East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
NORTHWEST
Gravel cycling takes people around Wallowa County
map in one area. With media,
they have pictures, videos,
and now podcasts. They are
really changing the game of
route guides.”
Another board member,
Mike Hobson, said the
group’s goals fit right into
places like Wallowa County
communities.
“Farming towns … are
just a blast to ride,” he said.
“I love the big views of the
mountains and quiet roads.”
He also noted that this
means tourism dollars to
communities that could
really benefit.
And what about e-bikes?
Dirty Freehub fully supports
gravel e-bikes, with each
route clearly tagged as e-bike
friendly.
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY
— An online nonprofit group
that promotes gravel bicycle
routes is taking advantage
of the many miles of gravel
roads in Wallowa County, as
well as the history and beauty
of the county by establishing
routes for gravel cycling.
The Bend-based Dirty
Freehub maps out routes it
shares with cyclists. The
group has a guide to more
than 8,000 miles of gravel
bike routes across Oregon,
Washington, California,
Arizona and Tasmania.
So far, the group has
mapped four five-star routes
in the county, according to
Executive Director Linda
English.
“One will go through
Zumwalt (Prairie) Preserve,”
English said in a press
release. “We will have
one that starts in Enter-
prise and uses Hurricane
Ridge, another that starts
in Imnaha and another that
uses logging/forest roads up
toward Hells Canyon Look-
out.”
Linda English/Dirty Freehub
Gravel cyclists, from left, Kevin English, Chris Kutach and Kelly Kutach traverse a route be-
tween Enterprise and Joseph recently.
becoming a nonprofit better
reflects our mission,” English
said. “While cyclists use our
website to find routes, our
real mission is to connect
cyclists to the places they
ride.”
The group also has other
missions.
“We have a bunch of
social missions: inspiring
people to get outside and
ride, utilizing existing roads
but trying to keep cyclists off
busier roads,” English said in
an email. “Economic devel-
opment for areas that depend
Dirty Freehub’s
purpose
English said the group’s
goals are multiple.
“We’ve been provid-
ing five-star gravel bike
route guides since 2014, but
on tourism, inspiring cyclists
to become donors, volun-
teers and advocates to orga-
nizations that preserve these
areas.”
She said Wallowa County
offers some unique opportu-
nities for cyclists.
“To connect a cyclist to
where they ride, we can use
a variety of approaches,” she
said. “The stories about the
granges are fascinating. The
history of Joseph, informa-
tion about the fish hatchery
and environmental info from
organizations that work to
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
protect the beauty of the area,
the ecosystems, etc.”
Dirty Freehub also is
focused on how to utilize
technology to help cyclists
find the best routes.
“I’m so impressed with
the range of technology
they have implemented,”
said Chuck Allen, a board
member and retired Micro-
soft executive. “They offer
downloadable routes with
turn-by-turn directions, a
searchable database and
mapping overlays that let you
look at multiple routes on a
Mostly sunny and
very hot
93° 66°
100° 70°
Partly sunny and
very hot
Sunshine and very
hot
Near-record
temperatures
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
101° 70°
105° 73°
101° 74°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
95° 66°
102° 66°
105° 66°
109° 76°
106° 72°
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
77/59
86/59
95/66
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
92/70
Lewiston
87/63
94/66
Astoria
70/57
Pullman
Yakima 93/65
85/59
94/68
Portland
Hermiston
91/66
The Dalles 95/66
Salem
Corvallis
91/61
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
90/59
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
96/61
91/63
93/60
Ontario
94/63
Caldwell
Burns
84°
51°
93°
59°
107° (1972) 43° (1931)
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
93/62
0.00"
0.00"
0.05"
1.93"
1.66"
5.19"
WINDS (in mph)
90/59
93/54
0.00"
0.01"
0.09"
4.37"
8.68"
8.40"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 87/56
94/64
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
93/66
98/69
83°
50°
90°
60°
111° (1898) 43° (1901)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
83/59
Aberdeen
88/67
93/70
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
83/63
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
102/67
Wed.
W 4-8
WNW 6-12
SSE 3-6
N 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
94/52
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:49 a.m.
8:11 p.m.
7:59 a.m.
9:43 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
Aug 15
Aug 22
Aug 29
Sep 6
SALEM — The Oregon
Fish and Wildlife Commis-
sion on Friday, Aug. 6,
approved the purchase of
nearly 5,000 acres of land
along the Minam River,
according to a press release.
The purchase, the release
said, is part of Phase I of
a project that will eventu-
ally create the 15,000-acre
Minam River Wildlife Area.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife,
Rocky Mountain Elk Foun-
dation and Hancock Natu-
ral Resource Group are
partnering on the a proj-
ect to purchase property in
Wallowa and Union coun-
ties along the Minam River.
The move will permanently
protect crucial big game
winter range and provide
habitat for salmon, bull trout
and Oregon Conservation
Strategy Species, including
white-headed woodpecker,
Rocky Mountain tailed
frog and several priority bat
species.
Located about 30 miles
High 107° in Needles, Calif. Low 29° in Stanley, Idaho
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
northeast of La Grande, the
Hancock Natural Resource
Group manages the property,
which has a recent appraised
value of $18.7 million. The
final purchase price will
be determined by updated
appraisals, the release said.
The Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation has committed
a minimum of $5.15 million
apportioned to both phases.
Phase I funding came from
RMEF and the Wildlife
Restoration Program, a
federal excise tax on guns
and ammunition.
Completing Phase II
is contingent on securing
additional funding through
a USDA Forest Legacy
program grant, which will be
matched with RMEF funds
to purchase the remaining
10,964 acres. The Oregon
Hunters Association, the
Oregon chapter of Four North
American Wild Sheep and
other organizations are also
contributing funds towards
the purchase.
The properties will be
added to ODFW’s current
440-acre Minam River Wild-
life Area, turning it into one
of the state’s major wild-
life areas providing wildlife
habitat and outdoor recre-
ation opportunities. Future
management will be deter-
mined through the adoption
of a Wildlife Area Manage-
ment Plan.
Managers envision the
property as a “working
landscape” where livestock
grazing and active forest
management assist with habi-
tat management goals. Fish
and Wildlife will continue to
pay fire protection and in-lieu
of property taxes for parcels
in each respective county.
Recreation opportunities
on the new property could
include hunting, fishing,
kayaking and other activities.
A footbridge over the Minam
River is being considered to
facilitate improved public
access to the historic Minam
River Trail, which trav-
els for 6 miles through the
property. The trail connects
recreationists to the Wallowa
Mountains and Eagle Cap
Wilderness in the neighbor-
ing national forest.
IN BRIEF
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
Dirty Freehub has a long
history with gravel cycling.
“Back in 2014, Dirty
Freehub founders Linda and
Kevin (English) were enthu-
siastically convincing me that
gravel was going to be the
next big thing in cycling, they
were on the forefront of the
gravel scene with a pointed
vision to start creating routes
for their community to
enjoy,” said Nicola Cranmer,
founder and general manager
of TWENTY24 Women’s
Pro Cycling Team and Dirty
Freehub adviser. “They were
so passionate about riding
gravel, who could have fore-
Commission approves purchase of new
property for Minam River Wildlife Area
The Observer
Mostly sunny
Dirty Freehub’s past
seen the explosion of events,
culture and participation in
the years that followed, they
were such visionaries.”
English said she’s partic-
ularly eager to get cyclists
around Wallowa County,
with which she’s become
familiar.
“We also love to help
with dispersing people;
we worked on routes that
used roads up toward Hells
Canyon Overlook and saw
absolutely nobody,” she said.
“Same thing with the road up
Zumwalt, which was spec-
tacular. There are loads of
great farming roads around
Lostine and Enterprise. Same
thing around Imnaha.”
Regarding the future of
Dirty Freehub, Linda English
said, “We will keep adding
route guides. Right now
we are focused on Oregon,
California, Washington and
Arizona. We are also adding
information to the exist-
ing route guides including
2-minute videos that provide
an amazing feel about the
route and podcasts that tell
stories about the history,
culture, or environment of an
area. We will add to our bike
packing routes and continue
to learn more about support-
ing e-bikes.”
For more information
about Dirty Freehub, go to
www.dirtyfreehub.org, email
info@DirtyFreehub.org or
call English at 541-550-8930.
Highway construction to make
headway through Aug. 13
LA GRANDE — Construction on Inter-
state 84 outside of La Grande will continue
on Monday, Aug. 9. Crews will be grind-
ing and excavating the right lane westbound
between milepoints 237.5 and 241.5 to repave
the section.
This work is part of the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation’s larger project to
completely reconstruct the four-mile section.
The eastbound portion was completed three
weeks ago and the westbound will be finished
by the end of October, according to Mike
Remily, ODOT’s resident engineer in La
Grande.
Crews also will be working to install a
drain system and bridge work at exit 238.
The speed limit through the work zone
remains at 50 mph. There are no anticipated
delays, Remily said.
On several sections of I-84, other work-
ers will be repairing and installing linings in
culverts underneath the interstate.
These lining repairs should be finished by
Aug. 12, and will take place near milepoints
207.76 westbound and 228.29 westbound,
according to an ODOT statement.
During construction near these mileposts,
there will be intermittent shoulder closures.
Construction work on Highway 244 will
continue through the week of Aug. 9, mainly
on the new retaining wall 12 miles west of
I-84 between milepoints 35.5 and 36.2.
The 300-foot-long wall should be finished
by Aug. 13, according to Remily. After
completing the wall, crews will install guard-
rails, repave and stripe the road, which has an
expected completion date of Sept. 6.
Flaggers and temporary traffic signals will
be controlling traffic, which can expect delays
up to 15 minutes.
—EO Media Group
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
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
70s
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
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.
Copyright © 2021, EO Media Group
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
Circulation Dept.
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214
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.
ADVERTISING
Regional Sales Director (Eastside) EO Media Group:
• Karrine Brogoitti
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
EastOregonian.com
In the App Store:
80s
541-963-3161 • kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Local home
delivery
Savings
(cover price)
$10.75/month
50 percent
52 weeks
$135
42 percent
26 weeks
$71
39 percent
13 weeks
$37
36 percent
EZPay
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Multimedia Consultants:
541-564-4531
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Business Office
• Dayle Stinson
541-966-0824 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
Classified & Legal Advertising
Classified advertising: 541-564-4538
Legal advertising: 541-966-0824
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
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 Renee Struthers
or Amy Velho at 541-966-0818.
• To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit eastoregonian.
com/community/announcements
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Commercial Print Manager: Holly Rouska
541-617-7839 • hrouska@eomediagroup.com