LOCAL & STATE
BAKER CITY HERALD • TuEsDAY, NovEmBER 1, 2022 A3
Oregon ranchers grapple with
increasing number of wolf attacks
BY GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
It has been another chal-
lenging summer for Oregon
ranchers working to protect
their livestock from wolves.
The state Department of
Fish and Wildlife has con-
firmed 50 wolf attacks so far in
2022, killing or injuring 39 cat-
tle, eight sheep, four goats and
three guard dogs. Of those in-
cidents, 38 have been reported
since July 6, primarily in north-
east and south-central Oregon.
That is already one more
confirmed depredation than
was tallied by ODFW for all
of last year, though with fewer
animals harmed — 95 in 2021,
versus 54 as of Oct. 20.
But for every carcass found
in rugged, mountainous ter-
rain, there could be as many
as six or seven more that aren’t
found, said John Williams, a
retired Oregon State University
Extension agent in Wallowa
County who is wolf commit-
tee co-chairman of the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association.
Many producers also opt not
to report their livestock losses to
ODFW, Williams said, having
long been frustrated with the
agency’s management of wolves.
“We need to get much
more aggressive,” he said. “We
should be acting on the man-
agement of these wolves with-
out having to wait for disaster
to strike.”
‘Lethal take’ permits
ODFW recently issued “le-
thal take” permits for two wolf
packs that continue to prey on
livestock in neighboring Union
and Umatilla counties.
One of those permits allows
the affected rancher to kill up
to two wolves from the Horse-
shoe pack. It was approved
Sept. 6 after wolves attacked
cattle twice in three weeks on
a 4,000-acre private pasture
in the Blue Mountains east of
Pendleton.
The permit was due to ex-
pire Oct. 7, but was extended
until Oct. 28 after the pack
killed another calf on Sept. 26.
Since then, two more depre-
dations were confirmed and at-
tributed to the Horseshoe pack
on Oct. 17.
Michelle Dennehy, ODFW
spokeswoman, said trapping
has been added as a tool to
catch wolves in the pasture,
with USDA Wildlife Services
now acting as the producer’s
agent.
BY ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
oDFW
Permits have been issued allowing two wolves to be culled in response to continued attacks on livestock.
A second kill permit was
also granted Oct. 6 for up to
two wolves from the Balloon
Tree pack after ODFW con-
firmed four attacks on sheep
Sept. 8-26 near Elgin. That per-
mit expired Oct. 15, with no
wolves killed.
Ranchers face difficulties
Williams said it is difficult
for ranchers to catch and shoot
wolves under restrictions writ-
ten into ODFW’s permits.
First, they can only be killed
on pastures where livestock
depredations have already oc-
curred. Williams said a wolf
can easily traverse a 1,000-acre
pasture in just minutes.
Second, the agency may
specify only a certain type of
Celebration
wolf may be shot to preserve
certain members of a pack,
such as the alpha male, female
or any wolf fitted with a track-
ing collar. Not to mention,
ranchers are already working
full-time jobs, Williams said.
“It really limits the success of
going ahead and getting those
wolves killed,” he said.
“Once a wolf pack gets into
a ‘chronic depredation’ issue
like these packs are, really the
only out is to reduce that pack’s
size.”
Oregon’s wolf plan currently
defines “chronic depredation”
as two attacks in nine months
for wolves east of highways
395, 78 and 95, after which
ODFW may consider lethal
control. Wolves in Western Or-
A snowcat on
the slope be-
low the Rock
Garden chair-
lift at Anthony
Lakes Moun-
tain Resort in
late October
2022.
Continued from A1
Another foot or more could
fall at the ski area, which has the
highest base elevation of any re-
sort in the Northwest, at 7,100
feet.
Although it’s too early to
know whether there will be
enough snow for Anthony
Lakes to open on Thanksgiving
weekend, which is always the
goal, Judy said the ski area will
be ready if the weather contin-
ues to cooperate.
For most years in the past de-
cade, opening day was delayed
until December, so an early start
would be an exciting kickoff to
Anthony Lakes’ 60th birthday,
Judy said.
The ski area officially opened
on Jan. 12, 1963.
Anthony Lakes will com-
memorate the birthday with
Throwback Thursday on Jan.
12, 2023, when lift tickets will be
$2 for ages 13 to 69, and $1 for
ages 7 to 12.
From Jan. 12-22, visitors are
invited to bring their most mem-
orable photo from Anthony
Lakes and pin it to the “Through
the Years” wall display.
The resort’s main birthday
celebration will take place Sat-
urday, Jan. 21.
Events include the Anthony
Lakes Cup, a dual slalom race
presented by the Anthony
Lakes Ski Racing Association,
live music by the Greenneck
Daredevils from 3 p.m. to
6 p.m., and other events.
Skiers and boarders are in-
vited to wear 1960s-style gear
and attire.
Other than the 60th birthday
festivities, this winter should be
“business as usual” at Anthony
Lakes, Judy said.
Overnight options include
two yurts and the Anthony Lake
Couple is
arrested after
child shows
up at school
with fentanyl
in backpack
Ian Warner/
Contributed Photo
Guard Station, both available for
rent, as well as parking spaces,
with electric hook-ups, for RVs in
the lower parking area. The RV
spaces are first-come, first-served.
Anthony Lakes history
Local residents started skiing
in the area in the 1930s, with
the formal opening of the Ever-
green Ski Club and North Pow-
der Sportsmens Booster Club
happening on March 27, 1938.
The Anthony Lakes Play-
ground Association was formed
on April 21, 1938, Stan Ingram
wrote in his detailed history,
“Anthony, A Tale of Two Skis,”
published in 1971.
After a hiatus during World
War II, interest was revived in
1947 in making Anthony Lakes
a skiing center for Northeastern
Oregon. Two rope tows oper-
ated during the 1947-48 season.
But after two winters the mo-
mentum was lost — in part,
Ingram writes, because some-
one stole the snowplow used to
keep the steep road to the resort
open, then drove it over an em-
bankment, destroying the ma-
chine.
Although some skiers con-
tinued to hike to the slopes, the
main skiing destination during
the 1950s was at Little Alps,
about three miles east of An-
thony Lakes.
The focus returned, how-
ever, to the higher elevation site
just west of Anthony Lake in
1962. The effort, led in part by
the Baker County Chamber of
Commerce, was aided by a visit,
in January 1962, of Oregon Gov.
Mark Hatfield (later a longtime
U.S. senator).
During a dinner hosted by
the Chamber of Commerce,
Hatfield announced that the
state had allocated $35,000 to
pave 2.7 miles of the Anthony
Lakes Highway.
That summer the Anthony
Lakes Corporation was formed,
and with proceeds from a stock
sale, the corporation installed a
Pomalift. It carried its first skiers
on Jan. 12, 1963, with tickets $2
for adults and $1 for children —
hence the Throwback Thursday
prices set for Jan. 12, 2023.
The current day lodge
opened in 1967.
Watch out
for the
Wildlife
on the Roads
2390 Broadway, Baker City
541-523-5223
egon remain protected under
the federal Endangered Spe-
cies Act.
Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf
advocate with the Center for
Biological Diversity, said ev-
idence shows that in places
such as Eastern Oregon, where
government agencies can read-
ily kill wolves, illegal poaching
also increases.
Four wolves have been
poached in the region this
year, most recently OR88, a
radio-collared adult female
member of the Lookout Moun-
tain pack in Baker County.
“It’s a sad cycle that keeps re-
peating itself in Oregon,” Weiss
said. None of the poachers
have been caught.
However, Williams said that
while OCA doesn’t condone
poaching, he believes there
would be greater tolerance of
the predators locally if the state
were more proactive in manag-
ing populations, and not
simply reacting to livestock
depredations.
Cattle ranchers want ODFW
to adopt management zones
for wolves, with population tar-
gets to prevent what Williams
described as “saturation” of the
animals in some areas.
“Here, you can expect to see
a wolf on any ridge in Wallowa
County, at any time,” he said.
“You can’t really run them off.
You’re just moving them to an-
other batch of livestock. You
aren’t really solving the
problem.”
LA GRANDE — The parents
of a 7-year-old student at Central
Elementary School in La Grande
were arrested on Tuesday, Oct.
25, after school staff found fen-
tanyl pills in the student’s belong-
ings, according to a press release
from Union County Sheriff Cody
Bowen.
A deputy from the Union
County Sheriff’s Office arrested
Attoway Davis, 28, and Troi
O’Quinn, 25, both of La Grande.
Davis has been charged with
endangering the welfare of a mi-
nor, recklessly endangering an-
other person, frequenting a place
where controlled substances are
used and possession of a con-
trolled substance. O’Quinn was
charged with frequenting a place
where controlled substances are
used.
Deputy Justin Hernandez re-
sponded to the school after the
pills were discovered in the first
grade student’s backpack, accord-
ing to the probable cause declara-
tion. The pills were marked with
an “M” and “30,” which the school
resource officer recognized as fen-
tanyl pills due to his training.
In separate interviews with law
enforcement, O’Quinn and Davis
shared that Davis hid the bottle of
fentanyl in the backpack because a
friend going through opiate with-
drawal was visiting.
Davis told police he didn’t want
his friend to see how many pills
he had since he believed his friend
would ask for more.
Both Davis and O’Quinn told
law enforcement that they smoked
a pill with the friend while their
children were in the other room at
home, according to the probable
cause declaration. The couple fell
asleep after the friend left and for-
got about the pills in the backpack
the next morning.
Davis told law enforcement
that he was aware of the dangers
of fentanyl and how it could be
potentially lethal if it was distrib-
uted in a school environment,
according to the probable cause
declaration.
The case is currently ongoing
and under investigation by the
Union County Sheriff’s Office.
Davis is represented by
court-appointed counsel, La
Grande attorney James Schaef-
fer. He is set to appear in court on
Nov. 22.
Kerri Deardorff
July 28, 1959 - October 5, 2022
Kerri Lynn (Grove) Deardorff, age
63, passed away surrounded by her loved
ones on October 5th, 2022, at St. Luke’s
Hospital, Boise, Idaho. A celebration of
life will be planned at a later
date for Kerri’s close friends
and family.
Kerri was born in
Ontario, Oregon, on July
28th 1959, to Thomas
Mackey and Laura Willene
Grove. Kerri was the fifth
of seven children. During
her school years, Kerri was
very active in equine 4-H,
cheerleading and lettering
in track. Kerri graduated
from Ontario High School
in 1977, enlisting in the
United States Navy in September 1978.
She served as a Communication and
Intelligence Specialist/Radioman, entering
her two-year Naval Reserve obligation in
1984. Kerri honorably discharged from
the Navy in 1986.
Kerri began her career as the Chief
Deputy City Clerk for the City of Fruitland
in 1989. She was a dedicated public
servant who enjoyed her duties and
responsibilities, and, more importantly,
her co-workers, supervisors and citizens
of the community, until 2019, when she
reluctantly retired. Kerri was very loyal and
conscientious, and due to her impressive
work ethic, would have continued working
forever. However, retirement meant more
time for traveling with her husband, as
well as spending precious time with her
children and grandchildren. Kerri enjoyed
gardening, camping and was very active
in her fantasy football league. Though
unaffiliated with a local church, Kerri’s
deep, personal faith in Jesus Christ was
greatly represented by her collection of
frog sculptures and molds, which stood for
“Fully Relying On God”, a tenant which
gave her courage, particularly as she
persevered with an undaunted joy for living
during many trials in her life,as well as,
throughout her illness. Her reliance on the
love and support of her beloved husband,
Doug, who cared for her constantly, also
gave her strength.
Kerri was married to Doug Deardorff in
2006. Kerri and Doug happily raised their
blended family in Fruitland.
Their
children,
Kristi,
Kortney and Brandon, were
the light of their lives. Kristi
brought three grandchildren
into the picture followed
by Brandon’s two children,
a wonderful highlight for
Kerri and Doug. They
resided in Fruitland for the
duration of their marriage,
happily opening their home
to anyone who wanted or
needed a friend, and often
a cold beer and warm
conversation.
Kerri and Doug were together for 29
years. There was never a dull moment
with Kerri around, she was always up
for a lively time and a good laugh. Kerri
was known to her friends and family by
the nickname “Toot,” given to her by her
father when she was a child. She was given
this beloved nickname because she was
the mischievous one of the seven children,
always causing some sort of issue with her
harmless, yet frequent, antics.
Kerri was preceded in death by her
parents, Thomas Mackey and Laura
Willene Grove. She is survived by the love
of her life, Doug Deardorff; her children:
Kristi (Justin) Fish, Kortney (Vanessa)
Broecker and Brandon (Sarah) Deardorff;
seven grandchildren: Alexis Condle,
Ashlyn and Aubree Fish, Makiya and
Milliani Quezada, and Austyn and Dane
Deardorff; her four brothers: Thomas
(Ranelle) Grove Jr., Phillip (Cindy)
Grove, Jon (Cindy) Grove, Frank (Dea)
Grove; and sisters: Laura (Eddie) Corliss
and Mary (Russ) Grove-Armstrong; 17
nieces and nephews; 24 great-nieces and
nephews, one uncle and two aunts, cousins.
... and her dog, Chewy. Kerri’s energy and
enthusiasm for living were contagious and
she will be greatly missed.