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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2022)
E AST O REGONIAN SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2022 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS | FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS SPORTS SHOTS B1 Hunter remembers era of the hunting hound By EMRY DINMAN Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Blue Mountain Community College’s Jaelyn Brainard leaps with the ball toward the basket Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, during the Timberwolves’ 60-45 win over the Yakima Valley Yaks at BMCC, Pendleton. WALLA WALLLA — On a cold January morning, the snow from a recent storm largely melted, Brian Hergert sat inside the living room of his cozy Walla Walla home, surrounded by houseplants in every corner and furnishings he’s fashioned out of antlers and animal hides. In a few hours, he would be headed to his property out in the country, ready to be back in nature after staying home for a few days. Outside, two coonhounds, Maisie and Tracker, howl at newcomers and passing cats before curling up again for a nap inside their chain- link kennel. An avid hunter, Hergert has been running hounds since the early ‘80s. Before the practice was largely banned by voters more than a decade later, his hounds often helped him hunt big game preda- tors, including cougars, in the Blue Mountains. “We used to take, in a good year, I’d kill six, seven cats,” Hergert said. “It was nothing to take out 40, 50 cats out of the Blues from here to Dayton between me and my friends.” In 1996, however, Washington state joined Oregon in outlawing the use of hounds to hunt or pursue black bear, cougars or bobcats, with some exceptions. On a wall in a nearby hallway, Hergert has hung several photos from that year commemorating the last recre- ational hunt of cougars with his hounds. That initiative, which also largely criminalized the use of bait to attract black bears, was approved by Washington voters by a comfortable margin, mark- ing what many saw as a sea change for hunters in the state. Management of large predators has remained politically conten- tious in the decades since, often fl ared by increased human-cou- gar interactions, livestock preda- tion and rare but high-profi le fatal attacks. But recently, debate over what to do with cougars in the Blue Mountains in particular has increased for a diff erent reason: dwindling elk populations. The Blue Mountain elk herd is estimated to consist of around 3,500 animals, according to reporting by the Lewiston Tribune, well below the population objec- tive of 5,500 currently set by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. The herd’s calves also often are not surviving to maturity. A 2021 study by the Washing- ton Department of Fish & Wild- life monitored 125 elk calves with radio collars — by mid-Novem- ber, only 11 still were known to be alive. While a number of factors such as a recent harsh winter and drought have contributed to the high mortality rate, cougars are believed to have accounted for 54 of those deaths. While some have called for reducing elk hunting in the area to protect the herd, the study’s fi nd- ings have prompted calls to extend cougar-hunting season in the Blue Mountains as well as for the Fish & Wildlife to use hounds to hunt the big cats for management purposes, which is allowed under the 1996 law. For Hergert, calls to increase cougar hunting are long overdue. Hergert’s hounds While the veteran hunter has owned as many as six hunting dogs at one time, these days he just keeps the two: a redtick-tree- ing walker mix named Maisie, and a redtick-bluetick mix named Tracker. Hergert grew up hunting birds with his dad and brother, and when he began using hounds, he started with small game. He had permis- sion to run his dogs through the ditches alongside farm ground out near Waitsburg and elsewhere, chasing down raccoons. “But they’re just kind of greasy, stinky deals,” Hergert said. “But big cats, they’re good eating.” It wasn’t long before Hergert See Hunter, Page B2 ON THE SLATE Schedule subject to change Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Stanfi eld’s Alexis Shelby puts up a shot Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, against the McLoughlin Pioneers at McLoughlin High School in Milton-Freewater. The Tigers defeated the Pioneers 53-45. SATURDAY, JAN. 29 College baseball Eastern Oregon vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, Glendale, Arizona, 9 a.m. Eastern Oregon Vs. Benedictine Mesa, Glendale, Arizona, 1 p.m. College men’s wrestling Eastern Oregon at Clackamas Open, 9 a.m. College women’s wrestling Big Bend at Eastern Oregon, noon College women’s basketball Blue Mountain at Big Bend, 2 p.m. Corban at Eastern Oregon, 3 p.m. College men’s basketball Blue Mountain at Big Bend, 4 p.m. Corban at Eastern Oregon, 5 p.m. Prep girls basketball Nixyaawii at Powder Valley, 2 p.m. Echo at Horizon Christian/Hood River, 2 p.m. Riverside at Nyssa, 3 p.m. Southridge at Hermiston, 3:15 p.m. Umatilla at Burns, 3:30 p.m. Heppner at Stanfi eld, 4 p.m. Ontario at McLoughlin, 4 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Grant Union, 4 p.m. Pendleton at Crook County, 4:30 p.m. Imbler at Griswold, 6 p.m. Kathy Aney/East Oregonian Kathy Aney/East Oregonian Hermiston’s Tyler Lin (in white) goes up for a shot despite pressure from Pasco defenders during a conference game Jan. 21, 2022, at the Dawg House in Hermiston. The Hermis- ton Bulldogs beat the Pasco Bulldogs 84-72. Hermiston’s Lindsay Pasena Littlesky faces Ka- miakin defenders during a conference game Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, at the Dawg House in Hermiston. Kamiakin won 60-59. Prep boys basketball Echo at Horizon Christian/Hood River, 3:30 p.m. Nixyaawii at Powder Valley, 3:30 p.m. Umatilla at Burns, 3:30 p.m. Riverside at Nyssa, 4:30 p.m. Southridge at Hermiston, 5 p.m. Umatilla at Burns, 5 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Grant Union, 5:30 p.m. Heppner at Stanfi eld, 5:30 p.m. Imbler at Griswold, 5:30 p.m. Ontario at McLoughlin, 5:30 p.m. Prep boys wrestling Heppner, Pendleton, Irrigon, Echo/Stanfi eld, Hermiston, McLoughlin/Weston-McEwen, Riv- erside at Irrigon JV Invite, 9 a.m. SUNDAY, JAN. 30 College women’s wrestling Eastern Oregon at Washington State, 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31 Prep girls basketball Umatilla at Nyssa, 5 p.m. Irrigon at Riverside, 6 p.m. Prep boys basketball Umatilla at Nyssa, 6:30 p.m. TUESDAY, FEB. 1 Prep girls basketball Umatilla at Vale, 3 p.m. Bickleton at Echo, 5 p.m. Pendleton at The Dalles, 5:30 p.m. Enterprise at Stanfi eld, 5:30 p.m. Hermiston at Kennewick, 5:45 p.m. Nixyaawii at McLoughlin, 6 p.m. Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m. Prep boys basketball Umatilla at Vale, 4:30 p.m. Bickleton at Echo, 6:30 p.m. Pendleton at The Dalles, 7 p.m. Hermiston at Kennewick, 7:30 p.m. Nixyaawii at McLoughlin, 7:30 p.m. Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m. SPORTS SHORT EOU women’s wrestling ranked NO. 17 in latest NAIA poll East Oregonian LA GRANDE — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics released its latest weekly Coaches’ Top-20 poll on Thurs- day, Jan. 27, ranking the East- ern Oregon University women’s wrestling program at No. 17 in the nation. The Mountaineers dropped one spot from their previous No. 16 ranking last week. The team compiled fi ve individual wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in the NAIA. Sophomore Olivia Robinson led the way with a No. 5 ranking at the 170-pound level, while senior Dempsi Talkington came in at No. 6 at the 155-pound level. Junior Morgan Shines (130) and sopho- more Stephanie Blankenship (109) were both ranked No. 13 in their respective weight classes. Senior Macy Higa earned a No. 16 ranking at the 123-pound division. Eastern received 52 votes as a team, the fourth highest ranking for a Cascade Collegiate Confer- ence program. Southern Oregon is slated at No. 3, Menlo College is ranked No. 6 and Providence came in at No. 12. Corban is just behind Eastern at No. 20. The Mountaineers have not wrestled since the Oregon Wres- tling Classic on Jan. 15, but are gearing up for one of the team’s biggest duals of the season. Eastern will travel to face No. 3 Southern Oregon in Ashland on Feb. 5. Wres- tling is slated to begin at 6 p.m. Andrew Cutler/The Observer, File Eastern Oregon University’s Morgan Shines fi ghts for position against Southern Oregon’s Jordan Robson in November 2021. Shines is ranked ninth at 130 pounds in the Jan. 27, 2022, NAIA Coaches’ Top-20 poll for women’s wrestling.