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Page 10C OUTSIDE East Oregonian BLOOMIN’ BLUES Vintage-trailer enthusiasts camp in retro style Photo by Bruce Barnes Lomatium dissectum Large lomatium can be fatal if ingested By BRUCE BARNES For the East Oregonian Name: Fernleaf Biscuit- root Scientiic Name: Loma- tium dissectum This is the ifth species of Lomatium I’ve written about over the last several years. Since there are 29 Loma- tiums in northeast Oregon, these ive species are a fair representation of them. This one is found from British Columbia to Saskatchewan, and south to California to New Mexico. The common name fernleaf and the species name dissectum both refer to the inely divided leaves. Biscuitroot is often applied to Lomatium species as some of them have edible roots. Lomatium is from the Greek “loma” for border, referring to the edges of the seeds. No one should attempt to eat any part of any of the Lomatium species and their cousins; some of the plants are deadly toxic, and that includes poison hemlock, which looks very much like this plant. Some years ago in southwest Oregon two people died from taking a bite of a very similar plant’s root declared safe by an “expert.” Last weekend on a trip up Yellowjacket Road, I was surprised by this plant growing on the left bank at eye level. The surprising part was its size. I’ve seen it there before but never so large. The books say it can get to over 6 feet high, and many of these were over 5 feet and some over six. The leaves are quite large in outline, dark green, usually shiny, and inely divided into tiny segments that are 1 to 4 millimeters wide. The tiny yellow lowers (or some- times red-purple elsewhere) are in compound umbels as much as 10 inches across at the top of bare stems. This particular species of Lomatium has been used by Indian tribes from throughout the West. Roots were prepared and eaten, but were also used to poison ish. Shoots were considered poison by some tribes. Medicinal uses have been numerous, including treatment of sores, sore eyes, sinus problems, tuberculosis, rheumatism, arthritis, cuts, boils, bruises, dandruff, colds, venereal disease, sprains, stomach pain, congestion and smallpox. It was also used to treat horses for sores and wounds. Where to ind: Drive south on Yellowjacket Road just east of Pilot Rock. You will see it easily on the left after a couple miles or so. Montana releases draft grizzly hunting guidelines BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Montana wildlife oficials have released draft regulations for grizzly bear hunting in anticipation of the bears’ possible removal from the endangered species list. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is proposing spring and fall hunting seasons in seven districts near the border of Yellowstone National Park. Each district would have a quota on the number of bears that can be killed, reported The Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service released a draft proposal for removing the grizzly bear’s Endangered Species Act protections in March. It includes caps on how many bears can be killed within a 19,279-square-mile area that includes Yellow- stone National Park and parts of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The caps will depend on population. The draft plan would give Wyoming 58 percent of the total number of bears that can be killed, Montana 34 percent and Idaho 8 percent. The federal plan also requires that the states have management plans in place, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim. “I think the industry has put in a lot of safeguards.” — Nick Gevock, Montana Wildlife Federation “This is a irst attempt at hopefully a management option that we’re going to have here down the road,” Aasheim said. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider the proposal at its next meeting and take an initial vote. If approved, it will be open for public comment. Grizzly bears have been listed as a threatened species since 1975, although they were briely delisted in 2007 before a lawsuit reinstated the protections. “I think the agency has put in a lot of safeguards to ensure we don’t have an over- harvest,” said Nick Gevock, conservation director for the pro-delisting organization Montana Wildlife Federation. But the Sierra Club’s Bonnie Rice said the grizzly population is still vulnerable. She opposes delisting. High Desert Museum to reopen Autzen Otter Exhibit BEND (AP) — The High Desert Museum in Bend says it’s reopening the Autzen Otter Exhibit later this month. The exhibit that irst opened more than 30 years ago has been closed for renovations since last fall. The Bulletin newspaper of Bend reports that the outdoor space available for the museum’s two otters will remain roughly the same size. The concrete walls Saturday, May 7, 2016 surrounding their enclosure have been replaced with glass, improving the viewing experience for children and visitors in wheelchairs. In another improvement, wood paneling on the back wall of the underground area has been removed and replaced with a mural and a 750-gallon aquarium for native ish. The exhibit reopens Saturday, May 21. THREE ISLAND CROSSING STATE PARK, Idaho (AP) — The vintage camp trailers that were gath- ered for a rally last month at this park bordering the Snake River in Glenns Ferry “all tell their own story,” Les Blair said. “And if they don’t,” Watt “Orbie” Mungall countered, “they’re in the wrong place.” Blair and Mungall participated in the rally hosted by Idaho’s segment of the Rollin’ Oldies Vintage Trailers, a “loosely organized group” of folks who own camp trailers produced before 1980 or newer models made to look like the classics. ROVT was founded in Dallas, Oregon, in 2007. Idaho is the irst state to form its own sub-group, with Marilyn and Bret Peoples of Caldwell serving as Idaho Wagon Masters. They have three rallies planned this year with a fourth likely to be added. About 40 trailers and motorhomes participated in the Three Island Crossing event, which featured a blue- ribbon country fair theme. The irst Idaho event, in September 2014, included 12 trailers. “It’s mostly nostalgia,” said Jerry Kwiatkowski, who founded the ROVT group with his wife Linda. “It’s like the old cars. They hit their peak and waned down because of a lack of them available. Well, trailers haven’t hit their peak yet. They’re gaining more and more popularity.” Kwiatkowski, who visited the Idaho group for the irst time at last month’s event, bought his irst vintage trailer after enduring multiple problems with his newer ifth-wheel trailer. He bought that vintage trailer — a 1964 Kencraft — for $400. “It looked like a dumpy thing,” he said. “I spent two years restoring it because I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m a mechanic, not a wood- worker.” At the irst ROVT rally, he put a for-sale sign on the trailer with a price of $2,600. It sold. Two years later, the buyers re-sold the trailer for $5,000. Kwiatkowski is two and a half years into his ifth trailer rehab. He also is working on a 1955 Chevy Nomad wagon. “Now the big thing is people are buying the old cars to go with the old trailers,” Kwiatkowski said. “I keep telling these people: ‘Watch for these old cars. Watch for these old trucks. Get them married. That’s money in the Chadd Cripe/Idaho Statesman via AP This April 1 photo shows a 1952 Silver Streak Clipper shows during a gathering of vintage camp trailers in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. The vintage camp trailers that were gathered for a rally at this park bordering the Snake River all tell their own story. bank when you get ready to sell.’ “ The Peopleses have a motorhome and two trailers. Blair, of Fruitland, has three trailers and a pickup camper. “It’s like a car habit,” Marilyn Peoples said. “You get one and then you want another one. But it’s whether you have enough room to park them all.” She sold her 1954 Rainbow to neighbor Susan Villanueva, who adores her tiny trailer. “I got super lucky,” Villanueva said. “I would always see the little trailers and I thought they were so cool. There are people who like more modern things. I’m not one of them. The rustier the better. I like things to look their age.” And to many, that age looks much better than the shiny, new models coming out of today’s factories. “They have style to them,” Marilyn said. “The big boxes are very functional. That’s what we call (new trailers). But these have history to them. There’s a lot of unique stuff in them. They are all designed a little different.” Mungall, who lives in Willard, Utah, and is the Northwest rep for the national Tin Can Tourists group, enjoys the “camaraderie of people who know quality.” “Most of these are just real mate- rials,” he said. Mungall brought one of the most beautiful trailers to the rally: a 1952 Silver Streak Clipper with an aluminum shell. He purchased the trailer in the early 2000s for $1,200. It had been sitting alongside a highway for sale for 12 years. “Back in the early ‘90s, these things were considered ugly,” Mungall said. Now they’re treasured collectibles. The market for vintage trailers hasn’t overheated in Idaho yet, but in some states they are dificult to ind and the prices can get prohibitive, the vintage-trailer enthusiasts say. A restored trailer in the 12- to 15-foot range likely will cost more than $5,000 in Idaho. Even the trailers in need of an over- haul aren’t cheap anymore. “You used to be able to buy one for a hundred bucks,” Kwiatkowski said. “Now you’re lucky if you can ind them for right around $2,000 or $3,000 — for a project.” Some restored trailers go for as much as $40,000-plus, Linda Kwiat- kowski said. “The ‘50s and ‘60s are getting hard to ind,” Marilyn Peoples said. “So people are coming up into the ‘70s now because they’re a little easier to ind but they are cool, too.” Idaho’s ROVT group grows some- what through trailer envy. Others see trailers in the neighborhood or attend the open houses at the rallies and decide they want one, too. One of the ROVT traditions is open/closed signs in the windows of the RVs. If they’re open, that means they’re available to be toured.
