Community
Blue Mountain Eagle
FIRE
Continued from Page A1
resulted in flows down Can-
yon Creek peaking at 661 cu-
bic feet per second (cfs).
Now, because of the loss
of vegetation caused by the
¿re, that type of storm could
be expected to result in a peak
Àow of 1, cfs down Can-
yon Creek.
By comparison, peak Àows
in Canyon Creek during the
211 Àood that damaged the
local high school reached 856
cfs.
3eak stream Àows follow-
ing a 10-year storm would in-
crease by a magnitude of eight
in Vance Creek and by mag-
nitudes of 3.5 in Berry Creek,
1. in 3ine Creek and 1.8 in
Indian Creek.
The BAER team recom-
mended working with the
National Weather Service to
establish an early warning
system that would alert peo-
ple along Canyon Creek of
imminent Àooding.
Marilyn Lohmann, a Na-
tional Weather Service hy-
drologist in Pendleton, said
that type of system would
likely include a series of rain
gauges at higher elevations
and at some critical points
along the stream. The gauges
would send messages by sat-
ellite every 10 minutes to the
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
There is a
lot of work
to do before
allowing folks
back into those
potentially
hazardous
areas.”
“
Rob Tanner
Burned Area Emergency
Response team leader
weather service’s Pendleton
of¿ce and people could also
monitor the data themselves
on the Internet.
How Àood alerts are is-
sued, whether through the
use of sirens, a so-called “re-
verse -1-1” system or an-
other method, is something
the community can decide,
Lohmann said.
“I think together we can
make something like this
work,” she said.
In an effort to mitigate
Àooding and protect soil, ¿sh
and the watershed, the BAER
team also recommends mulch-
ing treatments on slopes that
were heavily damaged by the
¿re, which burned 110,221
acres.
The BAER team used pre-
and post-¿re satellite images
to help compare vegetation
before and after the ¿re.
The Eagle/Sean Ellis
Community members listen to a specialized U.S. Forest Service team’s
treatment recommendations to mitigate imminent post-fire threats Sept. 21 at
the Canyon City Community Hall.
The data showed that 11
percent of the soil affected
by the ¿re, or 12,028 acres,
was burned severely, 35,18
acres (33 percent) of soil was
burned moderately, 52,526
acres ( percent) had a low
burn severity rating and ,20
acres ( percent) was un-
burned or had a very low soil
burn severity rating.
Mulching treatments will
largely take place in areas
with a severe soil burn rating
and along slopes with a grade
of between 20-50 percent.
In areas with moderate
soil burn, natural needle fall
is expected to act as a natural
mulch, while it’s not practi-
cal to do mulch treatments
on slopes with grades of less
than 20 percent or great-
er than 50 percent, Tanner
said.
The BAER team’s recom-
mendations include recondi-
tioning 22 miles of existing
drainage ditches and cleaning
or modifying culverts to allow
for increased water Àow.
The team also recommends
12.6 miles of trail drainage
work in recreation areas and
campgrounds.
“There is a lot of work to
do before allowing folks back
into those potentially haz-
ardous areas,” Tanner said.
A3
“There are a lot of hazards out
there.”
The team recommends
posting 50 hazard signs along
damaged roads and recreation
areas warning people of fallen
rocks and debris or that they
are entering a burned area.
It also recommends sur-
veying for and treating new-
ly discovered invasive plants
and weeds and preventing the
spread of existing popula-
tions, and installing 34 wood
jam catchment structures to
help protect ¿sh and hydrol-
ogy.
The BAER team is also
requesting
non-emergency
funding for things like fences
and recreation infrastructure
and can also apply for supple-
mental emergency funding if
the need arises.
Engineer Doug Fergu-
son, who is acting as Grant
County Court’s liaison with
other agencies to coordi-
nate the various restoration
efforts aimed at preventing
catastrophic Àooding, said
the BAER team has provid-
ed the community with a
lot of good information and
data.
The local community can
take advantage of that data “to
¿x problems that have existed
in the past,” he said. “I’ll be a
lot more succinct on what we
can do in the next week, hope-
fully, when the funding comes
together.”
Oregon cattlemen, politicians weigh in on sage grouse decision
Contributed photo
Sage grouse
Wyden added, “This vic-
tory just goes to show how
collaboration between pri-
vate stakeholders and local,
state and federal leaders can
lead to balanced, sustain-
able solutions for the man-
agement of wildlife and our
public lands,.”
The response from U.S.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood
River) was similar, “Farm-
ers and ranchers in eastern
Free plane rides for ¿re victims
Sign up at the
airport through
Sept. 30
vided by Air Search pilots
during October and Novem-
ber, weather permitting.
For more information, call
airport manager Patrick Bentz
at 541-55-1151.
B REAKING N EWS A LERTS
myeaglenews.com/breakingnews
THE INTERN PG-13
70-year-old retiree (Robert DeNiro) comes out of
retirement to intern for an online fashion site.
FRI & SAT
(4:00) 7:00 9:35
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(4:00) 7:00
MON-THURS (4:00) 7:00
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA PG
Dracula and his friends try to bring out the
monster in his grandson in order to keep Mavis
from leaving the hotel.
FRI & SAT
(4:10) 7:10 9:40
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MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH
TRIALS PG-13
After having escaped the maze, the Gladers now
face a new set of challenges.
FRI & SAT
(3:45) 6:45 9:30
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$9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth
Blue Mountain Eagle
Lane Burton, from the Assessor’s Office, wants
to remind folks who have damaged or
destroyed structures from the Canyon Creek
Complex fire to PLEASE stop by the Assessor’s
Office to sign an application to remove the
property taxes on the damaged/destroyed
structures for this current tax year - if you have
not already signed an application.
If you have any questions,
please call the
Grant County Assessor’s
Office at 541-575-0107.
200 S. Canyon City Blvd.
Canyon City, OR 97820
02700
JOHN DAY – In lieu of the
canceled Fly-In, Grant Coun-
ty Air Search will sponsor
free airplane rides for people
who lost homes in the Canyon
Creek Complex ¿re.
Anyone interested can
sign up at Grant County Re-
gional Airport during regular
business hours 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
through Wednesday, Sept. 30.
The free rides will be pro-
to ensure these plans work
for the people who live
there,” Walden said.
“This is truly a histor-
ic day in the history of
the American West cat-
tle business,” said Oregon
Cattlemen’s
Executive
Director Jerome Rosa.
“Through collaborative ef-
forts by ranchers, energy
companies and conserva-
tionist reducing the decline
of the sage grouse habitat in
11 Western states, the need
for a listing was not need-
ed.”
Ranchers have been
working hard for several
years to prevent a listing, in-
cluding partnering with other
groups to booster sage grouse
habitat. Rancher’s Tom Sharp
and John O’Keeffe have led
many of the efforts on behalf
of the Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association.
B REAKING N EWS A LERTS
myeaglenews.com/breakingnews
Thank You!
R
The City of Prairie City would like
to thank all the Firefighters for their
courage and hard work this fire season.
A huge shout out goes to all the
resources behind the scenes, the unsung
heroes who donated time and effort
to support those fighting the fires.
Our heartfelt sympathies go out to those
who have lost so much in this disaster.
Mayor Hamsher would like to commend
the community for coming together in
such a perilous time. Mayor Hamsher and
the Public Works Director would also
like to thank the residents for their
outstanding efforts to conserve water
during the emergency, and helping
to avoid a major crisis.
02746
WASHINGTON, D.C. –
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service ’s decision Tuesday
morning, Sept. 22, to not
list the Greater Sage Grouse
as an endangered species
drew praise from Oregon
state politicians and Oregon
Cattleman’s Association.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
said, “I am thrilled by to-
day’s announcement that
the greater sage grouse does
not require protection un-
der the Endangered Species
Act,” adding, “I applaud
the efforts of ranchers, con-
servationists,
governors
and others who have come
to the table, signed agree-
ments and worked hard on
the ground to fight for rural
Oregon jobs and communi-
ties.”
Oregon have been work-
ing hard to avoid a listing
of the sage grouse, a move
that would severely impact
jobs in rural communities
throughout the west.”
“This will give commu-
nities in Oregon time to im-
plement locally driven con-
servation efforts without the
federal government’s heavy
hand getting in the way,”
Walden said.
Walden cautioned that
while the step is a positive
one, obstacles remain. He
noted strong concerns he
heard from people at re-
cent town halls throughout
Eastern Oregon regarding
the Bureau of Land Man-
agement’s sage grouse
plans.
“The BLM must be flex-
ible and continue working
with the local communities
02735
Blue Mountain Eagle