SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A3
LOCAL & STATE
SNOW
Continued from A1
First, the drought left the
ground desiccated. Had the
ground become frozen, and
snow started piling up while
the soil was dry, it’s likely that
in the spring of 2022 much
of the melting snow would
soak into the ground rather
than fi ll streams, rivers and
reservoirs — including Unity
Reservoir, the lone impound-
ment in the Burnt River
Irrigation District.
That’s pretty much what
happened during the spring
of 2021. Despite a relatively
robust snowpack, the runoff
volume was paltry, leaving
irrigation supplies short and
resulting in reservoirs that re-
ceded rapidly. Phillips Reser-
voir, in Sumpter Valley about
17 miles southwest of Baker
City, reached its lowest level
since it fi rst fi lled in 1968.
Morgan’s second worry is
about this winter’s snowpack
itself.
Although copious rain dur-
ing October largely alleviated
his fear about snow falling
on parched ground, a skimpy
snowpack this winter would
prolong, and potentially even
exacerbate, the drought.
Most of Baker County
remains in extreme drought,
the second-worst rating on
the U.S. Drought Monitor
DEER
Continued from A2
Snow-laden trees in the mountains near Pilcher Creek Reservoir on Sunday, Dec. 12.
(exceptional drought is the
most severe category).
Through the fi rst week or
so of December, the snowpack
outlook was decidedly gloomy,
with little to no snow at lower
elevations and amounts well
below average higher in the
mountains.
But the past several
days have effected a major
reversal.
A series of storms starting
on Dec. 11 has boosted the
snowpack to above average
at some measuring sites in
Northeastern Oregon.
The research showed
little interaction with the
other two carnivore species
in the study — black bears
and bobcats. Based on pho-
tos, kill site investigations
and the lack of elk found in
their scat, Starkey bobcats
never scavenged on cougar
kills.
Ruprecht said bears
visited half of the cougar kill
sites monitored, but only
about one-third of the bear
scat surveyed contained
elk. No bears were found
killed by cougars, leading
researchers to believe there
was little competition be-
tween those two predators.
“They are scaveng-
ing, but not like coyotes,”
Ruprecht said. “My guess is
because they use so many
other food sources there is
less motivation to incur the
risk by potentially encoun-
tering a cougar.”
One of the takeaways,
Ruprecht said, was why
certain species do scavenge.
“There is risk involved
and decisions are made
under imperfect knowledge
of the proximity of a cougar,”
he said.
In some cases the coyote
knows the cougar is there,
Ruprecht said.
“An animal who is starv-
ing is going to take more
risk to get a meal,” Ruprecht
said.
The Starkey forest is
encompassed within a fence
that keeps deer and elk
confi ned to the area, which
allows unique types of
research.
“Getting at the answer
is a little bit challenging
because mule deer compete
with elk and are preyed on
by multiple species,” Levi
said.
Of the bears, cougars,
bobcats and coyotes collared
and monitored, Levi said
the most interesting results
occurred between cougars
and coyotes.
“We learned that while
coyotes tend to avoid cou-
gars, they are strongly at-
tracted to cougar kill sites,”
he said.
Analyzing their scat pro-
vided further evidence that
coyotes are eating elk. Levi
said coyotes don’t typically
kill elk past their young calf
stage, but video recordings
showed more that 90% of
cougar kills were scavenged
by coyotes.
This method of eating
out is not without its chal-
lenges for the opportunistic
coyotes. Levi said 7% of the
dead coyotes discovered
during the study were found
at cougar kill sites, and be-
tween 20% and 23% of the
Starkey coyotes were killed Study expands on
by cougars.
previous Starkey
“There’s a risk to getting research
a ‘free lunch,’” Levi said.
Another reason coyotes
may be more prone to
scavenge is they are a pack
Interactions among
animal while bears and
predators
While looking specifi cally bobcats are not.
“It’s the ‘many eyes,
at the impact of predators
on ungulates, Ruprecht said many ears’ hypothesis,”
the study provided a unique Ruprecht said. “They take
opportunity to learn some- turns scavenging and take
thing new about carnivores. turns keeping watch — and
“Generally predators are they communicate to alert
studied solely on how they others of a potential risk or
infl uence prey, but how they hazard.”
Levi said the study is
infl uence and interact with
each other was my interest,” part of a larger body of work
the Oregon Department
Ruprecht said.
Baker County Veterans
Service Office will be
closed from
December 20, 2021
through
December 27, 2021
And overall across the
region this vital source of
water — for kitchen faucets,
irrigation sprinklers and fi sh
habitat, among other things
— is close to average.
“It’s always concerning as
far as snowpack goes,” Mor-
gan said on Friday morning,
Dec. 17. “But if we hadn’t been
coming off one of the worst
summers, it wouldn’t have
been so scary.”
Although this week’s
storms are welcome, Morgan
points out that it’s quite early
in the snowpack season.
of Fish and Wildlife and
the U.S. Forest Service are
conducting that includes
population dynamics and
nutrition as well as the
drastic culling of Starkey’s
three elk herds, through
hunting and transplanting.
Mike Wisdom, Starkey
ungulate ecology team lead-
er with the Forest Service,
said the predator research
related to earlier studies
from the 1990s and 2000s
that indicated interference
competition between deer
and elk.
“One species might in-
timidate another into being
displaced,” Wisdom said.
A series of analyses and
publications indicated elk
used the landscape in a way
that met their needs while
mule deer were avoiding elk.
Over time, elk changed their
use of the landscape, and
mule deer moved to other
areas elk were not using.
“It became a concern in
the fact that mule deer are
declining in large areas at
Starkey, throughout Eastern
Oregon, and across other
areas of the U.S.,” Wisdom
said.
Increasing elk popula-
tions might be causing
displacement and reduction
of mule deer populations
as well as reducing the
carrying capacity of the
landscape to support them
nutritionally.
Now that the elk
population is a fraction of
Typically the pack peaks in
March or early April at higher
elevations in the Elkhorns
and Wallowas.
“We’re not out of the woods
yet,” Morgan said.
As of Friday morning, the
water content in the snow
at 19 sites in Northeastern
Oregon was just 8% below
average.
(Water content is a more
relevant measurement than
snow depth, since a foot of
powder snow holds much less
water than a foot of slush.)
Several sites had little or
what it was a few years
ago, Wisdom said there are
a lot of different possible
outcomes among the preda-
tors and prey — improved
nutrition and body condi-
tion, behavioral use of the
land, direct interactions and
changes in predation.
“Predators could dis-
sipate and lessen their use,
particularly cougars, but if
we reduce that prey base
of elk there may not be a
positive response — cougars
may just switch to eating
mule deer,” Wisdom said.
Darren Clark, Starkey
Wildlife Research Program
leader with the Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wild-
life, said for the last seven
years the big picture has
been to assess competition
between elk and mule deer.
Over the last three years the
elk herd was reduced from
550 head to 75 to see how
the mule deer respond.
According to previous
work, Clark said, the forage
available to the Starkey
mule deer doesn’t have suffi -
cient calories to meet a doe’s
energetic demands during
peak lactation, resulting in
poor body condition.
“If deer shift habitat use,
will their body condition and
fawn survival increase?”
Clark asked.
With the elk herds
reduced by 80%, Clark said
Fish and Wildlife will gather
its fi rst data set next year
from fawns collared in 2021.
By Friday morning, Dec.
17, the snow depth was 46
inches and the water content
was 8.7 inches.
The latter fi gure is 32%
above average for the date.
At Eilertson Meadow,
along Rock Creek in the
Elkhorns west of Haines, the
snow depth was only one inch,
with a water content of 0.7 of
an inch, on Dec. 10.
Friday morning the snow
depth was 16 inches and the
water content was 3.5 inches
— 9% above average.
The situation isn’t quite as
promising at some other sites.
A measuring station near
Bourne, for instance, on the
other side of Elkhorn Ridge
from Eilertson Meadow, the
water content Friday morn-
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald ing was 3.1 inches — 24%
below average.
The water content has
no snow in the fi rst week of
increased this week from 0.8
December.
of an inch, however, and the
But the wintry pattern
snow depth has risen from
that commenced on Dec. 11
fi ve inches to 20 inches.
has had a dramatic effect,
At Moss Springs, in the
especially in parts of the Wal- western Wallowas above
lowas and Elkhorns.
Cove, the water content
At Schneider Meadows
Friday was 5.7 inches, which
north of Halfway, for instance, is 14% below average.
almost three feet of snow has
Recent storms weren’t
fallen in the past week.
quite as productive in that
The automated snow-
part of the region. Moss
measuring station there, at
Springs has recorded 14
an elevation of 5,400 feet, re- inches of snow over the past
ported 13 inches of snow, and week, the water content
a water content of 3.2 inches, increasing from 3.8 inches to
at midnight on Dec. 10.
5.7 inches.
OBITUARY
Alice Saunders
closed. Then she served in the
Baker County Clerk’s offi ce for
a few years before being elected
Alice Lavina (Martin)
Saunders, 93, of Hermiston, and to three terms as the Baker
County Treasurer.
a former longtime Baker City
In 2003, Ray and Alice made
resident, died Dec. 15, 2021.
the decision to move to
Her graveside
Hermiston to be near
service will be Tuesday,
their oldest daughter,
Dec. 21 at noon at the
Eagle Valley Cemetery in
Terrilyn Piquet. Flower
Richland.
and vegetable garden-
Alice was born on
ing was a hobby and a
April 6, 1928, in Richland
passion for her entire
to Herman and Laura
life. She enjoyed shar-
Alice
Annavea (Haskins)
ing bouquets of fl owers
Saunders
Martin. Her parents
with her family and
owned and operated the
friends.
telephone company. Since their
Alice is survived by her
residence was connected to the
daughters: Terrilyn Piquet (Al-
back of the telephone offi ce, she len) of Hermiston, and Judith
claimed to be born in a tele-
Chapman (Charles) of Abilene,
phone offi ce.
Texas; her granddaughters:
Alice graduated from Rich-
Raquel Piquet (Craig), Monique
land High School along with her Piquet, Bridget Hinrichs (Jon),
lifelong sweetheart, Raymond
Danielle Piquet, Tonya Weather-
Sauders Jr. Because WWII had man (Brendan) and Amy Alice
already begun, Ray was serv-
Burson; her great-grandchildren:
ing in the Navy when he was
Damian Piquet, Devin Piquet,
granted a 10-day leave to marry Brayden Hinrichs, Brooklyn
Alice on March 10, 1945. She
Hinrichs, Jaelyn Hinrichs, Lirian
later graduated from Richland
Holden. Annika Holden, Holton
High School in May of 1945.
Weatherman, Ellie Weatherman
Alice and Ray began their
and Hudson Weatherman.
life together in 1946, living in
Alice was preceded in death
Baker, where they resided for
by her husband, Ray, and her
most of their married life. They parents.
soon completed their family with
In lieu of fl owers, donations
the addition of two daughters,
can be made to Vange John Me-
Terrilyn and Judith. Alice began morial Hospice Education Fund
working outside of the home
or Eagle Valley Cemetery. Please
when the girls were in school.
share memories of Alice with
She was the manager of the S
her family at burnsmortuary-
& H Green Stamp Store until it hermiston.com.
Formerly of Baker City, 1928-2021
KIWANIS STUDENT
KIWANIS STUDENT
OF THE MONTH
OF THE MONTH
D
E
C
E
M Baker City Kiwanis
B
E
Senior at
R Baker
High
N
O
Savannah V
Brown
E
M Baker City Kiwanis
Sponsored By
B
E
Junior at
R Baker
High
Senior at
Baker High
School.
School.
School.
Iriana
Rosales
Angel
De Arcos
Junior at
Baker High
School.
Gretchen
Morgan
Sponsored By