A8
LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Public gets to comment on East Moraine plan
IN BRIEF
‘Hoot owl’
regulations in
Oregon lifted
“Hoot owl” regula-
tions, put in place ear-
lier this summer in some
portions of Oregon by
the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife,
have been lifted, mean-
ing anglers no longer have
to put their reel away at
2 p.m.
Eff ective Friday, Sept.
3, all streams, creeks and
rivers coud return to nor-
mal fi shing hours “for
salmon, steelhead, trout
and sturgeon fi shing, pro-
viding fi shing is open for
these species,” the ODFW
said. Normal fi shing hours
are from one hour before
sunrise to one hour after
sunset.
Mentor Match
program kickoff
is tonight
ENTERPRISE — The
Mentor Match Teen Entre-
preneur Program will hold
an introduction meet-
ing today, Wednesday,
Sept. 8, 6:30–7:30 p.m. at
Building Healthy Fami-
lies, located at 207 E. Park
St. in Enterprise.
Interested high school
juniors and seniors from
throughout
Wallowa
County are invited to learn
about the program and
see if its right for them.
Funded and administered
by Building Healthy Fam-
ilies, the program is free to
all participants.
The program runs from
September to the end of
April, with a fi eld trip in
June.
Pizza will be served at
tonight’s meeting.
In the program, partici-
pants will:
• Create their own, suc-
cessful business, using the
resources available right
now.
• Keep the money
earned.
• Build confi dence
by talking to all kinds of
people.
• Learn to get more
done in less time by work-
ing smarter, not harder.
• Learn how to take ini-
tiative, become self-moti-
vated and self-directed.
• Establish a network
of successful people to
help ensure success.
• Learn what you are
good at, and what you
might actually be great at.
For more informa-
tion contact program
adviser Stacy Green at
541-398-2314.
E
Virtual hearing
held; comment
still can be
accepted
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — About
50 Wallowa County resi-
dents tuned in to a virtual
public hearing last week
to express their opinions
on the East Moraine Forest
Management Plan.
The hearing originally
had been scheduled to be at
the Cloverleaf Hall in Enter-
prise, but was changed to
virtual within a day or two
of the hearing because of
the recent surge in coronavi-
rus cases, according to Wal-
lowa County Commissioner
Todd Nash.
The moraine, a parcel of
land of roughly 1,800 acres,
was purchased and moved
to county ownership in Jan-
uary 2020. A draft manage-
ment plan has since been
worked on by the Wallowa
Lake Moraines Partnership
— made up of Wallowa
County, the Wallowa Land
Trust, Wallowa Resources,
the Oregon Department
of Parks and Recreation,
the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife, the Ore-
gon Department of Forestry
and the Nez Perce Tribe’s
Chieftain staff
Not just propane!
JOSEPH — Due to rising
coronavirus cases in Wal-
lowa County and the new
mask orders from the Ore-
gon Health Authority, the
Josephy Center for Arts and
Culture will not be able to
produce this year’s Wallowa
Valley Festival of Arts as
planned, but it is going on,
according to a press release.
Adjustments are being
Cooler nights are
just around the
corner!
Time to snuggle up with...
cultural and forestry divi-
sions, as well as community
members.
The fi nal plan will ulti-
mately be what governs
management and steward-
ship of the property.
Kathleen Ackley, exec-
utive director of the Wal-
lowa Land Trust, said com-
ments received during the
Wednesday, Sept. 1, hear-
ing were largely productive,
giving the partnership ideas
for any changes that may be
needed to the management
plan.
“It was a good meeting,”
Ackley said. “A lot of peo-
ple had a lot of thoughtful
input.”
Nash agreed.
“There was a wide vari-
ety of opinions and that was
what it was for,” he said.
Issues heard
There are fi ve main uses
for the moraine: wildlife
habitat, cultural resources,
range management, forestry
and recreation.
Nash, who is a cattle
rancher, was pleased that
there was no backlash on
grazing, which falls under
the range management
realm.
“Everybody seemed con-
genial with it,” he said.
Nash added that there
was only one comment on
logging.
“Most of (the comments)
revolved around recreation
and how we should utilize it
or limit it,” he said.
Nash added that while
most comments were not
opposed to public use, many
were in favor of some limits.
“There were quite a lot
of the comments that didn’t
say ‘closed,’ but (there was)
consideration for wildlife,
for managing large num-
bers of people and they
didn’t want to see it over-
whelmed,” he said. “That
was a main thrust of it.
There were other concerns
of maintaining that open
space for everything from
bicycles to horseback riding
to hiking.”
One issue that did raise
concerns on both sides was
that of whether dogs must
be on leashes while on the
moraine.
“We’ve heard the pros
and cons of both,” he said.
Other issues raised
included limited entry to the
moraine and the possibility
of expanding the parking lot
and how large the lot should
be on the East Moraine for
horse trailers.
Next steps
“It becomes a balancing
act now,” Nash said. “There
were people on both sides of
the issues.”
Ackley said the pub-
lic comment period on the
proposed management plan
ends Oct. 2. After that, the
plan’s management com-
mittee will review it and
the public comment during
October and make appropri-
ate changes. In November,
the county commissioners
will review and approved
the revised plan, as will
the ODF. In December, it
is expected the plan will be
adopted and implemented
by the commissioners.
But for now, public com-
ment can still be taken. Ack-
ley and Nash encouraged
interested members of the
public to visit the coun-
ty’s website and make their
comments there. Ackley
urged using the form avail-
able on the website, but said
emails also can be sent.
“We’re urging people to
continue to write in com-
ments,” Nash said. “I did
urge people (during the
hearing) to be succinct and
not have a long rambling let-
ter. We’ll see if we can mas-
sage it to accommodate it.”
He further urged people
to get involved in what is a
parcel of land that belongs
to the citizenry.
“We appreciated the par-
ticipation and it is a public
property and this is how the
public gets to decide how
it’s going to be used,” he
said. “I like that concept and
have looked forward to it for
a long time. I hope they feel
like they were being heard.”
Festival of the Arts still on, but altered
Ed Staub & Sons
Energy Community Service.
201 East Hwy 82
Enterprise, OR • 541-426-0320
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
made that will keep peo-
ple safe while still exhibit-
ing, appreciating and sell-
ing the 95 pieces of artwork
accepted and the 54 art-
ists who deserve to be cele-
brated. In order to do this in
the safest way possible, the
center will dial back many of
the events for the weekend.
“The Big Night” —
Friday, Sept. 17 from
7-8:30 p.m. — will see the
gallery open for a viewing
of the artwork. All attendees
must wear masks and will
need to follow the social dis-
tancing protocol. A lim-
ited number of people at a
time will be allowed to stay
within the regulations. There
will be no libations, food or
live music. The festival will
continue to hold a silent auc-
tion to help raise funds for
future festivals. They also
will hold the En Plein Com-
petition exhibit on the sec-
ond fl oor of the center.
On Saturday, Sept. 18, the
center will be open 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Admission is free
TIME TO PLAN
for next year.
Bank of Eastern Oregon
offers Operating Lines of Credit
and term loans on Equipment and Land.
BOB WILLIAMS
Ag & Commercial
Loan Officer
JOHN BAILEY
Ag & Commercial
Loan Officer
Specializing in Agricultural & Commercial Loans.
Enterprise
HOURS: 9 AM-5 PM (M-F)
101 Hogan Street • 541-426-4205
ALL YOUTH SHOOTERS RECEIVE
Member FDIC
and there will be live music.
There will also be an Art Walk
in Joseph from noon-4 p.m.
Artist Steve Arment will do
a wood carving demonstra-
tion from noon-1:30 p.m.
outside the center. The
Quick Draw event on Sat-
urday, will start at 2 p.m. at
the Mount Joseph Lodge’s
lawn (directly across from
the center.) Artists complete
their works and bidding
takes place while they create
their pieces (90 minutes) at
3:30 p.m. All completed art
will be for sale in a written
auction format at each art-
ists’ station. Bidding and art-
work will be moved to the
front of the hotel and bids
will continue until 4 p.m.
Masks and social distancing
are required.
On Sunday, art viewing
and silent auction bids will
continue until 2 p.m. All
purchased artwork can be
picked up at that time. The
festival will continue until
2 p.m. Sunday’s Summer
Arts Classic Concert has
been cancelled due to safety
protocols. All artwork will
be previewed and awarded
by this year’s judge, Den-
nis DeHart, a photographic
artist whose interdisciplin-
ary projects are informed
by the connections, confl icts
and intersections of the nat-
ural and cultural worlds. He
is a professor at Washington
State University.
The center plans an online
component to the event.
For more information,
Dawn Norman at exhib-
its@josephy.org or call
541-432-0505.
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