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
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E DITOR
A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT
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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
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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.