A18 Sports/News wallowa.com April 1, 2015 Wallowa County Chieftain Cougars pitch well, hit a ton in opener for a 15-4 Cougars victory. “The boys played well all across the board,” Cougars coach Thomas Wenke said. “We didn’t practice at all last week because of spring break so it was nice to see the team come together so well, that early.” The Cougs also had only one error in the game. By Rich Rautenstrauch Wallowa County Chieftain The Wallowa Cougars baseball team opened up their season playing against the Weston McEwen/Helix JV team Monday evening, March 30. Heavy hitting and solid pitching paved the way Wallowa’s Gareth Mur- ray and Josh Rummell each pitched two innings to start the game with Murray re- cording 4 K’s and Rummell 5. Robert Delancey closed out the game, only giving up three runs. Wallowa had 19 hits in the game with Gareth Murray going 3-for-4, Josh Rummell 1-for-4 with 3 RBIs, Noah Allen, 4-for-4, Micah Fuller 3-for-3 with a walk, Koby Frye 3-for-4, Robert Delanc- ey 4-for-4, Austin Lindross 1-for-1 (he hurt his ankle in the second inning), newcom- er Micheal Pendarvis 1-for-4 with 3 RBIs, Cameron Salm- on 0-for-3, Daniel Delancey 1-for-2, and Danny Araya 0-for-2. Micah Fuller is now on the baseball team’s roster. He’ll be a two-sport athlete this spring sharing track time with baseball. Coach Wenke said Micah stole three bas- es Monday and is one of the fastest runners he’s seen play- ing high school ball. “He was on second base before the catcher even stood up.” Wen- ke said. The Cougars will take a week off before continuing their schedule April 8, with a rematch against Weston at home. D AYS WITH D R . S EUSS E AGLES DROP THREE IN TOURNAMENT Tate Olsen of the Joseph Eagles gets waved home by coach Calvin Word during a March 27 Les Schwab Icebreaker Tournament game against the Pilot Rock Rockets held in John Day. Joseph lost the game 8-3. The Eagles also lost to Culver twice, 8-2 and 14-4, in the tournament. Cheryl Hoefler/EO Media Group Courtesy photo Second-grader Jace Kassahn, left, and Xander Sarbacher, fourth grade, together enjoy the Dr. Seuss classic, “Green Eggs and Ham,” during Dr. Seuss Week at Enterprise School. Elk talk, tag drawing attract crowd By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain A special presentation on Rocky Mountain Elk at the Wallowology Center drew a packed house on March 27. Wallowa Land Trust spon- sored the event with presen- tations by Mike Hansen for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Justin Jones of The Nature Conser- vancy. A drawing for a Landown- er’s Preference bull elk tag with a two-day guided hunt on the Conservancy’s land on the Zumwalt Prairie capped the evening. Hansen gave a brief his- tory of elk in the area, which he said had dwindled to un- acceptable numbers at the close of the 19th century due to overhunting and the sale of elk meat to urban areas in the state. The U.S. government Worth the drive! Call us about FREE Gas! Wallowa County HEALTH LINE saved the local herds by im- porting about 30 head of elk from Yellowstone National Park in 1911 and 1913. Through intensive man- agement, elk now number just under 5,000 in the area. The herd grew by about 200 animals last year, even though hunters took about 600 of them. Hansen also mentioned the number of elk threat- en aspen groves and local shrubbery because elk eat them when green grass is scarce. He added that the elk have caused some damage to the Zumwalt because of their large population there as well as causing damage to farmer and rancher crops and fenc- ing. Hansen said about 80 percent of the elk graze on private land. The Nature Conservan- cy owns in excess of 30,000 acres of the 300,000-acre Zumwalt Prairie. According to Jones, The Nature Con- servancy’s mission on the Zumwalt is promoting and demonstrating human behav- LRU WKDW H[HPSOL¿HV NQRZO- edge for, and respect for, non-human inhabitants on the Zumwalt. Jones mentioned that the Conservancy is not an- ti-ranching and in fact leas- es some of its land to cattle ranchers. Jones said the Con- servancy and ranchers have a generally amicable relation- ship and he appreciated the sense of community among landowners on the Zumwalt. “So much of the reason the Zumwalt is still so incredible is because of the communi- ty that encourages people to treat the Zumwalt well, and that’s been going on for a long time,” Jones said. Besides the community, the Conservancy uses sci- ence to determine how to care for its land. “No mat- ter how good our intentions, we always want to be trying to learn something and be knowledgeable about our impacts on the non-human inhabitants. The Nature Con- Enter to Win! 3 Day Guided Buck Hunt on the Zumwalt Prairie, Fall 2015. L.O.P. TAG DONATED BY THE NATURE CONSERVANCY Drawing to be held April 24th, 2015 Limited to 500 tickets 1 for $20.00 • 3 for $50 Tickets available at Les Schwab and Thompson Auto Supply Or Contact: Chad Stangel, 541-263-1770 or Sam Magera, 541-263-1436 Checks can be mailed to Enterprise Elks Lodge, PO Box K Enterprise, OR 97828 519 W. North Street, Enterprise 541.426.3413 Mon-Thurs 9 to Noon/1-5pm; Fri. 9-1 Jan Hileman 2014 Winner of the Nature Conservancy Buck Tag Green Score 191 Specializing in Anti-Aging Skin Therapy Customized Facials Waxing Services, Brow Sculpting Body Polish-Back Facials High-Perfomance Products 541-398-0759 | Located @ beecrowbee 01 Main Joseph Drawing to be held at Elks meeting. Don’t need to present to win. Must have current Oregon hunting license and tag fees apply. One ticket will be drawn and winning ticket may be transferred to another hunting party limited to three people plus the guide. Proceeds to benefit the Enterprise Elks Lodge B.P.O.E. #1829 servancy feels good about being able to contribute to the VFLHQWL¿F NQRZOHGJH DERXW these ecological systems and how human behavior impacts those systems,” Jones said. Like the ODFW, the Con- servancy recognizes that while the elk offer some EHQH¿W WR WKH =XPZDOW WKH\ also do some damage. The Conservancy gives away a number of LOP tags not only to raise revenue, but to help control the elk population and KHOS ORFDO QRQSUR¿WV 7KH Conservancy is also working to reduce elk damage to as- pen and woody shrubs, which supply cover to a number of animal species in the area. After the two men spoke and answered audience ques- tions, Kathleen Ackley, Wal- lowa Land Trust executive director, Jones and Hansen gathered around the tumbler of tickets while Hansen drew the name of Jeff Losli of North Plains for the LOP tag. Losli did not attend the event. Hansen said he appreciat- ed the excellent turnout and found the audience questions thoughtful. Jones said he enjoyed speaking at the event, and when asked what he’d like people to know about the Conservancy, replied, “We see ourselves as members of this community. We have assets that can help people make a productive living on the Zumwalt while main- taining the native plants and animals. We can also create opportunities for those who don’t live and work on the Zumwalt to go out and enjoy that incredible place.” Ackley said the elk tag raised $10,000 for WLT, and added the money is not ear- marked for a particular proj- ect. “We’ll use it to meet our mission, which is conserving special places in Wallowa County.” Employee Appreciation Day April 22 LET THEM KNOW THEY ARE APPRECIATED. Place a Thank You ad in the April 22 nd edition of the Wallowa County Chieftain for your employee or employees and have a gift delivered. Cher yl E Jenk BREEZ ins WANAISIE We appreciate all you do for all of us with professionalism, a smile, and a sense of humor! Prairie Creek Center – The Crew DHS, TEC, OED & VA @ The Chieftain 2” x 2” Thank You ad in the April 22 nd edition of the Chieftain Only $ 35 00 They’ll appreciate it. + This year's gift is a 20 oz. personalized plastic mason jar filled with candy. The jars have a double wall construction to help ]keep beverages at the perfect temperature. Only $ 7 00 All orders must be in by April 17. Stop by and place your order at 209 NW First, Enterprise, give us a call at 541-426-4567 or e-mail Brooke at bpace@wallowa.com. We have what you need to get your projects done! Lumber • Moldings Laminate • Windows Doors Siding • Roofing • Paint & Stain And so much more! Main Street, Joseph 541-432-1917