OPINION
Wallowa County Chieftain
A4
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
‘When it’s all electric cars, this won’t be as much fun’
T
he Oregon Mountain
Cruise last weekend
presented an inspir-
ing collection of automotive
art. From painstaking resto-
ration of fragile antiques to
wildly creative manifestations
of raw power, the vehicles ran
the full gamut of gas-guzzling
guts and glory.
But there was something
missing. Adults under about
35 years of age stayed away
in droves. This was a show
for boomers, not Millennial,
Gen X or Gen Z. The fascina-
tion with hydrocarbon-driven
power has waned. The world
is turning in a different direc-
tion, and we are not all
pleased. Witness the comment
someone made at the show:
“When it’s all electric cars,
this won’t be as much fun.”
When I returned home
and clocked onto the Inter-
net, the first thing that popped
up was a full-screen ad for a
car: the I.D. Buzz. It looked
oddly like the VW Bug fea-
tured in the movie Little Miss
Sunshine: a yellow microbus.
Except that it was electric. “In
the dark, we saw the light,”
the oddly moving ad’s video
said, a nod to VW’s recent
issues with overly optimis-
tic gas mileage ratings. While
the proto-type Buzz has all-
wheel drive and travels nearly
300 miles on one tank of elec-
summer warming, Jandt said.
“I remember that we had
some really severe lighting
storms and strikes in April
this year,” she said. “April
thunderstorms were rare to
non-existent in the past. They
may not be in the future.”
Last week, a forest health
workshop along the Los-
tine River with OSU Exten-
sion Forester John Punches
revealed that grand fir at low
to mid elevations are dying
in huge numbers not because
of insect pests, but because
the trees simply cannot toler-
ate the lengthening periods of
higher temperatures that each
summer now brings. No mat-
Courtesy of VW/Volkswagen ter how much water the grand
The VW ID Buzz Concept Car is powered by a 369 HP electric motor. If we heed the warnings of climate scientists,
fir pump up their trunks,
Wallowa County can save its forests instead of growing palm trees.
stems and branches, they can-
trons, it still seems a far cry
69 to 46 percent, according
prise resident Dr. Randi Jandt not keep the surface of their
from something that can haul to the University of Michi-
addressed both the Wallowa
needles cool enough to func-
a horse trailer.
gan’s Transportation Institute. County Rotary and an audi-
tion. And so the trees cease
But change is coming
Similar statistics are every-
ence at Wallowology with a
photosynthesis. Essentially,
whether we want it or not. It
where. What’s behind it? Two talk about how warming cli-
they suffocate and starve.
always has. It always will.
things. It’s cheaper to use
mates are affecting Alaska.
As much fun as the festi-
Vehicles change. Generations mass transit. And fossil fuel
But she also addressed cli-
val of motorcars might be,
change. Climates change.
use is a major contributor to
mate change here in The
the turn towards cleaner vehi-
Today, those three things are
an increasingly temperamen-
County and across Oregon.
cles and cleaner energy is
intertwined. In general, as
tal warming climate.
Summer temperatures have
welcome as climate change
more urbanized and younger
If we think that climate
increased by 2 degrees F since begins to tighten its grip on
humans begin to take the reins change, AKA global warm-
1895. Summer fire seasons
us. Someday there will be
of culture, the desire to drive
ing, has no effect here at
have expanded from three
an electric F250 to haul the
cars, period, let alone some-
home in Wallowa County,
months to five. Sumer heat
horse. Or maybe a horse to
thing with a carburetor and
think again. This week saw
waves are longer. And along
haul the old F250. Better that
has waned. Between 1983
two public gatherings that laid with drier, hotter summers,
than growing Imnaha toma-
and 2010 the percentage of
out how a warming climate is comes an increase in lightning toes in Joseph, and witnessing
17-year-olds who got driv-
causing huge problems right
strikes—a 12 percent annual
forests of mostly dead trees—
er’s licenses plummeted from here. Fire ecologist and Enter- increase for each degree of
or no forests at all.
Dam safety overhaul
approved by lawmakers
Oregon adopts revised wolf management plan
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Dam owners would be subject to civil
penalties for failing to maintain the struc-
tures under an overhaul of Oregon’s dam
safety laws that’s passed the Legislature.
House Bill 2085, which passed the Senate
unanimously June 3 after clearing the House
in April, would also clarify the Oregon
Water Resources Department’s authority
over approving dam construction, removal
and modification, among other provisions.
“This aging infrastructure needs to be
carefully watched,” said Sen. Cliff Bentz,
R-Ontario, noting that the bill also stream-
lines court procedures for compelling
upgrades to unsafe dams.
“This is important authority that is nec-
essary to protect the people of Oregon,” he
said.
The bill applies to about 950 dams regu-
lated by OWRD, including 75 “high hazard”
structures that would likely cause deaths if
they failed. About one-fourth of such dams
are considered to be in poor or unsatisfac-
tory condition.
“Every year, we typically have at least
one dam that has a safety incident,” said
Racquel Rancier, the agency’s senior policy
coordinator, during a May hearing.
Since the 1800s, 55 dams have failed in
Oregon, including one that killed seven peo-
ple in 1896. Oregon’s dam safety statutes
haven’t been updated since 1929.
Under the bill, OWRD could order a
maintenance action after inspecting a dam
that poses a high or significant hazard, which
the owner can challenge in an administrative
hearing.
Dam owners can work with the agency
to develop a plan for correcting problems
under the bill, while under current law, such
orders are automatically subject to adminis-
trative hearings.
If the owner doesn’t perform the ordered
maintenance, the agency can impose a civil
penalty in an amount that’s yet to be deter-
mined by the Oregon Water Resources
Commission.
Such penalties would be waived if the
owner perform carries out the maintenance
work and the final order can also be con-
tested in court.
“Today, we’re in the position of ask-
ing, ‘Please,’” Rancier said, explaining that
OWRD can’t impose penalties under current
law.
SALEM — Oregon has revised and
updated its plan for managing the state’s
growing wolf population, retaining provi-
sions that allow depredating wolves to be
killed.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commis-
sion voted 6-to-1 on June 7 to approve the
long-awaited, highly contentious plan after
hours of public testimony and debate over
last-minute amendments.
Commissioner Greg Wolley, of Portland,
was the only member to vote against the plan.
Getting to this point was no easy feat.
Wolf management has been a source of con-
troversy ever since the species returned to
Oregon in 1999. The state adopted its first
Wolf Conservation and Management Plan in
2005, which is supposed to be revised every
five years.
The last revision happened in 2010, when
wildlife officials identified just 21 known
wolves statewide. Today, the minimum
known population is 137 wolves. The com-
mission removed wolves east of highways
395, 78 and 95 from the state endangered
species list in 2015, and the latest plan revi-
sion started a year later.
Gray wolves are still federally protected
in the western two-thirds of Oregon, though
that could change under a proposal by the
Trump administration to delist wolves across
the Lower 48 states.
Ranchers have long argued they need to
be able to kill wolves that make a habit out
of preying on livestock. But environmen-
tal groups say management practices should
focus more on using non-lethal deterrents to
prevent conflicts.
Last year, the Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife spent more than $100,000 to
hire a professional mediator, bringing the
two sides together to try and find areas of
compromise. However, the four environ-
mental groups — Oregon Wild, Defend-
ers of Wildlife, Cascadia Wildlands and the
Center for Biological Diversity — pulled out
of talks, describing the process as flawed and
unscientific.
At the heart of the issue is the definition
for what ODFW calls “chronic depredation.”
Under the revised plan, ranchers in Eastern
Oregon can apply to kill wolves if they attack
livestock two times within nine months. The
2010 plan allowed for killing wolves after
two confirmed attacks over any period of
time in Eastern Oregon.
ODFW/Capital Press
The breeding male of the Walla Walla Pack captured on a remote camera on private property
in northern Umatilla County in Feb., 2019. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted
6-to-1 on June 7 to approve the long-awaited, highly contentious plan after hours of public
testimony and debate over last-minute amendments.
The commission considered changing
the proposed standard to three attacks in 12
months, though the motion was ultimately
defeated.
Once a wolf or pack meets the definition
of chronic depredation, ODFW can issue
what are known as “controlled take” permits
that allow other members of the public to kill
the predators within a limited scope. Wolf
advocates staunchly oppose controlled take,
fearing it will lead to general wolf hunting.
The commission did approve an amend-
ment to controlled take regulations, stipulat-
ing permits can only be approved through
a separate rule-making process. In a state-
ment, ODFW says it has not approved con-
trolled take of wolves and has no plans to at
this time.
Derek Broman, ODFW carnivore and fur-
bearer coordinator, said the plan is not dra-
matically different than before, though it
does reflect the current situation in Oregon.
“We continue to maintain a conserva-
tion-based plan that is true to its origins,
but provides additional clarity,” Broman
said. “Now we have a decade of our own
information.”
Ranchers from across the state traveled
to Salem to provide their input on the plan.
Jerome Rosa, executive director of the Ore-
gon Cattlemen’s Association, said his mem-
bers have “suffered enormous losses, both
economic and emotional” due to wolves. He
and others representing the industry argued
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VOLUME 134
USPS No. 665-100
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921
Contents copyright © 2019. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
for more collaring of wolves and manage-
ment zones with population targets to assist
producers.
Broman said collaring remains a valuable
tool, but stopped short of making any prom-
ises. “The issue is, collaring wolves is a very
exhausting, very challenging practice,” he
said.
In a staff presentation to the commission,
Broman said the revised plan does not estab-
lish population targets or caps.
Broman said the plan will continue to
emphasize non-lethal deterrents in every
phase of management, and ODFW added a
new chapter to monitor potential threats to
the species — such as poaching, diseases and
habitat destruction.
Rusty Inglis, a rancher and president of
the Harney County Farm Bureau, said the
success of the wolf is coming at a high cost
for the livestock industry and rural Oregon
as a whole.
“Ranching is a mainstay economic driver
in most rural communities here in Oregon,”
Inglis said. “Whenever a ranching family
faces economic loss, the whole community
loses.”
Veril Nelson, a southwest Oregon rancher
and wolf committee co-chairman for the Cat-
tlemen’s Association, said the losses don’t
just come from dead animals. He said studies
have shown cows suffer stress, weight loss
and poor grazing that can all affect a ranch-
er’s bottom line.
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