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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2015)
VIEWPOINTS Saturday, August 29, 2015 Quick takes Shasta Baney Maybe I have too much humanity, yes they are in jail. But should not be on concrete ÀRRUVRUZLWKRXWPHGLFDO'RQ¶WWKLQNWKH\ need any luxury but basic humane treatment is a must. Glenda Jones If we can send young men to war, we should take care of old men when they come back damaged to hell. Not throw them behind bars and deny them basic needs. Jairod Collins Suffer in silence. You broke the law, you pay the price. Believe me those conditions listed are WAY better than my current environment. Matt Hodge Targeting young tourists I could be wrong but I wasn’t aware that hipsters had an interest in equine activities or delighted in watching wheat grow on a ranch outside of town. Jerry Cronin If you really want young people from Seattle to come and visit Pendleton stop calling them hipsters. Dave Arkless One of the great lessons of the Twitter age is that much can be summed up in just a few words. Here are some of this week’s takes. Tweet yours @Tim_Trainor or email editor@eastoregonian. com, and keep them to 140 characters. Page 5A Fire’s nature has dramatically changed Letter from jail Bummer....being in jail is to punish you of your crimes not meant to be like “life on the outside” maybe since you hate it so very much you won’t come back. East Oregonian By MIKE BENEFIELD Writers on the Range I t’s time to move irrigation pipe. It’s one of those things you have to do when you have a certain amount of land and enough water to irrigate it. My knees hurt as I walk each piece of pipe over to the next dry spot. Here in central Oregon, it’s always a race with evaporation. The sun beats down hot as I hear that familiar sound RYHUKHDGLW¶VD'&DLU WDQNHUÀ\LQJWRDQRWKHU ZLOG¿UH I didn’t always spend my summers moving irrigation pipe. I was a city kid growing up on the beaches of Southern &DOLIRUQLDXQWLO,WXUQHG DQGVWDUWHG¿JKWLQJ ZLOG¿UHV$WP\ZLIHDQG,ORDGHGXS all our possessions in a Volkswagen bus and PRYHGWRQRUWKFHQWUDO:DVKLQJWRQ ,WZDVDQGDQHZZRUOGOD\ before us. We had both ended up working for the Forest Service. We rented an old, ¿YHEHGURRPIDUPKRXVHRQWKHEDQNVRI the Entiat River for $185 a month. It was surrounded by massive black walnut trees DQGKHDWHGE\DZRRGVWRYH,ZDV¿JKWLQJ ¿UHLQWKHVXPPHUDQGGRLQJZKDWHYHU, could do in the winter to survive until the next summer. Some winters, I’d work at the local salmon hatchery. As the years passed, ,ZRUNHGDVD¿UHORRNRXWDQGVHUYHGDVD ¿UHSUHYHQWLRQWHFKQLFLDQZKLOHJDLQLQJ PRUH¿UHH[SHULHQFHRQKRWVKRWKHOLWDFN engine and fuels crews. $VWKH¿UHVHDVRQVJUHZORQJHU,EHJDQ to work in strange places like Alaska, Kentucky and Georgia, and at increasingly high elevations in the Rocky Mountains. 7KHQP\RZQ(QWLDW5DQJHU'LVWULFWRQ the Wenatchee National Forest began to EXUQ²DVLILWZHUHRQHODUJHZLOG¿UH jigsaw puzzle into which Mother Nature interlocked one blazing mosaic into another, year after year. I fought epic ZLOG¿UHVLQ<HOORZVWRQH WKH&HQWUDO5RFNLHVRI &RORUDGRWKHFKDSDUUDORI 6RXWKHUQ&DOLIRUQLDWKH deserts of the Great Basin and the Southwest. I was even sent to the eucalyptus IRUHVWVRI$XVWUDOLDWR¿JKW ZLOG¿UH 2YHUD\HDU ¿UH¿JKWLQJFDUHHU,KDGD IURQWURZVHDWIURPZKLFK to watch the changing climate, the encroachment of invasive species and the movement of people out into the urban interface. Those hard years included the terrible loss of IHOORZ¿UH¿JKWHUVZKRHQGHGXSLQWKH wrong place at the wrong time. I can remember the times when I found myself in those wrong places. Like &DOLIRUQLD¶V3RQGRVD)LUHLQZKHQ my engine company was nearly overrun E\ÀDPHIURQWVFRPLQJDWXVIURPGLIIHUHQW directions. The loads of retardants dropped directly on us saved us that time, but not before we had seared the paint off the doors RIRXUHQJLQHDQGUHFHLYHG¿UVWGHJUHH burns to our faces and arms. Then there was the Tyee Fire on the Wenatchee, where I found myself stuck on a bad road in thick VPRNHDWPLGVORSHZLWK¿UHPRYLQJXS from below. Unable to back down, I crept Those hard years included the terrible loss of fellow firefighters who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. forward until I found clear air. I took a long, smoky, tortuous route out of there, moving through through a blackened forest of falling rocks and smoking snags that fell constantly without warning. /LNHPRVWFDUHHUZLOGODQG¿UH¿JKWHUV I relocated often. The small towns that were once quaint (and affordable) logging towns when I arrived became trendy tourist PHFFDVZLWKVN\KLJKUHQWV I lived in many places throughout the West. From Entiat to Roseburg to Prineville to Burns — all in Oregon — until I landed in Moab, Utah, where I served in the Bureau of Land Management as the district ¿UHPDQDJHPHQWRI¿FHU0RYLQJDQG ¿UH¿JKWLQJFDQEHKDUGRQIDPLOLHV,WZDV on mine. But overall, it was an amazing ride, in which I saw the best and the worst of people and situations. Always, the work was challenging. The landscape in which I served was as inspirational as it was beautiful. I have lived the dream and then some. The noisy old air tanker rumbles off into the Western sky, just to the right of Black Butte. I watch it as it disappears behind Mount Washington. My mind wanders back to a ¿UHOLQHLQP\SDVWZKHQ,ZDWFKHGDQDLU tanker drop its load right on the mark. Soon LWZLOOEHUHSODFHGE\MHWSRZHUHGDLUFUDIW, lock the last piece of pipe into the hand line and crack open the valve. The water begins WRÀRZDQGP\EDWWOHZLWKHYDSRUDWLRQ FRQWLQXHV/LNH¿JKWLQJZLOG¿UHVLQWKH West, it’s a job that requires determination — and good knees. Ŷ 0LNH%HQH¿HOGLVDFRQWULEXWRUWR:ULWHUV on the Range, an op-ed service of High Country News. He lives in Terrebonne, Oregon. Planning ahead saves a city heartache down the line I Changing climate a major FDXVHRIZLOG¿UHV Perhaps our best hope lies with thinning. It can be used to mimic t now seems as if the entire Northwest SUHVHWWOHPHQW¿UHE\UHPRYLQJWKHVPDOO LVRQ¿UHZLWKKRPHVEHLQJGHVWUR\HG WUHHVWKDW¿UHZRXOGKDYHNLOOHG7KLV and air quality at unhealthy levels. DYRLGVVHYHUH¿UHVE\HOLPLQDWLQJ³ODGGHU $OWKRXJKWKHUHDUHPDQ\UHDVRQVIRU¿UHV fuel” — small understory trees that act warm weather and drought are certainly OLNHDODGGHUE\FDUU\LQJ¿UHIURPWKH important ones. And recent trends ground to the tree tops, where it then races showing reduced rainfall and declining from one tree to another. mountain snowpack will be repeated if After thinning an area, it could then be Eastern Oregon’s drought continues into WUHDWHGZLWKSUHVFULEHG¿UH,WLVLPSRUWDQW the future. WRDSSO\SUHVFULEHG¿UHLQDVDIHDQG In February and March of this year, controlled manner, because it recycles the Eastern Oregon Forum presented nutrients and removes the small fuels a series of talks about how the climate WKDWFRQWULEXWHWRVHYHUHZLOG¿UHV0DQ\ of northeastern Oregon is changing, of our forests now contain so much fuel including possible impacts of climate WKDWDODWHVXPPHUZLOG¿UHLVQRWDVDIH FKDQJHRQDJULFXOWXUH¿VKHULHVIRUHVWU\ experience, either for the forest or the human health, water resources and ¿UH¿JKWHUVWDVNHGZLWKVXSSUHVVLQJLW ZLOGOLIH7KLVRSHGGHVFULEHVRSWLRQVIRU What can be done to help forests, and responding to climate change effects on ¿UH¿JKWHUVGHDOZLWKDFOLPDWHFKDQJHG forests. IXWXUHZKHUHZLOG¿UHPD\EXUQXSWR Obviously, we can’t control the VL[WLPHVPRUHDUHDWKDQLWGRHVQRZ" weather. But we can take actions to better Although many different approaches prepare our forests for increasing levels of could be used, here are six strategies I ZLOG¿UHLQVHFWVDQGGLVHDVHVDOORIZKLFK recommend: are related to changing climate conditions. Resistance. Let’s help our existing It is important to take these actions soon. IRUHVWVUHVLVWWKHHIIHFWVRIIXWXUH¿UHVDQG Fires are predicted to burn up to six times LQVHFWRXWEUHDNV$IXHOFKRNHGIRUHVW more acreage, each year, in the Blue thick with small trees has little resistance Mountains by the middle of this century WR¿UH/HW¶VWKLQWKHVHIRUHVWVEHFDXVH than was burned annually between 1950 widely spaced trees can, and will, survive and 2003. DODWHVXPPHUZLOG¿UH$QGDIWHUZHWKLQ Much of the Blue Mountains are meant OHW¶VDSSO\SUHVFULEHG¿UHZKHQLWLVVDIH to burn, and most of our native plants WRGRVREHFDXVHLWUHPRYHV¿QHIXHOVDQG DUHDGDSWHGWR¿UHDVSDUWRIWKHLUOLIH UHGXFHV¿UHULVNIRU\HDUVRUPRUH cycle. Prior to settlement by European Resilience. Thinning helps our existing emigrants, dry forests at low elevations IRUHVWVUHVLVWZLOG¿UHLQWKHVKRUWWHUP EXUQHGHYHU\WR\HDUV7KHVH¿UHV But how should we create resilient forests PRYHGVZLIWO\DFURVVWKHIRUHVWÀRRU IRUWKHORQJWHUP"$IWHUWKLQQLQJWR killing few large trees but consuming increase the distance between trees, let’s needles, twigs, downed logs, and small plant species that are better adapted to seedlings. future conditions, especially trees with After settlement, humans began EHWWHUGURXJKWDQG¿UHWROHUDQFHWKDQ SXWWLQJ¿UHVRXW7KLVZRUNHGIRUDWLPH current species that invaded after we But after years of overprotection from EHJDQVXSSUHVVLQJ¿UHVDFHQWXU\DJR ¿UHIRUHVWVDUHQRZFKRNHGZLWKGHEULV Let’s plant more Ponderosa pine and DQGDÀDPPDEOHXQGHUVWRU\RIVPDOO UHPRYHLQYDVLYHJUDQG¿U trees. When these forests burn, as they Restoration. Forests have changed inevitably will, they burn hotter, faster, a lot over the last century, largely in and more completely than ever before. response to human uses and demands. If What can be done to prepare our we can restore their species composition IRUHVWVIRUPRUHZLOG¿UHLQWKHIXWXUH" (the mix of species in a forest), their By DAVID C. POWELL I structure (the mix of different tree sizes in a forest), and their density (the amount of space between trees in a forest), then we will have also restored much of their capacity to adapt to future climate change. Redundancy. Let’s resist the temptation to put all our eggs in one basket. We think we know how the climate will change in the future, but ,¶PEHWWLQJWKDWDFOLPDWHFKDQJHGIXWXUH holds many surprises for us and our wildland ecosystems. If we provide a diversity of tree species, forest structures, and stand densities, then future forests will have the tools to better deal with a wide array of possible climate outcomes. Resources. Fires this summer have clearly shown that we do not have enough UHVRXUFHVWRDJJUHVVLYHO\¿JKWHYHU\ ¿UH:HQHHGWROHDUQKRZWRSULRULWL]H RXU¿UH¿JKWLQJUHVRXUFHVHVSHFLDOO\LQ SUHSDUDWLRQIRUDIXWXUHZLWKPRUH¿UH than now. The highest priority will always EHDUHDVZKHUH¿UHKDVJUHDWSRWHQWLDOWR harm people and their infrastructure, with lower priority being areas distant enough IURPFRPPXQLWLHVWRDOORZ¿UHWRSOD\LWV natural role. We also need to allocate more RIRXU¿QDQFLDOUHVRXUFHVIRUWKLQQLQJ2Q DSHUDFUHEDVLVLWFRVWVPXFKOHVVWRWKLQ WKDQLWGRHVWRVXSSUHVVDODUJHZLOG¿UH Relationships. Restoring forest resistance and resilience requires active management treatments such as thinning DQGSUHVFULEHG¿UH:LWKRXWDFWLYH involvement by collaborative groups in the Blue Mountains, consensus to move forward with these treatments will not be reached. For public lands, collaboration needs to lead to trust, or else active management projects will continue to be challenged and litigated. Building relationships between diverse stakeholders LVWKHEHVWZD\WRUHVWRUHWUXVWLQSXEOLF land management. Ŷ David C. Powell is a member of the Umatilla County climate change focus group. He presented a discussion about climate change and forestry at an EO Forum on in February, which was held at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton. n my last article, I agreed with Larry O’Rourke that the problem cities have is systemic. The solution I proffered was running the city like a Homeowners Association. I have had many questions about this. It was the accounting portion of the HOA I was alluding to. This accounting method helps to assess the costs and is the basis for what is needed to quantify income to the HOA. However, an HOA goes beyond that. It actually has individual accounts for assets. For example, let’s say the arts center has a roof with a \HDUOLIH7KHURRILV¿YH years old. The cost of the Al roof new was $100,000. If Plute the HOA is set up to fund 100 Comment percent yearly, then $5,000 plus cost of living is Once you set aside annually. can ascertain 7ZHQW\¿YH thousand dollars what the true plus cost of living is in a fund for the cost of each replacement of the of the items is, $UW&HQWHU¶VURRI This is important you can make because this money can be used informed for preventative maintenance or decisions on emergency repairs whether or on the roof, which may extend the not you want life of the roof E\¿YH\HDUVRU to keep it. so. When the roof needs to be replaced, the money is already available. Even more important is that the money cannot be used for anything else. It is not arbitrary. HOAs usually have three areas of accounting. For the city, it would be, for example, common areas maintenance that would include streets, sidewalks and parks, VHFRQGO\VHUYLFHVVXFKDVSROLFH¿UH ambulance, court facilities, permits, water services and cemeteries, and third amenities such as the Vert Auditorium, library, art center, aquatic park, skateboard park and ice skating rink. Each one of these items mentioned has a cost attributed to it. Once you can ascertain what the true cost of each of the items is, you can make informed decisions on whether or not you want to keep it. You will also know how much revenue has to be collected to support them, individually and as a consolidated group. This is the most important piece of information we need to know and the one our city cannot tell you at this time. The next logical step is to determine how to maintain these assets going forward. Our current revenue stream is not adequate to maintain or replace these items. We are at a crossroads. If we continue on the same course we have been on for decades, we can expect further decline in the condition of our city UHTXLUHGWRPDNHLW¿QDQFLDOO\KHDOWK\DV well as attractive both to tourists and visitors looking at the city as their potential new home, and to those of us who proudly call Pendleton home today. Ŷ Al Plute is a Pendleton city councilor. Contact him at al.plute@ci.pendleton.or.us