in Hines to be prepared for
adoption.
For viewing, the pub-
lic may visit the Corral
Facility anytime between
regular business hours,
Monday through Friday,
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Two arrested after cutting forest products
On January 5th, 2018,
Baker County 911 received
a transferred call from
Union County regarding
possible stranded/overdue
family members. Darrell
Adams initially reported
his 22 year old son, Alex
Adams and his 26 year old
cousin, Levi Logsdon, had
gone to the Pondosa hot
springs and not returned.
Darrell added he had
spoken to the two, and
they were near a sign that
indicated they were 9 miles
up Big Creek Road off of
Highway 203. Darrell ad-
vised the two had been at
the location for a couple of
days. It was also Logsdon
frequents this location,
and had been called in the
previous month to Union
County as an overdue
motorist. Union County ac-
tivated Search and Rescue
and located Logsdon, who
turned down any assis-
tance. A deputy contacted
Darrell Adams and advised
resources would be de-
ployed in the morning.
On the morning of Janu-
ary 6th, 2018, a Deputy
from the Baker County
Sheriff’s Offi ce, along
with law enforcement from
the U.S. Forest Service,
conducted a search of the
area as described by Dar-
rell Adams. At one point
during the search, investi-
gators came across Darrell,
who was also searching.
They were unable to locate
either Alex or Levi.
On the morning of Janu-
ary 7th, 2018, personnel
from the Baker County
Sheriff’s Offi ce again de-
ployed to the area and be-
gan searching for the two
men. During the course of
the search, Levi Logsdon’s
truck and an associated
trailer were located. Both
the truck and trailer were
loaded with several cords
of freshly cut fi rewood.
At the location of the
vehicles was also a small
warming fi re, which was
still burning. In the early
afternoon hours, both Alex
Adams and Levi Logsdon
(along with Logsdon’s four
dogs), where located in
the woods (by following
their tracks in the snow),
paralleling the main ser-
vice road. Both men were
eventually arrested. Alex
Adams was arrested by the
Baker County Sheriff’s
Offi ce and charged with a
Probation Violation. Levi
Logsdon was arrested by
the United States Forest
Service and was charged
with Unlawful Cutting/
Transporting of Special
Forest Products.
Buck taken
illegally
Submitted Photo.
This buck was poached in Umatilla County.
After a lengthy investigation involving Troopers of the
Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish & Wildlife Division in
Pendleton, a Pendleton area man was arrested on Janu-
ary 6, 2018 for multiple misdemeanor charges related to
the illegal taking of wildlife on private and public lands
within Umatilla County.
In September of 2017 an OSP Fish & Wildlife Trooper
received information about alleged illegal hunting activi-
ties. As the investigation progressed, the primary suspect
was identifi ed as Joseph Reide St. Pierre, age 18, from
Pendleton, who was alleged to be illegally Hunting,
Taking, and Wasting Wildlife on both Public and Private
Properties in Umatilla County.
Information obtained during the investigation alleged
that St. Pierre was involved in the Unlawful Taking of
Wildlife as far back as the fall of 2016, to include a large
mule deer buck, 3 large whitetail bucks, and two antler-
less elk.
On Saturday January 6th, 2018 St. Pierre was lodged at
the Umatilla County jail for probable cause and arraigned
on Monday January 8, 2018 for the following charges;
• Unlawful Take of Buck Deer Closed Season-4 counts
• Unlawful Waste of Game animal-2 counts
• Hunting on the Cultivated Lands of Another- 3 counts
• Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm Across a Public Way
-2counts
• Hunting prohibited method: Shotgun with shot restric-
tions- 1 count
• Unlawful Take of Antlerless Elk -- 2 counts
• Exceeding Annual Bag Limit Elk- 1 Count
• Criminal Trespass In The Second Degree-1 counts
• Criminal Trespass While in Possession of a Firearm-1
count
• Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm from a Motor Ve-
hicle-1 count
•Hunting with the Assistance of Artifi cial light- 1-count
• Assisting of Aiding another in committing wildlife vio-
lation, Unlawful Taking of Buck Deer-2 counts
Anyone with information related to this investigation is
asked to call the Turn-in-Poacher TIP hotline at 1-800-
452-7888 or contact Trooper Tom Juzeler or Senior
Trooper Ryan Sharp at the Pendleton offi ce of the Oregon
State Police 541-278-4090.
Information on the T.I.P. Reward Program:
The Oregon Hunters Association offers rewards to per-
sons, through their T.I.P. fund, for information leading to
the issuance of a citation to a person(s), or an arrest made
of a person(s) for illegal possession, killing, or taking of
bighorn sheep, mountain goat, moose, elk, deer, antelope,
bear, cougar, wolf, furbearers and/or upland game birds
and water fowl. T.I.P. rewards can also be paid for the
illegal taking, netting, snagging, and/or dynamiting of
game fi sh, and/or shell fi sh, and for the destruction of
habitat.
In addition rewards may be paid for information leading
to the issuance of a citation to a person(s), or an arrest
made of a person(s) who have illegally obtained Oregon
hunting/angling license or tags. People who “work” the
system and falsely apply for resident license or tags are
not legally hunting or angling and are considered poach-
ers.
Rewards:
Bighorn sheep, mountain goat, moose $1000 ; Elk,
deer, antelope $500; Bear, cougar, wolf $300; Habitat
destruction $300; Illegally obtaining Oregon hunting or
angling license or tags $200; Game fi sh, shellfi sh $100;
Upland birds, waterfowl $100; Furbearers $100.
New car fees in effect
New Oregon vehicle registration, title and trip permit
fees took effect Jan. 1, 2018, providing funding for a
major investment in the state’s transportation system.
Oregon residents with vehicle tags expiring on or after
Jan. 1 are already seeing new registration fees in their
renewal reminders. The fee for a two-year passenger
vehicle registration renewal – DMV’s most common
vehicle transaction – increased from $86 to $112.
In addition to this vehicle registration fee increase, the
package is funded by increases in other transportation-
related fees that take effect Jan. 1, 2018. These include
increases on motor fuel taxes and fees for title transfers
and commercial motor vehicles. The new law created a
0.5 percent privilege tax on new vehicle purchases, which
will be collected by the Oregon Department of Revenue.
The law also includes a $15 fee on new adult bicycles
that cost $200 or more.