THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2022 A3
EASTERN OREGON
Labor shortage has ODOT juggling
8-county region has 38
vacancies out of 300 total
Help wanted
ODOT is accepting applications for
open seasonal positions. People in-
terested in the positions can learn
more on ODOT’s website, www.ore-
gon.gov/odot.
BY DICK MASON
The Observer (La Grande)
LA GRANDE — A labor shortage
has Oregon Department of Trans-
portation officials juggling schedules
and resources in Eastern Oregon as
the winter season’s icy grip tightens.
The department’s Eastern Ore-
gon region, which is composed of
Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa,
Baker, Grant, Harney and Malheur
counties, has 300 total positions. The
region now has 38 vacancies, about
25 of which are permanent and sea-
sonal road maintenance positions,
according to Ken Patterson, the man-
ager of ODOT’s Region 5.
The vacancies mean some ODOT
crews may have to do more with less
as they work to keep Interstate 84 and
state highways clear of snow and ice.
“We will do as much as we can
with the people we have,” Patterson
said.
The employee shortage is linked to
a falling number of seasonal workers,
who are hired to work from Novem-
ber through April.
“Our No. 1 concern going into
winter is seasonal labor,” said Rich
Lani, the manager of the agency’s dis-
Ace Clark/ODOT
A trio of Oregon Department of Transportation snowplows clear the westbound lanes of Interstate 84.
trict that covers Umatilla and Mor-
row counties and the northern half of
Union County.
Stricter regulations
ODOT’s labor shortage is more
difficult to address today than it was
two years ago because of a new state
regulation that makes the process of
earning a commercial driver’s license
more time-consuming.
The additional regulations make
it harder to find potential employ-
ees who are ready to begin driving
snowplows and trucks. ODOT is hir-
ing people without CDLs and then
helping them earn the accreditation.
However, a number of employees
leave ODOT after receiving their
CDLs because they are now able to
land higher paying jobs elsewhere.
“Having a CDL gives you more op-
tions,” explained Ace Clark, manager
of the district that covers all or por-
tions of Union, Baker and Wallowa
counties.
Filling holes
The transportation department is
taking a new step this year to keep as
many of its winter positions filled as
possible. The state is granting travel
status to employees who come to
Region 5 from outside Eastern Ore-
gon to help with winter road work.
Employees granted travel status have
their meals and lodging expenses
paid for, Patterson said. The move has
so far drawn in at least two ODOT
employees to work in the region.
Patterson, the regional manager,
said it is only fair that travel status be
granted to ODOT employees travel-
ing from outside the region.
“They are stepping away from lives
they have elsewhere,” he said.
Another step the agency is taking
involves maintaining its Fire and Ice
program, a program that involves
ODOT and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry. Employees in the
program are guaranteed year-round
work by fighting fires for forestry de-
partment in the summer and being
employed as seasonal winter employ-
ees for ODOT.
█
Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer.
Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@
lagrandeobserver.com.
Farm exemptions for streaked horned lark come under fire
BY MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Environmental advocates
claim federal wildlife regula-
tors have ignored science by
doubling down on agricultural
exceptions that reduce species
protections for the streaked
horned lark.
The Center for Biological
Diversity and Audubon So-
ciety of Portland have threat-
ened to file a new lawsuit chal-
lenging Endangered Species
Act regulations for the rare
bird, which they say are unjus-
tifiably lax.
The controversy has poten-
tial implications for farmers
in Oregon’s Willamette Val-
ley, where mowing, tilling and
other practices are exempted
from the federal prohibition
against harming the threat-
ened species.
A federal judge previously
criticized as “murky” the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service’s ra-
tionale for listing the streaked
horned lark as “threatened,”
rather than extending more
rigorous protections under
an “endangered”
classification.
U.S. Dis-
trict Judge
Michael
Mosman
said the de-
cision ap-
peared to be
a “post-hoc
rationalization”
and sent it back
for reconsideration two
years ago, but the environ-
mental nonprofits now claim
the federal government hasn’t
While some larks live in
other areas of Oregon
and Washington,
the largest popula-
tion is in the Willa-
mette Valley.
David Leonard/USFWS
learned from its
mistakes.
“The Service’s
claim that the Lark is not
currently in danger of extinc-
tion is not supported by the
evidence before the agency
and does not represent the
best available science,” accord-
ing to their “intent-to-sue” let-
ter notifying the government
of the planned lawsuit.
Streaked horned larks have
a double-edged relationship
with agriculture that’s highly
dependent on timing.
Land-clearing activities
prevent vegetation from over-
growing the bare ground on
which the birds rely for breed-
ing in springtime.
Field operations may also
harm eggs or fledglings,
though they often occur late
enough in summer to avoid
disrupting nests, according to
the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Because agricultural prac-
tices help maintain the lark’s
habitat, the agency excluded
these activities from the ban
on “incidental take” of pro-
tected species.
The agency reasoned that
without such exceptions, land-
owners may cease farm prac-
tices that are conducive to lark
habitat, thus ensuring they
don’t come under ESA regu-
lation.