OFF PAGE ONE
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Cattle:
ber — the time cattle are on sum-
mer range in the national forests
— is usually about 1% to death
from diseases or other natural
causes. Since the reintroduction
of wolves, those losses have risen
to 3% to 5%, he said.
He said his herd experiences
almost zero losses during the
winter when they are on his Crow
Creek ranchland and under con-
stant supervision.
Continued from Page A1
Susan Wagner/Contributed Photo
Sam Morgan, of Enterprise, is
recovering in Seattle after a fall
at home that resulted in several
broken vertebrae in his back and him
undergoing surgery.
Morgan:
Continued from Page A1
tle and, after a 24-hour wait, had a
10-hour surgery, according to Wagner.
The family believes that there have
been several miracles in recent days
that have led to Morgan being in the
place he is.
“God provided so many miracles,
and we already know that,” she said.
“Him not being paralyzed, him living
to begin with. … We just recognize
the blessing that God has given us all
along. And Sam does, too.”
Wagner said she has spoken
with Morgan since the surgery, and
described him as being “in good spir-
its, but it’s hurting him.”
She also said he has been convey-
ing a message of love to many people
who have been on his mind in the days
since his fall.
“Sam would say he really loves
everybody, and thanks everybody
for their prayers,” Wagner said. “He
just wants to let everyone know. He
thinks about a lot of these people he
knows. That’s what he’s been telling
me all along — call this person and let
me know I love them. He wants to let
other people know God’s with them.
… And what a miracle it is that he is
alive and not paralyzed in any way.”
Several funds have been set up to
help Morgan with medical bills. Wag-
ner said Community Bank locations
are taking donations for the Sam Mor-
gan Memorial Fund. There is also
a GoFundMe page set up at https://
gofund.me/93d4e53c.
he took Warnock up in his plane
approximately Dec. 21 and 27 to
look for the missing cattle.
“He talked like he was going
to put some people on it,” Stein
said. “I think they had a lot going
on at the time. That’s why I got
involved because something
needed to happen.”
As for the actual number of
cattle lost, Birkmaier said that
won’t be known until herded cat-
tle can be compared with those
listed with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
Stein and Birkmaier agreed
that they and other ranchers have
been willing to help out.
“In Wallowa County every-
body needs to get along,” Stein
said. “It looks bad for ranch-
ers. People from the cities think,
‘Why are those cows out there?’ ”
Stein and Birkmaier said some
of the cattle caught in the deep
snows had recently calved and
were trying to keep their calves
alive.
“The nutritional require-
ments of a lactating cow with
a 1-2-month-old calf are quite
high,” Birkmaier said. “The pro-
tein and energy requirements are
two times that of a cow that is not
producing milk. This whole inci-
dent was made worse by that fact.
The cows just had no fat reserves
to draw from and with available
forage covered in snow, they lit-
erally ‘milked themselves to
death,’ in an attempt to provide
for their calves. … Those cows
starved to death trying to feed
their calves milk,” he said, add-
ing that they got too weak to sur-
vive themselves. “They were put-
ting all their nutrition into their
milk.”
While a number of the lactat-
ing mother cows were lost, Birk-
maier said, “Fortunately, many of
the 1-2-month-old calves were
saved.”
From the ranch
On Jan. 18, Warnock said
by email that he put in his two-
weeks’ notice Jan. 12.
Wallowa County Sheriff Joel
Fish, whose department is inves-
tigating for possible animal
neglect, said the Deans brought
in a new ranch manager, Katie
The ranching community
Adam Stein/Contributed Photo
This aerial photo shows a cow that died in the deep snows on the Upper
Imnaha and its carcass dug up and eaten by wolves. Area ranchers are
concerned that predation by wolves on cow carcasses will whet their
appetite for live cattle.
Romero.
When contacted Jan. 24,
Romero said she is from “out of
state” and her boss, Bob Dean’s
wife, Karen Dean, had instructed
her to not answer questions from
the press.
In a phone call right after that,
Karen Dean also declined to
comment, saying, “I don’t have
anything to say to you,” before
hanging up.
Fish referred questions to the
Deans’ legal counsel, Joseph Law
Firm of La Grande, but no com-
ment was received after numer-
ous emails and voicemails were
left over the past two weeks.
Fish said his investigation
is continuing and has not deter-
mined if charges will be brought.
Wolves in the mix
Stein again overfl ew the area
where the Dean cattle were and
saw signs of wolf predation. He
said Jan. 20 that what he saw so
far were signs that wolves had
dug up cattle that had been buried
in the snow and were likely dead.
“I’m sure they were dead
before” the wolves came, he said.
He did not see any evidence
of wolves attacking live cat-
tle. However, he and Birkmaier
agreed giving wolves a taste of
beef under such circumstances
can whet their appetite for live
cattle.
“I think it will have an
impact,” Stein said. “Typically,
when wolves start working cows
over (ranchers) will try to get
rid of the wolves that are eating
beef. … Typically, when wolves
start working on cattle they won’t
quit.”
Birkmaier agreed, saying add-
ing beef to wolves’ diet indeed
makes it more likely they’ll
attack cattle.
“The problem is that it teaches
them to eat beef and that whole
area will be attractive for wolves
if there’s cows out there again,”
he said. “Elk and deer are their
primary diet, but occasionally we
have a problem with them attack-
ing livestock.”
Birkmaier said he regularly
uses nonlethal methods such as
noise, light and a human presence
to keep wolves at bay. But it isn’t
always eff ective.
He said normal losses during
the period from April to Octo-
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Oregon
Birkmaier agreed the Dean
ranch had a greater challenge
with about 1,500 cattle, but they
also have six or seven ranch
hands.
“It seems like that ranch had
plenty of help,” he said. “I know
all the workers and they are
good hands. I just can’t fi gure
out why they didn’t get the cat-
tle gathered.”
As Stockgrowers president,
Birkmaier said he feels a need to
speak out for his fellow ranchers.
“So many are telling me (they
agree), but they’re not willing to
step out and say something,” he
said.
However, many have been
willing to help with the emer-
gency, which is now drawing to
a close.
“After nearly a month of
nightly conference calls, the res-
cue process is wrapping up. We
just didn’t have anyone willing
to step up and lead the recov-
ery operations. County Commis-
sioner (Todd) Nash set up a con-
ference call-style meeting where
volunteers, ranchers and agency
persons could set up strategies
and coordinate plans for rescu-
ing the cows. It created a per-
fect platform for the communica-
tion that was necessary and was
quite eff ective,” Birkmaier said.
“We relied so heavily on not only
Adam Stein’s fl ying skills, but
his ability to snowmobile, groom
trails and deliver hay to the cows.
He just knows that country so
well and usually directed the
extraction method that would be
the most eff ective.”
Stein agreed, saying there
were numerous key players
without whom the cattle rescue
wouldn’t have been possible and
they should not go unrecognized.
“The amount of support from
local ranchers and residents was
overwhelming,” he said. “Thank
you all for your assistance.”
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