COUNTY FUNDS
KILLING COYOTES
AND BEARS
Contracts show that Lane County paid thousands of
dollars in 2011 to Wildlife Services, a federal agency that
reports show killed almost 60,000 animals in Oregon over a
10-year period through trapping, snaring and poisons. It is
unclear whether Lane County has signed a new contract
with the agency in the new budget year, according to
Commissioner Pete Sorenson.
Brooks Fahy of Predator Defense and Sorenson turned
up a contract between Lane County Wildlife Control and
Wildlife Services for $14,545. That contract ended June 30.
The county’s Waste Management division signed with
Wildlife Services as well, for $16,000 through Dec. 31. “If
they can afford $16,000, then they can afford to fix the
fence,” Fahy says.
He says he recently went out to the county’s Rattlesnake
Road disposal facility and saw large breaks in the fence.
The facility recently had a trap set to catch a bear. Once a
bear is caught, they are generally killed, Fahy says. He says
fixing the fence and making the area less tempting to bear
would be a better use of county money than trapping and
killing animals. “These dumps are basically bait stations,”
Fahy says. “I want Lane County solid waste to cancel the
contract.” He was unable to find out if a bear had been
trapped and killed.
Sorenson says, “Brooks and I have worked over the
years to eliminate any contract with Wildlife Services,” and
says, “the Lane County Budget Committee eliminated what
I would call ‘generic funding’ for Wildlife Services, but that
may have been renewed in this last budget year.” Sorenson
and Fahy discovered that the Eugene airport has also
contracted with the controversial agency for $10,000 from
July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.
‘Wildlife Services is one of the most
misnamed of all federal agencies — it
sounds like it’s for wildlife when it’s not.’
— Commissioner Pete Sorenson
Gail Gould, a sheep farmer in Pleasant Hill, says there
are predator problems in Lane County. “We have regular
losses to coyotes and cougars,” she reports. “I have lost six
lambs with attack bites on the side or bottom of the neck. I
have several living adult sheep with similar wounds. I am
assuming that the damage is from coyotes.”
Fahy and Predator Defense advocate for and give
advice on nonlethal means of predator control.
Sorenson says Wildlife Services is “something I’m
glad I got rid of; it’s a bit alarming that these contracts
have crept in.” He says, “At the congressional level I’ve
been supportive of [Rep. Peter] DeFazio’s efforts to
eliminate federal funding of Wildlife Services.”
He adds, “Wildlife Services is one of the most
misnamed of all federal agencies — it sounds like it is for
wildlife, when it’s not.”
A recent report by the Sacramento Bee showed that
since 2000, Wildlife Services has accidentally killed more
than 50,000 animals that were not problems — golden and
bald eagles, rare or imperiled species and more than 1,100
dogs. Since 1987, at least 18 employees as well as several
members of the public have been exposed to cyanide when
they triggered spring-loaded cartridges meant to poison
coyotes.
Fahy says that if the public knew more about this,
they’d be outraged.
DeFazio is a cosponsor of the Transparency for Lethal
Control Act (TLC), legislation requiring the USDA to
publish clear and accessible information on animals killed
through Wildlife Services, which was introduced in the
House Aug. 2.
“It shouldn’t be incumbent on government to subsidize
livestock producers,” Fahy says. “If the county is broke,
where does it get the money for this?” Fahy asks.
— Camilla Mortensen
OPPORTUNITY VILLAGE BRINGS IN EXPERTISE
People who are homeless need a legal place to sleep — and
cities benefit from providing that space. That’s the premise of
Opportunity Village Eugene (OVE), which is proposing a
community similar to those in Portland and Seattle.
Portland architect Mark Lakeman will speak at an OVE event
at 7 pm Tuesday, Aug. 14, at the new Unitarian Universalist
Church, 1685 W 13th Ave. Lakeman’s City Repair Project, a
nonprofit that works to transform urban spaces based on
artistic and ecological principles, was influential in the creation
of Dignity Village, the Portland homeless community.
Andrew Heben, an urban planner and designer on the
steering committee for OVE, says there’s a trend right now of
cities coping with homelessness by helping transition homeless
people from existing tent cities to villages. Heben says cities
are starting to recognize that evicting homeless people doesn’t
adequately address the problem of homelessness. “They’ll be
evicted from one site and they’ll move to another site,” he says.
“Finally the city realizes that the problem’s not going to go
away, and they give them a piece of land.”
The OVE steering committee proposed a site near 13th and
Chambers that fits a list of criteria identified in the early
planning stages, Heben says. Among other criteria, it’s close to
bus and bike transportation and surrounded by institutions like
the Unitarian Universalist Church, which could help provide
support. Heben says Portland’s Dignity Village faces challenges
due to its remote location, and moving every three months as
the Seattle village does also creates difficulties. The committee
is still interested in other suggestions that would meet its
criteria for a successful site.
Heben says it’s been frustrating to hear the proposed village
referred to as a camp and compared to the Occupy camps that
hosted a large homeless population last fall. “The Occupy
Eugene camp was pretty anarchistic,” he says. “They couldn’t
exclude anyone from living there.” Creating a
community with community agreements, he says,
means that people who can’t abide by drug,
alcohol and violence-free principles wouldn’t
be allowed to stay. Those who can follow
those rules could be connected to
resources that could help them transition
out of homelessness.
See a video featuring Mark Lakeman
on the EW blog.
— Shannon Finnell
Architect Mark Lakeman
The Willamettans Family Nudist Club,
where all you need to wear is a smile.
OPEN HOUSE, HOT AUGUST, OPEN HOUSE
Here we go again with the fi nal, Hot August Open House of the summer. Saturday
August 11, from 10am to 4pm, we will open our gates to the public for a free
day of fun in the sun. Come out and see our brand new beautiful Tennis/Pickleball
courts that you have to see to believe. If you can’t wait for the 11th to arrive bring
this ad to our offi ce for a free visit so you can get started on removing those tan
lines. Be sure to check our web site for all of the upcoming events.
A Family Nudist Club
Swimming Pool • Tennis Courts • Horseshoes • Camping or Rentals
541-933-2809
willamettans.com
aanr.com • 1-800-TRY-NUDE
6 AUGUST 9, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM