Your hometown paper since 1937
Illinois Valley News
Wednesday, December 19, 2018, 1 Section, Volume LXXXI No. 50
$1.00
Published weekly for the residents of the Illinois Valley
Merry Christmas!
French Flat is
1 out of 4
restorations
Anita Savio
IVN Contributing Writer
(Photo by Laura Mancuso, for the Illinois Valley News)
Santa listens intently as a youngster makes her Christmas wish last year. Santa will be at Lorna
Byrne Middle School Cafeteria Saturday, Dec. 22 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. for Cookies and Cocoa
with Santa. This annual event is sponsored by Rotary Club of the Illinois Valley.
City funds park property
By Tina Casey Jones
IVN Contributing Writer
The days leading up to the holidays
make achieving a quorum a challenge, but
Dec. 17 was the last meeting for Daniel
Dalegowski as mayor, and everyone
on the city council was present and
accounted for.
Dan Bosch updated those present
on his progress toward acquiring security
cameras that will be installed along Hwy
199 within the city limits. Rodney Bell
from Cave Junction asked if the city
was planning to put any cameras at the
three local schools, though the council
advised that the cameras (along with the
security lighting and city beautification)
were required to be installed/completed
on the main street in CJ, per the scope
of the Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU). The MOU is derived from Cave
Junction’s share of the proceeds from
the sale of the county building at the
corner of Hwy 199 and Lister Street, and
is specific in how the proceeds may be
spent. Dedicated security cameras for
other locations would have to be funded
through other means. Councilor Jean Ann
Miles suggested that Bell contact Kate
Dwyer, chairwoman of the school
board, regarding camera coverage
at the schools.
Remote controlled (RC) car
enthusiasts will be happy to hear
that Roger Brandt’s request to
move forward with the initial steps
to install an RC car track at Jubilee
Park was approved unanimously
by the council members. The
council requested that Brandt
provide more detail before ground-
breaking of this exciting new
feature at the park.
SEE CITY ON A-5
License and tags are now online
you purchase your new
Christy Solo
IVN Contributing Writer license, you need to verify
Good news for
Oregon anglers and
hunters - getting your
license and/or tags just
got easier. You can
now purchase these
items online via Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s (ODFW)
website.
How easy will it be?
Here are the highlights via
the department’s website:
“ODFW’s new electronic
licensing system (ELS)
will allow customers to
store their licenses, tags
and validations online
on their smartphone or
tablet. Customers can
also choose to carry paper
documents, but will be
able to purchase and print
these documents from
home using regular paper.
The new system will
also allow for electronic
tagging of fish and game
using an app that will
work even when offline.”
Before we give you
the link, let’s go over
some FAQs about the new
licensing system. This
will save you an Excedrin
strength headache and
ensure this new easy
process truly is easy.
Important: before
your existing account in
the system. You can verify
your account online at
MyODFW licensing page,
at a license sales agent or
an ODFW office that sells
licenses.
If you are verifying
online, use the “Look
Up Account” button.
DO NOT verify your
account on the app, you
need to verify through the
MyODFW and licensing
page before entering
username and password
on the app.
Headache avoided.
Who can verify?
Hunters and anglers
who have big game
preference points or other
certifications/statuses
that remain in effect or
have purchased an annual
license within the last
three years (2016-2018)
need to verify their
account as explained
above.
If you haven’t
purchased an annual
license in the past three
years, you can create an
account by clicking the
“I am a new customer or
have not purchased an
annual license in the last
3 years” button. Again, go
to the page before you go
to the app.
Here’s the
link: https://odfw.
huntfishoregon.com/login.
More FAQs on the
new system:
• You will need
an email if you opt for
electronic tags and/or
purchasing online.
• You can still
purchase your license
at your favorite bait and
tackle shop. Most current
vendors have opted to
continue to sell in-store
licenses.
• You can purchase
daily (or multi-day)
licenses via the online
system as well as annual.
• The cost for
licenses and tags is
not changing with the
implementation of the
new system.
• You can only
carry one tag on your
phone, so each family
member must have their
own smartphone to carry
their own license/tag.
Those who do not have
smart phones need to
choose the paper license
option either online or
from a vendor.
Tagging and
mandatory reporting can
be done with the app or
via paper tag. For specific
details for each kind of
tagging and reporting,
visit https://myodfw.
com/articles/odfws-new-
electronic-licensing-
system-els#verify.
(Photo by Christy Solo, Illinois Valley News)
A fisherman on the Rogue near Trail fly fishes
Monday, May 28, 2018.
E vergreen Elementary School’s ‘Letters to Santa’ starts on A-3.
Ask my dog where one of his favorite Illinois Valley
hikes is and he would probably reply, “Woof, woof, French
Flat!”
A 650-acre area comprising both woodlands and
meadows and most easily accessed from Rockydale Road,
French Flat is currently one focus of four restoration projects
being carried out under the auspices of the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM). All four areas have been designated
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs).The other
three areas are Waldo/Takilma, reported upon in a previous
Illinois Valley News story; Rough and Ready Creek; and
Reeves Creek.
According to Bryan Wender, a botanist for BLM
Medford District, French Flat was designated as an ACEC
because it is the stronghold for Cook’s lomatium, a federal
and Oregon-listed endangered plant species.
“We’re obligated to protect it,” said Wender, “and we’re
also obligated to improve its outlook and try to get it off the
endangered species list if we can.”
There are other rare plants as well, and also a rare
butterfly, the coronis fritillary, which Wender said likes the
same “open habitat” that the rare plants like: open meadows,
grasslands, savannahs and open woodlands.
Toward that end, the project also includes a substantial
element of brush cleanup.
Wender remarked, “If we don’t manage those habitats, or
allow them to burn, they get too dense with woody vegetation.
In the past those habitats would have burnt frequently.” The
reclamation project attempts to replicate those conditions,
by manually cutting, piling and burning the undesirable
vegetation.
SEE FRENCH ON A-3
Not into turkey for
Christmas, steelhead
fishing is in full swing
Christy Solo
IVN Contributing Writer
Tired of typical holiday
fare on the table? Then
bundle up, drag out the drift
boat (or hire a guide), hit
one of our area rivers and
you could be the one to
serve up some fresh-caught
steelhead for the holidays.
If you hit the upper Rogue,
you might even bring home
some Coho-ho!
The upper Rogue
drift boats aren’t actually
necessary; there are lots
of places to angle for the
wily steelhead from the
shore. In whatever manor
you get out there, get out
there and know the rules.
Public access is available
at McGregor Park, Casey
Park, and Rogue Elk where
bait is allowed.
Fishing is restricted
to artificial flies and lures
between the Shady Cove
boat ramp and Fishers Ferry.
Bait is allowed between
Shady Cove and Cole
Rivers Hatchery. Most floats
in the upper Rogue have
been from the Hatchery or
Rogue Elk downstream to
Shady Cove.
According to the
Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
Southwest Zone recreation
report for the upper
Rogue, as of Dec. 12,
“2,103 summer steelhead
had entered Cole Rivers
Hatchery, with 157 new for
the week. If past years are
any indication, around half
of the run has yet to enter
the hatchery. For the week,
82 additional coho entered,
bringing the total to 395 for
the year. Anglers should be
aware of their identification.
Only hatchery coho may be
retained, so when in doubt,
release the fish.”
Pickings are a little
slimmer in the Illinois
River, which is open for
trout fishing. As only
hatchery trout may be
retained, fishing will be
primarily catch-and-release
for wild trout.
The middle Rogue
is still good for steelhead.
Running plugs from a drift
boat continues to be good,
but drifting night crawlers
and even throwing blue fox
or mepps spinners have
been producing. Unless
you’re an experienced drift
boater, fishing from public
access points on the shore is
recommended. You can also
catch hatchery trout (release
native) in the middle Rogue
as well.
The bottom line is,
if you’re up to facing the
chilly weather, you can
have yourself a merry little
fishmas on any one of our
area rivers.
(Photo by Christy Solo,
Illinois Valley News)
A couple fishes the
upper Rogue near
Trail, Sunday, Dec. 2.