News
Wallowa County Chieftain
wallowa.com
WOLF
son” on wolves, recommend-
ed increasing the penalties for
killing a wolf, which currently
stand at a , ¿ne and one
year in jail. Those recommen-
dations must be voted on by
the state legislature.
Oregon wolf management
is not dictated by the ESA.
Rather, it is dictated by the
Oregon Wolf Management
Plan, which was implemented
in 2005 spells out three phases
of protection for wolves. The
state moved to Phase 2 in Jan-
uary of this year when ODFW
biologists recommended the
change as their data showed
at least four breeding pairs of
wolves for three consecutive
years in the eastern side of the
state.
Wallowa County Commis-
sioner Susan Roberts attended
the hearing and said the com-
mission made the right deci-
sion.
“It was a long day, for
sure,” Roberts said. “It was an
interesting process, and I think
the commission made the right
decision in the end. We would
have liked it better if the de-
cision was 6-0, but we’ll take
it.”
Ramona Phillips, who
runs cattle outside of Joseph
with her husband Charley,
expressed cautious optimism
about the vote.
“I feel like it’s a tiny step
forward,” Phillips said. “It’s
really not going to change a
whole lot for right now, but it
gives us a step in the process
in the next couple of years to
get where we want to be. My
concern is that there will be a
lawsuit to undo it.”
Wallowa County resident
Holly Akenson serves on the
commission and voted to del-
ist the gray wolf. She said most
of the people who testi¿ed at
the meeting were against del-
isting, and that written testi-
mony was overwhelmingly
in favor of keeping wolves on
the ESA list.
“I voted the way I did be-
cause we were asked if the
wolf population met the ¿ve
criteria (for delisting), so the
decision was based on infor-
mation, whether it was time
or wasn’t time to delist. It was
a biological decision, yes or
no, regardless of how you feel
about wolves in Oregon,” Ak-
Health District CEO Larry
Davy was among the night’s
speakers. Davy thanked
those in attendance for their
continuing generosity and
described the key role they
play in maintaining one of
the country’s top-performing
rural hospitals. He also noted
that Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital has been named among
the nation’s Top 100 critical
access hospitals by iVantage
Health Analytics three of the
last four years.
Sarah Johnson, Wallowa
Memorial’s director of imag-
ing, took the podium to ex-
plain the need for this year’s
target purchase — a bone-den-
sity system that produces a
low-radiation X-ray to deter-
mine the mass and strength of
bones. The system is vital in
diagnosing and treating oste-
oporosis, a common condition
that leads to brittle bones that
are extremely susceptible to
breaks.
“One in every two wom-
en is affected by it,” Johnson
said. “And one in every four
men. It’s a common miscon-
ception that it only affects
women. That’s not the case.”
The Wallowa Valley
Health Care Foundation was
formed in 1990. The founda-
tion’s ¿rst dinner and auction
event in 1996 raised about
$19,500, and in 20 years the
event has brought in more
than $900,000 for coun-
ty health care, according to
Green.
Green said she was happy
to see two of the foundation’s
original founders — Don
Swart, Sr. and Mona K. Wil-
liams — in attendance this
year, as well as two found-
ers’ daughters, Diana Collins
(Don Hubbard, Sr.) and Sara-
lyn Johnson (Reid Johnson),
who serve on the board, and
Gail Swart, whose parents
Gwen and Gladys Cof¿n got
the foundation up and running
in 1995 with a $500,000 do-
nation.
“It’s great to celebrate
what they started and to see
the tremendous impact that
the foundation and the com-
munity has had on our health
care,” Green said.
The evening’s dinner was
catered by Backyard Gardens,
with a full no-host bar by La
Laguna.
Continued from Page A1
Commissioners Greg Wol-
ley and Laura Anderson voted
against the majority. Wolley
didn’t think wolf numbers
supported delisting, while
Anderson supported delist-
ing only in the eastern part
of the state and voted against
the motion because the state’s
current ESA only allows del-
isting of the wolf across the
entire state.
As part of its decision, the
commission recommended
changing the ESA to allow
for partial delisting, and be-
cause of fears that the delisting
might be seen as “open sea-
AUCTION
Continued from Page A1
“Matt Kurtz was great,”
Green said. “ He was fantas-
tic, fun and funny.”
Musical guests Carolyn
Lochert and Gail Swart ser-
enaded the audience during
dinner with a localized, health
care version of the Beatles’
“When I’m 64.”
Among the live auction
items was a 8.S. Àag offered
by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden,
who was in attendance. Rep.
Walden said the Àag would be
Àown over the U.S. Capitol
Building at a predetermined
time to honor a veteran or
event and returned to the win-
ning bidder. Walden conduct-
ed the auction for the Àag.
When two bidders remained,
he offered a second Àag, each
at a price of $650, for a total
of $1,300 raised.
November 18, 2015
A9
enson said.
Arran Robertson, a com-
munication associate for Or-
egon Wild, said the organiza-
tion was disappointed with the
decision.
“We think the delisting
decision is premature,” Rob-
ertson said. “There’s some
question about the process.
Speci¿cally, what the state is
calling a µscienti¿c review.’
We don’t think it was rigorous
and it discounted a majority
of the scienti¿c criticisms and
feedback they got for the jus-
ti¿cation they used for delist-
ing.”
Amaroq Weiss, West Coast
wolf organizer at the Cen-
ter for Biological Diversity,
voiced similar concerns.
“The decision was deeply
disheartening for us,” Weiss
said. “Our sense is that the
step Oregon took in delisting
is not representative of how
most Oregonians feel about
endangered species. I know
the commission said they
care about wolves, but I think
if they cared about wolves
they’d have followed science
and followed the law. In this
case, it’s pretty clear they
didn’t do either.”
The commission ¿led the
ruling with the Secretary of
State on Nov. 10. While the
ruling removes wolves from
the state ESA it has no other
effect on wolf management
for the present. The state’s
wolf plan is up for review
next year. It was last revised
in 2010.
DAVY
Basically, what model
change would make most
sense to meet the goals
of hospital transforma-
tion while maintaining
or even improving
access?”
Davy said the task
force meets monthly, gen-
erally by teleconference,
and likely will produce a
report with recommenda-
tions by next summer.
Continued from Page A1
recommendation on how
to shore up hospitals and
make them available to
meet the needs of our
communities,” he said.
“We’ll be assessing com-
munities and determining
the issues they face.
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