A18
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
ISSUES
“Let local people have a say in
what goes on in their communi-
ties and counties.”
Ferguson did say the BLM
is trying to be more proactive
with ¿ghting rangeland ¿res in
the West. Oregon, Idaho and
Nevada are collaborating on a
program creating strategic fuel
breaks where ¿re¿ghters can
safely ¿ght ¿res before they
get too big and destructive.
“The whole goal is to reduce
the size of these ¿res,” he said.
Continued from Page A1
“We try to see it all,” Fer-
guson said.
Despite only being on the
job for two years, Ferguson
said he’s developed good
relationships with ranchers
around the area. He knows
most of his permittees on a
¿rst-name basis, and they
meet regularly in the ¿eld
to review grazing plans and
check forage conditions.
It’s around this time of
year when Ferguson said he
meets with ranchers to set
grazing schedules and add
up fees for the coming sea-
son. The BLM uses what are
known as animal unit months,
or AUMs, to determine its
grazing fees. AUMs are mea-
sured by the amount of forage
animals need for one month,
and Ferguson said the limits
are very strict.
“You can’t authorize more
AUMs without (environmen-
tal) analysis,” he said.
The BLM recently adjust-
ed its fees to $2.11 per AUM.
The Forest Service, which is
under the Department of Ag-
riculture as opposed to the
Department of the Interior,
charges $1.69 per month per
cow-calf pair.
Ranchers must also follow
speci¿c conditions laid out in
their permits, which might in-
clude rotating pastures, main-
taining fences and protecting
vegetative cover for sensitive
File photo
Picketers stand outside of the John Day Senior
Center Jan. 26 before a meeting where refuge
occupiers were expected to speak before being
arrested en route. One of the picketers said a
militia member from outside the county tried to
prevent local picketers from entering the meeting.
species like sage grouse.
“Orderly management of
the range is our goal,” Fergu-
son said.
Local control
The problem, according to
Mark Mackenzie, is not with
local rangeland managers like
Ferguson. Rather, it’s misman-
agement and political pressure
up the chain of command.
Mackenzie, who runs 900
head of cattle south of Jordan
Valley, is largely dependent
on federal AUMs. But with so
many layers of new protections,
he said local land management
is becoming cumbersome. And
when a change is needed on the
range, he said the agency will
likely be taken to court.
“It’s all driven by special in-
terest groups,” Mackenzie said.
“We’ve let the management of
these resources become com-
mandeered by the courts.”
Mackenzie ¿gures grazing
has fallen by about 40 percent
since 1960 in the Vale District.
Those losses create an econom-
ic ripple in small towns like
Jordan Valley — population
180 — that threatens their very
existence.
Grazing is also a manage-
ment tool itself, Mackenzie
said. Without grazing, grasses
can become overgrown and
increase the fuel load for large
wild¿res — like the Soda Fire
that spilled over into Oregon
from Idaho last year.
The occupation of the wild-
life refuge was unfortunate,
Mackenzie said, but the mili-
tants’ message of local control
resonates strongly.
“We need the control of
natural resources management
back at the local level,” he said.
SPEAK
Continued from Page A1
Ritter resident Kay Steele
protested against the militia
in John Day where occupiers
were expected to speak Jan. 26
when the leaders were arrested
en route. She said one of the
militia members from out of the
county tried to prevent her and
other local residents opposed to
the occupation from entering
the meeting.
Steele said it was important
“to send a very strong message
that we will not tolerate, wel-
come, accept any kind of mili-
tia input in our county.”
Beth McKrola Spell, who
protested with Steele, said af-
ter they were allowed into the
Grant County
Chamber Members
Advertise Here
Contact the Grant
County Chamber for
more information
541-575-0547
Jerry Franklin
meeting, she was told at least
three times she would be es-
corted from the room if she
caused any problems. She said
she was afraid to attend the
County Court meeting because
of the militia and their “jack-
booted techniques.”
“Defend us from this anarchy
and make a vote for civility,” she
said. “We do not need this kind of
disruption in our county.”
Adele Cerny, Bear Valley,
said she and several others from
Grant County traveled to Burns
to participate in a counter-pro-
test to the pro-militia crowd.
She said she carried a sign stat-
ing Grant County supported
Harney County, and the militia
supporters continually tried to
incite those opposed.
“A man leaned out of a car,
Help Support Your Grant
County Chamber of Commerce
To promote and support the business environment of
Grant County through membership, participation and
leadership that fosters economic growth and community
involvement. The Chamber is planning a membership
drive which we haven’t had for quite some time. Any
organization is only as strong as its members. We have
around 150 members and would like to see that number
grow. With that growth comes new ideas and county
wide support. For there are things that are important to
all of us. I have included some benefits of becoming a
member and the fees. Our newest members are Ed’s Fast
Break in Canyon City and West Hwy. 26 in John Day.
Welcome aboard!
GRI, ABR, SRES
Broker/Owner
1RÀH[LELOLW\
Andy Bentz, a former Mal-
heur County sheriff and owner
of Bentz Solutions in Ontario,
agrees the BLM doesn’t have
enough Àexibility to do prop-
er management. He pointed to
lawsuits from environmental
groups as what’s hobbling the
agency.
“Yelling at the BLM is
like yelling at a ¿reman when
your house is on ¿re,” Bentz
said. “They can’t make on-the-
ground annual changes, because
it opens them up to challenges
and litigation.”
Bentz, whose family has
ranched in southeast Oregon
since 1916, said there is enough
local expertise to manage the
lands for multiple use. But
when the agency tries to adapt
to Mother Nature, adjusting
seasons or stocking rates, Bentz
said they face another lawsuit.
He blamed the Equal Access to
Justice Act, which compensates
attorney fees if groups can prove
their litigation is justi¿ed.
“They have to ¿nd a way to
get Àexibility back into manage-
ment,” Bentz said. “The land
continues to deteriorate because
Grant County Chamber
Monthly Newsletter
Our Mission
160 E. Main John Day, OR 97845
Office: 541-575-2121
Home: 541-820-3721
JFranklin@easternoregonrealty.net
www.easternoregonrealty.net
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
JOHN DAY
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721 W. Main St.
John Day, OR
541-575-1850
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phone or visiting in person to gain information about
an area.
• Chamber members are listed on our website at
gcoregonlive.com
• The Chamber offers its members opportunities to
promote their business or services
• Public trusts and looks for businesses that are members
of the Chamber of Commerce
• As a member, you are welcome to attend our
meetings, work on Chamber projects and get involved
as a board member
Grant County
Chamber Members
Advertise Here
Contact the Grant
County Chamber for
more information
541-575-0547
• All new members will receive a membership plaque
and four 30 second spots on KJDY. Your business will
also be mentioned in the Chamber newsletter.
the land managers don’t have
the Àexibility to manage it prop-
erly.”
George Wuerthner, Oregon
state director for the Western
Watersheds Project, said most
environmental groups don’t
actually have a lot of money to
spend on lawsuits, and therefore
only the most egregious viola-
tions are challenged in court.
Just as many others are left ig-
nored, he said.
Wuerthner, who previously
worked with the BLM as a bot-
anist in Idaho, said many public
lands are negatively impacted
by domestic livestock. Water
is limited in the desert country
of southeast Oregon, yet cattle
gravitate toward springs and
streams, harming the ecosystem
for other animals and ¿sh.
Summer grazing can also
put stress on native grasses and
allow invasive species like cheat
grass to take over, Wuerthner
said.
“That’s one of the things
squeezing ranchers, in fact,” he
said.
Wuerthner said the BLM ac-
tually depends on some of these
lawsuits to ensure they are fol-
lowing the laws passed by Con-
gress, and not overly inÀuenced
by local pressure.
“They’re keeping the agen-
cies honest,” he said.
:RUNLQJWRJHWKHU
The Umatilla and Wal-
lowa-Whitman national forests
have just shy of 2 million acres
of rangeland deemed suitable
for grazing. Those forests are
also in the midst of 15-year
updates to their respective land
management plans.
Maura Laverty, range pro-
gram manager for the two for-
ests, said they have 135 active
grazing allotments. She said
they have good relationships
with their permittees that have
helped them come a long way
in managing the land responsi-
bly.
“We don’t graze like we use
to,” she said. “We’re a lot more
conscientious now.”
Currently, the forests are
working on environmental re-
views for each allotment, which
they hope to ¿nish by 2025.
They must take into account
endangered ¿sh on each site,
as well as wolves which are be-
coming increasingly established
in the northeast corner of the
state.
Karl Jensen, a Pilot Rock
rancher, runs about 80 of his 300
head of cattle on the Umatilla
forest near Ukiah. He said the
biggest challenge he’s faced is
fencing off his cows away from
nearby Five Mile Creek and
Sugarbowl Creek, which are
home to endangered bull trout
and salmon.
Jensen said the Forest Ser-
vice has been great to work with
in both Heppner and Ukiah.
“There’s always regulations
that come down from higher
up,” he said. “We’re able to
work those out and come up
with a good management plan.”
O’Keeffe, president of the
cattlemen’s association, said
good rangeland management
must include adequate grazing
and a stable supply of forage.
Funding and workload remain
huge challenges for the BLM.
The whole issue has him on
edge.
yelling at my sign about Grant
County and says, ‘You’re next.
Grant County is next, and I
hope your son, your daugh-
ter, your family all die for this
cause,’” she said.
John Day resident Jim
Sproul said the Grant County
meetings were peaceful and
that nobody was threatened. He
said the resolution mentioned
state and federal laws but failed
to mentioned the Constitution.
“The First Amendment al-
lows free speech, redress of
grievances and the right to
peaceably assemble,” he said.
“... What is going is way bigger
than what’s in Grant County
and in Harney County. Nobody
wants to have lawlessness —
not like what happened in Har-
ney County in Grant County. I
don’t think it’s coming here. I
have no intention of ever see-
ing it come here. We’re a nation
of laws, and we need to follow
those laws.”
Former County Judge Mark
Webb said the Constitution
provides a robust method to
redress grievances through the
court system. He said the ref-
uge occupation was “illegal,
unethical, socially inappropri-
ate” and that it tore the commu-
nity apart.
Linda Gingrich, a retired
local teacher, said her son-
in-law worked at the refuge,
and their family with two
young children was instructed
by law enforcement to leave
their home soon after the oc-
cupation began. She said they
stayed with her for several
days, and her granddaugh-
ter in the second grade wrote
in a journal, “Grandma, I’m
sad. I can’t go home because
there’s bad guys at daddy’s
work, and there’s bad guys that
have come into our yard at our
house. I can’t even be there and
go outside and play, or play with
my toys.”
“I really want you to support
this (resolution),” Gingrich said,
“and I want you to keep it out of
Grant County, because there’s
other families that would be put
in this same crosshair.”
TEAM
“I think we have a good
of¿ce crew,” McManus said.
“Everyone works well togeth-
er.”
McKinley said the most
satisfying part about working
at Community Corrections is
being able to see lives change
for the better and being part of
that.
He said his law enforce-
ment career prepared him
well for his new job.
“I have had the pleasure
of working with some very
good people and found that
you can learn anything from
anyone — that being either
what to do, or what not to do,”
McKinley said.
Grant County Communi-
ty Corrections is located on
South Humbolt Street behind
the Grant County Courthouse.
For more information, call
541-575-1743.
Continued from Page A1
The corrections staff con-
tacts people on their case-
load, sometimes weekly, and
helps hold them accountable.
McKinley said duties include
a large volume of documen-
tation and paperwork, plus
home visits and, as necessary,
issuing detainers.
Volunteers and contract
staff assist the ¿ve full-time
corrections staff members.
McManus said what he
enjoys most about this job is
having the opportunity to help
people change their lives and
watching them do so. He said
the job is personality-based
and one that not just anybody
could do.
He enjoys the other mem-
bers on the corrections team.
Grant County
Road Department
On February 1, 2016, the Grant County
Road Department will begin a Culvert
Replacement Project, located on Canyon
Creek Lane, County Road 65, south of
395S. It is anticipated this project will
last for approximately 2-3 weeks. There
will be one-lane traffic
with flaggers 24/7.
Annual Membership Costs
Ranches, Clubs, Service & Fraternal Organizations - $50
Sole Proprietorships - $85
Businesses with 1-4 Employees - $150
Businesses with 5+ Employees - $250
More than 1 business with the same owner - Full price
plus sole proprietorship.
Sole proprietorships – Full Price Plus $50
If you would like a membership application, call the
Chamber office at 541-575-0547 or ask a member.
Our guest speaker for our 12:00 pm meeting on Feb. 18,
at the outpost, will be Rachel Cobb, who is the fire
weather program leader for the National Weather
Service. Hope to see you there.
For further information, contact the
Grant County Road Department at
541-575-3783, or 541-575-0138.
Monday-Friday, 7am-3:30 pm.
Jerry Franklin
Chamber President
03487