NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
After 15 years, ranchers and government
defeat Malheur Forest anti-grazing lawsuit
the capacity for 4,000 of the
protected fish.
Last year, however, U.S.
Magistrate Judge Paul Papak
dealt the case a blow when
he found that grazing autho-
rizations hadn’t likely caused
the decline in bull trout popu-
lations, which have suffered
from the introduction of
non-native fish, dam-building
and other factors.
Mosman has now agreed
with the recommendation
to throw out the lawsuit
because the plaintiffs haven’t
established the U.S. Forest
Service violated the National
Forest Management Act and
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
by approving grazing plans.
Jeff Hussey, a rancher
affected by the lawsuit,
said he’s excited the judge
took the time to look at the
science and “sort through the
mumbo-jumbo.”
The ruling recognizes that
ranchers in the area want to
graze livestock in an ecolog-
ically and economically
sustainable way, he said.
“We’re not trying to take
Judge dismisses
environmental
complaint filed
15 years ago
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
EO Media Group
Ranchers and the federal
government have defeated a
15-year-old environmentalist
lawsuit that claimed grazing
imperils threatened bull
trout in Oregon’s Malheur
National Forest.
U.S.
District
Judge
Michael
Mosman
has
dismissed the complaint,
which was originally filed by
the Oregon Natural Desert
Association and the Center
for Biological Diversity in
early 2003.
The
environmental
plaintiffs sought to prohibit
livestock grazing on “units
of concern” in seven allot-
ments along the Malheur and
North Fork rivers, arguing
the waterways contain only
100 bull trout despite having
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A judge has dismissed a 15-year-old lawsuit over bull
trout brought by environmentalists.
conservation plans for fish,
she said.
While the ruling is a
victory, two ranches preferred
to sell their grazing permits
rather than continue with the
lengthy litigation, Hussey
said.
“That’s how hard it’s been
on some of these guys. They
just gave up,” he said.
Mac Lacy, attorney for
ONDA, said the group is still
reviewing the decision but is
advantage of the system,”
Hussey said. “We just want
to run our cows and run them
right.”
Elizabeth
Howard,
attorney for affected ranchers,
said the ruling validates the
Forest Service’s methods for
implementing grazing and
monitoring its effects.
It also shows that plaintiffs
overestimated the amount of
paperwork that’s necessary
for the agency to comply with
disappointed the “court failed
to explain why it was reason-
able for the Forest Service
to collect, but then ignore”
data regarding “riparian
management
objectives”
under the agency’s strategy
for preserving inland fish.
Ranchers who rely on the
grazing allotments, which
span tens of thousands of
acres, intervened in the case
to defend the government’s
grazing authorizations.
A major point of conten-
tion in the case was whether
the Forest Service was
properly monitoring stream
conditions to ensure grazing
doesn’t degrade the bull
trout’s habitat.
Lacy had argued the
agency was relying on
“proxy” data — such as grass
stubble height and alteration
to stream banks — that didn’t
reflect worsening conditions
in the waterways.
“These failures, to the
extent they’re showing up in
the record, are getting worse
over time,” Lacy said during
oral arguments last year.
Egg nests laid by bull
trout are trampled by cattle,
which also raise water
temperatures to unhealthful
levels by widening streams
and denuding vegetation, the
plaintiffs claimed.
Stephen Odell, attorney for
the Forest Service, countered
that the environmental plain-
tiffs were “cherry-picking”
data from problematic “hot
spots” that don’t represent
broader conditions.
Forest Service scientists
have determined streambank
alteration and stubble height
are useful measures of prog-
ress that show conditions are
improving, he said.
“The record does not show
ongoing negative effects from
grazing,” Odell said during
last year’s oral arguments.
Over the objections of the
environmental groups, both
judges overseeing the case
agreed the Forest Service was
permitted to analyze habitat
health on the “watershed or
landscape scale, rather than
stream by stream.”
State knew of abuse case against family before crash
Google touts $1.8B data center investment
PORTLAND (AP) — Oregon
child welfare officials knew the
family in an SUV that plunged
off a California cliff had faced
a child abuse investigation in
another state when it looked into
allegations in 2013, according to
documents released Monday.
Oregon Child Protective
Services obtained records from
Minnesota prior to investigating
Jennifer and Sarah Hart in July
2013, KOIN-TV in Portland
reported Monday. But the agency
closed the case with investigators
concluding that they were “unable
to determine” whether there was
abuse in the home, despite some
indications of abuse or neglect.
Records obtained by the TV
station show the agency found
“some indications of child abuse
or neglect” but insufficient
information to conclude that it
occurred.
California authorities have
determined that Jennifer Hart was
drunk when she drove her large
family off a Northern California
PORTLAND (AP) — Google
has issued a report highlighting the
economic contributions of its six U.S.
data centers, including its original
facility in The Dalles.
The Silicon Valley company said
Monday it has invested $10.5 billion
building data centers across the country
since 2006, when it opened its Oregon
location along the Columbia River. The
company was the first of several large
data hosting companies to capitalize on
Oregon’s relatively low power costs and
uniquely advantageous tax structure.
Google opened its third data center
in The Dalles in February and now
employs 200 there, according to the
report. It has invested $1.8 billion
altogether, mostly to buy thousands of
pricey servers to host Gmail, photos,
movies and untold terabytes of corpo-
rate data.
Oregon’s big draw for data centers
is the absence of a state sales tax, which
cliff last month and they suspect
the crash was intentional. They are
still trying to determine a motive.
Toxicology results showed
Jennifer Hart’s wife and several
children had large amounts of
a drug in their systems that can
cause drowsiness.
The crash happened just days
after authorities in Washington
state — where the family moved
last year from Oregon — opened
an investigation following alle-
gations the children were being
neglected.
A neighbor of the Harts in
Woodland, Washington, had filed
a complaint with the state, saying
the children were apparently being
deprived of food as punishment.
No one answered when social
workers checking on the report
knocked on the family’s door
March 23, days before their SUV
was found off a cliff in Mendocino
County north of San Francisco.
Long before the crash, Sarah
Hart pleaded guilty in 2011 to
a domestic assault charge in
Minnesota over what she said
was a spanking given to one of
her children.
Alexandra
Argyropoulos
previously told The Associated
Press that she contacted Oregon
child welfare officials in 2013.
The former Hart family friend
said she “witnessed what I felt to
be controlling emotional abuse
and cruel punishment” toward the
six children.
Oregon child-welfare officials
previously declined to disclose
any information about the family,
citing privacy laws. But records
obtained by the TV station show
state child-welfare investigators
first tried to contact the family on
July 19, 2013.
They didn’t observe anyone at
home and left a card asking the
family to contact a caseworker.
Three days later, Sarah Hart
called the caseworker, saying
the family was soon going out of
town. She denied that the children
were undernourished, KOIN-TV
reported.
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
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’
Single copy price:
$1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and
postal holidays, 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.
Sunny and
pleasantly warm
76° 45°
79° 45°
THURSDAY
Very warm with
sunshine
FRIDAY
Variable cloudiness
79° 50°
77° 49°
Not as warm; a
morning shower
66° 42°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
83° 46°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
63°
64°
89° (1910)
32°
40°
26° (2013)
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"
1.37"
0.90"
5.08"
7.55"
4.86"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
67°
67°
86° (2012)
30°
41°
24° (2013)
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"
1.55"
0.64"
3.93"
5.47"
3.75"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
Apr 29
May 7
New
May 15
83° 52°
71° 45°
Seattle
75/50
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
84° 51°
5:54 a.m.
7:53 p.m.
2:02 p.m.
3:34 a.m.
First
May 21
Today
SATURDAY
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
80° 41°
Business Office Manager: Janna Heimgartner
541-966-0822 • jheimgartner@eastoregonian.com
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
Mostly sunny and
warmer
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases:
call 541-966-0818 or 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 at 541-966-0818.
• To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian.
com/community/announcements
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com
Circulation Manager:
Marcy Rosenberg • 541-966-0828 • mrosenberg@eastoregonian.com
Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group
WEDNESDAY
Classified & Legal Advertising
1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
ADVERTISING
Advertising Services: Grace Bubar
541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com
Multimedia Consultants:
• Kimberly Macias
541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com
• Jeanne Jewett
541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com
• Dayle Stinson
541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
• Angela Treadwell
541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
www.eastoregonian.com
TODAY
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.
Subscriber services:
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
Spokane
Wenatchee
70/45
72/48
Tacoma
Moses
75/45
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 76/44
68/44
76/49
75/45
77/45
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
80/48
77/53 Lewiston
78/43
Astoria
77/48
75/48
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
81/54
Pendleton 70/38
The Dalles 80/41
76/45
80/50
La Grande
Salem
71/41
81/51
Albany
Corvallis 80/46
78/48
John Day
72/43
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
73/43
77/48
74/42
Caldwell
Burns
73/43
71/39
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
75
70
74
63
71
70
77
74
80
72
75
71
69
84
72
69
73
78
76
81
77
81
70
70
79
77
77
Lo
48
37
42
48
39
38
48
46
41
43
42
41
40
52
47
48
43
44
45
54
39
51
45
37
51
53
45
W
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Wed.
Hi
73
77
80
63
78
73
79
77
83
79
80
76
74
88
65
67
79
83
79
84
83
82
72
75
81
79
82
Lo
51
41
45
48
45
41
49
43
46
46
43
42
40
54
49
49
46
46
45
59
45
53
47
38
56
51
49
W
s
s
pc
s
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
75
80
77
58
75
54
69
73
63
76
70
Lo
49
72
57
46
57
42
52
55
42
61
65
W
pc
t
s
r
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
c
Wed.
Hi
78
79
67
58
77
55
63
74
71
76
73
Lo
53
73
53
44
56
43
43
54
45
63
62
W
s
pc
t
t
pc
r
pc
pc
s
pc
r
WINDS
Medford
84/52
Klamath Falls
75/42
(in mph)
Today
Wednesday
Boardman
Pendleton
NE 6-12
E 4-8
NE 4-8
N 6-12
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Partial sunshine today.
Partly cloudy tonight.
Eastern Washington: Mostly sunny today.
Mostly clear tonight. Sunny tomorrow.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly sunny
and pleasant today. Mainly clear tonight.
Mostly sunny tomorrow.
Western Washington: Partly sunny
today. Partly cloudy tonight. Mostly sunny
tomorrow.
Cascades: Partly sunny today; pleasant.
Mainly clear tonight. Partly sunny tomorrow.
Northern California: Partly sunny today.
Partly cloudy tonight. Sunshine and patchy
clouds tomorrow.
2
4
6
saves companies hundreds of millions
of dollars on those servers, and a
property tax exemption under Oregon’s
enterprise zone program that’s worth
even more. Apple, Facebook and
Amazon all enjoy similar benefits
in other parts of central and Eastern
Oregon.
Wasco County estimates Google’s
property tax breaks were worth just shy
of $140 million to Google since 2006.
While Google’s 200 local jobs don’t
amount to much on a statewide level,
Oregon data centers do have a signifi-
cant impact in the small communities
where they operate. Wasco County has
about 10,640 jobs altogether, according
to the Oregon Employment Depart-
ment.
And data centers’ considerable
electricity use — they often consume as
much energy as entire small towns —
generate local franchise fees that boost
public budgets.
6
4
2
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. ©2018
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-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: A rainstorm will continue to advance northward in the Eastern states
today. A batch of rain and wet snow will affect parts of the central and northern Plains.
Warmth will build over much of the West.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 101° in Needles, Calif.
Low 16° in Saranac Lake, N.Y.
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
82
69
57
59
53
70
72
63
78
66
59
55
82
45
57
91
51
57
81
85
59
81
73
92
75
77
Lo
47
55
51
52
34
55
47
48
60
50
39
42
58
26
45
57
31
33
70
60
47
60
50
70
53
54
W
pc
c
r
r
s
pc
s
pc
c
r
c
r
s
c
c
pc
pc
pc
sh
s
r
pc
c
s
pc
pc
Wed.
Hi
71
70
59
65
68
72
77
55
79
61
52
49
69
64
52
78
51
65
81
82
59
81
58
94
68
74
Lo
50
54
51
45
39
54
48
49
58
39
36
36
47
37
36
55
28
44
72
56
38
60
42
69
51
54
W
s
pc
r
r
pc
pc
s
r
pc
sh
pc
c
r
s
sh
pc
pc
pc
sh
pc
c
pc
c
s
r
pc
Today
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
63
70
86
55
58
64
79
60
75
71
61
97
63
64
68
45
77
85
67
67
68
68
75
94
59
71
Lo
54
53
70
38
36
54
62
52
48
45
52
70
45
48
54
26
51
50
49
45
56
50
50
63
55
45
W
r
pc
pc
r
c
sh
s
pc
s
c
r
pc
s
pc
r
sn
s
s
c
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
r
s
Wed.
Hi
67
70
87
49
60
67
80
58
57
60
67
98
51
57
75
70
83
83
62
74
69
67
74
94
66
56
Lo
44
53
66
34
42
51
63
50
42
43
46
70
46
49
49
40
54
48
44
51
56
51
51
64
48
41
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
c
sh
pc
pc
s
c
s
r
r
pc
r
pc
r
r
c
pc
s
s
c
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
r
pc