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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 2016)
Page 10C OUTSIDE (DVW2UHJRQLDQ BLOOMIN’ BLUES 6DWXUGD\$SULO Great American Eclipse draws tourists to path of totality By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press Photo by Bruce Barnes Antelope bitterbrush Antelope bitterbrush a roaGsiGe attraFtion narrow fan about a half-inch long, with three lobes at the WLS7KHÀRZHUVDUHOHVVWKDQ DQLQFKZLGHDQGKDYH¿YH Name: Antelope rounded yellow petals and bitterbrush SFLeQWL¿F Name: Purshia yellow stamens. The plant is an important tridentata browse shrub for deer and Antelope bitterbrush DQWHORSH,QGLDQWULEHV is a common sight along ,QWHUVWDWHIURP%RDUGPDQ valued it as food for deer, WR%LJJV,WGRHVQ¶WUHDOO\JHW but used it themselves for a wide range of medicinal XSLQWRWKH%OXHV,WSUHIHUV and other uses. Medicinal low elevations around uses were for coughs, here, and grows in dry to colds, lung problems, semi-arid areas from inland British Columbia to Mexico, lung pain, pneumonia, and east to Montana to New fever, gynecological aid, tuberculosis, skin problems, Mexico. From a distance it liver problems, chicken pox, looks a lot like sagebrush, smallpox, measles, blood and is often mixed in with tonic, constipation, venereal sagebrush on sandy slopes, diseases, stomachaches, but has dark green foliage DQGREYLRXV\HOORZÀRZHUV bleeding, or as an emetic. 6KUHGGHGEDUNZDVXVHG The name Purshia is for for diapers, bedding for a Fredrick Pursh, who wrote RQHRIWKH¿UVWERRNVRQWKH cradleboard, and moccasins. Purple dye was made plants of North America from seeds to stain wood. about 200 years ago. Branches were used for Tridentata means three- DUURZVDQGDV¿UHZRRG toothed, referring to the :KeUe WR ¿QG: three rounded lobes on the Bitterbrush is easy to spot at tips of the leaves, much like the leaves of sagebrush. The highway speed, especially in bloom as it is now, with plant is in the rose family, LWV\HOORZÀRZHUV'ULYHWKH whereas sagebrush is in the Columbia River highway VXQÀRZHUIDPLO\ IURP+DW5RFNQRUWKRU, Around here, the woody from Boardman eastward. VKUXELVDERXWWZRWR¿YH When you see a big, dark feet high, with an irregular overall shape. The leaves are green shrub with yellow dark green and shaped like a ÀRZHUVWKDW¶VLW By BRUCE BARNES For The East Oregonian OD): to present proposeG buGget are scheduled for recreational and commercial licenses, according to ODFW. Rather, the goal is to match the department’s work with East Oregonian potential funding sources. Meetings will be held The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife will host in Clackamas, Tillamook, Coos Bay, a series of public meetings Roseburg, across the state to present the Newport, Klamath Falls, agency’s proposed budget %HQGDQG¿QDOO\,VODQG&LW\ for 2017-19 and gather local — adjacent to La Grande. That meeting is set for May input. Public comments will help IURPSPDW,VODQG UH¿QH WKH EXGJHW SURSRVDO City Hall. More information about before it is presented June 9 to the Oregon Fish and ODFW’s budget can be Wildlife Commission. Once found online at www.dfw. the commission approves state.or.us/agency/budget. the budget, it will go to Gov. Comments can also be .DWH %URZQ¶V RI¿FH IRU submitted through June FRQVLGHUDWLRQ$¿QDOEXGJHW 1 via by email to ODFW. will ultimately be determined Comments@state.or.us, or by mail to ODFW Director’s by the 2017 Legislature. No major changes have 2I¿FH DW )DLUYLHZ been proposed in the next ,QGXVWULDO 'ULYH 6RXWKHDVW budget, and no new increases 6DOHP25 Public meeting set for 0D\LQ,VODQG&LW\ Have an adventure story or photo you would like to share? Call outside page editor Tim Trainor at 541-966-0835 or email him at ttrainor@eastoregonian.com CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Where’s the best place to watch next year’s HFOLSVH" ,I \RX¶UH WKLQNLQJ the grand open spaces of Wyoming, you have plenty of company. Hotel rooms across the &RZER\ 6WDWH DUH JRLQJ going, gone, well over a year before the arrival of WKH¿UVWWRWDOVRODUHFOLSVHWR be seen from the mainland 86LQDOPRVWIRXUGHFDGHV A national astronomy convention has reserved Casper’s largest hotel. ,QWHUQDWLRQDO JXLGHV SODQ eclipse-oriented tours of the Yellowstone region. Jackson Hole is bracing for big crowds, and Native American tribes are promoting their heritage as the perfect backdrop for the rare natural event. Tourism boosters are giddy. They’ve done little to market Wyoming as an eclipse destination, with millions already visiting Grand Teton and Yellow- stone each year, and yet even campsites are being claimed more than a year before eclipse day, Aug. 21, 2017. “What’s hot on every- body’s mind is, what’s the attendance number?” said Brook Kreder with the Casper Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. 6KHSURMHFWVYLVL- tors, one-third of Casper’s SRSXODWLRQ :LWK DQ LQÀX[ like that, many more locals PLJKW MRLQ LQ WKH SUR¿WV “We have had some people inquire about putting their personal bedrooms up on Airbnb,” she said. 6RPHDUHFDOOLQJWKLVWKH Great American Eclipse, because the moon’s shadow ZLOO FURVV 2UHJRQ ,GDKR Wyoming, Nebraska, .DQVDV 0LVVRXUL ,OOLQRLV Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina DQG 6RXWK &DUROLQD EHIRUH heading out over the Atlantic. Communities from coast to coast are already arguing for bragging rights as the best place to watch: AP Photo, File This March 2016 file photo shows a total solar eclipse in Belitung, Indonesia. — Madras, Oregon, claims its high-desert setting 100 miles southeast of Portland gives the best odds for clear weather. The city plans an Oregon 6RODU)HVW ZLWK FDPSLQJ music and beer gardens. — North Platte, 275 miles west of Omaha by ,QWHUVWDWHELOOVLWVHOIDVD safe and accessible viewing SODFHLQWKH1HEUDVND6DQG- hills region. — The sun, moon and Mississippi River will meet PLOHVVRXWKRI6W/RXLV in Perry County, Missouri, local promoters say. — Nashville will be the biggest city under total eclipse but Hopkinsville, Kentucky, an hour north, boasts it will have the greatest degree of eclipse anywhere, meaning it will remain “total” for longer. ²6RXWK&DUROLQDRIIHUV the closest eclipse-watching for 100 million people on the East Coast, right before the moon’s shadow crosses into the Atlantic Ocean, assuming summer rain clouds don’t block the view. 6RODU HFOLSVHV ZKLFK happen when the moon passes directly between the Earth and sun, are not rare, but they seldom happen in such easily accessible places. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Nearly half of New Mexico’s Legislature is stepping into the fray between ranchers and the federal government over the fencing of watering holes on national forest land to protect an endangered mouse found in three Western states. The 50 lawmakers say the federal government has overstepped its authority and is trampling private property and water rights, some of which predate New Mexico’s statehood. They recently sent a OHWWHUWR6WDWH(QJLQHHU7RP Blaine, asking that he use his authority as New Mexico’s WRSZDWHURI¿FLDOWRVWRSWKH 86)RUHVW6HUYLFHIURP limiting access to springs, streams and other riparian areas. The letter was made public this week. “We believe the taking of this private property is illegal; it is contrary to court decrees and decisions; and it is morally wrong,” the letter reads. “The incursions of the 86)6PXVWEHVWRSSHG´ The letter was signed by Republicans from across the state and some Democrats from rural areas. %ODLQH¶VRI¿FHFRQ¿UPHG Thursday that the letter was being reviewed. 5HJLRQDOIRUHVWRI¿FLDOV blocks of hotel rooms a couple years ahead of the winter and summer peak seasons. People hoping to watch the eclipse from the foot of the Teton Range began booking rooms even further in advance, said Clarene Law, who owns four Jackson hotels. ³6RPH RI WKHVH SKRWR- graphic groups got in here before my staff realized it was the eclipse,” Law said. 6KHVDLGVKHGRHVQ¶WSODQWR raise rates — by much — for the few rooms she has left. One company that provides eclipse-viewing tours worldwide plans several multi-day, multi- state packages that will take hundreds of travelers to Tennessee, northwest Wyoming and Oregon to watch the eclipse. Past customers of the Prescott, Arizona-based 7UDYHO4XHVW ,QWHUQDWLRQDO who have traveled as far as %DOL WKH )DURH ,VODQGV DQG Ethiopia have signed up for next year’s trips, President Aram Kaprielian said. “This time, they’re traveling with their children and with their children’s FKLOGUHQ 6R ZH¶UH JHWWLQJ these generational groups that are joining us,” he said. +ealth oI¿Fials report eleYateG merFur\ in bass By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Elevated levels of mercury have been detected in Oregon bass, prompting KHDOWK RI¿FLDOV WR ZDUQ residents against eating too PXFKRIWKH¿VK The Oregon Health Authority issued a state- wide advisory Tuesday after evaluating tissue samples IURPEDVVIURPZDWHU- bodies across the state, including the Columbia, 6QDNH -RKQ 'D\ *UDQGH Ronde and Owyhee rivers. Results showed mercury at high enough levels to pose a threat to human health if not eaten in moderation. 6DPSOHV ZHUH FROOHFWHG EHWZHHQ DQG The advisor affects bass from all waters in Oregon, and will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. Bass are the focus of concern because they are a resident species — that is, they live in the same place their entire life, unlike salmon and steelhead. Bass are also top predators, eating other contaminated ¿VKZLWKLQWKHHFRV\VWHP OHA is recommending the general population eat no more than six meals worth of bass per month. A meal is about the size and thickness of your hand. Pregnant and nursing women, infants and chil- dren are at higher risk of mercury, and should eat no more than two meals per month. That being said, Dave Farrer, toxicologist with the OHA Public Health Divi- VLRQ VDLG ¿VK DUH VWLOO DQ important part of a healthy diet. While the advisory is meant to keep people informed, it is not meant to WDNHDOO¿VKRIIWKHWDEOH “The elevated levels of mercury we’re talking about in bass are of concern to us, but there are some simple steps people can take to reduce their exposure to BRIEFLY New Mexico lawmakers challenge IeGs oYer rare mouse $ URXJKO\ PLOHZLGH zone, called the path of totality, will offer the best viewing as the moon’s shadow races over the Earth’s surface at more WKDQ PSK 6WDUV DQG planets come out, and the sun’s corona glows in a perfect circle around the dark side of the moon as the effect of a sunset appears in all directions. Depending on the loca- tion, the eclipse will be total for less than 30 seconds to DV ORQJ DV PLQXWHV seconds. ³,WJHWVGDUNHUDQGGDUNHU and darker. And what’s weird is, the temperature drops and then wildlife becomes mysteriously quiet,” amateur astronomer Lowell Lyon explains. “All of a sudden — boom! — it suddenly gets dark.” Astrocon2017, next year’s annual convention of PRUHWKDQ86DPDWHXU astronomy groups in the Astronomical League, will bring dozens of experts to Casper over the four days leading up to the eclipse. Lyon, who sells insurance LQ6DOW/DNH&LW\E\GD\LV organizing the event. Even without astro- nomical phenomena to attract them, tour groups in Jackson Hole often reserve were aware of the letter but did not comment on the accusations leveled by the lawmakers. The agency has previously argued that it’s obligated under WKH(QGDQJHUHG6SHFLHV Act to ensure the mouse is protected. TeleYision episoGe to feature Klamath %asin birGing A nationally syndicated television show will air this ZHHNIHDWXULQJWKH Winter Wings Festival and birds of the Klamath Basin, according to a news release from the Klamath Basin $XGXERQ6RFLHW\ Friday’s 30-minute episode of “Birding $GYHQWXUHV´KRVWHG by life-long birder James Currie, will cover his visit to the Klamath Basin in mid-February. Area birders Gerry +LOO.HYLQ6SHQFHU'DYH Hewitt and Harry Fuller (of McMinnville) also appear on the show. DirecTV subscribers PD\YLHZWKHVKRZDW a.m. Friday on Destination $PHULFDFKDQQHO Following its airing, the show will be available for viewing on YouTube and on the Winter Wings Festival website, winterwingsfest.org next week. For more information, call Winter Wings Festival FRRUJDQL]HU'LDQD6DPXHOV DW “The elevated levels of mercury we’re talking about in bass are of concern to us.” — Dave Farrer, Oregon Health Authority toxicologist mercury when consuming bass,” Farrer said. People who eat too much ¿VKZLWKWRRPXFKPHUFXU\ can suffer organ damage and problems with their nervous and reproductive systems over time. Babies and small children can also develop life-long learning or behavior problems if exposed to high levels of mercury. According to OHA, mercury can be harmful to human health if it exceeds PLOOLJUDPV SHU NLORJUDP RI¿VKRUPLOOLJUDPVSHU kilogram for those most vulnerable. The average total concentration of samples ranged from .8 to PJNJRIPHUFXU\ Lonnie Johnson, conservation director for the Oregon Bass Angler 6SRUWVPDQ 6RFLHW\ previously said most bass ¿VKHUPHQ DUH FDWFKDQG release only. However, the state did recently lift bag limits on all warmwater species, including bass, on the Columbia, John Day and Umpqua rivers. 6KRXOG PRUH GDWD become available, OHA said it will update advi- sories as necessary. All VWDWHZLGH ¿VK DGYLVRULHV are posted online at www. KHDOWKRUHJRQRUJ¿VKDGY ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. INSURANCE AGENT HONORED BY NATIONAL SOCIETY OF CIC FOR 25-YEAR COMMITMENT Russ Heimark, CIC of Wheatland Insurance Center was recently recognized for professional leadership and advanced knowledge by the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC), a leading national insurance professional organization. Russ was awarded a certificate marking more than twenty-five years of leadership as a designated CIC, which requires annual completion of advanced education and training. Russ’s ongoing allegiance and support of the CIC program is a testament to the value he places on “real world” education and customer satisfaction. “Your clients, associates, and the insurance profession as a whole continue to benefit from such dedication”, cited Dr. William T. Hold CIC, CPCU, CLU, President of the Society of CIC. The CIC Program is nationally recognized as the premier continuing education program for insurance professionals, with programs offered in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the Society of CIC is a not-for-profit organization and the founding program of The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research.
