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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2016)
Wallowa County Chieftain WOLF Continued from Page A1 Earlier this year, the Or- egon Legislature passed House Bill 4040 which rati- ied ODFW’s decision. Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill on March 14, and the Appel- late Commissioner dismissed any further judicial review as moot. But in a new twist, the court reinstated the challenge on Tuesday, with Chief Judge Erika Hadlock describing the issues as “complex matters of public importance.” “Without deciding what, if any, effect HB 4040 has on this judicial review, the court determines that the issues of possible mootness and the validity of HB 4040 are more appropriately decided by a de- partment of the court follow- ing a full brieing,” Hadlock wrote in the court’s ruling. The announcement was met with cheers from environ- mentalists and exasperation by Eastern Oregon ranchers. Nick Cady, legal director for Cascadia Wildlands, said they are conident in their case, with wolves currently occu- pying just 12 percent of their suitable habitat statewide. “In no way should manage- ment of Oregon’s small popu- lation of recovering wolves be dictated by the livestock industry and its anti-wolf al- lies in Salem,” Cady said in a statement. “This ruling is a hopeful irst step to ensure politics do not trump science when it comes to managing our treasured wildlife.” Steve Pedery, conservation director for Oregon Wild, said the passage of HB 4040 has only helped to turn the focus away from science and on to politics. “Now this gets us into a constitutional issue in Ore- gon,” Pedery said. “It’s really just a mess.” The groups will have until Aug. 23 to ile their opening brief with the court. Ranchers, meanwhile, have long argued they need to be able to kill wolves that make a habit of preying on livestock in order to protect their operations. Since wolves were delisted under Phase II of the state’s management and conservation plan, ODFW did follow through with shooting four wolves from the Imnaha News wallowa.com Pack in Wallowa County. Enterprise rancher Todd Nash serves as chairman of the wolf committee for the Oregon Cattlemen’s Asso- ciation. He said ranchers breathed a sigh of relief over the spring, feeling like the wolf plan was inally work- ing. Now facing another law- suit, he said they’re becoming exhausted. “It just goes on and on,” Nash said. “At some point, I hope everyone can see what these groups are doing, in that they’re litigating because they can.” HB 4040 was championed by local Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, in the House, and Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athe- na, in the Senate. Cady, with Cascadia Wildlands, had also iled an ethics complaint in May against Barreto, claim- ing he knowingly misled the Legislature about the bill be- fore it was passed. In particular, the complaint alleged Barreto made false claims that the bill would not block a legal review of the wolf delisting in court. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission dismissed the complaint on July 1. Barreto said he was nev- er really concerned about the complaint leading to an eth- ics investigation. He did not comment further on the new- ly reinstated legal challenge against HB 4040. Hansell said the bill’s pri- mary purpose was never to dodge a lawsuit, but rather to go on record stating ODFW had followed the letter of the wolf plan. He said the de- partment presented evidence showing the wolf population is on the rise, and met the re- covery thresholds that were approved by all parties under Phase I of the plan. “Everybody was at the ta- ble when we worked out the plan,” Hansell said. “The plan is working. I just wanted to get on record that the Legis- lature, in fact, supports the decision.” Gov. Brown signed the bill and, in a letter to Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins, said, “The trajectory of wolf pop- ulations in Oregon remains strong, with available habitat and prey to support continued growth.” A representative of Brown’s ofice said they would not comment on pend- ing litigation. July 13, 2016 A7 Oregon Humanities nature discussion coming to Josephy ‘What We Want from the Wild’ talk July 14 Wallowa County Chieftain Oregonians across the polit- ical spectrum place a high value on the diverse natural resources of our state, but we are divid- ed about how these resourc- es should be used and talked about. What do we want from nature? What do we understand nature to be, and how do we see ourselves itting in? This is the focus of “What We Want from the Wild,” a free conversation with Adam Davis at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 14 at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture. This program is hosted by Wallowa Land Trust and sponsored by Oregon Hu- manities. The event is part of Oregon Humanities’ statewide ARBOR Continued from Page A1 Swinehart said the CJD committee always wanted a covered arbor, but the pre- vious structures weren’t de- signed to take the stress. Plans for the steel beams that support the structure in- clude wrapping them with either logs or timbers to give them a more natural look. For the same reason, the structure also has a shake roof rather than metal. Semi vertical logs fanned out over the west end will be covered with a tarp or canvas to resemble a half-te- pee that the Native Ameri- can drummers will sit under. Swinehart said he’s pleased with the looks of the building as well as the progress toward its completion. Hillock tried to minimize his part in the building’s con- struction. “Wellens-Farwell is do- ing the construction,” Hill- Steve Tool/Chieftain The arbor prior to the placing of shingles on the roof. ock said. “They and Stangel Industries are working on the metal fabrication; Terry Jones is doing the excavating; Casper is doing the roof and Ralph (Swinehart) did the de- sign – I’ve just been coordi- nating it.” Even though the arbor is a project of the CJD board, they remain respectful of the struc- ture’s purpose and encourage input from Native American tribes, including the nam- ing of the area as well as the structure. Members of the Nez Perce tribe and the CTU are planning a future christen- ing event, Hillock said. In addition to serving as an arbor for the Friendship Conversation Project. Davis is the executive di- rector of Oregon Humanities. His previous roles include di- recting the Center for Civic Relection, where he helped the Aldo Leopold Foundation de- velop their Land Ethic Leader training, and the United States Forest Service, where he led backcountry trail crews and oc- casionally fought wildland ire. He has taught courses and led workshops on the human rela- tionship to nature. Through the Conversation Project, Oregon Humanities offers free programs that en- gage community members in thoughtful, challenging con- versations about ideas critical to their daily lives and Oregon state’s future. For more infor- mation about this community discussion, please contact Wal- lowa Land Trust at 541-426- 2052 or info@wallowaland- trust.org. Feast, Hillock also envisions the structure as a community gathering place for other oc- casions, especially picnics. “We’ll get some picnic benches and a barbecue in here so people can pull in here and have a picnic. It’ll be like another city park, but it’ll be owned by the rodeo committee.” The area also is a possible site for the farmers market, wedding banquets and could serve as a campsite for wild- land ireighters during ire season. Hillock said the volunteer spirit in Joseph has helped the project immensely. “I’ve got a lot people who just show up and offer to weed eat,” he said. Despite the construction progress and community support, money to complete the project still needs to be raised. “(Grant writer) Lynn Craig has raised about $32,000 in grant money,” he said. “We still have the outstanding of- fer of $10,000 in a matching grant. The city of Joseph also helped by partnering with the committee to obtain grants as well as facilitating rezon- ing for the structure. We’re working extensively with the city of Joseph and we really appreciate their cooperation.” Hillock said he expects the arbor should be usable and about 90 percent completed before the end of this year. A volunteer work day at the arbor site is slated for 9-11 a.m., Saturday, July 16. Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, rakes, wheelbar- rows, weed eaters and clip- pers. ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING SUPPLIES ELECTRICAL & WATER SYSTEM CONTRACTOR PUMPS • IRRIGATION HARDWARE• APPLIANCE PARTS 208 S. RIVER ST. • ENTERPRISE, OR www.jbbane.com • 541-426-3344 OREGON MANUFACTURERS. LOCAL BUSINESSES. YOUR NEIGHBORS. ALL GETTING MORE FROM THEIR ENERGY. Here in Oregon, thousands of businesses and individuals are saving money with help from Energy Trust of Oregon. With cash incentives for energy improvements, we can help you get more from your energy. + Are you ready to get more from your energy? Visit www.energytrust.org/more or call us at 1.866.368.7878. Serving customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas.