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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2019)
A8 Wallowa County Chieftain NORTHWEST Wednesday, January 9, 2019 Wolf attacks continue to frustrate SW Oregon rancher By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press The start of the new year was like déjà vu for cat- tle rancher Ted Birdseye in southwest Oregon. Birdseye, who runs the Mill-Mar Ranch in rural Jackson County, awoke on Jan. 1 to fi nd an injured, 5-month-old calf about 200 yards from his house, with 2 feet of intestine sticking out of its backside. Wildlife offi - cials arrived later in the day to investigate, and later con- fi rmed the calf was attacked by wolves from the Rogue pack. It was almost a year ago to the day that Birdseye lost his fi rst animal to the Rogue pack, a 250-pound calf par- tially eaten in a fenced pas- ture on the property. The wolves returned again the following week, killing and eating two more calves down to the rib cage and spi- nal column. All told, wolves killed at least fi ve calves and one guard dog, a Tibetan Mas- Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Capital Press OR-7 trots past a trail camera carrying what a wildlife biologist said is an elk leg in the Southern Oregon Cascades, April 14, 2017. Oregon’s famous wandering wolf formed the Rogue pack in 2014 and is responsible for a recent spate of livestock attacks in Jackson and Klamath counties. tiff, at the ranch in 2018. The pack was also blamed for killing four calves in neigh- boring Klamath County in October, and at least one heifer at another ranch northeast of Medford, Ore., in November. “It’s just been the same old story,” Birdseye said during a recent interview. “It’s not a good situation.” The Rogue pack was started by OR-7, the famous “wandering wolf” that trav- eled from northeast Oregon to California before fi nding a mate in the southern Ore- Hansell introduces bills to aid farmland fi refi ghting By ANTONIO SIERRA EO Media Group In the wake of a July fi re that burned 80,000 acres of land in Sherman and Wasco counties, state Sen. Bill Hansell is introduc- ing a package of bills that he thinks will improve fi re- fi ghting efforts on farmland. The four bills sponsored by the Athena Republican are intended to provide fl ex- ibility in fi ghting wildfi res in the area and move a previ- ously unprotected land into the Oregon State Fire Mar- shal’s jurisdiction. At its height, the Substa- tion Fire was the largest fi re in the United States, burning thousands of acres of wheat in the process. Hansell attended a debriefi ng on the fi re with Gov. Kate Brown and several other legislators in Sherman County. He said firefighter State Sen. after fi re- Bill Hansell fighter praised the work done by farmers to assist them in fi ghting the blaze. If it wasn’t for the help from local farmers, “we may have had a miniature Para- dise, California situation,” Hansell said. Hansell later returned to Moro for a town hall where farmers and other local res- idents talked about how the fi re affected them and how the response could be improved. He said giant wildfi res over the past few years have made fi refi ghting a hot topic in Salem, but fi ghting fi res on farmland or rangeland doesn’t attract the same sort of attention. Based on the input he received from the town hall and work he did with the gov- ernor’s offi ce, Hansell crafted four bills to address the issue. Hansell said farmers were worried about assuming lia- bility for property damage or injuries while fi ghting fi res, so he created Senate Bill 290, which grants civil immunity to people fi ghting fi res in good faith. He added that Oregon already has a similar law on the books for civilians who help people who have been injured in car crashes. “You may have not made every decision correctly,” he said. “(But) we want to pro- tect that kind of response.” Hansell said the fi re response was also hurt when the fi re jumped the Deschutes River and entered land that wasn’t protected by any fi re agencies. Firefi ghting efforts are hampered when fi re agen- cies are trying to determine who is responsible for extin- guishing the fi re rather than responding to it quickly, he said. SB 311 moves 400,000 acres of land in Sherman and Wasco counties into the state fi re marshal’s jurisdiction. The other two bills in Hansell’s package — Senate bills 291 and 292 — allo- cates more resources to air response for wildfi res and gives the governor and fi re marshal more fl exibility in fi ghting them. In a session where leg- islators will be considering hundreds of bills, Hansell said he can’t predict the bill package’s prospects, but he will make the legislation a priority. The 2019 legislative ses- sion starts Jan. 22. gon Cascades. As of 2017, the pack was estimated to have seven members, including two new pups that survived to the end of the year. For Birdseye, living alongside the wolves has forced him to get creative protecting his small herd of cattle, while causing plenty of sleepless nights. When the wolves howl at night, Birdseye said it puts him on edge. Despite lining the perimeter of the ranch with fl adry — lines of rope mounted along the top of a fence with nylon fl ags that fl ap in the wind to scare off predators — and hanging automatic fl ashing lights, the pack continues to prey on his livestock. Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have even camped over- night at the ranch to haze wolves when they approach. “I don’t really know what the answer is,” Birdseye said. “There may be a place for wolves, like Yellowstone (Park), but they sure don’t belong in my backyard, eat- ing my property.” Unlike the majority of the state’s wolf population in Eastern Oregon, the species is still federally protected under the Endangered Spe- cies Act west of highways 395, 78 and 95. That limits options for management to strictly non-lethal tools. Birdseye said he has worked with staff and vol- unteers from wolf conserva- tion and advocacy groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, a nonprofi t orga- nization that has helped to clean up animal carcasses and maintain fl adry at the ranch. Suzanne Stone, senior Northwest representative for the group, said it was a carcass that initially lured the Rogue pack out of the woods and down to the ranch last year. “Wolves are scavengers, and they can smell dead livestock from miles away, which for them is like ring- ing the dinner bell,” Stone said. Governor endorses lower threshold for DUIIs By Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Thurs- day endorsed legis- lation to lower the state’s drunk-driving limit, saying that she thinks society is mov- ing toward discourag- ing driving after any amount of drinking. The governor said in a telephone press con- ference with report- ers that she would help Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, in passing legislation that would lower the current .08 percent blood-alco- hol limit to .05 percent. Utah this week became the fi rst state in the nation to impose that lower limit. “I think it makes sense for Oregon to take a leadership role on this issue,” said Brown, adding, “we have really seen a culture change” in society becoming increasingly intolerant of drunk driving. “My experience is somewhat limited in this arena,” Brown said, “but the dinner party I was at New Year’s Eve, everybody who was driving was a des- ignated driver and not drinking.” People absorb alco- hol differently, but the lower limit would gen- erally cut by one drink the amount a person could consume com- pared to current law. Under the new limit, an average 160-pound man could have no more than two drinks in an hour while a 120- pound woman could have no more than one drink in that period. When should you be treated in the Emergency Room? • When a loved one is unconscious or unresponsive • When you suspect a heart attack – chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. • When you suspect a stroke – facial droop, weakness on one side, slurred speech • After an accident or injury where you suspect a concussion, broken bone, internal injury, or other serious condition. For most other health concerns, call your primary care doctor or provider. For life-threatening emergencies, call 9-1-1. This message brought to you by the Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization & Wallowa Memorial Hospital. We treat you like family 601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org Wallowa Memorial Hospital is an equal opportunity employer and provider. Today’s To Do’s Build snowman...done! Ad in the Chieftain...done! To run an ad in the Wallowa County Chieftain Contact Jennifer Cooney jcooney@wallowa.com 541-805-9630 209 NW First St. • Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-4567 • www.wallowa.com