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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 2016)
VIEWPOINTS Saturday, May 14, 2016 Quick takes Hermiston gets back to watermelon logo Because Hermiston doesn’t have bigger issues to deal with than a logo. Nice prior- ities guys. — Marie Johnson Marketing and branding done correctly brings more tax dollars to the community. A lot more than what was spent. This is chess not checkers. — Jae Gomez Round-Up, Happy Canyon names Hall of Famers Congratulations JD Yates! Awesome cowboy and an awesome lifelong friend. — Abby Farrow-Stapleman Congratulations to my friends Heather and Doug and a big shout out to my teacher Mr. Burke! — Melissa Davis Joseph Vanilla Ice at Wildhorse Word to your mother. — Keith Walker 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. East Oregonian Owyhee monument ignores local voices M y family has lived and federal agencies. worked in southeast The protections include at least Oregon since the ive federal acts (Taylor Grazing Act 1800s. We are people of the of 1934, National Wild and Scenic land and for the land. Our Rivers Act of 1968, Endangered businesses have worked hand- Species Act of 1973, in-hand with the U.S. Bureau Federal Land Policy of Land Management, Oregon and Management Department of Fish and Wildlife Act of 1976 and Linda and Oregon Department of State Archaeological Bentz Lands to care for this land since Resources Protection Comment the agencies were created. Act of 1979) and With our intimate knowledge three land-use plans of the lands, we assist in reporting, locating (Federal Land Policy and ighting rangeland ires and helping and Management Act, with search and rescues missions. Our goal Southeastern Oregon for our own land and the public’s land is Resource Management to maintain a healthy viable sagebrush Plan of 2002 and Oregon ecosystem in the high desert of southeast Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Oregon. Management Plan of 2015). Now, all of this may come to an end. When likely Oregon voters were told in An outdoor clothing corporation and a recent poll about the existing protections special interest groups have proclaimed and plans in place for these lands, 61 2.5 million acres in southeast Oregon as percent said the Owyhee Canyonlands has “unprotected” in their campaign to pressure enough protection. President Obama to turn the land into a This monument declaration doesn’t monument. offer further protection. It’s more an act of To call this public land “unprotected” is exclusion. like saying the land in downtown Portland Once a monument is declared, public has no zoning code. lands become less accessible — not more. The Owyhee Canyonlands along the It would restrict road maintenance and Oregon-Idaho-Nevada border and the that would inhibit search and rescue and water and wildlife that run through it enjoy ireighting operations. It would also restrict protections from more than seven layers of ranchers’ ability to care for the land under local, state and federal government and is their grazing permits, limiting our ability to actively managed by professional resource maintain water sources and reservoirs that managers employed by the three state or beneit all wildlife. The monument would limit access for people who are not aggressive hikers, especially the elderly, handicapped and veterans. Those who enjoy hunting, ishing, rafting and viewing birds, wildlife and wildlowers in the Canyonlands area will also be greatly restricted. Special interest groups are urging President Obama to act alone under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to cut Congress and our community out of this decision. But their agenda runs counter to the voice of Oregonians across the state, from Malheur County to Multnomah County. At the ballot in March, 90 percent of Malheur County voters opposed the idea. In the poll of likely Multnomah County voters, 69 percent agreed that Congress should get a voice in the decision. Polls show the feeling is the same in urban and rural Oregon. This land belongs to everyone – not just members of select interest groups. We all deserve a voice in the future of our land. This is an extreme overreach of presidential power. The people of the Oregon need to stand and be heard from Malheur County to Multnomah County. It is our land and our voice. ■ Linda Bentz lives in Juntura and is a sixth-generation rancher in the Owyhee Canyonlands. A monument declaration doesn’t offer protection. It’s more an act of exclusion. Privatize public lands? Start with grazing fees regard any public-lands grazing as welfare ranching and a waste of the West. Why? Because, in 2014, the BLM and Forest Service spent $144 million on grazing programs and earned e’ve all heard the refrain from those who distrust and disparage the federal a piddling $19 million in lease income. We’ve got an Old West legacy persisting in a New West government: Give the nation’s public economy. lands back to the people. With 600 million “Taxpayers are getting a raw acres of public land and over deal regarding grazing,” says 330 million Americans, that Travis Bruner, executive director means we would all get about of the Western Watersheds Project. two acres each. And once “Americans are supporting a those acres were privatized, narrow welfare program for the where would ranchers run their beneit of Western livestock livestock? operations.” These self-styled “patriots” Although some ranchers don’t really believe that all bellyache about having to pay any Americans should have a slice federal fees, in 16 Western states, of the nation’s public lands. public-land grazing is 80 percent They want ranchers to gain cheaper than grazing on private more control without paying for land. Where do those grazing it, though right now, ranchers fees go? Half the dollars return already use our public lands at a to beneit stockmen, by funding highly subsidized rate. cattle guards across roads, fencing, This is how it works: The corrals, stock ponds and other Bureau of Land Management improvements. and the U.S. Forest Service Then there’s the federal agency charge fees for ranchers to — Travis Bruner, called Wildlife Services, which run a cow-calf on public land; Executive director, slaughters native predators like effective March 1 of this year, bobcats, wolves, black bears and grazing fees were raised to Western Watersheds coyotes. For a century, taxpayers $2.11 per A.U.M., or animal unit Project have footed the bill to make public month, which is equivalent to lands safer for sheep and cattle. one cow and calf or ive sheep. Public-lands ranching may be a proud tradition Though this is a 25 percent hike over last year’s out here, but less than 5 percent of the livestock $1.69 fee, it is still woefully below fair market consumed in the United States is produced on value. the West’s public land. There’s better grass in The fee change will affect 8,000 permits on Forest Service lands and 18,000 permits on BLM Missouri and Florida, and lots more of it. If the federal government stopped renting leases, covering a total of 235 million acres. out public land for grazers, the fees on private Both the Public Lands Council and the National land would most likely balloon to about $20 Cattlemen’s Beef Association support the fee for every animal unit month. We’d cancel increase. But some ranchers resent paying a range improvements and ground the Wildlife penny more, while some environmental groups By ANDREW GULLIFORD Writers on the Range W “Americans are supporting a narrow welfare program for the beneit of Western livestock operations.” Services’ paid killers. And if we were serious about capitalism and free enterprise, we’d open grazing allotments to public bid just as we do oil and gas leases. If environmental groups moved to outbid cattle ranchers and sheepmen to protect high country meadows, so what? Let the market decide. Old West sentimentality and Western heritage bump up hard against 21st century economics. “Grazing on federal land accounts for less than 1 percent of total income and employment in most of the region, according to the economist Thomas Power. Meanwhile, recreation and tourism have become ever more important,” writes James Surowiecki in The New Yorker. He adds, “Demonizing the federal government and trying to resuscitate the past may have its demagogic appeal. But the Old West is gone, and it isn’t coming back.” I would rather see a cow than a condo on our public land. I like beef, though I prefer elk and venison, and for Christmas dinner this year, we had leg of lamb with jalapeño mint jelly. Most Americans live in cities and suburbs, and they don’t know which end of a cow gets up irst. But those city slickers do know about sweetheart subsidies, and they know what steak or lamb costs at the supermarket. As a historian, I believe in tradition. I believe in the hard work that generations of ranching families have put into living in a semi-arid Western landscape. Public-lands ranching has a irm place in the American West, but ranchers might want to stop spouting anti-government rhetoric and give the revived Sagebrush Rebellion a pass. Privatize public lands? Be careful what you ask for. ■ Andrew Gulliford is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an opinion service of High Country News. He is a professor of history and Environmental Studies at Fort Lewis College and can be reached at gulliford_a@fortlewis.edu. Serve your community as a city of Pendleton volunteer By JOHN BRENNE Pendleton City Councilor T he city of Pendleton is always looking for citizens to serve on one of its various committees, or to volunteer in a city department. City committees are advisory in nature, but give citizens a chance to understand more clearly how the city operates. Listed below are several opportunities to serve: • Airport Commission: Advises staff and city council on airport policy. Meets once a month. • Budget Committee: Reviews new iscal city budget and makes recommendations. Meets 5 or 6 times in April and May each year. • Parks & Recreation Commis- sion: Advises staff and city council on parks policy. Meets once a Page 5A Giving a few hours back to your community is a great way to spend some time. month. • Pendleton Convention Center Commission: Advises staff and city council on convention center policies. Meets once each month. • Pendleton Library Board: Advises staff and city council on policy matters related to the library. Meets once a month. • Sanitation Regulatory Board: Advises staff and city council on sanitation policy. Meets as needed. • Transient Room Tax Committee: Hears appeals of room tax. Meets as needed. • Air Quality Commission: Recommends air quality measures to the city council. Meets as needed. • Arts Committee: Recommends appropriations from arts fund for city art. Meets as needed. • Pendleton Development Commission subcommittee: Advises city council on new projects to help meet goals of commission. Meets monthly or as needed. • Pendleton Planning Commission: Makes interpretations and quasi-judicial decisions on implementation of city land use code. Meets monthly. • Restore Pendleton Committee: Advises city on strategies to reduce blights in city neighborhoods. Meets monthly. The city’s volunteer coordinator is Tiffany Hegarty. Her ofice is located at city hall, phone number is 541-966-0244. Volunteers in 2015 donated 5,028 hours for city departments, including library, parks and recreation, police, ire, airport, and community development. Volunteer positions are short and long term, and are suited for individuals or groups. Giving a few hours back to your community while learning about your city is a great way to spend some time. ■ John Brenne represents Ward 1 on the Pendleton City Council. He was irst elected to the seat in 1978. PHS students back Bernie, Brown, Bailor E very election, Brian Johnson’s government class for seniors at Pendleton High school holds a mock vote. This time it was an open primary, unlike Oregon’s closed process. Most of the students are old enough to vote, Johnson said, and many already have. The class used materials from the Oregon League of Women Voters and editorials from the East Oregonian to discuss the candidates and issues. The results of the student election are as follows. • President: Bernie Sanders • U.S. Senator: Ron Wyden • Governor: Kate Brown • Secretary of State: Dennis Richardson • State Treasurer: Tobias Reed • Attorney General: Ellen Rosenblum • County Commissioner: Tom Bailor • Circuit Court Judge: Jon Lieuallen • Pendleton Mayor: John Turner • Ward 1: Becky Marks • Ward 2: Scott Fairley • Ward 3: Dale Primmer • At-Large: Rick Rohde State contacts Governor Kate Brown 900 Court Street NE, 160 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-378-4582 State Treasurer Ted Wheeler 350 Winter ST NE, 100 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-378-4000 oregon.treasurer@state.or.us Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins 255 Capitol St. NE Salem, OR 97310 Phone: 503-986-1518 elections.sos@state.or.us Be heard! Comment online at eastoregonian.com
