NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Wolves seem to be bypassing Central Oregon
northeast corner of the state. Less
than 20 percent of the wolves have
tracking collars, estimated John
BEND — Another lone wolf Stephenson, Oregon wolf coordi-
recently passed through Central nator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Oregon, following a path similar Service. He said people should not
to the one blazed by OR-7, a wolf read too much into the collar data
showing wolves passing up on
made famous by his wandering.
But like OR-7 and three other Central Oregon territories.
“We also know there are other
wolves tracked by collar in the past
¿YH\HDUV25DSSHDUVWRQRWEH wolves that don’t have (GPS or)
interested in establishing a territory radio collars running around, and
we don’t know their paths,” he said.
in Central Oregon.
The collar data do show that
Since coming from northeast
Oregon last month, she is so far wolves seem to avoid the popu-
sticking south of Silver Lake — the lation centers of Central Oregon,
dry lake, not the town — in Lake such as Bend, Redmond and
County, said Russ Morgan, state Madras. Drawn on a map, the
wolf coordinator for the Oregon paths of OR-7 and OR-28 show
Department of Fish and Wildlife in the wolves turning south when
they came close to Pine Mountain,
La Grande.
Why collared wolves have only about 30 miles southeast of Bend.
Both wolves were likely
passed through Central Oregon so
far and not stayed is unknown, he dissuaded from staying in Central
said. “Collar data only tells, ‘The Oregon by human activity
wolf was here at this point in time.”’ and bright city lights at night,
And the data is from a small Stephenson said. That’s not to say
sample size. Oregon has at least 81 other wolves might not eventually
wolves, according to a Department ¿QGDKRPHKHUHWKRXJKSDUWLFX-
of Fish and Wildlife tally from the larly in the forested mountains.
“I think the Cascades of Central
end of 2014. Most are found in the
Oregon are good wolf habitat and
they will occupy that area, but
they have to get around Bend and
Redmond to do that,” he said.
So far, at least one wolf, OR-25,
is known to have passed though the
Central Oregon Cascades earlier
this year, although he kept going
south.
Of the collared wolves to
disperse, or leave their packs,
from northeast Oregon, OR-25 is
WKHRQO\RQHVRIDUWR¿QGWURXEOH
In early November, the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife
FRQ¿UPHGKHDWWDFNHGWKUHHFDOYHV
killing one and wounding two
others, on private land near the
Upper Williamson River.
Efforts to keep him away from
cattle since have been effective,
Stephenson said Wednesday. They
include lights and noise boxes
DV ZHOO DV HOHFWUL¿HG ÀDGU\ ²
ÀDJJLQJ GHVLJQHG WR GHWHU ZROYHV
from going over a fence line. And
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cracker shotgun shells, which
make a loud noise designed to
spook animals.
While OR-25 and OR-28’s
By DYLAN J. DARLING
The Bulletin
Brown creates
new post to
boost grad rate
collars still are sending signals, the
collars of OR-3 and OR-7 have
blinked out.
Since September 2011, state
and federal wildlife managers did
not know what had become of
OR-3, until a private trail camera
captured a photo of him this July in
the Cascades of northern Klamath
County. The photo shows a wolf in
the lower right corner of the frame.
The black animal has a tracking
color and an ear tag.
6WDWHRI¿FLDOVXVHGWKHFRORUDQG
location of the ear tag to determine
the identity of the wolf.
“The only wolf that can be (is)
OR-3,” Morgan said.
Farther south and west in the
Cascades, OR-7 found a mate, a
female who also dispersed from
northeast Oregon and now is
raising his second litter of pups.
Only time will tell whether more
wolves follow OR-3 and OR-7 to
the southern Cascades or decide
to blaze their own paths to Central
Oregon. In May 2014, another
male wolf, OR-24, wandered into
Central Oregon only to turn back
and return to northeastern Oregon.
2I¿FHVWLOOZRUNLQJRQMRE
description for new position
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
PORTLAND — Gov. Kate Brown
announced Monday she will appoint
DQHGXFDWLRQLQQRYDWLRQRI¿FHUZKRVH
job will be to boost the state’s dismal
high school graduation rate.
Brown made the announcement
during an education panel discussion
at the Oregon Business Leadership
Summit in Portland, where she
outlined some of her education prior-
ities.
“The position will assist me, my
education team and the Legislature
in dedicating resources to increase
the number of students who graduate
from high school,” Brown said from
prepared comments.
“There is no question that our
education system must be accountable
to better student outcomes, including
increasing our high school graduation
rate,” Brown said.
“But accountability also means
ensuring that as a state we are
empowering the best and most effec-
tive practices in our classrooms that
support student success,” she said.
The administration has yet to
complete a job description for the
position and to post the job, said
Brown
spokeswoman
Kristen
Granger. She gave no timeline for
hiring.
Oregon now has the fourth lowest
graduation rate in the nation, up from
the country’s worst in 2013. Oregon’s
graduation rate is 72 percent,
compared to a national average of
81.4 percent.
John Tapogna of ECONorthwest
said Monday the state’s graduation
rate mars Oregon’s reputation in the
eyes of employers considering relo-
cating to the state.
“It is really damaging to the state’s
reputation in a very tangible way,” the
public policy consultant said
The graduation rate is perplexing
because it doesn’t align with the
state’s test scores, Tapogna said.
———
The Capital Bureau is a collabo-
ration between EO Media Group and
Pamplin Media Group.
BRIEFLY
Snowfall brings hope
to drought-stricken
Oregon basins
BAKER CITY (AP) — A
snowstorm that swept across
drought-stricken northeastern
Oregon is expected to help
replenish the region’s aquifers and
reservoirs.
The Baker City Herald
reports that the weekend storm
left nearly two feet of snow in
the higher peaks of the Elkhorns
and Wallowas. Several inches of
heavy, wet snow also fell at lower
elevation and should help alleviate
the drought.
Jerry Franke of the Burnt River
Irrigation District says the weather
is encouraging, but it’s still early in
the season.
Last year, wintry weather
arrived early but the rest of the
season was drier and warmer than
average.
But as of Monday morning,
the water content in the snow was
higher than it was at the same time
last year.
Meanwhile, the Crater Lake rim
in Southern Oregon is closed to
YHKLFOHWUDI¿FDIWHUZLQWHUVWRUPV
dropped heavy snow and knocked
down trees near the park.
A news release from park
spokeswoman Heidi Barker says
Subscriber services:
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(DVW2UHJRQLDQ6(%\HUV$YH3HQGOHWRQ25
A little morning
snow
Ice, then rain
38° 24°
36° 34°
SATURDAY
Cloudy, a rain or
snow shower
Periods of rain
45° 30°
40° 29°
43° 35°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
35° 33°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
42°
29°
39°
26°
67° (1959) -18° (1919)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
1.58"
0.70"
9.39"
11.70"
12.17"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
45°
39°
68° (1939)
27°
27°
-7° (1932)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
1.11"
0.76"
6.50"
6.69"
9.23"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
Dec 18
Dec 25
7:29 a.m.
4:12 p.m.
11:01 a.m.
10:15 p.m.
Last
New
Jan 1
46° 31°
40° 28°
42° 32°
Seattle
44/37
ALMANAC
Jan 9
Multimedia consultants
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To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News:
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COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: 6WHYH.QREEH
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REGIONAL CITIES
Today
SUNDAY
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
42° 28°
NEWS
To submit news tips and press releases:FDOO
ID[HPDLOQHZV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP
Real Estate Advertising: Jodi Snook
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Forecast
THURSDAY
Corrections
The East Oregonian works hard to
be accurate and sincerely regrets any
errors. If you notice a mistake in the
paper, please call 541-966-0818.
ClassiÀed Advertising:
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Copyright © 2015, EO Media Group
TODAY
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) —
State regulators investigating a
Seattle tour company following a
deadly crash on Seattle’s Aurora
Bridge have found 442 violations
and have recommended penalties
against Ride the Ducks Seattle.
But staff of the Washington
Utilities and Transportation
Commission in a report Tuesday
recommended the company be
allowed to resume operating
DOLPLWHGÀHHWRIDPSKLELRXV
vehicles, under certain conditions.
A three-member commission
will determine whether Ride the
Ducks can resume operations at a
hearing Monday. The commission
can penalize the company up to
$1,000 per violation.
Regulators also proposed
issuing an “unsatisfactory” safety
rating, based on one “acute” and
six “critical” violations, as well as
two accidents in 2015.
Five international college
students were killed in the Sept. 24
crash when a repurposed military
“duck boat” swerved into an
oncoming charter bus.
BEND (AP) — Federal
RI¿FLDOVVD\ZKRHYHUFXWGRZQ
and hauled off an old-growth
juniper tree at a popular trailhead
east of Bend may have committed
a federal crime.
The Bulletin reports that
the tree went missing from the
Badlands Wilderness earlier
this month. Bureau of Land
0DQDJHPHQWRI¿FLDOVFRXOGQRW
¿QGDQ\OHDGVDVWRZKRWRRNWKH
tree.
The BLM considers junipers
to be old-growth if they are more
than 150 years old.
Logging or cutting down
trees is illegal in wilderness
areas, wilderness study areas or
at trailheads. Before the U.S.
Congress designated the Badlands
SALEM (AP) — Oregon’s
unemployment rate dropped to 5.7
percent in November as employers
added 9,600 new jobs.
The Oregon Employment
Department released the
VHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG¿JXUHVRQ
Tuesday.
The unemployment rate ticked
down from 6 percent in October
and 6.8 percent a year earlier.
Compared with a year earlier,
employers have added 58,200
jobs, an increase of 3.3 percent.
Oregon’s year-over-year job gains
have been about that strong for 10
months. Economists say Oregon
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
2I¿FHKRXUV0RQGD\WKURXJK)ULGD\DPWRSP
&ORVHGPDMRUKROLGD\V
Regulators urge
limited ‘Ride the
Ducks’ operation
150-year-old juniper
tree stolen from
Badlands Wilderness
State unemployment
drops to 5.7 percent
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
in 2009 as wilderness, it was a
wilderness study area.
hasn’t had such a rapid pace of
hiring since 2006.
The biggest job gains came
in the retail sector, which added
2,400 more jobs than usual during
the busy holiday season.
Two other sectors saw
particularly strong growth in
November. They were professional
and business services, and health
care and social assistance.
the visitor center is still open and
the rim can still be accessed by
skis or snow shoes.
Three days of storms dropped
43 inches of snow around the
park, bringing the snowpack to 72
inches.
Barker says it is one of the
largest snow storms the park has
seen, although the amount of snow
is not abnormal.
She says 69 storms since 1932
have resulted in bigger three-day
snowfall accumulations than the
current storm. A record 75 inches
accumulated in three days in
February 1971.
Spokane
Wenatchee
32/18
37/24
Tacoma
Moses
44/32
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 39/21
33/19
44/40
44/33
41/29
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
43/39
36/24 Lewiston
43/28
Astoria
40/22
50/45
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
47/40
Pendleton 32/10
The Dalles 42/28
38/24
47/33
La Grande
Salem
35/15
48/42
Albany
Corvallis 46/41
48/42
John Day
40/29
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
40/27
48/42
39/28
Caldwell
Burns
40/24
33/20
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
50
35
39
49
33
32
48
39
42
40
36
35
33
45
49
52
40
43
38
47
42
48
32
33
45
36
41
Lo
45
15
28
45
20
10
42
25
28
29
30
15
15
39
44
47
27
28
24
40
29
42
18
18
38
24
29
W
c
sn
c
c
c
sn
c
sn
sn
sn
c
sn
sn
c
c
c
sf
sn
sn
c
c
c
sn
sn
c
sn
c
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
Hi
54
32
43
54
36
32
55
38
35
40
40
34
33
51
54
58
38
34
36
47
42
54
31
39
48
37
34
Lo
44
30
37
48
31
29
46
35
33
37
34
32
31
43
46
49
34
31
34
44
36
45
28
35
43
35
29
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
r
sn
r
r
sf
i
r
i
i
r
r
sn
sn
r
r
r
sn
i
i
r
i
r
sn
i
r
i
sn
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
33
64
56
60
76
31
57
58
36
79
63
Lo
15
50
44
54
45
21
50
38
18
66
43
W
s
s
c
r
pc
sn
c
c
sf
t
sh
Thu.
Hi
38
60
52
60
77
24
59
58
31
79
52
Lo
16
51
43
51
48
18
49
39
22
67
42
W
s
s
sh
c
pc
pc
c
s
s
s
pc
WINDS
Medford
45/39
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
36/30
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Eastern Washington: A bit of snow across
the south, near the Idaho border and in the
mountains.
Cascades: Mostly cloudy today; a bit of
snow, accumulating up to an inch, except
dry in the south.
Northern California: Periods of sun today;
cold in the interior mountains. Some rain
and snow far north tonight.
Thursday
NNE 4-8
SSW 3-6
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Coastal Oregon: Mostly cloudy today. Rain
tonight; breezy. Rain tomorrow. Friday:
occasional rain.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mainly cloudy
today; a bit of snow, except a rain or snow
shower in the south.
Western Washington: Cloudy today; a
shower in spots across the south during the
morning. Rain tonight.
Today
ENE 3-6
WNW 4-8
0
0
1
1
0
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Mild conditions are in store for the Northeast today as chilly air sweeps
across the Plains and holds in the West. Showers will extend from the Great Lakes to the
Gulf Coast.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 91° in Edinburg, Texas
Low -17° in Bridgeport, Calif.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
35
70
54
54
28
71
39
45
76
67
52
55
57
32
51
48
3
31
83
68
55
79
42
49
64
63
Lo
17
58
48
42
9
55
25
38
61
50
30
44
34
12
36
26
-7
17
72
42
32
65
25
32
34
43
W
pc
pc
pc
s
sn
c
sf
s
pc
pc
sh
pc
s
pc
sh
s
pc
sn
s
pc
sh
t
pc
s
pc
s
Thur.
Hi
36
67
60
57
25
62
36
51
76
56
36
46
58
23
41
51
3
18
83
63
40
82
37
51
55
68
Lo
18
40
49
41
14
36
34
46
59
32
24
29
33
16
28
26
-6
0
72
37
26
62
23
35
31
47
W
s
r
r
r
pc
pc
sn
r
r
r
c
c
s
sf
c
s
pc
sf
pc
s
pc
t
pc
s
s
s
Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
63
64
83
50
41
67
78
52
52
36
55
56
43
48
65
31
39
52
59
32
64
55
44
52
57
46
Lo
40
39
73
31
24
41
58
47
25
25
46
36
29
35
52
11
26
34
32
22
45
44
37
28
45
24
W
pc
sh
sh
sh
r
pc
t
pc
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
sf
pc
pc
pc
sn
s
pc
c
s
s
s
Thur.
Hi
48
54
83
36
27
52
67
56
47
34
59
59
47
54
69
25
46
56
44
35
66
58
45
57
56
41
Lo
31
33
73
23
14
30
45
48
24
21
48
40
39
47
50
7
28
38
28
26
47
46
40
34
41
22
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
pc
s
t
c
c
pc
pc
r
c
pc
r
s
r
r
r
s
c
c
s
c
s
pc
r
s
r
pc
