Enterprise, Oregon
Issue No. 16
Wallowa.com
August 1, 2018
$1
Methodists
giving camp
land back to
Nez Perce
For more than 90 years, the Oregon-Idaho
Conference of The United Methodist Church
has owned the Wallowa Lake Camp outside
of Joseph.
The camp encompasses 52 acres, includ-
ing 1.5 acres of Wallowa River property
with the potential to be restored as sockeye
salmon spawning habitat.
During a ceremony 1 p.m. Wednesday,
Aug. 1, at the camp, 84522 Church Lane,
tribal leaders will join with United Method-
ist officials to celebrate the return of this 1.5
acres of land to the Nez Perce tribe by trans-
ferring the property deed.
See LAND, Page A9
Biomass called
key to county’s
economic future
Plant operators seeking
additional partnerships
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Chief Joseph
Days
Businesses like Integrated Biomass Solu-
tions of Wallowa are the key to a strong eco-
nomic future.
That was the determination after the
July 27 meeting and tour of the facility with
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden and State Rep. Greg
Barreto.
County commissioner Todd Nash and
Nils Christoffersen, executive director of
Wallowa Resources, were also on hand
to discuss development of wood-related
projects.
Owners and operators David and Jesse
Schmidt conducted the tour, pointed out
improvements and told the story of their
growing success.
Spills ’n’ Thrills
See BIOMASS, Page A9
Walden to debate
McLeod-Skinner
Joseph encounter was
apparently the ticket
ABOVE Saddle Bronc rider Joaquin Real of Santa Paula, Calif., gets
an airborne dismount at the end of his 8 second ride Friday aboard Al-
abama Hannah. Real scored only 35 points on this ride because the
mare stopped just out of the chute before bucking across the arena.
His re-ride netted Real 75 points, good for third in the go-round (Ellen
Bishop/For the Chieftain).
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
RIGHT Sawyer Grohs waves the American flag from the back of the
float of the Trouthaven Resort on the shores of Wallowa Lake in Fri-
day’s Chief Joseph Days Junior Parade. The business has been oper-
ating for nearly 70 years. This was their first-ever entry in the parade
(Paul Wahl/Chieftain).
PHOTOS ON PAGES 7 & 10  MORE PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK.COM/WALLOWA
 PHOTO GALLERIES AT WALLOWA.COM
Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the democratic
candidate for Oregon’s 2nd District U.S.
Representative seat had a problem.
Her staff couldn’t seem to connect with
Republican Greg Walden’s staff about the
possibility of the two candidates debating
before the 2018 mid-term elections.
McLeod Skinner ended up taking mat-
ters into her own hands when she real-
ized both candidates had a spot in the Chief
See WALDEN, Page A9
WOLF DEPREDATIONS CONTINUE
Harl Butte pack blamed for
latest attacks in county
Committee determines
payments to ranchers
for wolf depredation
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Less than a year after a string of 2017 depre-
dations and the harvest of four wolves in August
2017, the Harl Butte wolf pack claimed another
confirmed depredation in the reaches of the
upper Imnaha.
The depredation occurred on a U.S. Forest
Service grazing allotment held by the Marr Flat
Grazing Association.
On July 22, a dead 225-pound calf was dis-
covered by a permittee of the grazing allot-
ment. Owners reported seeing two wolves in
the vicinity just before the discovery of the car-
cass. The wolves partially ate the calf, with
its right shoulder, abdomen and hindquarters
damaged.
Reimbursement rate is variable
By Steve Tool
Photo courtesy USFWS, William Campbell
A lone wolf can disperse up to 500 miles,
looking for space that does not have an ex-
isting wolf pack. Another wolf from Oregon
has been seen in Northern California.
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wild-
life investigated the depredation the same day.
When wolves returned to Wallowa County in the early
2000s, ranchers absorbed the cost when one of their live-
stock became dinner.
As the only county in the state that harbored a perma-
nent wolf population, leaders decided something needed
to be done.
See ATTACKS, Page A16
See WOLVES, Page A16