Page 6C
OUTSIDE
East Oregonian
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Trump urged to avoid salmon protection rules
By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press
First fish
Contributed photo
Fishing for the first time, 9-year-old Kayden
Nunn landed this lunker of an 18-inch rainbow
trout recently at a pond on Weston Mountain
near Tollgate.
BOISE, Idaho — A group that
represents farmers is calling the costs
of saving imperiled salmon in the
largest river system in the Pacific
Northwest unsustainable and is turning
to the Trump administration to sidestep
endangered species laws.
The Columbia-Snake River Irriga-
tors Association wants the government
to convene a Cabinet-level committee
with the power to allow exemptions to
the Endangered Species Act. Known as
the “God squad” because its decisions
can lead to extinctions of threatened
wildlife, it has only gathered three
times — the last 25 years ago during a
controversy over spotted owl habitat in
the Northwest.
The irrigators association is frustrated
with court rulings it says favor fish over
people, claiming the committee could
end years of legal challenges over U.S.
dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers
and bring stability for irrigators, power
generators and other businesses that rely
on the water.
Environmental groups call the
request a publicity stunt and say it
could hurt fishing companies and others
that rely on healthy runs of federally
protected salmon and steelhead.
The association sees hope in a
series of pro-industry environmental
decisions by President Donald Trump.
His administration has rescinded an
Obama-era rule that would shield
many small streams and other bodies of
water from pollution and development,
enacted policies to increase coal mining
on federal lands and proposed giving
Western states greater flexibility to
allow development in habitat of sage
grouse, a threatened bird.
Darryll Olsen, association board
representative, said the irrigators
requested the committee during former
President Barack Obama’s tenure but
got nowhere.
He said the Trump administration
has been encouraging during talks,
leading to a formal request last month
for a meeting with Interior Secretary
Ryan Zinke.
“What we’re asking for is that the
secretary give direction to the (Interior)
Department to work with us to review
the steps for implementing the God
squad,” Olsen said.
Zinke can gather the committee,
which he would chair and would include
other natural resource agencies, such as
Jesse Tinsley /The Spokesman-Review via AP, File
In this Oct. 2016 file photo, a man fishes for salmon in the Snake Riv-
er above the Lower Granite Dam in Washington state. A group that rep-
resents farmers says saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system
in the Northwest U.S. is too costly and is turning to the Trump administra-
tion. The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the govern-
ment to convene a Cabinet-level committee known as the “God Squad”
due to its authority to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act.
“It’s a terrible idea that would deliver great harm to
the people and businesses of the Pacific Northwest.”
— Joseph Bogaard,
Executive director of Save Our Wild Salmon
the Environmental Protection Agency. It
also would include representatives from
Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and
Montana.
If five of the federal committee
members agree, they could exempt U.S.
agencies from Endangered Species Act
requirements for one or more of the
thirteen species of salmon and steelhead
listed since the early 1990s.
The irrigators group, which has
120 members growing food crops in
Washington state and Oregon, expects
to meet with Zinke soon, Olsen said.
Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift
said in an email that the agency could
not comment on a committee that had
not been formed and that she had no
information about Zinke’s meetings.
Joseph Bogaard, executive director
of a coalition of conservation, commer-
cial, sport fishing and business groups
called Save Our Wild Salmon, blasted
the irrigation association’s request.
“It’s a terrible idea that will deliver
great harm to the people and businesses
of the Pacific Northwest,” said Bogaard,
whose coalition relies on the fish to
produce millions of dollars of revenue.
A federal judge ruled last year that
the government had not done enough to
improve salmon runs despite spending
billions of dollars and urged it to
consider removing four dams on the
lower Snake River.
Todd True, a lawyer with the
environmental law firm Earthjustice
who represented some plaintiffs in that
2016 ruling, said the God squad request
should go nowhere.
“There isn’t any basis to convene the
committee because there are reasonable
alternatives to save the fish,” he said,
pointing to the dam removal option.
“Their removal would be a big step
forward.”
This year, fish counts at dams on
the Columbia and Snake rivers have
been well below the 10-year average,
which biologists blame on droughts
in 2014 and 2015 and warming ocean
conditions.
Various results have emerged the
three times the God squad has convened.
It refused to grant an exemption for a
Tennessee dam in the 1970s over a fish
called the snail darter. Regarding crane
protection in the Midwest, a settlement
was reached before the panel offered a
decision.
In 1992, it voted to sidestep protec-
tions for the northern spotted owl and
allow the Interior Department to sell
timber on land in Oregon.
Rich Landers / The Spokesman-Review
A gray wolf that has just swam across a North Ida-
ho stream stands to assess a hiker and his dog that
have entered its territory four miles from the nearest
road.
Hiking with dogs
in wolf country
By RICH LANDERS
The Spokesman-Review
I’d planned a July day
hike with my dog along
a North Idaho stream for
a good dose of outdoor
exercise and a cool respite
from the summer heat.
The bear spray I keep
handy on my day pack
saved me a lot of grief that
day.
Ranger, my Brittany,
was having a blast with
frequent splashing romps
in the stream. But the
mood of the trek changed
about four miles into the
backcountry when I saw a
gray wolf crossing to the
opposite shore.
I called Ranger, who
was 20 yards ahead of me
on the trail.
He came immediately
to my side so I could
attach his leash. Wildlife
biologists later told me
that quick response to my
command could have saved
his life.
The wolf certainly
wasn’t afraid of me and the
dog. It stood on the bank
checking us out.
I snapped a few photos
and waited for the wolf
to run away. Instead, for
several minutes it paced,
sniffed the air and looked
around.
With Ranger at heel and
my bear spray in hand, I
continued up the trail.
I kept looking back as
I walked and sure enough
I soon saw the gray wolf
following on the trail. A
second wolf caught my
attention down along the
stream. It, too, was heading
toward me.
I proceeded to a
meadow where I had more
open space on both sides of
the trail.
With bear spray in one
hand, I videoed the gray
wolf behind me. It paused
and glanced at the second
wolf before trotting in
my direction. Panning the
camera as it came closer,
my video wobbled each
time I looked behind me
for the second wolf to
appear.
When the first wolf
stopped 30 yards away,
I started to aggressively
move toward it, raising my
bear-spray hand to look
bigger and yelling “Hey!”
The wolf instantly shied
away, but only a short way
before hanging out in the
trees, still watching.
I was never afraid for
myself as wolf attacks
on people are very, very
rare. However, experts say
wolves are known to be
aggressive to dogs entering
their territory. Having
bear spray enabled me to
be confident that I could
protect Ranger and myself
as we turned around and
headed out.
“The dog probably had
more to do with the wolves
following you than if you
had been alone,” said
Wayne Wakkinen, regional
wildlife manager for Idaho
Fish and Game, after
hearing my story.
“You may have hiked
into a rendezvous area
where the pack stashes its
mobile pups for a week or
two before they all move
on to another site. Wolves
can be especially territorial
toward other canids at that
time of summer.”
Dirt bikers I know
through Facebook reported
seeing seven wolves in the
same area the following
day.
“If your dog had been
off by itself and didn’t
respond quickly to your
call, the outcome might
not have been the same,”
Wakkinen said.
But everything
went well, making the
experience a hike I’ll
fondly remember.
■
Rich Landers is
outdoors editor at The
Spokesman Review.
BLOOMIN’ BLUES
Distinctive cinquefoil stands up and out
By BRUCE BARNES
For The East Oregonian
Common Name: North-
west Cinquefoil
Scientific Name: Poten-
tilla gracilis, variety elmeri
This attractive plant from
the rose family is found in
scattered locations from
Oregon and California, and
eastward to Montana to
Colorado. I have seen it only
at upper elevations near the
southwest edge of the Eagle
Cap Wilderness. It is very
distinctive in appearance,
to the extent that from ten
feet away one can identify it
easily from the other 25 or
so species of Potentilla in
Northeast Oregon.
This plant is currently
listed as one of several
varieties of the species
gracilis. However, it was
also recently listed as
an independent species,
Potentilla pectinisecta,
which in some respects is
justified due to its distinctive
appearance.
The genus name
Potentilla comes from
the Latin potens, meaning
powerful, and -illa referring
to the plants of some of
the species that in Europe
were once believed to
Photo by Bruce Barnes
Northwest Cinquefoil, Potentilla gracilis var. elmeri
have medicinal qualities.
Cinquefoil is derived from
English cinque which is five,
and foil which sometimes
refers to a leaf. The
combined name cinquefoil
therefore describes those
species with leaves divided
into five leaflets. Elmer
was an early 20th Century
botanist.
The plant usually
stands about two feet tall,
with an openly branching
arrangement of a few or up
to 60 bright yellow flowers
at the top. The leaves arise
mostly from the base or
the lower portion of the
flowering stems, with 5-7
leaflets attached in a whorl
at the tip of the leaf stem
or petiole. The leaflets are
tapered to a point at their
base, with long linear lobes
attached along both sides of
the midrib. The long lobes
provide an overall lacy
appearance to the leaves,
which are quickly noticed
due to the silvery coating
of short white hairs on both
sides of the leaves.
Potentilla gracilis, and
presumably this variety,
has had several medicinal
uses by Pacific Northwest
tribes. These uses include a
lotion for burns, a powder
for sores, an aid to assist
in childbirth, a poultice for
injuries, and a root infusion
for a variety of ailments.
Where to find: Along
the Mt. Fanny road from
Cove, just past Moss Springs
Campground.
BRIEFLY
National
Geographic
launches cruise
ship in Alaska
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)
— A new cruise ship is set
for an eight-day expedition
exploring Alaska.
On Saturday, Lindblad
Expeditions-National
Geographic launched the
Quest — its first ever-new
build — from Juneau.
The ship left from
Anacortes, Washington, for
a shake-out cruise to Alaska,
arriving in Juneau on Friday.
Its first passengers boarded
at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the
Juneau Empire reported .
The 100-passenger vessel
originally was expected to
debut last Wednesday. But
the line scrubbed that cruise,
citing problems with a
launch attempt. A little over
a month ago, the vessel was
damaged as it slid from the
launch ramp.
By helicopter and
on horseback,
Zinke reviews
monuments
SANTA FE, N.M.
(AP) — Ranchers who want
to scale back two national
monuments in New Mexico
competed for attention
with the outdoor recreation
industry as U.S. Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke
conducted a series of private
stakeholder meetings linked
to a nationwide review of
27 monuments approved by
past presidents.
Zinke skipped a heavily
attended public forum
about the future of the
Organ Mountains-Desert
Peaks National Monument
in southern New Mexico
organized largely by
monument supporters, amid
a series of private meetings
with ranchers, electric utility
executives, irrigation district
officials and some defenders
of the monuments.
On Friday, Zinke’s
Twitter feed showed him on
a mountain hike in the Organ
monument with military
veterans and members of
Sierra Club Outdoors, which
promotes outdoor recreation.
“I appreciate hearing
all sides,” Zinke tweeted.
A private meeting was
scheduled Friday with
the pro-monument group
Friends of the Organ
Mountains-Desert Peaks.
The secretary’s tightly
controlled visit, mostly
away from the public’s eye,
is stirring concern among
business owners who say
they depend on the flow of
outdoor enthusiasts.
President Donald Trump
ordered the review of
the national monuments
based on the belief that a
law created by President
Theodore Roosevelt
allowing presidents to
designate monuments has
been improperly used to
protect wide expanses of
lands.