Page 8C
OUTSIDE
East Oregonian
BLOOMIN’ BLUES
Saturday, May 6, 2017
ODFW brings back ‘premium hunts’
Special tags allow
for preseason hunts
for deer, elk, more
East Oregonian
Photo by Bruce Barnes
Lomatium sp.
More early
spring sprouts
By BRUCE BARNES
For the East Oregonian
Here are two more spring
favorites for early wild-
flowers. They are both found
in open places in and around
the Deadman’s Pass exit.
The first is in the genus
Lomatium in the carrot
family. When photographed,
the plant was mostly flat on
the ground, about four inches
across, with the flowering
stalks about a half inch high.
As is typical of many species
of Lomatium, when they first
appear and bloom, they are
quite difficult to tell apart.
The photo shows the tiny
yellow flowers in nine clus-
ters, each cluster with about
20 flowers.
I didn’t try to identify this
Lomatium species. It could
be one that will reach over
a foot high by mid-summer.
This particular plant was
growing in gravel at the
side of the road, but they
also grow in grassy areas.
Be aware that most plants
in the carrot family are not
edible and many are quite
poisonous. There are several
different Lomatium species
blooming already this spring,
including in the Deadman’s
Pass area.
The second plant is
commonly known as Prairie
Star, and usually isn’t seen
for another couple of weeks.
It prefers open grassy areas,
sometimes crowded in with
other plants as in the photo,
sometimes in bunches of
Photo contributed by ODFW
C.J. Zita, right, of Echo, pictured after taking a Columbia Basin buck
during a 2016 premium hunt. Graham Derbyshire, of Hermiston, is left.
premium hunts were the Metolius
for deer, Mount Emily for elk and
Juniper for pronghorn, while the least
applied-for units were the Sixes for
deer, Klamath Falls for elk and Sprague
Photo by Bruce Barnes
Lithophragma
parviflo-
rum “Prairie Star”
several stems, and often
as a single stalk by itself.
Occasionally it grows in rock
crevices. The Latin name for
the plant is Lithophragma
parviflorum. Lithophragma
means “rock breaker,” as
plants of the genus were once
believed to force cracks in
rocks. Parviflorum means
“little flower.”
The leaves are deeply
cleft into narrow segments
that form a whorl, which
eventually becomes a couple
inches across.
The small, half-inch
flowers have five white petals
that are each deeply cleft into
three narrow segments so
that the overlapping petals
look like a white fringe. The
white flowers make them
easy to spot in meadows and
on open hillsides where they
grow to about a foot high.
Body found in Grand
Canyon identified as
missing teen hiker
GRAND
CANYON
NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.
(AP) — A body found last
week has been identified as
that of a 14-year-old hiker
who went missing nearly
two weeks ago while hiking
a remote part of the Grand
Canyon during a family trip,
authorities said Monday.
Jackson Standefer, of
Chattanooga, Tennessee, was
crossing a creek on April 15
when he and his step-grand-
mother, LouAnn Merrell,
lost their footing and were
swept away.
The cause and manner of
death for Jackson Standefer
is pending, said Trish Lees,
a spokeswoman for the
Coconino County Medical
Examiner’s Office.
Merrell, the wife of
Merrell Boot Co. co-founder
Randy Merrell, is still
missing.
Park rangers spent days
searching with a helicopter,
ground crews, drones and
a motorized inflatable boat
before the search was scaled
back.
A body believed to be
Standefer’s was found last
Friday by a commercial
river trip and transported
by helicopter to the medical
examiner’s office.
Standefer
was
an
eighth-grade student at The
McCallie School, an all-boys
boarding institution in Chat-
tanooga. The teen was active
in outdoors programs, crew
For the second year, the Oregon
Department of Fish & Wildlife is
offering “premium hunts” across the
state for deer, elk and pronghorn.
As with other controlled hunts, the
deadline to apply is Monday, May 15
and the application cost is $8.
Money raised through premium
hunt sales will be used by ODFW
for special projects to improve big
game populations and provide greater
hunting opportunities.
Premium hunts are special hunting
tags with a months-long season, giving
hunters time and flexibility to harvest
an animal. The bag limit is any-sex, and
there are no antler restrictions. Both
residents and non-residents may apply,
and cost the same as regular deer, elk
and pronghorn tags.
Tags are limited, with one premium
deer tag available in each of Oregon’s
67 wildlife management units, one
premium elk tag in 59 units and one
premium pronghorn tag in 27 units.
More than 28,000 hunters applied for
a premium deer tag in 2016, along with
nearly 29,000 hunters for a premium
elk tag and 12,180 hunters for a
premium pronghorn tag.
The most applied-for units for
team and a youth Christian
group, school officials have
said.
Mark McOmie, Stande-
fer’s uncle who is a dentist
in Chattanooga, said he
was asked by the Coconino
County Medical Examiner’s
Office to send Standefer’s
dental records to them
Monday morning, and he
heard the identification was
made within hours.
“It’s over. We’re no
longer looking for Jackson.
We have the body,” McOmie
said, adding that he didn’t
immediately know of funeral
plans.
“We had a celebration
of life for him last week
in Chattanooga. An hour
and 15 minutes. And it was
awesome,” added McOmie,
who described his nephew
as a well-loved boy who was
always smiling.
Standefer
and
his
step-grandmother, who is
from Utah, went missing
during a hike from the North
Rim of the Grand Canyon
to an area known as Tapeats
Creek.
They were on a trip with
Standefer’s mother and
Randy Merrell.
Tapeats Creek is in a
remote area of the Grand
Canyon.
Experienced hikers say
the trail that the group took
involves an arduous hike
down the canyon that ends in
stunning, unique views.
Have a hunting or fishing photo you would
like to show off?
Email outdoors editor Tim Trainor at
ttrainor@eastoregonian.com or call him at
541-966-0835.
Photo contributed by ODFW
Tim Harms, of Forest Grove, took a bull elk in the Heppner Unit during
his “premium hunt” in 2016.
for pronghorn. The seasons run from
Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 for deer and
elk, and Aug. 1 through Sept. 30 for
pronghorn.
Nick Baszler, of Creswell, said the
length of the hunt gave him the chance
to grow as a beginner elk hunter, and
he was able to take an impressive bull
from the Sled Springs Unit.
Kent Berkey, of Enterprise, also
took a mule deer buck in the Imnaha
Unit a year ago.
“I looked at more than 60 bucks, all
on public lands, and saw two bigger
than the one I harvested,” Berkey said.
Tim Harms, of Forest Grove, took
his first ever elk during a premium
hunt in the Heppner Unit, which he
described as a “dream come true.”
“It was bugling across the canyon,
pushing the herd up and out of the
canyon bottom,” Harms recalls. “At
500-plus yards, the battery in my range
finder died. But he turned broadside
and down he went.”
Premium hunts are considered addi-
tional hunting opportunities, so hunters
who draw a tag are still able to hunt on
a general controlled or regular season
tag as well.
Unlike regular controlled hunts,
premium hunts do not use preference
points and every hunter who applies
has the same chance to draw.
Premium hunts are not once-in-a-
lifetime, meaning hunters can reapply
even if they drew a premium tag last
season. Hunters may use any weapon
legal for the species during premium
hunts.
ODFW is encouraging hunters to
apply soon for controlled hunts to avoid
long lines for last-minute applications.
In 2016, the agency reported more than
half of the 467,028 applications were
submitted in the last week before dead-
line, including 74,149 on the final day.
For more information, or to apply
online, visit www.dfw.state.or.us.
Dog eyes poachers, endangered species
LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) — Cash
is a different sort of hunting dog.
He’s on the hunt for poachers and
endangered species, using his specially
trained nose to help Colorado Parks
and Wildlife District Wildlife Manager
Brock McArdle.
One of two nationally certified
wildlife law enforcement dogs on the
beat with Colorado Parks and Wildlife,
Cash is part of a pilot program to show
how dogs can help sniff out poachers,
evidence and the territory of certain
species of concern.
“He’s got a good nose,” said
McArdle, who is assigned to the Red
Feather District.
Dogs as wildlife officers are not as
widespread as canine cops on a tradi-
tional law enforcement beat, but they
are working in the natural resources
capacity in more than 24 states,
including Kansas, Indiana, Idaho and
California. The Colorado pilot program
started with one dog, Sci, in the Colo-
rado Springs area within the last year,
and Cash joined McArdle in Larimer
County earlier this year.
“It’s gaining steam,” said McArdle.
“The whole purpose of this pilot
program is to show the benefits of these
dogs.”
So far, the pilot program is
completely funded by donations and
grants. Bear Point Kennels donated
Cash, and his $8,000 in equipment and
training were covered by a series of
grants from Great Outdoors Colorado,
the Mule Deer Foundation, Rocky
Mountain Big Horn Society, Colorado
Bowhunters Association, Northern
Colorado Pheasants Forever and Oper-
ation Game Thief.
Also, an internet donation site is set
up to help pay for food and medical
expenses for both Cash and Sci, antic-
ipated to be about $1,500 per year per
dog.
Cash is trained to sniff out the
scents of 11 commonly hunted species
including moose, deer, waterfowl and
Pamela Johnson /Loveland Reporter-Herald via AP
In this April photo, Colorado Parks and Wildlife District Wildlife Manager
Brock McArdle plays with his canine partner, a black Labrador named
Cash, at Wellington State Wildlife Area near Wellington, Colo.
pronghorn. This skill will help McArdle
and other officers find evidence and
traces of illegally killed animals during
poaching investigations.
Cash could help lead officers to
evidence, or during checkpoints held
in hunting season, he could provide
officers with probable cause to search
a vehicle.
This particular dog, too, is trained
to smell the black-footed ferret and
the boreal toad, which are species
of concern in Colorado. He can help
biologists in the field as they survey
locations to see how these species are
faring in their habitat or in areas they
have been introduced.
Cash’s nose can pinpoint where
biologists should look, replacing teams
of people simply following a grid in
hopes of spotting a species.
So this black Labrador, who is about
a year old, is part criminalist, part
scientist and part ambassador.
McArdle will take him into the
community for presentations with
children and other groups to spread
education and awareness about wildlife
and the importance of stewardship.
Though he’s been on the job for only
a short time, Cash has already made an
appearance at a youth hunting event.
Cash, too, may serve as a deterrent to
poachers and other criminals, McArdle
added.
Cash is nationally certified, so he
can work in any state, and though the
team is based in northern Colorado,
McArdle anticipates helping out when
needed statewide and maybe even
north into Wyoming.
He hopes that as Cash and Sci (who
is dually trained as a wildlife dog as
well as a traditional law enforcement
dog who can help with arrests) show
their skills, Colorado Parks and Wild-
life will grow the program.
But for now, the two will remain on
the beat, helping with the protection
and management of wildlife.
And the hope is that Cash, like his
namesake, may leave a legacy.