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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2015)
5A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015 Group claims BLM is breeding special mustangs in Oregon By JEFF BARNARD Associated Press GRANTS PASS — Wild- horse advocates are challeng- ing U.S. Bureau of Land Man- agement plans this summer to round up the famous Kiger and Riddle Mountain mustang herds in eastern Oregon, argu- ing the agency is developing a “master breed” of wild horses exhibiting characteristics of old Spanish bloodlines that are popular with the public, rather than maintaining wild horses in natural conditions, as the law requires. The Colorado-based group Front Range Equine Rescue ¿OHGDQDSSHDORIWKHURXQGXS plan Wednesday with the In- terior Board of Land Appeals. The appeal argues that the BLM returns to the range only horses exhibiting Kiger char- acteristics, effectively breed- ing for those characteristics and depleting the gene pool, endangering the ability of the herds to survive in the wild. “We just believe the Wild Horse Act was intended to protect wild horses in their natural state, not to turn herd management areas into breed- LQJIDFLOLWLHVIRUVSHFL¿FW\SHV of horses,” said attorney Bruce Wagman, who rep- resents the wild horse group. The next roundup is ex- pected in mid-August, with adoptions at the wild horse corrals in Hines in October, the BLM said. Plans call for keeping off the range up to 105 Kigers out of a herd of 141, and 48 Riddle Mountains out of a herd of 73, according to BLM documents. BLM spokesman Jeff Campbell said bureau law- yers were still examining the appeal, but the bureau keeps close track of the herds’ ge- netic diversity, bringing in outside horses to the herd Jamie Francis/The Oregonian via AP, file Kiger Mustangs from the Kiger Management Area near Diamond in southeast Oregon are shown in 2007. Wild horse advocates are challenging U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to round up the famous Kiger and Riddle Mountain mustang herds in eastern Oregon, arguing that the roundup is designed to breed a master race of wild horses exhibit- ing old Spanish bloodlines, violating the intent of the law protecting wild horses. Anthony Dimaano/The Bulletin via AP, File A mustang and her calf run at the Forever Free Mustang refuge near Bend in 2006. have been followed. Some wild-horse advocates also ob- ject to the use of contraceptive to control herd numbers. Wagman said the appeal was not seeking an order im- mediately stopping the gath- er, but they hoped the BLM would hold off until the ap- peal was settled. AP Photo/Don Ryan, file A wild weanling Kiger mustang horse reacts to a nip on the cheek from another horse at the Bureau of Land Man- agement wild horse pen in Hines in 1999. when needed, and returns to the range horses less likely to be adopted. Wagman said the appeal ZDV WKH ¿UVW FKDOOHQJH RI a BLM wild horse round- up based on genetic issues. Other challenges have been based on claims of cruelty and whether environmental laws The BLM has put on hold plans to round up 300 wild horses in Nevada after a federal judge temporarily blocked it earlier this year for fear of harm to the mustangs. The BLM gathers the Ki- ger and Riddle Mountain herds every four years to con- trol their effect on the range. While other wild horse herds rounded up around the West of- ten go begging, the BLM web- site says that nearly every one of the Kiger and Riddle Mountain horses brought in is adopted, some in competitive bidding. Meanwhile, nearly 50,000 wild horses are held by the BLM at a cost of $43 million a year be- cause no one wants them. Located about 50 miles south of Burns, the Kigers are known for being strong com- pact horses that bond closely with people. They come with distinctive markings, such as a stripe down the back, zebra stripes on the lower legs, long FRQWUDVWLQJ PDQHV DQG ¿QH muzzles. The most common colors are dun, but a slate gray known as grulla, and a light buckskin known as claybank, are highly prized. At one auction in 1999, D FOD\EDQN ¿OO\ VROG IRU $19,000. Another served as the model for a 2002 animat- ed movie about wild horses called “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.” “By capitalizing on the fame and desirability of the Kiger Mustang to the detri- ment of other horses presently found in the Kiger and Rid- dle Mountain (herds), BLM is participating in the unlaw- ful commercial exploitation of wild horses that the Wild Horse Act sought to prohibit,” the appeal argues. “By reducing the genetic diversity in the (herds) to only those horses with Kiger Mus- tang characteristics, and then conducting gathers every four years to round up these valu- able Kiger horses to sell them for adoption, BLM effectively creates a breeding facility that injures the wild horses’ sur- YLYDOSRVVLELOLWLHVDQGEHQH¿WV only BLM and private actors desirous of purchasing this ‘breed,”’ the appeal said. Guided hikes on Mount St. Helens offer up-close views By ERIC FLORIP The Columbian WINDY RIDGE, Wash. (AP) — Looking into the crater of Mount St. Helens, it can be GLI¿FXOWWRJUDVSWKHVFDOHRIWKH massive geologic amphitheater. That’s true even from the closest vantage points. Peter Frenzen, the Mount St. Helens monument scientist, helps put things in perspective. Frenzen points out that the older lava dome inside the crater dwarfs Seattle’s Space needle. The volcano’s newer lava dome, formed between 2004 and 2008, reaches higher than the Empire State Building. And the entire mile- wide crater is large enough to en- circle all of downtown Portland. There’s another feature in- side the crater that’s often over- looked in this active volcano. It’s also a relative rarity: a gla- cier that’s growing in size, not shrinking. The Crater Glacier, which forms a ring around both lava domes, continues to slowly lurch northward toward the cra- ter’s mouth. The young ice formation un- derscores the ever-changing na- ture of Mount St. Helens and its surrounding landscape. “The world is not stable. It’s a temporary thing,” Frenzen said. “This is a place where it’s really kind of in your face.” Later this summer, the Mount St. Helens Institute will offer guided hikes featuring up- close views of the glacier and the inside of the crater. The Cra- ter Glacier View Climb takes participants close to the crater rim on the mountain’s north side, a destination no public trail reaches. The institute has offered the guided hike as part of an over- night trip in 2013 and 2014. But WKLVLVWKH¿UVWWLPHSDUWLFLSDQWV can see the Crater Glacier up close on a single-day hike. The cost of the daylong trip — $195 per person — isn’t cheap. But paid excursions such as the Crater Glacier View Climb help pay for other pro- grams and activities the Mount St. Helens Institute offers, said 5D\<XUNHZ\F]WKHQRQSUR¿W¶V director of operations. 7KLUW\¿YH \HDUV DIWHU LWV catastrophic 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens remains a strong hook for people, Yurkewycz said. Providing access to new areas helps gen- erate new interest, he said. It helps teach participants about IF YOU GO • What: Crater Glacier View Climb. • When: Select dates be- tween July 26 and Sept. 12. • Where: The hike begins and ends at Windy Ridge Viewpoint, traveling to and from the Mount St. Helens crater rim. • How much: $195 per person. • More info: Spots can be reserved through the Mount St. Helens Institute online at www.mshinstitute.org Natalie Behring/The Columbian via AP A stream along the way during an uphill hike on Mount St. Helens in Washington June 25. A group of local media were invited to take part in a new hike that later in the summer the Mount St. Helens Institute will offer, guided hikes featuring up-close views of the glacier and the inside of the crater. the volcano and the science behind it. “There’s so many things to talk about and think about while you’re walking,” Yurkewycz said. The Mount St. Helens In- stitute and U.S. Forest Service recently offered a preview of the Crater Glacier View Climb EHIRUHWKLV\HDU¶V¿UVWWULSJRHV out on July 26. The hike The glacier view hike starts and ends at Windy Ridge View- point, northeast of the mountain. The 9-mile round-trip follows sections of the Truman Trail, Windy Trail and Loowit Trail before venturing off trail up to the crater rim. At times, it’s not a gentle stroll. The hike climbs about 1,800 feet to a peak elevation of 5,300 IHHW 7KH ¿QDO DVFHQW UHTXLUHV navigating a loose mixture of ash, pumice and other volca- nic rock on a steep incline. The moon-like terrain sinks and shifts underfoot. Each step feels like two or three. Much of the hike is unshel- tered across a mostly treeless landscape. But the trek includes stellar views — including Mount Adams, Mount Rainier and Mount Hood in the distance ²IURPVWDUWWR¿QLVK As the Truman Trail de- scends from Windy Ridge, the trail follows an old forest road that was used for logging oper- ations and public access before 1980. By the time the hike reaches the Windy Trail, the earthy smell of prairie lupine faintly hangs in WKHDLU7KHVPDOOZLOGÀRZHUKDV Natalie Behring/The Columbian via AP A field of Lupin grows along the way on Mount St. Helens in Washington. taken hold here, particularly on the Pumice Plain directly north of the volcano — the area com- pletely scrubbed clean and bur- ied by the lateral blast of May 18, 1980. “It is a place where nothing survived,” Frenzen said. “It is tru- ly primary succession — ground zero for a new ecosystem.” That’s why scientists have taken such a keen interest in the area, Frenzen said. The eruption created a unique opportunity to see life start over from the begin- ning, he said. A 30,000-acre area mostly north of the mountain is considered the most valuable for research, and public access there is restricted to designated trails. Thriving lupine has already changed the landscape. In full EORRP WKH ÀRZHUV FRYHU WKH plain like streaks of purple paint- ed across an empty canvas. The plants add nutrients to the soil that will pave the way for new life to follow, Yurkewycz said. Eventually, he added, a forest will return. Some trees have already re- turned to the area. A grove of willow trees follows the path of a creek down the north slope of the mountain. The creek is fed by a natural spring near Loowit Trail, creating a welcome oasis of shade and cold, drinkable wa- ter along the hike. From the Loowit Trail, the trek ventures off trail toward WKHFUDWHU7KH¿QDOVWUHWFKJDLQV 1,000 feet of elevation in just half a mile. It ends at the crater’s mouth, next to the Sugar Bowl rock formation. W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Forest Service, which manages the Mount St. Helens Nation- al Volcanic Monument. And North Country EMS will likely accompany many of this year’s trips, Yurkewycz said. Lawetlat’la Mount St. Helens rests in a state of relative slumber for now. But it remains an active volcano less than a decade re- moved from its last eruptive phase that ended in 2008. For many, the mountain is VWLOO GH¿QHG E\ WKH 0D\ EODVWWKDWÀDWWHQHGPLOHVRIIRU- The crater est, darkened skies and killed While the Crater Glacier View 57 people. Mount St. Helens Climb ventures right up to the cra- is now among the most close- ter’s edge, people aren’t allowed ly monitored volcanoes in the into the caldera itself. And for world, Frenzen said. And sci- good reason, Frenzen said. entists know it will erupt again, “The crater is an incredibly he added. dangerous place,” Frenzen said. The volcano’s explosive From the outside looking history started long before in, the area appears rugged but 1980. Native people have long relatively peaceful. The steady recognized that history as part VRXQG RI /RRZLW &UHHN ÀRZ- of the mountain’s identity, said ing through the crater’s mouth Nathan Reynolds, an ecologist with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. stands out. Inside the crater, it’s a differ- The Cowlitz name for Mount St. Helens, Lawetlat’la (“The ent story. Paul Pepper of Yacolt-based 6PRNHU´HYRNHVLWV¿HU\SDVW North Country EMS is among Reynolds said. Mount St. Helens’ cultur- the agency’s Volcano Rescue Team members who have hiked DO VLJQL¿FDQFH WR WKH &RZOLW] and even camped inside the cra- Tribe and the Yakama Nation ter. Pepper described hearing helped it earn special recogni- water rushing under the glacier tion in 2013. The mountain was as he stood on it. Steam vents designated a Traditional Cul- release pressure. Rocks occa- tural Property and listed on the National Register of Historic sionally fall nearby. “It is live in there,” Pepper Places. It’s one of just 23 Tra- ditional Cultural Properties in said. “Everything moves.” The terrain presents a lot of the country, and one of two in challenges for even the most Washington. “As you climb the moun- experienced outdoor enthusi- ast, which is why it would be tain, you enter a place that’s of LQFUHGLEO\ GLI¿FXOW WR UHVFXH stronger spiritual power for the someone who became injured indigenous people,” Reynolds said. or stuck, Pepper said. The same can be true for That’s largely why the Cra- ter Glacier View Climb exists any visitor, Frenzen said. “There’s a whole world out only as a guided trip, Frenzen here that people can connect said. The Mount St. Helens Insti- with and spend time with and tute is allowed to offer the hike form their own relationships under a permit from the U.S. with,” he said. Fre e as Est F ima t t es ll Ca ime yt n A • Residential • Commercial •Cedar Roof Treatments • Interior & Exterior Over 20 years local experience 503-440-2169 Jeff Hale, Contractor LICENSED BONDED INSURED CCB#179131