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