A3
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019
Tube man waves bye-bye to wolves in s outhern Oregon
A clever tactic
against predators
maintain a human presence
in the pasture.
Still, the wolves would
eventually return, jolting
Birdseye out of bed when-
ever he heard the guard dogs
bark at night.
“Most people don’t real-
ize the amount of stress
and anxiety,” Birdseye said.
“You don’t go back to sleep.”
Suzanne
Stone,
of
Defenders of Wildlife, said
the group has been interested
for years in using infl atable
tube men — also known as
air dancers — as a tool to
prevent confl icts between
wolves and livestock.
Stone said they set up
an infl atable tube man for
the fi rst time last year at a
farm near La Grande, where
wolves had killed several
of the landowner’s pet lla-
mas. Since then, she said the
landowner has had no more
problems with wolves on the
property.
“It’s always struck me
as something wolves would
be particularly skittish of,”
Stone said of the 20-foot-
tall, undulating tube man.
“It’s unpredictable, and very
foreign to them.”
The strategy has been
similarly effective for Bird-
seye at the Mill-Mar Ranch.
Every evening around 8:30
or 9 p.m., he drives out to
the pasture and fi res up the
gas generator that sets the
tube man waving. He also
shines a spotlight from the
ground to give the tube man
its eerie, alien-like glow.
“If I was a wolf and saw
something like that, I’d take
off running in the other
direction,” Birdseye said.
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
BUTTE FALLS — The
display is almost hypnotic,
watching the infl atable tube
man twist and wave at Ted
Birdseye’s ranch bordering
the Rogue River-Siskiyou
National Forest in s outhern
Oregon.
His kids say it looks like
a neon green alien danc-
ing at night. His wife’s
co-worker jokes about the
ranch turning into a used car
lot. But so far, Birdseye said
he is sleeping sound at night
with the tube man standing
guard against wolves that
have repeatedly attacked his
cattle.
Wolves from the nearby
Rogue pack have killed or
injured at least seven calves
and one guard dog in the
last year at the Mill-Mar
Ranch in Jackson County,
frustrating Birdseye and
wildlife managers trying
feverishly to keep the pred-
ators at bay.
Following the most recent
confi rmed depredation on
Jan. 18, Birdseye received
two infl atable tube men —
one green, one yellow — on
loan from the environmental
group Defenders of Wildlife,
which is assisting ranchers
across the state with haz-
ing wolves using non lethal
deterrents.
Wolves remain a feder-
ally protected species in Ore-
gon west of highways 395,
78 and 95. Over the months,
George Plaven/Capital Press
Southern Oregon rancher Ted Birdseye fi res up an infl atable
dancing tube man, loaned by the environmental group
Defenders of Wildlife, used to scare wolves away from the
pasture where he grazes cattle.
Birdseye has tried install-
ing bright fl ashing lights and
hanging fl adry along fences
at the 276-acre ranch. John
Stephenson, Oregon wolf
coordinator for the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, has
even camped overnight to
Ranchers should not
expect tube men to work
in all circumstances, Stone
said. They are mostly effec-
tive in a smaller pastures,
placed within view of the
livestock. As always, she
said the most important
thing producers can do is
to make sure bone piles and
carcasses are cleaned up to
avoid attracting wolves in
the fi rst place.
In Birdseye’s case, Stone
said the tube men are a tem-
porary fi x until they can fi nd
money to install a permanent
electric fence at the ranch.
“This thing is pretty terri-
fying,” she said.
For now, Birdseye said he
is fi nally sleeping through
the night, though the jury is
still out on whether the tube
men will continue to pro-
tect his herd. Though it is
outside the box, he expects
more local ranchers to begin
showing an interest.
“They may be facing the
same issues here shortly,”
Birdseye said.
Consult a
PROFESSIONAL
have a Medicare
Q: I Supplement
plan and my
premium keeps going up.
Can I change companies if I
can find a lower premium?
are three main ways to
A: There
change Medicare Supplement
Steve Putman
Medicare Products
503-440-1076
Licensed in Oregon
and Washington
putmanagency@gmail.com
companies: The first is to apply to any
company you choose at any time of the
year. To do this you would need to answer
the health underwriting questions and
acceptance could be denied based on your
answers. Second you may apply using the
“Oregon Birthday Rule”; there are specific
rules that apply. Third, you can change
using a “Special Election Period” if you
meet certain criteria. If you are considering
changing companies, call me and we can
discuss which option would be best for
you.
like to buy some 2019
Q: I’d
American Silver Eagles.
Do you have them yet?
Improvements for 13th Street Alley fully funded
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
One of Astoria’s only
alleys is on track for a
makeover.
The City Council autho-
rized City Manager Brett
Estes to award a $3,000
Oregon Heritage Commis-
sion grant to the Astoria
Downtown Historic District
Association on Monday. The
money helps fully fund a
project to install murals and
permanent light fi xtures in
the 13th Street Alley, which
runs between Duane Street
and Commercial Street.
The alley has been prob-
lematic in the past. In recent
years, neighboring business
owners reported they have
frequently had to clean up
human waste , activity they
blamed on a group of home-
less people who had been
sleeping nearby. Last sum-
mer, vandals hit the alley,
scrawling a racial slur and
sexually explicit messages
on the walls.
Now, the downtown asso-
ciation plans to commission
a muralist to create custom
artwork for a portion of the
alley walls. The walls will
also be covered with a graf-
fi ti-resistant fi nish.
The downtown associ-
ation plans to send out a
request for proposals and
qualifi cations for interested
artists this winter.
A jury will choose three
to fi ve fi nalists to provide
more detailed information
on the projects they are pro-
posing. All the drawings and
materials will go through
a public comment process
during a Second Saturday
Art Walk.
After the jury choses a
fi nal artist and mural design,
the downtown association
will go to the city for per-
mitting approval, said Sarah
Lu Heath, the executive
director for the downtown
association.
The lighting part of the
project will consist of cafe
lights and LED bulbs. Bogh
Electric has agreed to donate
time to create electrical
hookups for the lights.
With the grant from the
Oregon Heritage Commis-
sion, the downtown associ-
ation has nearly $11,000 to
spend on the beautifi cation
work.
FANTASTIC FINANCING!
0
% interest
60 months
ST
F E B. 1 - M A R. 3 R D
The 2019 American Silver Eagles
A:
(ASE) (Uncirculated) have
arrived. The price per Silver Eagle is
“silver spot” plus
S cott M c C laine
Clatsop
COIN
P.O.B Ox 1294
A stOriA , Or 97103
503.298.3898
www .C lAtsOP C Oin . COm
up
to
TempActiv
COOL to the TOUCH
JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR
DMD, FAGD
2019 Queen iComfort
Mattress Starting at
$
1099
starting at
LOCAL
INSTALLATION
31
$
/per mo.
SERVICE
503/325-0310
1414 MARINE DRIVE,
ASTORIA
www.smileastoria.com
Call Scott at 503-298-3898 for more
information
hormonal changes and a common
side eff ect is sensitive or infl amed
gums. Meticulous oral hygiene
and brushing is very important
during this time to keep gums
healthy and reduce chance of
infection getting into the mothers
bloodstream. Women who take
proper oral hygiene measures and
have a nutritious diet are more
likely to avoid gum problems.
Q: What is a Virtual
Private Network
(VPN) useful for?
LEO FINZI
Astoria’s Best.com
Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-4
Astoria, OR
503-325-2300
About 65
animals seized
8
10TH STREET
ASTORIA
TRANSIT CENTER
By ROSE LUNDY
The Daily News
LONGVIEW, Wash. —
Deputies and animal con-
trol agents seized about 65
neglected animals from a
Puget Island property Mon-
day morning, according
to the Wahkiakum County
Sheriff’s Offi ce.
Raedyn Grasseth, admin-
istrative assistant for the sher-
iff’s offi ce, said the agency in
January received videos and
photos from potential adopt-
ers who witnessed animals in
poor conditions at the Angel
Wings Animal Rescue.
Debra
Lawson-Bean,
owner of Angel Wings, could
not be reached for comment
Tuesday.
The prosecutor’s offi ce
is involved in the ongoing
investigation.
If you would like a “Monster Box” of
500 Silver Eagles,
e body during pregnancy
A: Th
is going through many
PRICE ROLLBACK
Queen
mattresses
-For orders over 100 (full tubes only),
the price will be $3.50 over spot per
ounce;
are more sensitive
and bleed more
easily. Why?
Lowest Prices
of the Year
Valid February 6 - March 4, 2019
-For multiples of 20 ASE (full tubes
only), the price will be $3.75 over spot
per ounce;
that I am
Q: Now
pregnant, my gums
PRESIDENT’S DAY LIMITED TIME SAVINGS
on iComfort ® Mattress Sets *
-For less than 20 ASE (less than a full
tube), the price will be $4.00 over spot
per ounce;
We sell and information.
service Macs
and PCs; all
makes, all For consumers, a VPN keeps your
models.
identity and information private. While
email and banking, etc. communications
are encrypted, that does not mean your
email provider or bank won’t use your
information by selling it to advertisers
or retailers. Many anti-virus companies
offer VPN as an extra add-on service. The
browser Opera offers a free VPN service,
download it at Opera.com.
Check out our 5H Google Reviews!
Q: Will insurance
“Great prices and friendly staff” ~A.K.
“He showed us all the options” ~N.M.
“Great service and in stock” ~D.W.
“We had a great experience” ~A.B.
“I will be back and refer others” ~S.C.
“Our very first brand new mattress” ~K.M.
100s more on Google!
THE SLEEP
YOU NEED
ASTORIA
GUARANTEED
WARRENTON
180 SE Neptune Drive
503-861-6085
CHIROPRACTIC
Located next to Big 5 and Fred Meyer
www.americasmattress.com
HOURS: MON-SAT 10-6
SUNDAY 11-6
With 6 convenient locations NEWPORT | FLORENCE | COOS BAY| LINCOLN CITY | WARRENTON | TILLAMOOK
it connects
A: Professionally
multiple office locations to share
Barry Sears, D.C.
503-325-3311
2935 Marine Drive
Astoria, Oregon
cover
chiropractic
care for
auto-related
injuries?
Most insurance will cover
A: Yes!
chiropractic care without a
referral from your primary care
physician.
Call us today for more information
or to schedule your appointment.
Now accepting new patients.