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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2015)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, August 5, 2015 Spotted owl faces new threat, and it isn’t the timber industry I t must be hard to be a scientist these days The work is often dif¿cult and thankless Heck, most of the public doesn’t even understand the basics of any type of research They wouldn’t know the difference between a chromosome and a chrome bumper on an F-150 Such ignorance doesn’t stop a loud and litigious minority of critics from taking to the Internet or trooping into court every time something they don’t understand attracts their attention It’s been seen a lot in agriculture, as semi-informed self-anointed “experts” rail against everything from gluten to genetically modi¿ed corn The horror! Yet, when they are quizzed, they know next to nothing about the science In short, they know what they read on the Internet and not much else We’re reminded of the car insurance advertisement on television in which a woman says her new friend that she met through the Internet is a French model The guy, when he shows up, can’t even say “bonjour,” but it said on the Internet that he was from France Most recently, the US Fish and Wildlife Service was dragged into court over an experiment its scientists have been conducting in an attempt to rescue the northern spotted owl from possible extinction Though the spotted owl ranges from the Paci¿c Northwest southward into Mexico, it was declared as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act That designation has done massive damage to the region’s timber industry, because the spotted owl prefers old growth trees as its habitat Nowadays, the sight of a logger is not causing the spotted owl problems Instead, it’s a relative The barred owl has moved into Northern California and Northwest forests in recent years Compared with the spotted owl, the barred owl is a bully It is a better hunter and outcompetes with his spotted cousin in nearly every way Wildlife scientists whose job is protecting the spotted owl could do one of two things: nothing, which means the spotted owl would likely succumb to the barred owl; or they could try an experiment to take pressure off the spotted owl by reducing the number of barred owls They chose the latter They came up with an experiment in which barred owls would be killed Remember: The barred owl is not a protected species but is threatening a protected species That experiment was enough to get the Fish and Wildlife Service scientists dragged into court Friends of Animals and Predator Defense, two animal rights groups, argue that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to evaluate alternatives to lethal removal of barred owls Again, barred owls are not protected, yet in the eyes of these groups, the agency should have come up with another way to get rid of them Hmm, maybe they could feed the barred owls GMO gluten, if there was such a thing So federal scientists were caught in the middle of a quandary only an environmental lawyer could love They could kill the barred owls and get sued, or they could let barred owls kill spotted owls and get sued Either way, the environmental lawyers win US District Judge Ann Aiken saw through the groups’ arguments and has allowed the scientists to continue the experiment that could, if successful, return the population of northern spotted owls to health But the story isn’t over The environmental groups say they may appeal the judge’s decision to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals That would accomplish exactly nothing, except give these groups something to write about on the Internet, of course Blue Mountain EAGLE 195 N. Canyon Blvd. • John Day, OR 97845 541-575-0710 • Fax 541-575-1244 Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper USPS 226-340 John Day, Oregon MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION P UBLISHER E DITOR A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT E DITORIAL A SSISTANT C OMMUNITY N EWS S PORTS M ARKETING R EP C USTOMER S ERVICE R EP Marissa Williams, marissa@bmeagle.com editor@bmeagle.com Kristina Kreger, kristina@bmeagle.com Cheryl Hoefler, cheryl@bmeagle.com Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Lindsay Bullock office@bmeagle.com Sen. Merkley to hold town halls Town Halls scheduled Aug. 12, 13 in Summerville, Joseph, Long Creek POR7LAND ± Oregon Sen JeII Merkley will hold town halls in Union, Wallowa and Grant counties ne[t week Merkley will update constituents on his work in Washington, DC, an- swer their questions and invite their suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and Amer- ica “There are huge issues facing Or- egonians, and the best way for me Facts don’t jive with opinions expressed I don’t believe that I have ever met Judy Kerr, the author of various letters to the editor She continues to make statements that she says are facts but that are really her opinions Her opinion: The restoration propos- al by the Forest Service is an attempt to draw public attention away from a plan to limit motori]ed use of trails Fact: In all of the meetings that I have been to with the Forest Service, I have seen no evidence that they are try- ing to draw public attention away from plans to limit motori]ed use of trails Her opinion: The plans for toilets on Logan Valley trails are missing Partially correct: When one mem- ber of the county commission was not in favor of pursuing Logan Valley as a scenic bikeway, I stopped pursuing plans for the bikeway, and we lost our funding source for the toilets Her opinion: Cyclists “trash” the forests Fact: I have been involved with many large bike-touring trips, and the most common comment is that the area is cleaner than when we came It is a common practice for all individuals who participate in outdoor activities, not just cyclists, to use the forest in case of “emergencies” Her opinion: Cyclists don’t help the economy Fact: Last year, our local scenic bikeway provided over $500,000 in revenue for local businesses in our county There are many different kinds of cyclists Cross country cyclists spend little money but touring groups spend big bucks For e[ample, the Grant Union High School football team made $11,000 from Cycle Oregon sev- eral years ago Her opinion: The Logan Valley Sce- nic Bikeway met with strong opposi- tion Fact: One county commissioner voted against the plan while the cities of John Day and Seneca both wrote let- ters of support Since Judy is a former engineer for the Forest Service and participated in the plans to close roads, I would en- courage her to separate her opinions from the facts Mike Cosgrove John Day EO Media Group Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery See the Blue Mountain Eagle on the Internet www.MyEagleNews.com POSTMASTER — send address changes to Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Copyright © 2015 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher. Contributed photo Dean Elliott, right, of Canyon City, runs down Canyon Boulevard carrying the Freedom Torch in 1976. What is happening to freedom in our country? In 1976, a group of runners ran the Freedom Torch across every state in the union The Freedom Torch was held high to symbol- ize what was guaranteed to the people of this great nation by the Constitution — the right to free speech — and, yet, the legislative bodies of our states are butcher- ing this right Look at what happened to that poor devil that had his busi- ness destroyed and was fined $135,000 because he refused to bake a wedding cake to a same- sex marriage that he didn’t agree with and rightfully so, I might add He didn’t believe in that ba- loney, and he voiced his opinion in that regard by refusing to fall in line with the request In other words, he used his right of free speech But these people say they have rights, and they destroyed everything that this man and his wife had worked for their whole lives for Do they have the right to destroy everything a man has worked his whole life for" No, I don’t think so Where are his rights of free speech? These misguided people are us- ing the actions of a misguided legislative body that sanctions this sort of thing, to tromp all over the rights that are guaran- teed by our Constitution I was one of the runners that helped carry that torch across Grant County It was a proud moment at the time, but some of what is being done now makes me hang my head in shame What happened to the Freedom Torch? The last time I saw it, I passed it off to another runner, and it disappeared around the old Hudspeth Mill corner headed to- ward Mt Vernon It would sure be nice to see it come back with everything that it stands for Dean Elliot Canyon City Federal help or hindrance? I have some observations about a couple of articles on the front page of the Blue Mountain Eagle, July 29th edition About the time our sheriff was awarded a national sheriff of the year award by self-declared consti- tutionalists, one of his declarations barred the FBI from having any au- thority in Grant County Now here we are down the road a ways with our sheriff having re- ceived a very strange letter, at best, and a deadly one at worst He seems more than glad to have the FBI here to help him out Does this represent a shift in our sheriff’s attitude toward the federal government and its agencies, or does that just apply to this event that had him severely frightened? The other article has a Long Creek rancher objecting to the fed- eral government being involved in the management of Oregon’s waters Why wouldn’t she object, for cry- ing out loud? She has to defensively object because ranchers are respon- sible There is absolutely nothing that warms our summer streams more than Àood irrigation, or dumps more pollutant (cow excrement) into our rivers All I can say, on the oth- er hand, is that it’s about time that something be done about such an extreme and obvious source of pol- lutants Terry Steele Ritter See LETTERS, Page A9 W HERE TO WRITE PeriodiFals Postage Paid at John Day and additional Pailing oI¿Fes 1 year $40.00 $51.00 $55.00 $60.00 • Union County Town Hall Wednesday, Aug 12, 12:30 pm Pleasant Grove Grange Hall, 67218 Hunter Road, Summerville • Wallowa County Town Hall Wednesday, Aug 12, 4 pm Joseph Charter School cafeteria, 400 E Williams Ave, Joseph • Grant County Town Hall Thursday, Aug 13, 9:30 am Long Creek Community Center, 210 West Second St, Long Creek L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY: SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County Elsewhere in Oregon Continental U.S., Outside Oregon Outside Continental U.S. to effectively advocate for Oregon’s families and businesses is by getting out on the road and holding a town hall in every county every year to hear directly from Oregonians,” said Merkley Since joining the Senate in 2009, Merkley has held a town hall in each of Oregon’s 36 counties every year Union, Wallowa and Grant counties will be his 248th, 249th and 250th town halls as a US Senator Grant County Grant County Courthouse — 201 S Humbolt St, Suite 280, Canyon City 97820 Phone: 541-575-0059 Fax: 541-575-2248 Canyon City — PO Box 276, Canyon City 97820 Phone: 541-575-0509 Fax: 541-575-0515 Email: tocc1862#centurylinknet L Dayville — PO Box 321, Dayville 97825 Phone: 541- 987-2188 Fax: 541-987- 2187 Email:?dville#ortel- conet John Day — 450 E Main St, John Day, 97845 Phone: 541-575-0028 Fax: 541- 575-1721 Email: cityjd# centurytelnet Long Creek — PO Box 489, Long Creek 97856 Phone: 541-421-3601 Fax: 541-421-3075 Email: info# cityoÀongcreekcom Monument — PO Box 426, Monument 97864 Phone and fax: 541-934- 2025 Email: monument# oregontrailnet Mt Vernon — PO Box 647, Mt Vernon 97865 Phone: 541-932-4688 Fax: 541-932-4222 Email: cmtv# ortelconet Prairie City — PO Box 370, Prairie City 97869 Phone: 541-820-3605 Fax: 820-3566 Email: pchall#ortelconet Seneca — PO Box 208, Seneca 97873 Phone and fax: 541-542-2161 Email: citysen- eca#centurytelnet etters policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.