Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2019)
OPINION LETTERS Wallowa.com Wednesday, March 20, 2019 A5 Steelhead fi nally on the run T wo weeks ago it occurred to me I haven’t been steelhead fi shing enough this winter. My car fl oorboards are too clean, there aren’t any new fl ies stuck in the visor of my vehicle, and you can read the entirety of my license plate. While some of this is due to the never ending snow accumu- lations of January, February, and early March, I’m not someone who can idly sit by the fi re when there are fi sh to catch. Only this past winter there weren’t many fi sh to catch, and as a newlywed, the couch by the fi re seemed par- ticularly inviting. With a one steelhead limit look- ing like it will extend all the way through the end of season on our local rivers (April 30th), there were plenty of days with below freezing temperatures far better for baking sourdough bread and click- ing into a pair of skis, or sitting in saunas, than standing in a frozen river waving a half frozen fl y line around. In fact, I didn’t throw a half frozen fl y line around at all. In early January, there was a TAILGATE quick trip with my wife to visit her grandfather in South Carolina, where I made sure to spend a few hours each day getting on a bike with a rusty chain, riding out to the ocean beach with fl y rod in hand to catch a redfi sh or two, and soak up the sun. While I also caught a downpour, a blue crab, and other various unmentionables (who knew an alligator would decide my shrimp pattern was worth a chomp), I did it all while wear- ing a pair of shorts and lightweight hooded sweatshirt. Later in January, when tempera- tures crept like a neighborhood cat, up above thirty two degrees, I snuck in a quick hour on the banks of the Wallowa, catching my only steelhead of January during an afternoon warm spell. Then just as quickly, the cat spooked away. Temperatures dropped back below freezing every day. And the snow fell. And fell. And fell. And kept falling. And besides shoveling snow, and clearing snow from my vehicle, and trying to fi nd a pair of boots tall enough to keep the snow out, I stayed by the fi re, full of excuses and things to do other than fi sh. Luckily, February brought with it another trip to a warm saltwa- ter destination, this one a long planned excursion to South Andros in the Bahamas (google under lucky dog) with clients from my summer guiding in Colorado: fi ve straight days of warm bath- water fl ats the color of turquoise, fi sh that took me into my backing more often than not, and no one to be seen for miles around. Unfor- tunately, for fi ve days of fi shing, I had to travel for fi ve days, and on the way home I paid for every hour of fi sh catching, in delayed fl ights, winter storms, and a long slow slog back from Portland along Interstate 84 and Highway 82. Still, I had a slight sunburn and with the smile I held and sparkle in my eyes, I almost felt like a fi sher- man again. Unfortunately, that was it for another month of cold temps and snow storms. Until, that is, last week happened: the sun came out, temperatures began to rise like a chunk of sourdough starter, and most of the roads that lead to our local rivers fi nally dried up from the half-frozen skating rinks they’d been transformed into this win- ter (except for Wildcat: avoid that muddy, icy, rutty slush fest of a road and take Flora down to Troy instead). This past weekend, with a pop and a creak, I got up from the couch, brushed the dust off my shoulders, turned off the stove, threw my fi shing gear in the trunk, and b-lined it, along with every- one else in the county (including friends, loved ones, extended fam- ily members, every fourth neigh- bor, and a whole lot of people with Idaho and Washington license plates) to the Wallowa River. Luckily, on Friday afternoon, with so few fi sh out there, our typ- ical March crowds, which also include jugglers, fi re-breathers, and jesters, weren’t so typical, and after the initial panic of thinking I might have run across a river full of fi shers instead of fi sh, I found a spot or two to settle down into, throw some unfrozen casts, and soak up the sun. When Saturday rolled around, and the sun continued to shine, I got off the couch once again and headed to yet another river to do some fi shing. And when Sunday dawned, bright and spectacular, I chucked my fi shing gear in the trunk and headed out to fi sh for a third day in a row. My fl oorboards, I’m happy to report, are now cov- ered by a thick layer of grime. You can barely read my license plate through the coat of dust and mud. And my freezer has a few fi l- lets of hatchery steelhead to share with friends. With spring break fast approaching, let’s hope this weather carries on into April. LETTERS to the EDITOR Eastern Oregon Counties Association applauds decision on Blue Mountain Forest plans Formerly proposed plans not workable The Forest Service has released fi nal objection instructions for the Blue Mountain Forest plans. The Regional Forester has been instructed to withdraw the draft Record of Decision, Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and the three Revised Plans. East- ern Oregon Counties Associ- ation (EOCA) applauds this fi nal decision. It had become clear for our association that the pro- posed plans were not work- able for our communities. In the development of the plan revisions the Forest Service had not heard or understood how the custom and culture and economies of our com- munities are intertwined with our forests. This was apparent by the more than 350 objections that were fi led on the plan. The outpouring of public response through the objec- tion process is what caused this decision to occur. We thank each and every one on you that stood tall through this process and con- tinued to make your voice heard. Forest Service Acting Deputy Chief and Review- ing Offi cer, Chris French and his team did hear our voices and took action, we thank them for this. EOCA looks toward the future and supports the changes of leadership from the Regional offi ce down that is occurring. We take this as an opportunity to rebuild trust and relationships with the Forest Service. With the rebuilding of trust we can work together for our common goal for forests that support our local communities’ social, economic, and ecological values. Eastern Oregon County Commissioners On behalf of the People of Eastern Oregon We’ve lost the sense of the “greater good” In light of recent local government actions to quash a public trail that would follow the existing railroad tracks and to make the IOOF Building acces- sible to people with mobil- ity issues, I would like to urge Wallowa County residents to look in their hearts and fi nd that sense of “greater good” that we seem to have lost. It’s true that both the hiking trail and the ADA ramp would create change and require adjustments from a few people. I’m one of them--I work in the library building and use its park- ing lot every day. Having a ramp in the alley would require me to back up my car slightly more carefully than I would otherwise, in a place where there are constantly children run- ning around. I’m will- ing to make this sacrifi ce. Why? Because my per- sonal convenience does not outweigh the needs of the many, many people (both disabled and elderly) who are unable to participate in events that take place in the IOOF Building because they can’t climb the stairs, nor the needs of the orga- nizations that can’t hold Starting at their events in that building for the same reason. I urge both county leaders and citizens, when considering community upgrades such as these, to think of the greater good. Andrew Car- negie did not commission libraries to be built across the entire United States to benefi t himself--he did it to make the United States smarter and stronger. The fi rst white people in Wal- lowa County did not build the courthouse or the grist mills or the schools or the fi re stations to bene- fi t solely themselves--they built them for the gen- eral populace. Let our leg- acy for Wallowa County be valuing greater good over personal convenience. Kristy Athens Enterprise Share resources with wild community Connie Dunham’s letter (3/13/19) about elk encroach- ment on Wallowa County ranchland tries to link it, nat- urally, to wolves, claiming they drive elk to the safety of the valley. Solution: kill wolves, and while at it, kill cougars too. But these two (especially wolves) are pri- mary elk predators, natu- ral governors of elk popula- tions. Is it smart to kill those that help cap elk numbers if you’re worried about too many elk? Perhaps, as Dunham says, a solution is to increase, if justifi ed, the number of spe- cial ranch hunting tags. If, as she says, elk leave areas where they have been hunted (by man or beast), then this should move them on. The issue of elk encroach- ment came to a head in the winter of 2016/17 when a Wallowa rancher, Mike Harshfi eld, illegally slaugh- tered 25 elk on his and adja- cent land, leaving them to rot. He was convicted in a plea deal on six counts (Chief- tain 6/30/17). His wife, Pam, was one of two ranchers interviewed for the Chieftain lead story (2/20/19) which inspired this series of let- ters. That winter was brutal, driving deer and elk down to the valley. Forty thousand head of cattle in the county has reduced grazing avail- able to wildlife and in places degraded public grazing land. Recent weather variables have made matters worse. Elk have been using the valley time out of mind, except during the turn of the 20th century when they were extirpated by ranchers and meat hunters. Elk and other wildlife do have a place even on private land, although some producers still look to those days when maybe they didn’t. Elk reintroduction in 1912 was resisted by many ranchers. One, Jay Dobbin, WALLOWA COUNTY Health Line 519 W. North Street, Enterprise 209 NW First St., Enterprise • 5414264567 541.426.3413 Mon-Thurs 9 to Noon/1-5pm; Fri. 9-1 SPACE RESERVATION DEADLINES for weekly advertising is 5pm Friday for the following week. Ad copy is due on Monday at 10am. Ads must be approved by Tuesday at 12pm. Contact Jennifer Cooney today for all your advertising needs! jcooney@wallowa.com • 541-805-9630 was quoted in a 1912 Chief- tain story (as reported in The Observer (12/12/2008): “We who have been in here for years and who believe have done our part making the county a producer of wealth, feel that to turn the grazing land into a game preserve is a step backward.’’ Vestiges of this attitude linger yet. Most livestock opera- tors accept responsibility to share resources with the wild community. Hopefully, oth- ers like Connie Dunham will share this responsibility rather than calling for, yearning for, the old solution: slaughtering wildlife. Wally Sykes Joseph FREE sponsored by Wallowa Valley Senior Living understanding and responding to dementia-related behavior $39/yr Wallowa County’s Newspaper DELIVERED YOUR 2 WAY! $45/year in-county for weekly delivery PLUS 24/7 all-digital WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE $39/year for 24/7 all-digital Call 541-426-4567 to subscribe or go to wallowa.com/subscribe an education program by the alzheimers’association Behavior is a powerful form of communication and is one of the primary ways for people with dementia to communicate their needs and feeling as that ability to use language is lost. However, some behaviors can present real challenges for caregivers to manage. Join us to learn to decode behavioral messages, identify common behavior triggers, and learn strategies to help intervene with some of the most common behavioral challenges of Alzheimer’s disease. April 5, 2 to 4:30 pm Class also includes “Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia,” basics of Alzheimer’s and dementia to provide a general overview for people who are facing a diagnosis as well as those who wish to be informed. 2 FREE CEU’s Veterans of Foreign Wars, 800 N River St, Enterprise, OR 97828 To register, please call 800-272-3900
