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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2019)
NEWS Wallowa.com Wednesday, August 21, 2019 A17 Granite Gulch Fire continues to be active Cover about 2,700 acres in mosaic pattern By USFS Wallowa Whitman National Forest With warmer and drier conditions this week, the #GraniteGulchFire will continue to be active, and smoke will periodically be visible from surrounding communities. On its west side, the fi re is expected to move into sparse fuels as it contin- ues to climb the ridgeline south of Cheval Lake. At lower elevations along its southern perimeter, the fi re remains north of the Minam River. In the east, the fi re is burning within the lower portion of the Wild Sheep Creek drainage. Active fi re spread, along with a highly visible smoke column, is expected today or tomor- row as the fi re moves fur- ther northeast into the Wild Sheep Creek drainage. The size and effects of the Granite Gulch Fire continue to meet its man- agement objectives. The fi re is playing a natural role in the ecosystem and burning in a mosaic pat- tern at low-to-high inten- sities. A mix of burn inten- sities is desired across the USFS photo Granite Gulch fi re burning near Cheval Lake on August 19. fi re area. Specifi cally, in mixed conifer and ponder- osa pine stands, we hope to see low-to-moderate inten- sity fi re, while in subal- pine fi r stands, we hope to see more high intensity fi re opening up stand structure and allowing for whitebark pine growth. The total area within the fi re perimeter is estimated to be in excess of (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ incident/6498/) for updated information about the Granite Gulch Fire. 2,700 acres, which includes both burned and unburned vegetation. Please visit InciWeb Wallowa County quits sugar program offered By Ellen Morris Bishop Wallowa County Chieftain Tamara Fuchs is a holistic integrative health coach who works with women over 30 looking for nutritional heal- ing, balance, and living life fully. Today, one of the greatest health challenges that most people face can be spelled in just fi ve letters: s-u-g- a-r. It’s in almost every pro- cessed food that we eat, and also a component of many natural foods, including fruit juices, fruit, and even healthy vegetables like corn and beets. It is a cause of obesity, poor energy, faster aging and a compromised immune system. Her program is called Wallowa County Quits Sugar. It’s planned to wean participants almost com- pletely off sugar in six weeks. Fuchs will be part- nering with another health coach to bring you a sup- ported educational program designed to help you make a lifestyle change to improve your health by cutting back to 6 teaspoons of sugar or less per day. She runs health pro- grams as Blossom Integra- tive Health, and holds a Bachelors of Science from Walla Walla University with additional studies at Seat- tle Pacifi c University in the fi elds of Health, Spe- cial Education. She com- pleted an integrative health coaching certifi cation pro- gram at International Inte- grative Nutrition in Febru- ary of 2019. Fuch’s interest in health has been spawned by her struggle with, and capacity to overcome and heal from multiple serious diseases, including a heart attack, a stroke, cancer, back sur- gery, multiple auto-immune issues and other health chal- lenges, including a new diagnosis of Carcinoid Neu- roendocrine Tumor(s). The fi rst meeting of the six-week program will be Wednesday, August 21 at 6 p.m. at The Place, behind the Congregational Church in Joseph. Fuchs offers online support in addition to the availability of one-on- one support at the Wednes- day evening sessions. The cost is $20 for indi- viduals or $45 for families, payable at the fi rst session. For more information, contact Tamara at 541-263- 0006, or tamara@blossom- integratedhealth.org ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING SUPPLIES ELECTRICAL & WATER SYSTEM CONTRACTOR PUMPS • IRRIGATION HARDWARE• APPLIANCE PARTS Flame retardants found to cause hyperthyroidism in cats By Kym Pokorny Oregon State University CORVALLIS, Ore. – An epidemic of cats with hyper- thyroidism may be explained by exposure to a chemical contained in fl ame retardants commonly found in furniture, according to an Oregon State University study. Hyperthyroidism (over- active thyroid) occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much of the hormone thy- roxine. Hyperthyroidism can accelerate the body’s metab- olism, causing unintentional weight loss and a rapid or irregular heartbeat. The number of cats diag- nosed with hyperthyroidism in 1980 was 1 in 200. Today it’s estimated that 1 in 10 cats are affl icted. For the Oregon State study, a silicone pet tag devel- oped by Kim Anderson, an environmental chemist in the Oregon State College of Agricultural Sciences, was attached to the collars of 78 Oregon State University A Siamese cat wears a tag that monitors the amount of fl ame- retardant chemicals she is exposed to. An Oregon State University study found that fl ame retardants commonly found in furniture causes hyperthyroidism in cats. hyperthyroid and non-hyper- thyroid cats. The cats wore the tags for a week and own- ers fi lled out a questionnaire. Once collected, the tags went through a process to extract the chemicals by soaking them in a solvent. The feline passive sam- plers – similar to a rabies tag – are produced out of the same material used in the sil- icone wrist bands invented in Anderson’s lab for measuring exposure to environmental chemicals in humans, includ- ing after Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017. “The tags are porous and chemically very similar to human cells,” Anderson said. “Molecules of contaminants embed themselves in the sil- icone in the same way they’d go into the cells in your body. The silicone is a pretty good mimic of the types of chem- icals that you can absorb – what we call passive sampling.” The research, led by Car- olyn Poutasse, a doctoral stu- dent in Anderson’s lab, found over 20 individual fl ame retardants in at least one tag. But only levels of tris(1,3-di- chloro-2-isopropyl) phos- phate, or TDCIPP, a fl ame retardant once used in chil- dren’s sleepwear and dis- continued for that use in the late 1970s, differed between tags worn by hyperthyroid and non-hyperthyroid cats. TDCIPP is still commonly applied to the foam in uphol- stered furniture, some plastics and some gel air fresheners. The research found that even in healthy cats, higher TDCIPP levels were cor- related with thyroid hormone levels. “The way a cat is diag- nosed with feline hyper- thyroidism is by extremely elevated concentrations of thyroid hormones,” Anderson said. “Seeing the correlation is suggestive of a connection between thyroid function and exposure to TDCIPP.” 208 S. RIVER ST. • ENTERPRISE, OR www.jbbane.com • 541-426-3344 THE ONE STOP SHOP FOR YOUR HVAC... MAINTENANCE Ed Staub & Sons Energy Community Service. 201 East Hwy 82 Enterprise, OR 97828 541-426-0320 Garrett Meigs Disturbance Ecologist PhD, College of Forestry Oregon State University Friday, Aug 30 7 pm • FREE! PET OF K E E W E H T Dr. Rachael Karlin, ND 72 INSTALLATION Brought to you by, Now taking new patients! PARTS S & SERVICES Fire Refugia in Oregon's Forests: Biological Impacts Series Learning from the Land How to Live with Change Oregon's forests are changing in unprecedented ways. Although wildfires and insects are native forest disturbances, their activity and co-occurrence appear to be shifting due to climate warming and fire suppression. 507 S. River Street Enterprise, OR 97828 541-426-4502 HOURS: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 7:00pm Death is so final; there are no do-overs. All we have left is memories. Thanks, Baxter for the memories. Little black dog, we will love you forever. Your brother misses you, your mom misses you, and your dad misses you. There’s an empty spot Mr. Baxter Reid. y r o m e M g In Lovin of Baxter Fire refugia – locations that remain unburned or burn less severely than surrounding areas – influence forest regeneration, wildlife habitat, and subsequent disturbance dynamics. Understanding the landscape conditions that support fire refugia and overall pyrodiversity may enable land managers and stakeholders to prioritize locations for forest restoration and habitat conservation. Natural History Discovery Center 508 N. Main • Joseph • 541-263-1663 • wallowology.org
