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NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Thursday, April 20, 2017 Portland ‘open for business’ on self-driving vehicles ODFW Commission begins review of Oregon’s wolf management plan By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Known Oregon wolf packs Confirmed pack/individual range Oregon’s wolf manage- ment plan is up for public review as the ODFW Commission once again attempts to balance the resto- ration of an apex predator with the havoc they can cause in rural areas. The commission will take comments on a draft conser- vation and management plan during an April 21 meeting in Klamath Falls, and will repeat the process May 19 in Portland. The commission eventually will adopt a fi ve- year management plan; no date is set yet. Russ Morgan, ODFW’s wolf program manager, said the draft management plan builds on what wildlife biologists have learned over the years. When the fi rst management plan was adopted in 2005, there were no documented wolves in Oregon. The fi rst pups were discovered in 2008, and by the end of 2011 there were 29 confi rmed wolves in Oregon. The state documented 64 wolves at the end of 2013, and a minimum of 112 by the end of 2016, including 11 packs and eight breeding pairs. Morgan said the plan couples state data with “tons of research” that’s been done on wolves in Oregon and elsewhere over the years. Oregon classifi es wolves as a “special status game animal.” The draft plan allows ODFW to authorize hunters and trappers to kill wolves in two specifi c “controlled take” situations: Chronic livestock depredation in a localized area, and declines in wild ungulate populations, princi- pally deer and elk. The draft plan does not allow a general hunting season, a prohibition that would hold for fi ve years after the plan is adopted. “I can’t predict what will happen to wolf management years and years out, but during this planning cycle, absolutely not,” Morgan said of a possible sport hunting season on wolves. Livestock producers and wildlife activists don’t like aspects of the draft plan. By ELLIOT NJUS The Oregonian/OregonLive PORTLAND — Port- land Mayor Ted Wheeler declared the city “open for business” to companies developing autonomous vehicles. Wheeler and Transpor- tation Commissioner Dan Saltzman directed the Trans- portation Bureau to draft policies for autonomous vehicles that would give developers a path to apply for permits to test them within the city, including on open, public roads. Wheeler, speaking before the Portland Business Alli- ance, said the framework would create a “fair and level playing fi eld” for autono- mous vehicle companies. “We can’t simply dismiss the idea that autonomous vehicles are going to be a big part of our transportation system,” Wheeler said. “Instead of waiting for this new technology to come here and have us confront it, the responsible thing to do is to prepare for this future.” He said getting ahead of the issue would help Port- land shape the technology to suit the needs of the city and its residents. Wheeler said companies wishing to test their vehicles in Portland, whether on closed courses or on public roads, would have to demon- strate that the vehicles are safe. Transportation Bureau staff said they likely would hew closely to guidelines released last year by the federal National Highway Traffi c Safety Administra- tion. Leah Treat, the Transpor- tation Bureau director, said the city would aim to craft policies that would reduce congestion, vehicle-miles traveled and pollution, largely by prioritizing shared fl eets over privately owned vehicles. “If we simply replace all of the cars on the road with driverless cars, we’re not (As of Dec. 31, 2016) Estimated pack/individual range NOTE: Polygons represent estimated ranges for known wolf packs with radio-collared animals. 82 395 84 Portland Pendleton 197 Unnamed Heppner 5 26 Salem Minam Meacham 97 101 Chesnimnus Wenaha Shamrock Snake Walla Walla River N. Emily OR30 Mt. Emily Desolation 22 Catherine 26 Harl Butte OR29/36 84 OR37 20 26 126 OREGON Bend Eugene 20 97 58 Silver Lake OR25 5 101 Rogue N Keno (status unknown) 25 miles 199 Medford 5 *At least one breeding pair 395 Ontario Wolf pack population Pack/area (cont.) Total Wenaha* Walla Walla* Snake River* Minam* 12 11 9 11 Mt. Emily Meacham* Rogue 8 7 6 Desolation Shamrock Catherine* 1 4 5 Source: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife ciation’s wolf policy chair, said ranchers’ views aren’t refl ected in the draft plan. “It doesn’t look like we were even in the room, and that’s really disappointing,” he said. Some activists, however, believe ODFW is moving too quickly to relax conser- vation safeguards, including the decision in 2015 to take wolves off the state endan- gered species list. Among other things, they point to the annual wolf count fi gures released this past week as proof the population is fragile. The minimum count of 112 wolves at the end of 2016 was only two more than in 2015, after years of sharp growth. Even ODFW described the population gain as “weak.” The department said a combination of factors probably contributed to the modest increase. At least seven wolves were killed in 2016, including four members of the Imnaha Pack shot by ODFW for repeated livestock attacks. Blood samples taken from captured wolves indicated many animals were exposed to recent or severe parvovirus infections, which can take a toll on pups. Finally, bad winter weather hampered efforts to count wolves. Wildlife offi cials stress the annual population fi gure is a minimum number, and believe the state has considerably more wolves. Nonetheless, Nick Cady, legal director for the Eugene- based group Cascadia Wildlands, said wolves aren’t the “exponentially growing and undefeatable species” that opponents sometimes describe. “One hard winter and there’s no growth,” he said. Cady said wolf recovery faces numerous hurdles. Anti-predator bills pop up in the Legislature on a regular basis and ODFW is defer- ential to hunting interests that provide budget money through license sales, he said. The state appears headed to a wolf management approach that allows hunting while doing “basic level monitoring so they don’t go extinct, which I think wolves are not ready for.” Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. 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. Classifi ed & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifi eds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Danni Halladay 541-278-2683 • dhalladay@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 www.eastoregonian.com 1 3 1 2 9 10 3 2 7 112 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press The Oregon Farm Bureau and Oregon Cattlemen’s Association said it makes it harder for ranchers to protect their animals because it increases the number of confi rmed attacks required before allowing lethal control of wolves. The draft plan requires three confi rmed depredations or one confi rmed and four “probable” attacks within a 12 month period. The previous standard was two confi rmed depredations or one confi rmed and three attempted attacks, with no time period set. The groups also believe ODFW should continue collaring wolves, and should set a population cap for wolves in Oregon. Without a benchmark, “we will not be able to tell when wolves have reached their natural carrying capacity” in the state, the Farm Bureau said in a statement. Cattlemen also want local biologists to make the call on lethal control of wolves, not department administrators in Salem. Todd Nash, the asso- 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Offi ce hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays Total Keno Heppner Silver Lake OR30 pair Chesnimnus* Harl Butte* N. Emily OR29/36 Lone/misc. Minimum total NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY FRIDAY Couple of thunderstorms Partly sunny 58° 37° 61° 42° SATURDAY A stray afternoon shower SUNDAY Mostly cloudy, a shower; cooler PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 69° 46° 60° 41° 55° 43° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 67° 41° 64° 40° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 65° 63° 88° (1934) 36° 40° 23° (1966) 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" 1.10" 0.76" 7.37" 4.15" 4.72" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 68° 66° 90° (1934) 36° 40° 24° (1982) 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 Trace 0.50" 0.50" 5.43" 2.98" 3.61" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First Apr 26 May 2 Full May 10 66° 44° 60° 45° Seattle 58/44 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 69° 48° 6:01 a.m. 7:48 p.m. 3:03 a.m. 1:15 p.m. Last May 18 Today MONDAY Cloudy with spotty showers Spokane Wenatchee 53/36 62/41 Tacoma Moses 57/39 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 64/36 52/36 54/42 57/38 66/36 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 57/41 59/42 Lewiston 65/39 Astoria 57/40 55/41 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 58/42 Pendleton 47/30 The Dalles 64/40 58/37 63/40 La Grande Salem 53/35 59/39 Albany Corvallis 59/38 59/38 John Day 52/34 Ontario Eugene Bend 60/37 59/38 50/27 Caldwell Burns 57/35 52/26 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 55 52 50 56 52 47 59 54 64 52 52 53 50 61 53 57 60 65 58 58 54 59 53 49 58 59 66 Lo 41 29 27 43 26 30 38 33 40 34 29 35 32 39 41 43 37 38 37 42 26 39 36 30 41 42 36 W sh t pc pc c sh sh sh pc t pc t t pc sh sh c pc t sh pc sh sh t sh t sh NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Fri. Hi 66 59 58 63 57 55 68 61 67 60 63 61 58 73 64 68 64 67 61 70 62 69 57 58 68 65 67 Lo 50 32 37 48 36 32 45 40 41 42 37 38 35 47 49 50 38 40 42 50 36 47 38 35 51 45 41 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W pc pc s s s pc pc s s s s pc pc s pc pc pc pc pc pc s pc pc s pc pc s WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 72 86 75 58 75 38 55 61 62 75 65 Lo 47 76 56 46 50 23 34 40 43 60 55 W c t s c pc pc pc pc pc pc pc Fri. Hi 72 84 84 64 76 43 62 62 65 74 65 Lo 41 67 62 46 51 32 45 39 43 63 56 W s t s pc pc c s s pc c pc WINDS Medford 61/39 (in mph) Klamath Falls 52/29 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: A couple of showers today; only during the morning in the south. Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today; a couple of showers. Eastern and Central Oregon: A shower and storm today; a storm in the south and upper Treasure Valley. Some sun near the Cascades. Western Washington: Mostly cloudy today with a passing shower or two. Partly cloudy tonight. Cascades: Showers around today; however, a little snow in the south. Northern California: Partly sunny today; a snow shower in the interior mountains in the morning. Today Friday W 10-20 W 10-20 NE 4-8 N 4-8 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 0 going to be any better off today,” she said. Wheeler has previously expressed enthusiasm for embracing self-driving vehicles. He said in a March City Council meeting that he would like to see the city conduct a pilot focused on autonomous vehicles. “We’re all warming up for a race, but we don’t know what the race is yet,” he said at the earlier meeting. “We don’t know what the trajectory of autonomous or linked vehicles will be, and we don’t have a clear under- standing on what that means in terms of infrastructure and policy. But we know it’s coming.” In his former role as deputy director for the Transportation Bureau, Wheeler chief of staff Maurice Henderson coor- dinated the city’s bid to win the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge, a competition for $50 million to implement technologies that include autonomous and wire- lessly connected vehicles. Columbus, Ohio, eventually won the competition. Others on the City Council are skeptical. During the same council meeting, Commissioner Amanda Fritz questioned whether the city should embrace self-driving cars. “I think we need to take a step back,” she said. “I’m concerned about a future where people go from morning to night not talking to anybody. You call yourself an autonomous vehicle, you go by yourself to pick up the groceries that have been collected for you. ... Is this something that we want?” Autonomous vehicles are already on the streets in some states that have explic- itly legalized testing. Legacy carmakers are making major pushes into self-driving technology, including testing on contained courses and road tests. 2 4 5 3 1 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. ©2017 -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: Showers will dot the Northeast, central and northern Rockies, Northwest and central Gulf Coast today. As rain soaks the Upper Midwest, severe storms will erupt farther south in the Midwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 96° in Pecos, Texas Low 18° in Plush, Ore. 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 78 84 68 80 64 88 55 59 83 82 72 78 83 62 72 92 42 55 84 85 78 84 66 85 85 81 Lo 47 65 57 60 42 65 36 46 64 60 41 51 68 37 47 59 18 37 71 67 49 57 48 60 64 59 W pc s c pc pc s c c pc pc sh t c sh t s s r sh pc t s c s pc pc Fri. Hi 71 86 71 81 51 88 61 51 86 71 57 59 84 48 58 90 46 62 83 86 62 88 58 80 77 88 Lo 41 64 54 53 39 65 40 45 66 48 41 44 54 32 41 56 23 37 72 69 44 60 43 59 62 61 Today W s pc t pc sh pc pc r s r pc pc pc r pc s s pc r pc c s r s t s 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 84 85 82 66 49 87 83 66 71 65 75 93 57 65 85 62 61 70 75 55 72 66 58 90 82 69 Lo 59 66 72 39 38 63 66 54 55 43 58 64 41 47 64 35 38 49 51 40 58 51 44 56 66 50 W c pc c r r c pc c c pc c s c c pc c pc s t sh pc s sh s pc c Fri. Hi 70 76 83 53 62 75 83 64 69 61 78 94 46 56 88 57 69 78 61 55 79 70 64 91 83 54 Lo 51 65 74 39 37 57 68 52 44 44 52 64 39 46 63 36 43 49 44 36 60 50 51 57 57 44 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W c t pc pc s t t t t c t s r r pc c s s r pc s s pc s pc r