Page 8C
OUTSIDE
East Oregonian
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Possible Utah monument latest Western land ight
By BRADY MCCOMBS
Associated Press
BLANDING, Utah — Lami-
nated sheets of paper held in place
by rocks rest inside ancient cliff
dwellings nestled underneath a
spectacular red rock overhang in
southeastern Utah.
“Don’t erase the traces of Amer-
ica’s past,” the signs read. “Please
do not enter interior rooms.”
The weathered signs and a
similar warning at the trailhead are
the only protections in place for
these easily accessible ruins along a
canyon hiking path.
The cliff dwellings are part of an
estimated 100,000 archaeological
sites within a 1.9 million-acre area
that a coalition of American Indian
tribes wants President Barack
Obama to designate a national
monument to ensure protections for
lands considered sacred.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally
Jewell is visiting the area this
week to meet with proponents and
opponents — the latest indication
the Obama administration is giving
serious consideration to the “Bears
Ears” monument proposal.
The issue has become the latest
battleground in the debate over
public lands in the West.
Utah’s Republican leaders,
many rural residents and a few
Native Americans iercely oppose
a proposal they believe would
become another layer of unneces-
sary federal control and close the
area for development and recre-
ation.
To supporters, the makeshift
Bureau of Land Management signs
in the cliff dwellings illustrate
the problem — vital remnants of
tribal history aren’t being prop-
erly protected from looting and
vandalism.
“We don’t want to forget about
our ancestors,” said Malcolm Lehi, a
Ute Mountain Tribal commissioner.
“Through them, we speak. That’s
the whole concept of protecting and
healing this land. They are still here
among us as the wind blows.”
Tribal members visit the Bears
Ears area — named for a set of
rock formations — to perform
ceremonies, collect herbs and wood
for medicinal and spiritual purposes
and do healing rituals, Lehi said.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
In this June 21 photo, Malcolm Lehi, a Ute Mountain Tribal commissioner, points to a rock formation
near Blanding, Utah.
Tucked
between
existing
national parks and the Navajo
Nation, the proposed monument
features stunning vistas at every
turn, with a mix of cliffs, plateaus,
towering rock formations, rivers
and canyons across wide expanses
covered by sagebrush and juniper
trees.
Opponents agree the area is a
natural treasure worth preserving
but fear a federal designation would
create restrictions on oil and gas
development as well residents’
ability to camp, bike, hike and
gather wood.
The management system in place
from state and federal agencies
works, said rancher Kenny Black,
who has cattle grazing permits
within the proposed monument.
“These areas are sacred to me
because I’ve grown up here,” said
Black, a descendant of Mormon
pioneers. “They’re part of my
history and my culture as well.”
Members of Utah’s all-GOP
congressional delegation are urging
Jewell to instead back a plan from
U.S. Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason
Chaffetz.
The bill introduced Thursday
calls for protecting about 4.5
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
In this June 22 photo, the “House on Fire” ruins are shown in Mule
Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along
a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed.
million acres in the state, including
1.4 million acres of the Bears Ears
area, and to open up 1 million
acres for recreation and oil and gas
development. Another bill released
Thursday would bar the president
from declaring a monument in
seven Utah counties, including the
Bears Ears region.
Conservation groups say the
Bishop and Chaffetz bill doesn’t
go far enough to protect the area.
A tribal coalition stopped meeting
with the congressmen because they
felt their concerns weren’t taken
seriously.
Jewell’s visit doesn’t mean a
monument decision is imminent,
Interior spokeswoman Jessica
Kershaw said.
But other such visits have fore-
shadowed designations. Obama
Final EIS released for major Joseph Creek project
Plan to boost fire
resiliency on 98K acres
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest is in the home stretch of permit-
ting an ambitious project designed to
make 98,000 acres of land healthier
and more resilient to wildire, part of
a broader strategy to accelerate the
pace and scale of forest restoration in
Eastern Oregon and Washington.
The Lower Joseph Creek Resto-
ration Project calls for 17,240 acres of
timber harvest on the Wallowa Valley
Ranger District north of Enterprise. It
also establishes two Research Natural
Areas — one at Horse Pasture Ridge,
and the other at Haystack Rock —
where the woods are managed with as
little outside interference as possible.
These areas are essentially control
groups where foresters can compare
treatments to natural ecological func-
tions.
The Forest Service released its
inal Environmental Impact Statement
for the project Friday, along with two
draft Records of Decision. Wallowa-
Whitman Forest Supervisor Tom
Montoya said collaboration has been
key to seeing the proposal through,
and coming up with a balance of
resources.
“This project is better because of
collaboration,” Montoya said. “We
look forward to continued work with
the public and our partners on future
land management activities.”
The Lower Joseph Creek
Restoration Project was born out of
a collaborative watershed assess-
ment conducted by the Wallowa
County Natural Resources Advisory
Committee in June 2014. That assess-
ment highlighted conditions in need
of restoration, and identiied potential
treatment areas.
From there, the project went
to the Wallowa-Whitman Forest
Collaborative, which is made up of
forest personnel, county oficials,
industry representatives and environ-
mental advocates. Finally, the Blue
Mountains Restoration Strategy Team
took it up as their irst major project
under the umbrella of accelerated
restoration.
At its current pace, the Forest
Service is able to treat roughly 50,000
acres of local forests every year. This
would nearly double that total in a
single project.
In addition to timber harvest and
5,400 acres of pre-commercial thin-
ning, the project calls for replacing six
culverts and maintaining 208 miles
of open roads. The draft decision
does not make any change to overall
road densities, though approximately
17 miles of roads will be opened to
provide public access and another 14
miles closed to protect resources.
The draft Record of Decision for
the project is now subject to a 45-day
objection period.
The Record of Decision for the
Research Natural Areas is subject to
a 60-day objection period, and would
require an amendment to the existing
Forest Plan. Objections to either of the
decisions will only be accepted from
those who have previously submitted
written comments for the draft Envi-
ronmental Impact Statement.
All project documents are available
on the Forest Service’s website. Copies
of the inal EIS and draft RODs can
also be obtained by contacting Darcy
Weseman at the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest at 541-278-3755 or
deweseman@fs.fed.us.
———
Contact George Plaven at
g p l a v e n @ e a s t o re g o n i a n . c o m
541-966-0825.
BLOOMIN’ BLUES
Common speedwell has medicinal uses
By BRUCE BARNES
For the East Oregonian
Name: Common Speed-
well
Scientiic name: Veronica
oficinalis
This plant is found from
British Columbia to Cali-
fornia, and eastward across
the northern and eastern U.S.
and southeast Canada. It is
originally from Europe.
Common Speedwell, also
known as Common Veronica,
is one of about 15 species of
Veronica found in Northeast
Oregon, and one of the largest.
Many of the other species are
small plants only a few inches
tall, some of which are pesky
weeds in local lawns. Mowing
them only spreads them as cut
stems take root quickly.
Common Veronica is not
so invasive. The plant in the
photo is a young one, which
will eventually grow much
taller and may lay on the
ground. The leaves are up to
2 inches long. The lowers are
small, about ¼ inch wide with
Photo contributed by Bruce Barnes
Common Speedwell
four blue to lavender petals.
Each lower has one petal a
little larger than the others,
which is true for all species of
Veronica.
The name “Veronica” may
have been for St. Veronica,
and “oficinalis” is Latin for
being medicinal. The name
“speedwell” may refer to the
plant’s uses to treat people
who were ailing. Other past
common names include
Ground Hale, Gypsy Weed,
Paul’s Betony, and Upland
Speedwell.
An herbalist in 1633 is
quoted as saying “it healeth all
fresh and old wounds, clenseth
the blood from all corruption,
and is good for the kidnies
and against scurvinesse and
foul spreading tetters, and
consuming and fretting sores,
the small pox and measels.”
Even though this plant has
not been in North America
until relatively recently,
perhaps the late 17th century,
at least the Cherokee and
Iroquois in the east have used
it. Medicinal uses included
treatment of coughs, boils,
earaches, chills, and child-
birth. Other uses included
treating dried cow’s udders
and as an emetic to neutralize
witchcraft.
Where to ind: This plant
is likely to be seen in shady
areas, in wet ditches, seep-
springs, and along the edges
of ponds, streams, and lakes.
Watch for the slender spikes
of tiny blue lowers.
designated the Stonewall National
Monument gay rights site in June,
a month after Jewell visited for a
public meeting.
Presidents commonly name
monuments in their inal year in
ofice. Obama has named 23 monu-
ments during his two terms, said
Athan Manuel, the Sierra Club’s
director of lands protection.
To residents in the small,
predominantly Mormon town of
Blanding, the proposal is a thinly
veiled, repackaged push from envi-
ronmental groups who recruited
tribes after previous attempts at a
national monument izzled out.
The area “became conveniently
sacred,” said Black, echoing a
common sentiment among resi-
dents.
Not all tribal members support
the monument. San Juan County
Commissioner Rebecca Benally,
a Navajo, is a vocal critic, saying
the designation would limit what
Native Americans can do on their
own ancestral lands.
Black and other opponents
contend that reports of looting and
grave robbery are grossly exagger-
ated.
“I think it’s all made up,” said
Sharon Guymon, a restaurant owner
in Blanding. “There are people who
destroy things because they’re
trying to steal them, but that will
happen if you make it a monument
or not.”
Since October 2011, the BLM
has recorded 28 cases of archaeo-
logical damage within the agency’s
Cedar Mesa area that comprises a
large chunk of the proposed monu-
ment, spokeswoman Kimberly
Finch said.
In one case this year, somebody
etched a heart with initials on a wall
with petroglyphs.
Jonah Yellowman, a Navajo
spiritual adviser, regularly travels
in the area to gather wood for his
home and for rituals. Standing in
a grassy ield dotted with purple
wildlowers at the foot of the Bears
Ears buttes, Yellowman relected on
the importance of the monument.
“Every monument has its
purpose. This one has medicines
here. This one has prayers, offer-
ings, something that is very spiritual
to us,” Yellowman said. “We’d like
to keep it that way.”
Bates Pond future in doubt
By SEAN HART
EO Media Group
A work group of stakeholders
will hold its irst meeting next
week to discuss the future of
popular Bates Pond and the
management of Bates State
Park, located in Grant County.
Grant County Commissioner
Scott Myers said that while
some ishing, conservation
and tribal groups would like
to remove the dam on Bridge
Creek to return the stream to its
natural state for ish passage, he
did not believe it would be in
the county’s best interest.
“Most of us that have been
here for a while are interested
in preserving the pond,” he said.
“It has recreational potential for
kayakers, boaters, swimmers,
ishermen. It has a very strong
sense of place for past genera-
tions and future generations of
families from Bates and Austin.”
Myers said the meeting will
be hosted by Oregon Consensus,
part of the Hatield School of
Government at Portland State
University, on behalf of the
Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department.
The department’s master
plan for the park focuses on
water quality, ish habitat,
cultural resources, recreation
and stewardship, according to
the irst meeting’s agenda, and
the goal is to ind a path forward
maximizing the interests of all
the stakeholders.
Myers said multiple alter-
natives will be discussed, from
removing the dam and the pond
to creating a diversion around
the pond for ish to deepening
the pond and improving the ish
ladder.
“I don’t see a win-win if we
have to compromise and allow
the pond to be permanently
drained,” he said. “I think we
will ight that option.”
A variety of people, groups
and agencies have been invited
to collaborate at the meetings.
The irst meeting is 8 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. July 19 in the confer-
ence room at the Grant County
Regional Airport. Myers said
meetings are also scheduled
for Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, but
he was unsure of the times and
places.
General Dentistry
For You and Your Family
• Digital X-rays
• Laser Cavity Detection
Extended hours: Mon. - Thur.: 7:00 am to 6:00 pm
We take most insurances, including PPO’s
Dr. Smith se habla Español
310 SE2nd St., Ste 203
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-276-4768
T. Blair Smith, DMD
Edward S. Dolan, DDS