NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Wolves kill calf in Baker County
cattle herds that have been
attacked to kill some of the
wolves.
Oregon’s wolf manage-
ment plan allows ranchers
to kill wolves that are in the
act of attacking livestock or
working dogs, but a lethal
take permit gives ranchers,
or their designated agents or
ODFW employees, author-
ity to kill wolves that are in a
certain area, even if they’re not
directly threatening livestock.
Melcher approved the
lethal take permit on July 29,
the first issued in Oregon since
2018.
The per mit allowed
ranchers Deward and Kathy
Thompson, their agents or
Fish and Wildlife employ-
ees, to kill up to four subadult
wolves from the Lookout
Mountain Pack.
On Aug. 1, ODFW
employees, firing rif les
from a helicopter, killed two
3½-month-old pups from the
pack, part of the litter of seven
pups born to the pack’s breed-
ing female this spring.
No other wolves were
killed before the lethal take
permit expired Saturday,
Aug. 21, according to Fish and
Wildlife.
But in response to the most
recent wolf attack on cattle —
the first since the state work-
ODFW green lights
killing of additional
Lookout Mountain
Pack wolves
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Wolves
from the Lookout Mountain
Pack in eastern Baker County
killed a 3-month-old calf on
a private grazing pasture last
week. The Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife in
response extended for three
weeks the permit allowing
the killing of two more wolves
from the pack.
ODFW confirmed the wolf
attack on a calf after an inves-
tigation Aug. 19.
Lookout Mountain wolves
have killed three head of cattle
and injured two others over
the past month northeast of
Durkee, according to Fish and
Wildlife reports.
Attacks during the second
half of July, in which wolves
killed two animals and
injured two others, prompted
Mark Bennett, Baker County
commissioner and chair of the
county’s wolf committee, to
send a letter to ODFW Direc-
tor Curt Melcher seeking a
permit allowing the rancher
who owns or manages the
food needs and disrupting the
pack’s behavior so they don’t
associate livestock with an
easy meal.”
Wolf attack confirmed
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife/Contributed Photo, File
A trail cam photo from May 30, 2021, of one of the two yearling wolves in the Lookout
Mountain pack. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has extended the permit
allowing the killing of two more wolves from the pack.
ers killed the two wolf pups
Aug. 1 — ODFW extended
the lethal take permit through
Sept. 14.
The new permit allows the
Thompsons, two other local
ranchers whose animals have
been attacked by wolves, their
agents or ODFW employees
to kill up to two subadult
Forecast for Pendleton Area
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TODAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Sunny much of the
time
Sunshine and
pleasant
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
Pleasant with
sunshine
Nice with plenty of
sunshine
78° 54°
75° 48°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 52°
81° 49°
85° 58°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 58°
79° 47°
84° 49°
86° 52°
90° 62°
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
64/56
74/54
80/51
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
79/58
Lewiston
70/56
82/58
Astoria
66/55
Pullman
Yakima 78/53
68/53
81/60
Portland
Hermiston
75/58
The Dalles 81/58
Salem
Corvallis
73/53
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
76/52
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
80/54
77/45
81/49
Ontario
88/60
Caldwell
Burns
84°
50°
89°
54°
103° (1958) 38° (2012)
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
74/53
0.00"
Trace
0.14"
1.93"
1.66"
5.28"
WINDS (in mph)
86/58
81/42
0.00"
0.01"
0.26"
4.37"
8.68"
8.57"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 73/47
78/55
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
78/54
80/60
82°
52°
87°
56°
104° (1996) 34° (1910)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
69/54
Aberdeen
74/53
77/58
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
68/55
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
86/57
Fri.
WSW 8-16
W 8-16
WSW 6-12
W 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
80/40
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
6:09 a.m.
7:44 p.m.
9:53 p.m.
10:35 a.m.
Last
New
First
Full
Aug 29
Sep 6
Sep 13
Sep 20
NATIONAL EXTREMES
wolves from the pack.
The extended permit does
not increase the number of
wolves that can be killed —
the maximum is four, the same
as with the original permit.
The extended permit, as
was the case with the original,
does not allow the killing of
the Lookout Mountain pack’s
breeding female and male.
Michelle Dennehy, a
spokesperson for ODFW,
said earlier this month that
the agency’s goal was not to
eliminate the pack — which
could happen if the breed-
ing pair was killed — but to
stop chronic attacks on live-
stock “by reducing the pack’s
According to the inves-
tigation report from Aug.
19, an adjacent landowner
found the dead calf, which
weighed about 150 pounds,
on the morning of Aug. 19 on
a 1,000-acre private pasture.
The landowner notified the
calf’s owner.
An ODFW biologist
examined the carcass, which
according to a report “had
been heavily scavenged and
was missing the majority of
muscle tissues posterior of the
lower neck, pelvis, hind left
leg, and all external organs.”
The biologist estimated the
calf was killed late Aug. 18 or
early Aug. 19.
The biologist found a
30-yard-long “attack scene,”
that included blood on blades
of standing grass, along with
wolf tracks.
The calf was alive when
it suffered bite injuries on
its hind right leg above the
hock, on its back, front right
elbow, head and upper neck.
The tooth marks were up to
3/16 of an inch wide and 2
inches long, consistent with
wolf attacks.
Oregon’s Alpenfest, Juniper Jam
canceled due to COVID-19 worries
JOSEPH — For the second year in a row,
Oregon’s Alpenfest has been canceled due to
the coronavirus pandemic.
Directors of Oregon’s Alpenfest, a
Swiss-Bavarian variation on the typical
Oktoberfest, have canceled the festival for
2021 because of the dramatic increase in
COVID-19 case counts in Wallowa County
and statewide. The county, as of Monday,
Aug. 23, has reported 348 cases of corona-
virus, but more than 100 of those have been
reported in the month of August.
The festival was to have featured Mollie
B & SqueezeBox, one of the most in-demand
bands in the polka industry, Sept. 23-26 at
the Harley Tucker Rodeo Grounds in Joseph.
Since 1975, Alpenfest has been the last major
Wallowa County event of the tourist season.
Advance ticket holders will receive
refunds, according to Chuck Anderson,
alpenmeister of the festival and president of
its nonprofit organization, Alpenfest.
“We regret having to do this, but we were
anticipating record attendance because of
Mollie B and that would have meant hundreds
of guests gathered in an enclosed space,”
Anderson said. “Even with face masks, we
couldn’t risk the health any of our loyal fans,
volunteers or performers.”
The festival has endured ups and downs
during its 46-year history. In its first incar-
nation, as just “Alpenfest,” ran from 1975
to 2008, when it was discontinued due to
declining attendance.
A new organization revived it as Oregon’s
Alpenfest in 2012. Then it was threatened
financially in 2019 when it lost its longtime
home at the Wallowa Lake Tramway and a
giant rented tent proved to be burdensome
due to weather, logistical problems and the
tent’s rental cost. The setback was averted
thanks to assistance from Community Bank.
The 2020 festival had been canceled
because Oregon banned large gatherings
during an earlier stage of the pandemic.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown hadn’t yet taken
that step during the current surge in cases,
but Anderson said the Alpenfest’s board of
directors concluded the risk to attendees was
too great.
“There’s no question that we will survive,”
Anderson said. “In the early 20th century,
despite tough odds, Swiss and German immi-
grants helped settle Oregon. We aren’t any
different.”
The 2022 festival is scheduled for
Sept. 22-25.
The recent coronavirus spike also claimed
another event, as Juniper Jam was canceled,
organizers announced Aug. 18.
“The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in
our region has led us to this heartbreaking
decision, and we urge folks to get vaccinated
and help stop the spread of this awful virus,”
the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance said.
Online ticket sales will be refunded,
and those who purchased tickets from local
outlets are encouraged to return to those
locations for their refund.
Next year’s event is scheduled for
Sept. 3, 2022.
— EO Media Group
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 113° in Thermal, Calif. Low 24° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
IN BRIEF
Hancock Forest Management
Lands open for day use
LA GRANDE — Hancock Forest Manage-
ment lands in Northeastern Oregon are
reopened to day use only as of Tuesday, Aug.
24, as fire restrictions have eased slightly in
the region.
Motorized vehicles are only allowed on
main rocked roads without vegetation —
outside of travel management areas.
Hancock lands in Northeastern Oregon
closed in July due to extreme fire danger. The
change applies to Hancock properties in the
Shamrock, Whiskey Creek, Noregaard, Little
Catherine Creek and Meacham travel manage-
ment areas and any other Hancock proper-
ties enrolled in the Access and Habitat state
program in Northeast Oregon.
With this year’s extreme fire danger, hunt-
ers, anglers and others heading outdoors are
reminded to “know before you go” and check
for access restrictions due to fire danger.
Usually, smoking and off-road driving is
prohibited. Vehicles are required to carry a
gallon of water or fully charged 2½-pound
fire extinguisher and shovel when off state
highway or county roads, and campfires are
prohibited or restricted.
— EO Media Group
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