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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Friday, March 22, 2019 Interior boss order aims to protect U.S. public land access By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — Acting U.S. Interior Sec- retary David Bernhardt ordered federal land man- agers on Thursday to give greater priority to access for hunting, fishing and other kinds of recreation when the government considers sell- ing or trading public land. The secretarial order comes amid longstanding complaints that millions of acres of state and federal land in the American West can be reached only by trav- eling across private prop- erty or small slivers of pub- lic land. Bernhardt’s order requires the Bureau of Land Management to come up with alternatives to access routes that could be lost during land sales or exchanges. It also helps prevent land from being selected in the first place for potential sale. The move could help boost Bernhardt’s conser- vation credentials ahead of a Senate confirmation hearing March 28, in which Demo- crats are likely to highlight his past work as an energy industry lobbyist. Bernhardt has been nom- inated to replace former Secretary Ryan Zinke, who Miles City Star/Steve Allison, File This March 12, 2010, file photo, shows deer seeking foliage in retreating snow in grasslands near Miles City, Mont. resigned in January. Several hunting and con- servation groups voiced sup- port for the action, includ- ing the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Associa- tion of State Fish and Wild- life Agencies. But others said it appeared politically calculated to curry favor among lawmakers ahead of the hearing. The critics pointed to drastic cuts in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports conservation and outdoor recreation proj- ects nationwide. Bernhardt said in a state- ment that the administra- tion “has and will con- tinue to prioritize access so that people can hunt, fish, camp and recreate on our Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SATURDAY Intervals of clouds and sunshine Mostly cloudy 62° 43° 54° 38° SUNDAY MONDAY Partial sunshine TUESDAY Overcast Turning cloudy public lands.” Hunting and fishing advocates had pressed the administration to close what they considered a loophole in federal land policies that allows some sites to be sold. The Bureau of Land Management oversees almost 400,000 square miles of federal land. A 1976 law requires agency officials to identify lands for potential Oregon Legislature’s HR director retires Christopher was key contact for harassment complaints in Capitol PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 57° 38° 54° 36° 56° 38° By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Oregon Capital Bureau HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 66° 44° 60° 38° 61° 38° 58° 38° 59° 38° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 56/42 54/39 64/37 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 62/47 Lewiston 57/41 65/43 Astoria 55/40 Pullman Yakima 60/41 61/37 59/46 Portland Hermiston 58/42 The Dalles 66/44 Salem Corvallis 55/39 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 59/38 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 55/40 52/31 60/38 Ontario 67/44 Caldwell Burns 66° 32° 59° 35° 78° (1934) 20° (1944) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 54/40 0.00" 0.10" 0.64" 3.49" 2.14" 2.88" WINDS (in mph) 63/43 56/36 0.00" 0.39" 0.92" 5.24" 3.34" 3.43" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 55/35 55/41 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 62/43 58/40 60° 35° 56° 36° 78° (1915) 19° (1913) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 64/39 Aberdeen 56/38 57/39 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 65/48 Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 57/41 Sat. WSW 6-12 WSW 6-12 WSW 7-14 W 7-14 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 47/31 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 6:55 a.m. 7:10 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 8:12 a.m. Last New First Full Mar 27 Apr 5 Apr 12 Apr 19 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 81° in Tamiami, Fla. Low -6° in Gothic, Colo. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY sale or exchange, but not to look at potential effects on recreational access. As a result, the bureau has identified for potential sale sites such as 11 parcels of land totaling 4.3 square miles adjacent to the Big- horn National Forest west of Buffalo, Wyoming, said Joel Webster with the The- odore Roosevelt Conserva- tion Partnership. The area sits beneath the towering peaks of the Big- horn Mountains. One of the parcels identified for poten- tial sale has a hiking trail passing directly through it, Webster said. Another area identi- fied for potential sale — an 8-square-mile tract of mostly grasslands near Miles City, Montana — is popular for deer, antelope and bird hunting and can be accessed from a nearby highway. “It is one of the best mule deer hunting areas in the nation,” Webster said. “The BLM just has not been think- ing about recreational access when they’ve been looking to sell lands. We think this order means much fewer acres with access are going to be available for sale.” National Parks Conserva- tion Association Vice Pres- ident Kristen Brengel said the order’s timing — exactly one week before Bernhardt appears in front of the Sen- ate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — casts doubt over the admin- istration’s purpose. “They’re paying lip ser- vice to an issue a lot of peo- ple care about,” Brengel said. “When the president’s budget doesn’t fund the most prominent program that would guarantee this access, this is completely empty.” SALEM — The Legis- lature’s top personnel exec- utive, embroiled in the sex- ual harassment controversy at the Capitol, has retired but will draw more than $12,000 a month until September to work from home. Lore Christopher, 64, negotiated a retirement agreement last fall in which she agreed to step down as director of human resources at the Legislature. She formally retired Jan. 1. She remained acting direc- tor until her replacement started March 11. Christopher declined an interview and didn’t respond to most written questions from a reporter about her departure. As human resources director, Christopher was a key contact for people reporting harassment or other workplace problems at the Capitol. She was identified in a state investigation of harass- ment at the Capitol as one of the officials who failed to react fully to complaints. The state Bureau of Labor and Industries reported that in at least one instance Chris- topher advised an employee complaining of harassment to stay mum. The harassment inves- tigation disrupted the early days of the 2019 Legisla- ture, capped with legisla- tive leaders agreeing to pay $1 million to nine people who asserted they had been harassed at the Capitol. As part of the settlement, legislative leaders agreed to shift responsibility for harassment claims away from Christopher’s office to a new office. Jessica Knieling, pre- viously the deputy human resources officer for the state Department of Adminis- trative Services, joined the Legislature as its interim director of human resources March 11. Christopher’s departure and Knieling’s employment were announced to legisla- tive employees in a March 7 email but no public state- ment was issued about the change. The terms of Christo- pher’s retirement were out- lined in a four-page agree- ment obtained this week by the Oregon Capital Bureau. She signed the deal on Sept. 11, 2018. The con- tract said she would retire by year’s end but continue as the acting director until a replacement was hired. She agreed to “a home office base, performing work as assigned” using a state-provided laptop com- puter, according to the document She was tasked with what were described as spe- cial projects, including a pay study of seven legisla- tive jobs, implementing new pay equity standards for leg- islative employees, and pro- viding help with two pend- ing lawsuits against the Legislature. Christopher also agreed not to sue the state for age discrimination, a provision neither Christopher nor legis- lative leaders would explain. The agreement said she would be paid $12,116 a month — her pay rate as human resources director — through August for a total of $96,928 in 2019. Nearly a month after agreeing to retire, Christo- pher shared the news with certain legislative offices and officials, including top econ- omists and political staff. “It has been a pleasure to work with you for more than 22 years as human resources director and it’s hard to believe that many years have gone by. I’m honored to have spent them with you,” she wrote in an Oct. 5 email. Her retirement deal was struck one month after then-Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian filed his com- plaint against legislative offi- cials that included references to conduct by Christopher. The commissioner’s complaint centered on the Legislature’s handling of harassment allegations by colleagues and two interns against former state Sen. Jeff Kruse, a Roseburg Republi- can who resigned in March 2018. It also cited other alle- gations of harassment in the Capitol, including from two unidentified employees, including one Avakian iden- tified only as Employee A. Audrey Mechling, a for- mer staffer in the House, later publicly identified her- self as that worker. She received a part of the settle- ment announced March 5. Mechling had reported harassment by an intern in 2015. Ed Harnden, an attor- ney representing the Leg- islature, wrote to state investigators last year that Christopher at the time had investigated Mechling’s claims with results that were “inconclusive.” Harnden said that Chris- topher recommended that Mechling and the intern not discuss the claims. “This was not a directive or a requirement to remain silent, nor was it for any nefarious purpose,” Harnden wrote. Avakian said in his com- plaint that Christopher had told Mechling that she “would be informed if the alleged harasser were ever hired in the Capitol again.” Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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