B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Sunshine, but dark days for deer?
Saturday, January 8, 2022
EOU:
Continued from Page B1
court until Jan. 14 when
they travel to Kirkland,
Washington, to take on
Northwest.
This is the time of season
when teams are looking to
make their mark in confer-
ence play and begin the
ramp up for postseason
action, Weissenfluh said.
T he Mou nt ai neer
women did not practice on
Thursday, Jan. 6, and Weis-
senfluh said they are evalu-
ating the best way forward.
That could include prac-
tices or even giving the
players the weekend off.
“The health and safety of
our players is most import-
ant,” she said.
GARY
LEWIS
ON THE TRAIL
I
n the fall of 1992, a
friend and I drove east
to hunt mule deer.
In places like Joseph and
Enterprise, and out past Post
and Paulina, we counted
hundreds of deer in one day.
Herds of 50 or a hundred
does with small bucks in the
mix and always a big mule
deer buck tucked up on a
butte. It opened my eyes.
I would never see that
many deer in Oregon ever
again. The winter of 1992-
93 was especially hard on
deer when the snow crusted
over. Thousands of deer
were winter-killed. Biol-
ogists thought the herds
would bounce back. They
always did before.
In those days deer
numbers ebbed and flowed
with the numbers of
predators. Cougars were
hunted with hounds, and
a lot of people trapped the
coyotes that preyed on the
fawns. When the voters
outlawed hunting cougars
with hounds in 1994, the
numbers of deer didn’t
rebound. Think about it.
An adult cougar is probably
going to kill 50 deer or elk a
year if it gets its way. That’s
a lot better success rate than
your average hunter, who
tags a mule deer maybe
once every four or five
seasons.
It is easy to find reasons
why deer numbers have
not bounced back. But let’s
talk about winter range.
Drive through the Colum-
bia Basin, out to Enterprise
or Whitney and along the
base of the Elkhorns and
you will see deer in twos
and threes. Count the fawns.
Every doe should have a
fawn each spring and often
two. By January there are
probably 45 fawns for each
100 does. What happened to
them? Is that enough fawns
to rebuild a deer herd? It’s
not. But the primary limiter
is winter range. Deer are
most fragile in late March
and even in April it is hard
to get the nutrition they need
to stay alive. Weakened by
winter, they are easy prey
for cougars, coyotes and
bobcats.
Miles of sagebrush,
native grasses, stands of
Bigger impact
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
What are the cumulative effects of solar farms? What about glint and glare? Can proposed
projects be built without affecting big game migration corridors?
bitterbrush and mountain
mahogany should provide
food, thermal shelter cover
and escape for deer, elk,
pronghorn and other species
that make the desert home
when snows blanket the
mountains.
We take it for granted
winter range will always be
there, that there will always
be a place for deer, elk and
antelope. We are losing
winter range fast.
Oregon’s winter range is
at the center of discussions
from Portland to Salem
to Hermiston, Burns and
Lakeview.
The abundance of
sunshine in Eastern Oregon
makes it a prime location for
solar farms.
When the sun shines,
solar panel arrays collect the
free energy. Blue sky days
are dependable east of the
Cascades. The more solar
panels there are, proponents
of the technology tell us, the
better we prevent pollu-
tion, minimize waste and
conserve natural resources.
Really?
In March 2016, Kate
Brown signed House Bill
4037 into law to offer a
half-cent-per-kilowatt-hour
incentive to large scale solar
projects. Oregon is moving
away from dependence on
coal with a mandate to reach
25% dependence on renew-
able energy sources by 2025
and be 100% reliant on
renewable energy by 2030.
The Oregon Solar Plan
(2017) targets 10% solar
power by 2027, powering
500,000 Oregon homes. In
December 2016, Oregon
had 264 megawatts of solar
installations, which was
enough to power 30,000
homes.
We have a long way to
go. We get there by offering
tax breaks to industry. Right
now, incentives for commer-
cial solar installations
include a Federal Invest-
ment Tax Credit, state and
utility rebate programs and
accelerated depreciation.
Wonder where these
projects will end up? East-
ern Oregon offers the most
dependable blue sky days
and cheap land.
The Oregon Solar Plan
says, “In the very near
future, thriving communi-
ties will share a common
commitment: to harness
and use power from the sun.
These communities will
have robust solar industries
that support local economic
growth and provide local
job opportunities. These
communities will have resil-
ient energy systems and
stable electricity costs.”
Let’s add another
sentence: And no mule deer.
What are the biggest
threats to mule deer? Pred-
ators, poachers, disease,
juniper encroachment,
invasive plants. Maybe the
biggest one is habitat loss. If
predators are the problem,
they tend to stop expand-
ing when the prey base is
limited. Energy develop-
ment doesn’t stop when deer
numbers decline.
That’s what vineyards,
marijuana grows and solar
farms all have in common.
When the fences go up,
deer, elk, antelope and
even the pygmy rabbits are
locked out.
A lot of people look at
empty sagebrush land or
stands of bitterbrush and
call it junk land. I call it
critical winter range. The
fact that it has no people or
homes on it, the fact that it
is only fit for deer browse, is
what makes it valuable.
Imagine, instead of a
sea of silvered sagebrush,
thousands of acres of solar
panels. Where do the mule
deer go when snow blankets
the Blues and the Ochocos?
With a solar farm on core
winter range, the only place
left to go is to farm and
ranch lands, where they are
not welcome.
Call it a green revolution.
Call it a land rush. But the
location of solar farms on
empty land has a cumulative
effect. Without winter range
we have no mule deer.
Each of these projects are
proposed one by one. Who
is studying the cumulative
effects?
We are tipping the scales
in favor of the solar farm
industry and those areas are
not available for mule deer
anymore.
Think solar farms will
reduce our carbon foot-
prints? I’d rather see deer
tracks in bitterbrush than a
sea of black mirrors pointed
at the sky.
———
Gary Lewis is the author
of “Fishing Central Oregon,”
“Oregon Lake Maps and
Fishing Guide” and other
titles. To contact Gary, visit
www.garylewisoutdoors.
com.
Coach:
Continued from Page B1
In 2018, Pilot Rock
started the season 6-0
before a 46-8 loss to Dufur
derailed the Rockets. They
finished the season with a
26-8 loss to Adrian/Jordan
Valley in the first round of
the playoffs.
Then came 2019. Led by
all-purpose player Tyasin
Burns, the Rockets posted
a 6-3 record, including a
50-30 victory over league
power Dufur. They lost
50-34 in the first round of
the state playoffs to Days
Creek.
“That was the year,”
Baleztena said. “With the
win over Dufur, it was a
coach’s dream. Too bad we
had injuries and didn’t play
the playoffs like that.”
Burns, who came from
Nixyaawii as part of the
schools’ co-op for foot-
ball, was a once-in-a-life-
time player for Baleztena.
Safety first
Weissenf luh tells all
Mountaineer athletes to
control the things they can
control. That means wear-
ing a face mask, frequently
washing hands, get sleep
and eat right.
“We have to be very
mindful of who is in our
bubble, and who we are
being exposed to at all
times,” she said. “You can’t
control everything, but we
are going to do everything
in our power to try to stay
healthy.”
“For three years, the
kid could do everything,”
Baleztena said. “Not only
did we have him kick and
run a mile every game, it
was everything else he
did. He was so smart. A
coach is always hoping
for a player like that, and I
was lucky to have him. We
had a good quarterback
(Tanner Corwin) and a line
that could block.”
The coronavir us
pandemic pushed football
to spring in 2020 where the
Rockets had a 4-2 record.
The past fall, Pilot Rock
started the season 2-0
before injuries and suspen-
sions depleted the roster.
The Rockets finished 2-5.
Through the course of
seven seasons, Baleztena
had an 18-34 record.
Baleztena said he would
like to return to the team
in some capacity in the
future.
“I have to put football
on the shelf for a little
while,” he said. “I’d like to
say I’ll be back.”
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Changes:
Continued from Page B1
nine-man leagues would
have the option to compete
in the Class 3A.
During that Dec. 20 meet-
ing, representatives from
2A schools said they would
support the move to nine-
man football. Nestucca head
coach Jeff Schiewe said it
would be better than an eight-
man game.
But one thing the 1A
representatives agreed on
Jan. 5 was there was not
enough representation from
1A schools when making this
decision.
“After visiting with a lot
of the 1A schools, we feel like
eight-man football should
be a 1A decision,” Powder
Valley High athletic direc-
tor Brad Dunten said. “But
the last proposal that came
from the ad hoc football
committee, it was like we
were getting pushed out of
what our tradition and what
we want as a classification.”
Dunten surveyed athletic
directors at other 1A schools.
Of the 80 responses he
received, 95% said they
would prefer to play eight-
man football rather than
nine-man football. And the
number of responses showed
how passionate 1A schools
are on the matter, Powder
Valley Superintendent Lance
Dixon said.
“1A schools have not been
the most unified and come
together in a large format
matter to represent 1A until
this nine-man proposal came
out,” Dixon said.
Weissenf luh said the
impact of the pandemic is
something everyone in the
conference and throughout
the nation is dealing with.
Last season, which did not
see EOU’s basketball teams
begin play until February,
taught the Mountaineers to
be flexible and to adjust on
the fly.
“Our conference is
aligned in how we are
handling it in our processes
and policies,” Weissenfluh
said. “We are allowed to
play when we are healthy,
and we will be blessed
when those opportunities
come.”
Having the ability to
practice and compete are
no longer taken for granted,
but that does not mean the
last year and a half has been
easy on the athletes.
“The struggles have
been real,” Weissenf luh
said. “Managing their class
load, taking more online
classes has all been a strug-
gle. We try to acknowledge
that and find that balance.
“We want to be positive,
but keep it real because
it has impacted all of our
student-athletes in differ-
ent ways.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Ione/Arlington’s Bryce Rollins hauls in a pass Nov. 5, 2021, against the St. Paul Buckaroos at
the St. Paul Rodeo Grounds in the first round of the OSAA 1A State Football Championship.
Coaches and administrators from Oregon’s Class 1A schools are voicing concern over a pro-
posal that could completely change how small-school teams operate this fall.
Another frustration raised
surrounded finances. Billy
Wortman, the football coach
and principal at Adrian High
School, noted many small
rural schools save money by
having volleyball and foot-
ball teams travel together to
play at league opponents. A
complete redistricting would
increase the number of buses
needed, thus increasing
travel costs.
Also, any changes to nine-
man football would limit
playing options because it
would eliminate out-of-state
competition, since Washing-
ton and Idaho do not have
nine-man football.
Wortman also voiced
concerns over the OSAA offi-
cially sponsoring the six-man
league, saying many eight-
man teams would drop to
six-man. He said there needs
to be a roster cap in place in
six-man to make sure teams
aren’t dropping down in
hopes of competing for a
state championship when
they could otherwise play
eight-man games.
Oregon has been running
a pilot six-man league for four
years. The teams compete
for an unofficial state cham-
pionship, which is organized
by the teams involved. The
state originally canceled
its six-man league in 1960,
creating eight-man football
to create more opportunities
to play for student-athletes.
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