OPINION
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
A5
OTHER VIEWS
Connie Dunham
The history
of the wolf is
complicated
T
he gray wolf has become quite a
controversial animal in the West.
Do you know the history of the wolf
that is here now and the historical wolf
which used to inhabit the Western states?
According to Edward Goldman, the
wolf subspecies known to have historically
inhabited much of the Rocky Mountain
region around Montana, Idaho, Wyoming,
Eastern Oregon and Washington was
Canis lupus irremotus, a medium to large
wolf commonly called the Timber wolf.
Just to the east of that was a wolf subspe-
cies Canis lupus nubilus, that inhabited
the Central Plains. There are variations
on this toxicology, but this is a commonly
accepted one. Although both smaller than
the largest wolf subspecies, they were
capable of taking down large mammals
and, as settlers moved west, they learned
that domestic livestock was an easy prey.
They were also known to be quite dan-
gerous to humans and adapted to kill-
ing not only European settlers but native
Americans for centuries before that. I have
a 14-page list of people killed by wolves
in locations worldwide and many in the
states. Recent history lists Kenton Car-
negie. who was killed by wolves in Sas-
katchewan just north of Montana in 2005,
and a woman jogger in Alaska shortly after
that.
The wolf, which was captured in Can-
ada and brought down to be released into
Yellowstone National Park and in Idaho —
which did not approve the dump of wolves
— was Canis lupus occidentalis. It is the
largest of the subspecies of wolves on the
North American continent. Their jaw size
and strength are far greater than any of the
other subspecies. There were other wolves
similar to the irremotus that they could
have captured, but they chose this biggest
of the wolves, who can easily weigh 150
pounds.
If you really want to know the story
of how that all transpired, look up wolf
expert Jim Beers. He worked for the
National Fish and Wildlife Service for
decades, and investigated how state fi re-
arm taxes were stolen by this agency. It
trapped and transported the 60-plus wolves
that were brought down from Canada
because the government wouldn’t autho-
rize the money to do it legally. The money
amounted to over $40 million and was
never repaid. The story reeks of govern-
ment corruption by environmentalists who
fi ltered into the agency.
In less than 20 years, the wolves in Yel-
lowstone killed almost the entire herd of
19,000 elk. There are very few left that
even stay in the park. Guides and packers
were put out of business in that area and
hunting was ruined. The wolves dumped
in Idaho also decimated the elk herd in
the central state and hunting has almost
stopped in many areas around there.
The other expert to look to is Val Geist,
a professor at the University of Cal-
gary, and a 50-year expert on wolves. He
was not anti-wolf, but had the common
sense to say that the wolf does best when
it is in unpopulated or very thinly popu-
lated areas. He regarded them as danger-
ous to humans, not only because they can
be habituated to consider humans as food,
but because they carry some very danger-
ous diseases, That includes rabies and a
canine tapeworm that can spread to herbi-
vores and humans in the form of Hydatid
disease (larval stages can form cysts in
human organs).
He was also concerned that the intro-
duction of wolves to human-inhabited
areas would lead to crosses with dogs that
would ruin the genome of the pure wolf.
He also felt that active wildlife manage-
ment of wolves and ethical hunting of
game animals were a better way to keep
biodiversity in ecosystems and save wild-
life the brutality of being eaten alive by
wolf packs. He was an expert witness on
animal behavior, environmental policy and
wildlife law enforcement, so his work is
considered valuable.
Lastly, it’s been said that the only thing
that will change our state legislature’s
opinion on protecting wolves is an attack
on a wolf supporter’s child or pet when
they start coming into the suburbs of Port-
land or Salem. Our children, pets and live-
stock don’t matter over here. We have a
choice ahead of us: manage the wolf pop-
ulation and protect the rights of people to
preserve their livelihoods, or risk the col-
lapse of our economic base and see all ser-
vices shutter their doors.
Then no one will enjoy the beauty of
this wonderful area except the wolves.
———
Connie Dunham is a longtime rancher
with her husband Jim. The fi rst wolf pack
that came into the county was in the divide
area and they lost calves to them. She
became part of a group called Oregon Wolf
Education that kept residents informed of
wolf activity in the county.
Digging deep into an environmental
scandal takes patient reporting
OTHER VIEWS
Les Zaitz
T
he announcement from the Oregon
Department of Environmental Qual-
ity in January was eye-catching.
The agency was fi ning a polluter $1.3
million for illegally dumping wastewater
more than 1,000 times — and over three
years.
The agency declared those to be “serious
violations of water quality regulations.”
And, it said, the polluter “has not been
doing its part” to limit pollution.
This was no industrial giant ignoring
Oregon’s environmental ethos.
This was another government body —
the Port of Morrow in Boardman.
Investigative project
At the Oregon Capital Chronicle, we
sensed there was much more than a one-day
headline here.
We elected to devote our limited
resources to a careful, deep investigation
into the matter. The objective was to fi nd
out how these violations occurred, how
long they had been going on, and what the
state had done to stop them.
Let me explain how we did that work,
which so far has resulted in two investi-
gative reports. We want you to understand
how we do our work. We want you to trust
the reporting. The most recent investigative
report published last week: Water contami-
nation worsened as DEQ went easy.
Alex Baumgartner, who reports on envi-
ronmental issues, took the lead after the
January announcement.
“My fi rst thought was – three years? Was
someone asleep at the wheel?” she wrote in
explaining her initial reaction to the press
release.
This is the kind of project the Capital
Chronicle was born to do. Here, we saw a
duty to hold government offi cials account-
able, to see if they had done their duty.
Quickly, it became evident this would
be a tough investigation. Fortunately, we
had reserves to link up with Alex. Two Uni-
versity of Oregon journalism students –
Cole Sinanian and Jael Calloway – had
been assigned to us for continued training
through the Catalyst Journalism Program.
Meantime, Deputy Editor Lynne Terry
and political reporter Julia Shumway
picked up extra work to keep our news
report fl owing.
The investigative team’s work proceeded
on the two basic prongs of investigative
reporting — documents and interviews.
Alex made a series of public records
requests to DEQ and the Port of Mor-
row. Under Oregon law, anyone — not just
reporters — has a legal right to see all but
confi dential government records.
Documents are vital for several reasons.
They help assure accuracy. They are better
over time than human memory. And they
record actions taken by government offi -
cials — an unchangeable history.
Interviews are just as important. They
provide sources the opportunity to educate
reporters on complex matters, to explain
their own actions and to address fi ndings
revealed by documents.
Getting public records
One of the fi rst discoveries was that vio-
lations by the Port of Morrow stretched
back for years, but there had been no public
announcements.
“I found there had been many over the
years that weren’t on the DEQ enforcement
database” online, Alex explained.
Then there was understanding the sci-
ence of wastewater, the diff erence between
nitrogen and nitrates and water quality
standards.
The documents were laced with techni-
cal language — and mysterious acronyms.
The team had no choice but to be diligent,
dive in and learn the lingo.
Alex said that over the weeks she found
she “could speak fl uently and understand
fully what the DEQ staff , scientists and
even farmers were talking about when they
were talking about FMRs, WCPFs, MOAs,
PENs, RWUP, WQSIS, OM&M, etc.”
Cole and Jael did a great deal of the
reporting to understand those technical
issues.
“Only after painstakingly combing
through the 50-page 2020 LUBGWMA
Action Plan and the Port of Morrow’s
equally laborious business plan did the
scale of the institutional failure to regulate
the port come into full focus,” Cole wrote.
And Jael had to develop expertise in
nitrates, studying scientifi c reports. She
cites a moment of pride that rewarded her
persistence.
“I was able to get through a large and
complex document and break it down so
any reader would be able to understand the
signifi cance behind nitrate levels and the
dangerous eff ects an excess amount can
cause,” Jael said.
With the reporting well advanced, the
team drafted its fi rst report, published that,
and then turned to its second report.
All of it took time — and elaborate vetting.
At the Capital Chronicle, reporters are
required to match every fi gure, every quote
against their original source material. No
guessing. No “that looks right.” We want it
accurate — period.
One further step is reporters provide
selected excerpts of a draft to those being
quoted or written about. This isn’t a usual
step in today’s journalism, but we consider
it essential to not only getting the facts right
but to fairly present them.
Sources often use these fact-check-
ing emails to elaborate on points they want
to make. But they also fl ag crucial factual
errors. We don’t allow sources, however,
to amend their quotes or otherwise insert
commentary.
Now, the team is taking a short break
and then will return to work on Part 3.
This sort of work isn’t easy and it
doesn’t come cheap.
We have reporters to pay, the cost of
traveling to places like Boardman, of hiring
freelance photographers to illustrate such
projects. Sometimes, there are fees for pub-
lic records.
Reporting resources
If you value this sort of Oregon-grown
watchdog reporting, you can help.
We’re a nonprofi t. We don’t sell ads.
And our stories are free to everyone. In fact,
other Oregon media outlets regularly pub-
lish our stories, amplifying their own cover-
age of state government and politics.
This work is funded entirely by donors
— foundations and individuals who believe
in the value of trusted information.
You can help buy that next tank of gas,
cover the cost of the next batch of records,
or even help us grow our staff with a
tax-deductible contribution. A donation of
$200 helps with gas. A donation of $1,000
would help buy more staff time. (Join in
here.)
We’re here to serve Oregon with this
kind of in-depth investigative work that is
increasingly rare. With your help, we can
do even more.
———
Les Zaitz is a veteran editor and inves-
tigative reporter, serving Oregon for more
than 45 years. He reported for The Orego-
nian for 25 years and owns community news-
papers and a digital news service. He is a
national SPJ fellow, two-time Pulitzer fi nal-
ist, including for a lengthy investigation of
Mexican drug cartels in Oregon and fi ve-time
winner of Oregon’s top investigative report-
ing award. He has investigated corrupt state
legislators, phony charities, and an interna-
tional cult that moved to Oregon, and the big-
gest bank failure in Oregon history.
10,000 baby boomers retire each day
LAYIN’ IT
ON THE LINE
Steve Kerby
T
hink about it: Many people don’t
get defi ned pension plans from their
employers anymore.
If anything, employers have reduced their
401(k) match, while employees contribute
less to their 401(k).
What about Social Security? The IRS
tells us a third of today’s retirees get almost
90% of their Social Security income. This
statistic is alarming; one-third of retirees are
wards of the government and live off the
fi xed income from the government. Addi-
tionally, we have another one-third of retir-
ees who get 50% of their income from
Social Security. People are retiring, and
folks hitting the Social Security system are
expected to get 55% of their income from
it. So, what are the alternatives for income?
Back in 2008, a $250,000 CD produced
$1,000 a month in interest. Today, this same
CD produces $25 monthly.
Can that even buy a pair of shoes?
The Wall Street Journal tells us that peo-
ple have exited the stock market in mass
numbers. $138 billion has been removed
from mutual funds since March 2009. At a
time when traditional fi nancial vehicles have
come under fi re, safe money annuities off er
the perfect trisect: the guarantee of the funds,
competitive interest rates, and guaranteed
lifetime income (even if you live to be 113).
Buying gold and silver has always been
an answer for falling currency rates. But it
has still been tied to rumors, events and spec-
ulation. The safe money fi xed/indexed annu-
ity eff ectively sidesteps such issues. Return
of principal, income, diversifi cation and
liquidity are peerless benefi ts only delivered
by the fi xed/indexed annuity.
So here are some talking points for
the backyard fence, water cooler or fam-
ily reunion when people (well-intentioned)
question the prudence of buying safe money
fi xed/indexed annuities. First, safety is not
an issue. 100% of all annuity funds must be
backed up with 100% “available” assets. In
other words, the fi xed annuity company has
its portfolio already in place to back contrac-
tual guarantees. Their cash fl ow originates
with the general portfolio.
Conversely, other investments base their
account values on sub-accounts consisting of
stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. These kinds
of accounts generate risk and fees.
Second, you can’t lose it all. You don’t
have to be an investment genius or super dis-
ciplined with your annuity option. No mat-
ter how you go about it, managing invest-
ment money to provide income for 20 years
or more requires expertise, commitment and
risk-taking.
Third, annuities deliver a level of effi -
ciency that can’t be duplicated by mutual
funds, certifi cates of deposits or any number
of homegrown solutions.
The challenges facing Social Security and
the decline of corporate pensions add up to a
“perfect storm” for retirees who might out-
live their nest egg.
———
As an avid outdoorsman, Joseph and the
Wallowa area have been a big part of Steve
Kerby’s life since 1964. Steve is a Syndi-
cated Columnists member, a national orga-
nization committed to a fully transparent
approach to money management. With over
50 years in the fi nancial services industry,
Steve specializes and focuses on each indi-
vidual client’s goals. Visit stevekerby.retire-
village.com or call 503-936-3535 for more.