INSIDE: Our annual Wallowa County ‘Giving’ section a Wal u lo n w ty Co Giving ion -generat Second nteer lu CJD vo •••••••••••••• ••• ••••••••• mily strikes a Brann Fa local charities chord for •••••••••••••• ••• ••••••••• reflects on quiet Warnock Imnaha life in •••••••••••••• ••• ••••••••• s to heal after Troy begin summer scene grizzly •••••••••••••• life ••• e a ••••••••• son has mad ies re Ken Co iding memor of prov •••••••••••••• ••• ••••••••• stor’s to-do list Lostine pa ••••••••••••••••• ss ele ••••••••• Johnson a tir Wallowa’s on of youth champi Proud Sponsor Enterprise, Oregon www.wallowa.com Issue No. 29 November 4, 2015 $1 Opt-out option could affect cougar hunts Similar move with Oregon marijuana law opened the door for other measures By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain A recent cougar attack on live- stock in the Willamette Valley has re-ignited an interest in the use of dogs to hunt cougars, a practice that has been banned since the passage of a 1994 state measure. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates the state’s cougar population at 6,200 – more than twice the minimum outlined as desirable in the Cougar Management Program. And recently published (2014) results of long-term ODFW studies show that Oregon has one of the fastest-growing populations of cats in the Northwest, approximately 20 percent growth per year. The studies suggest that without dog hunting it is unlikely that the cougar population could be lowered to sustainable and desirable levels. Cougar sightings have been on the rise statewide. Wildlife Services reports that it responds to more than 400 cougar calls per year (697 in 2003), of which one in three involves threats to human health and safety. But the cougar attacks that MAKING TRACKS sparked larger conversations on the west side began in mid-September when livestock owners in the Ore- gon City/Canby area began losing sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas. By early October, more than two dozen animals had been taken. Capturing and removing the cougar was a complicated process for Wildlife Services because of its proximity to metro areas, the small- er ranches and properties requiring multiple permissions for action on “ “IT’S A GOOD FIRST STEP IN THE RIGHT DIREC- TION” TO DELIST TIMBER WOLVES File image The state Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to vote on whether to delist wolves Nov. 9 in Salem. ODFW OFFICIALS SAY CRITERIA MET By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain T he Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday announced its of¿ cial recommendation that the Fish and Wild- life Commission withdraw state Endangered Species protections from Canadian Timber Wolves. The commission is expected to vote on the matter during a Nov. 9 meeting in Salem. Wallowa County Commissioners had their part in the process, draft- ing an Oct. 19 letter to the ODFW Commission in support of state- wide delisting of wolves. The letter, authored by Commissioner Susan Roberts, states that delisting should occur because scienti¿ c informa- tion provided by ODFW biologists indicated the wolf is not in danger of extinction for the next 50 years. The letter noted the rise in popula- tion of Oregon wolves as well. The ODFW recommended the delisting after an in-depth examina- tion found biological data indicates the ful¿ llment of ¿ ve criteria spelled out by the state’s Endan- gered Species Act: See WOLVES, Page A5 or near their boundaries, the inability to use hounds to pursue the cat for the same reasons and the danger of accidentally trapping a pet instead of the cougar. The cat was shot Oct. 5 when a livestock owner spotted the cougar, brought in private hounds and wait- ed for the cat to return. The cat was subsequently treed on the landown- ers’ property and legally shot. See COUGAR, Page A9 A fresh angle on local business Biz Buzz: Column covers developments big and small W allowa County is in the middle of a business boom. That’s great news, and the Chieftain wants to be right on top of that, letting you know what’s going on in your county. It’s a lot. Every week we see evidence of the boom with our own eyes. And every week someone in the community asks us “did you hear about ... ?” On top of that, we get press releases from various local, regional, state and national organizations involved in business develop- ment letting us know about workshops, webi- nars and programs to bene¿ t small business. I’m happy to say it’s getting hard to keep up. So, starting right now, I’ll be writing a column dedicat- ed to business in Wallowa County. Please send us your newsworthy tips on open- ings, closures, remodels, moves, changes of owner- BIZ ship, additions of partners, BUZZ information on business Kathleen resources and more. Ellyn As always, check the online version of this column, too; if we get a truckload of infor- mation one week and only have room for a yard’s worth in the print edition, that’s where the other eight yards of the load (and any photos) will go. We will still have feature stories on new businesses, but this column will give us a chance to report on other developments that might not have normally made the paper. • The Big News this week is that, after 15 years on NW 2nd Street in Enterprise, Wallowa County Ace has made the move to their new location on the corner of West North Street and River. They snuck that past us, with no big Grand Opening cele- bration for now. Co-owner Nick Cameron pleads “too much to do!” and hints that there may be some sort of a splash next spring. See BUZZ, Page A6 Western Oregon delegation gets close look at eastern issues Bus trip takes lawmakers, state officials, conservation groups on tour of County By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Steve Tool/Chieftain At the Joseph Canyon Overlook, Nils Christoffersen, executive director of Wallowa Resources, explains the finer points of forest collaboratives to democratic legislators from the west side of the state during an Oct. 27 informational bus trip. Local rancher Rod Childers looks on, as does local Oregon Department of Wildlife Commission member Holly Akenson. Eight Democratic legislators and a number of state of¿ cials traveled to Wallowa County on Oct. 27 for a bus trip intended to help Western Oregon lawmakers learn more about agriculture in the state’s northeastern corner. The delegation, which also included members of state agencies and conservation groups, came to hear the stories of ranchers and foresters who make their living on the land. The event was the brainchild of Dist. 29 Sen. Bill Hansell of Athena. District 58 Rep. Greg Barreto and Wallowa County Commission- er Susan Roberts also were among the attendees. The group departed Cloverleaf Hall in Enter- prise on a Joseph Charter School bus early in the morning. Although most of the trip focused on ranchers’ problems with wolves, Bruce Dunn of the Natu- ral Resource Advisory Council and Wallowa Re- sources Executive Director Nils Christoffersen spoke about the Wallowa-Whitman Forest Col- laborative. They also spoke about working with the U.S. Forest Service to facilitate the proposed Lower Joseph Creek Project. State Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose said she found the discussion of the Wallowa-Whit- man Forest Collaborative to be particularly ed- ucational. See TOUR, Page A9