NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Future of Lookout wolves unsure
Following additional
attacks in August and
September that killed five
head of cattle, ODFW
employees on Sept. 17 shot
and killed three more wolves,
including the pack’s breed-
ing male.
There were no attacks on
cattle for almost a month,
until Oct. 16, when biologists
determined wolves had killed
a 400-pound calf, likely on
Oct. 14.
ODFW employees on Oct.
20 then shot and killed three
more wolves, two juveniles
born this year and one wolf
born in 2020.
ODFW officials reported
they believe the Look-
out Mountain pack, which
roams in the area between
Highway 86 on the north
and Interstate 84 to the
south, now consists of up to
three wolves — the breed-
ing female and two juve-
niles born this spring that
are about six months old.
The breeding female has
a GPS tracking collar that
allows biologists to monitor
her movements.
Brown wrote that one
possibility is the breeding
female will remain in the
area.
“When there is a loss of a
breeder, the remaining wolf
will often stay in the famil-
iar territory, while waiting
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — The
Lookout Mountain Pack,
which has killed at least
nine cattle and injured three
others in eastern Baker
County since July, has been
pared from an estimated 11
wolves to three.
But how the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s killing of eight
wolves from the pack over the
past two and a half months
will affect its behavior in the
future can’t be forecast with
confidence, according to the
agency’s state wolf coordi-
nator.
“When wolves hunt they
are looking for vulnera-
ble prey and relying upon
instinct and experience,” said
Roblyn Brown, who works at
ODFW’s La Grande office.
“We cannot predict what a
wild animal will do in every
different situation, so I will
not predict whether or not the
breeding female will depre-
date in the future.”
After ODFW biolo-
gists confirmed that Look-
out Mountain wolves had
attacked cattle five times
during July, killing three and
injuring three others, agency
employees on Aug. 1 killed
two pups, born during the
spring.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife/Contributed Photo
A trail cam photo from May 30, 2021, of one of the two yearling wolves in the Lookout Moun-
tain Pack.
for a new mate to disperse
into the area,” according to
Brown.
It’s also possible the
breeding female will leave
to search for a new mate.
But Brown said she
doesn’t think that will
happen so long as the two
juvenile wolves are traveling
with their mother.
Because the breed-
ing female would not mate
with one of her offspring
— ODFW doesn’t know the
gender of the two remaining
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
A couple of
afternoon showers
Breezy with some
sun
57° 51°
59° 51°
| Go to AccuWeather.com
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Intervals of clouds
and sunshine
SATURDAY
Mostly cloudy and
breezy
Cooler with
periods of sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
74° 51°
54° 36°
66° 44°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
62° 54°
63° 52°
77° 56°
57° 40°
71° 46°
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
57/51
51/43
57/39
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
58/48
Lewiston
56/49
62/54
Astoria
58/49
Pullman
Yakima 53/46
55/46
58/50
Portland
Hermiston
58/51
The Dalles 62/54
Salem
Corvallis
58/49
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
51/45
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
58/51
55/47
52/45
Ontario
56/46
Caldwell
Burns
65°
40°
62°
36°
80° (1959) 20° (2002)
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
56/50
0.25"
0.92"
0.62"
3.59"
2.29"
6.29"
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
57/50
49/41
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Columbia River is unsafe again, say officials
By ANNETTE CARY
Tri-City Herald
KEN NEWICK — A
toxic algae bloom along the
Columbia River in Richland
is back. The Benton Franklin
Health District closed part of
the shoreline to recreation in
mid-September after reports
of three dogs dying and
others being sickened after
playing in the water.
Testing showed a high
level of neurotoxin in the
water linked to a blue algae
bloom.
Weeks of testing followed,
with the health district finally
finding the water safe as of
Oct. 18 and reopening the
shoreline. But that did not
last long.
Followup testing found
toxic levels of cyanobacte-
ria in the river once again.
By the end of the week the
health district again closed
the shoreline in Richland
from the Leslie Groves Park
Wed.
SSW 7-14
S 8-16
WSW 8-16
W 10-20
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
old enough to travel full time
with the breeding female, but
they “are unlikely to contrib-
ute any when killing larger
prey due to their lack of expe-
rience,” Brown wrote.
The juvenile wolves can
kill smaller prey on their
own, she wrote.
ODFW officials have said
previously they decided to
kill wolves from the pack
because the evidence showed
the wolves were targeting
cattle despite healthy popu-
lations of elk and deer, the
boat launch at Snyder Street
to the dike at the south end of
the park.
The toxin linked to the
algae blooms is particularly
dangerous to small children
and animals that ingest the
water. It can be fatal. Dogs
can be exposed not only by
drinking the water but also
by licking contaminated
water off their fur or paws.
Symptoms can appear within
15 minutes, depending on the
size of the dog or person and
the amount of the neurotoxin
consumed, according to
the Benton Franklin Health
District.
Symptoms in dogs can
include weakness, stagger-
ing, difficulty breathing and
convulsions. Symptoms in
people can include numb
lips, tingling fingers and
toes and dizziness. Toxins
also can accumulate in fish
tissues, especially in the
liver, kidneys and other
organs. The health district
advises caution in eating
fish, particularly their organs,
that are caught in areas with
a major cyanobacteria bloom.
The health district will be
conducting weekly testing
until levels are again deter-
mined to be safe.
Toxic algae blooms vary
in appearance, but commonly
look like pea soup or are
blue-green or turquoise in
color. Harmful algae blooms
can be green, blue, red or
brown, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency.
They can be scummy or
look like paint on the surface
of the water. However, the
level of toxicity can vary day
to day and the only way to
determine whether the water
is safe is by testing. Toxic
algae blooms were reported
across Washington state in
areas not seen before in late
summer and fall.
WINDS (in mph)
55/47
51/37
0.15"
0.83"
0.87"
5.83"
9.83"
10.08"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 50/40
58/50
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
57/51
59/49
60°
39°
60°
38°
86° (1924) 19° (2020)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
55/46
Aberdeen
50/40
53/43
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
54/48
juveniles — the only circum-
stance in which the breeding
female would have a new
mate is if a dispersing male
wolf moves into the Lookout
Mountain area, Brown wrote.
“Disper si ng wolves
commonly travel throughout
the Lookout Mountain unit,”
she wrote.
Brown wrote there are no
nearby wolf packs that are
likely to “take over” the terri-
tory of the Lookout Mountain
pack.
The juvenile wolves are
usual main food source for
wolf packs, in the Lookout
Mountain area.
Officials also said ranch-
ers in the area had frequently
patrolled the area, tried to
haze the wolves, and ensured
there were no bone piles or
other attractants.
The agency initially
focused on juveniles and
yearlings rather than the
pack’s breeding pair. But
ODFW officials decided to
kill the breeding male on
Sept. 17 when depredations
continued.
Baker County Sheriff
Travis Ash, who has talked
with ranchers who have
lost cattle to the wolves and
been present at some ODFW
investigations at attack
scenes, wrote a letter on Sept.
12 to ODFW Director Curt
Melcher asking for the state
to eliminate the entire Look-
out Mountain pack.
Ash said on Friday, Oct.
22, that although he hopes the
killing of the three wolves on
Oct. 20 will change the pack’s
behavior and end attacks on
cattle, he’s not confident that
will happen.
He said ranchers are frus-
trated and want to be able to
run their cattle on private
land — where several of the
attacks have happened —
without having to deal with
losses from wolves.
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:27 a.m.
5:51 p.m.
9:41 p.m.
1:25 p.m.
Last
New
First
Full
Oct 28
Nov 4
Nov 11
Nov 19
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 98° in Zapata, Texas Low 18° in Brimson, Minn.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
IN BRIEF
Angler smashes Idaho fishing
record for grass carp
ered invasive in Idaho, common and grass
carp are not.
BOISE — An Idaho angler’s recent catch
blew state records out of the water, the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game said in a news
release.
Cris Endicott of Meridian, Idaho, landed a
46.7-pound grass carp, a large freshwater fish
species from Asia, while fishing the Snake
River on Oct. 10 with a twin-tail bass jig.
Endicott’s catch took the state weight
record for rod-and-reel grass carp, but it also
dwarfed the record for archery-caught and
catch-and-release fish of the same species.
Endicott’s carp measured 50 inches long
— 10 inches longer than the catch-and-release
record of 40 inches.
The archery record was 39.5 pounds and
40.63 inches long.
According to Fish and Game, grass carp
aren’t as prevalent in the area as common
carp, which are numerous in Southwest Idaho.
Another Treasure Valley angler, Boisean
Henry Charlier, set the common carp weight
record earlier this year with a 34-pound fish
— also pulled from the Snake River.
Though several species of carp are consid-
Walla Walla area parks close,
residents lose power in storm
WALLA WALLA — All parks in the city
of Walla Walla and Lions Park in College
Place were closed due to extreme wind
speeds, city and county officials announced
Sunday, Oct. 24.
“We ask that you stay out of the parks due
to the possibility of limbs coming down and
causing injury or damage,” Gunner Fulmer,
administrative sergeant with the Walla Walla
Police Department, wrote in a release.
The National Weather Service had issued
a high wind warning, and area dispatchers
received reports of life-threatening hazards,
according to Walla Walla County Emergency
Management.
County officials urged residents to shelter
indoors and avoid nonessential travel through
the duration of the windstorm.
Hundreds of residents in Walla Walla lost
power Oct. 24 due to the high winds and fall-
ing tree branches.
— Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
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
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cold front
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