A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
State hiding
its own scam
DOE conceals rationale
for energy credit discounts
I
magine a government
agency that thwarts the
will of elected of¿cials, as
it makes dubious deals with
businesses, then tries to hide
from the public the purported
legal rationale for its actions.
No need to invent such a
cagey agency. It already exists.
Here in Oregon. It’s called the
state Department of Energy.
When the Oregon
Legislature passed laws
creating the Business Energy
Tax Credit program, the
purpose was to encourage
individuals and businesses to
invest in projects that were
energy ef¿cient or would use
renewable sources. Recipients
could use the credits to reduce
their tax bill. The credits could
also be transferred to a third
party to raise capital.
The program and the prices
were to be administered by the
state Department of Energy.
Hillary Borrud, a reporter with
our Capital Bureau, uncovered
how shoddy that oversight has
been.
She revealed that Energy
of¿cials quietly stopped
enforcing pricing and other
rules for the credit transfers
back in 2011. This allowed
private brokers to arrange
deals in which the prices were
never veri¿ed by the state. It
was later learned that some
buyers avoided paying capital
gains taxes on the transfer.
Energy’s inconsistent
handling of the credits
program is troubling and
smacks of political favoritism.
In the wake of these
revelations, there has been a
steady stream of resignations
of Energy of¿cials, including
the head of the loan program
and the agency’s chief
¿nancial of¿cer.
Gov. Kate Brown has asked
the Legislature to review and
then shut down the Business
Energy Tax Credit program.
That’s not good enough. A full
audit is warranted.
Gov. Brown should also
order the release of a recent
opinion on the matter by the
Department of Justice. Energy
of¿cials have claimed for years
that lawyers at Justice vetted
and approved the discounted
sales. If that’s the case, why
are Energy of¿cials and the
governor refusing to release
that report?
Our company, EO
Media Group, along with
Pamplin Media Group and
the Oregonian, have been
rebuffed in attempts to obtain
the opinion under Oregon’s
Public Records Law. That law
is aimed at ensuring that the
public’s business is transparent
to its citi]ens and taxpayers.
Of¿cials at the Department
of Energy have ignored
directions from the Legislature
and its own administrative
rules. Now they’re hiding
behind claims of attorney-
client privilege. It’s past time
they give up this charade.
C ORRECTION
The Oct. 21 “On the Hunt” article about Jerry Russell of Kimberly should
have stated that in the last six years it hasn’t taken Russell more than one
shot to kill an animal while hunting (not six shots). The Eagle apologi]es
for the error.
W HERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-
575-2248.
Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax:
541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@centu-
rylink.net.
Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day,
97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-
575-1721. Email: cityjd@centurytel.net.
/ong CreeN — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax:
541-421-3075. Email: info@cityoÀong-
creek.com.
Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monu-
ment 97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-
2025. Email: monument@oregontrail.net.
Mt 9ernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax:
541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net.
Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: cityseneca@centurytel.net.
SALEM
Gov .ate Brown D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website: www.
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
Oregon Legislature — State Capitol,
Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180.
Website: www. leg.state.or.us (includes
Oregon Constitution and Oregon Revised
Statutes).
State Rep CliII Bent] R-Ontario (Dis-
trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900
Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone:
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
503-986-1460. Email: rep.cliffbentz@state.
or.us. Website: www.leg.state.or.us/bentz/
home.htm.
State Sen Ted )errioli R — (District
30) Room S-223, State Capitol, Salem
97310. Phone: 503-986-1950. Email: sen.
tedferrioli@state.or.us. Email: TFER2@aol.
com. Phone: 541-490-6528. Website: www.
leg.state.or.us/ferrioli.
Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol or
messages for legislators) — 800-332-2313.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
The :hite +ouse 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500;
Phone-comments: 202-456-1111; Switch-
board: 202-456-1414.
US Sen Ron :yden D — 516 Hart
Senate Of¿ce Building, Washington D.C.
20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Email:
wayne_kinney@wyden.senate.gov
Website: http://wyden.senate.gov Fax:
202-228-2717.
US Sen Jeff MerNley D — 313 Hart
Senate Of¿ce Building, Washington D.C.
20510?. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email:
senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-
228-3997. Oregon of¿ces include One
World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon
St., Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; and
310 S.E. Second St., Suite 105, Pend-
leton, OR 97801. Phone: 503-326-3386;
541-278-1129. Fax: 503-326-2990.
US Rep Greg :alden R — (Sec-
ond District) 1404 Longworth Building,
Washington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-225-
6730. No direct email because of spam.
Website: www.walden.house.gov Fax:
202-225-5774. Medford of¿ce: 14 North
Central, Suite 112, Medford, OR 97501.
Phone: 541-776-4646. Fax: 541-779-
0204.
Pending Bills: For information on bills
in Congress, Phone: 202-225-1772.
Let Oregon’s wolf plan
work; it’s time to delist
By Jim Akenson
Conservation Director, Oregon
Hunters Association
When I look at Google Earth, my
¿rst reaction is to ]oom in and out
for perspective. Greater perspec-
tive helps us gain a better view of
wolves in Oregon, and how remov-
ing them from the state’s threatened
and endangered list will allow them
to be managed as a species that has
been successfully recovered.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice report from April, 2009, states
there were already between 60,000
and 70,000 wolves in North Amer-
ica at that time, including an esti-
mated 12,000 in Alberta and Brit-
ish Columbia, and at least 1,645
in the northern Rocky Mountains
recovery area, which is recogni]ed
as a southern extension of the ro-
bust Canadian population.
Zooming in tighter to Idaho,
which was a node for Rocky Moun-
tain recovery with 15 wolves rein-
troduced in 1995 and another 20
in 1996, we see that Idaho’s wolf
numbers tripled in just two years
to 115, and reached 192 by 2000.
As of late 2014, there existed a
minimum pack count of 104 (with
another 23 state border packs) and
an estimated population of 770
wolves. This all follows six years
of regulated hunting and trapping
of wolves.
Idaho has been the source pop-
ulation, through dispersal, for wolf
re-establishment in Oregon. The
¿rst Oregon pack to be con¿rmed
was the Wenaha Pack, documented
in 2009.
Our state anticipated an inev-
itable wolf movement from Ida-
ho, and by 2005 had produced
and adopted a Wolf Management
Plan. This three-phased approach
called for evaluating an option
for delisting once the criteria
Idaho elk numbers, but with a high
wolf pack density in the Middle
Fork Zone, it is the dominating fac-
tor according to the Idaho Depart-
ment of Fish and Game.
Contrary to claims made by an-
imal protection groups, delisting
does not remove protections for
wolves in Oregon.
Wolves will remain a protected
species, and they are still federally
listed in all but the eastern-most
sliver of Oregon. Delisting will,
however, start the journey down
the road to Phase III and allow the
Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife (ODFW) more options for
applying management practices.
Following through on the prom-
ises made to Oregon’s agricultural
community will also foster better
tolerance of wolves and maintain
the credibility of Oregon’s Wolf
Plan.
We need to look more broadly
on the issue of wolves and expand
our focus to be able to see beyond
state lines. Wolves have demon-
strated the ability to look beyond
state borders, and we should, too.
Oregon developed a very effective
management plan with detailed cri-
teria to recover wolves in this state,
while also protecting other wildlife
species and agriculture.
It is vital that we carefully fol-
low the direction of the wolf plan,
which was developed with buy-in
from many diverse stakeholders.
We must stick with the plan and
delist wolves in Oregon.
Author Jim Akenson, conserva-
tion director for the Oregon Hunt-
ers Association, holds a master’s
degree and a bachelor’s degree
in natural resources. He had long
tenures working for the University
of Idaho and ODFW. In Idaho, he
PDQDJHGDUHPRWH¿HOGVWDWLRQDQG
conducted studies on cougar and
wolf predation effects on big game
populations.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Get the state off this
crazy idea
To the Editor,
I have lived up Canyon Creek
for 37 years. I have only seen water
come over the overÀow one time.
Most of the time there is no water
in it. I’d like to know their idea of
how it could wash out. It held back
a lot of runoff when the high school
Àooded. How can it break with
2-foot-by-4-foot boulders, 3-foot-
by-4-boulders and larger. So many
holes between these rocks (leaks).
It’s not hurting anything the way
it is. It would be nicer if it were re-
paired. I hope the county boys can
get the state off this cra]y idea. I’m
glad to see them working on the rest
of the stream toward town. That’s
the part that concerns me as far as
Àoods go. My heart hurts for all the
people who lost their homes and
belongings. We just thank God that
no lives were lost. We love Grant
County.
Palmer has interest
of the people
To the editor,
In my opinion, even though
Glenn Palmer did not take the
correct legal channels in protect-
ing the forests and jobs, at least I
know that he has the best interest
for the people of Grant County
and not his own wallet or person-
al agenda.
Ray Moles
Canyon City
Mary Carr
Seneca, OR
L
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. We
must limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. 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.
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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E DITOR .................................... EDITOR @ BMEAGLE . COM
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
were met for Phase II.
The criteria called for four
breeding packs to successfully
rear two or more pups for three
successive years. By 2014, these
criteria had been met and exceed-
ed, as there were nine known suc-
cessful breeding pairs of wolves
in Oregon, including eight packs
in northeast Oregon and one in
the southern Cascade Mountains.
In recent weeks, there have been
three wolf activity areas identi¿ed
in southern Oregon.
The minimum population is
estimated at 81, not counting this
year’s pups (13 of the 16 document-
ed pairs had litters this year).
Now, ]oom out to include the
entire northern Rocky Mountain
region, and it becomes obvious Or-
egon’s wolves are well connected
and thriving, and it’s equally clear
they are ready to be removed from
Oregon’s endangered species list.
We also need to look at how
wolves have affected neighboring
states to gain a clearer picture of
what we can expect in the coming
years.
In Idaho’s Unit 26, within the
Middle Fork Zone of central Ida-
ho, wolves were reintroduced in the
mid-1990s. The elk population was
1,270 and hunter harvest in 2006
was 89 bull elk.
By 2011, counts for Unit 26 were
just 366 total elk and hunter harvest
was a meager 24 bulls. Hunter num-
bers for the three units comprising
the Middle Fork Zone dropped in
half, going from 1,678 in 2006 to
821 in 2011. The pattern of decline
continued with only 757 elk hunt-
ers going to those wilderness units
in 2012.
The pattern here is crippling for
the local rural economies, where
hunters start their journeys to the
backcountry.
Wolf predation might not be
the only factor, inÀuencing central
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