A18
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
HUNTER
Continued from Page A1
“Witty self-reported the
shooting and cooperated
with ODFW (Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wild-
life biologists) and OSP
(Oregon State Police) game
troopers in the investiga-
tion of the incident,” said
Harney District Attorney
Tim Colahan. “The offense
Witty entered his guilty plea
to was reduced to a Class A
violation as part of the plea
negotiations.”
Witty was fined $1,000,
ordered to pay restitution of
$1,000 to ODFW, and the
firearm used in the incident,
a Savage Arms .223 rifle
with scope, was forfeited to
the state.
A family member of
Witty’s said Sharon Liv-
ingston of Long Creek
came forward to pay Wit-
ty’s attorney fees — Witty
was represented by Burns
attorney Riccola Voigt.
“Brennon — I have to
compliment him,” Living-
ston said. “I admire him for
being truthful and forth-
coming.”
The family member also
said rancher Gail Enright of
Mt. Vernon and the property
owner where the wolf was
shot each paid $200 toward
Witty’s fines.
Wolves were listed un-
der the state Endangered
Species Act at the time of
the shooting, and although
the ODFW Commission
on Nov. 9 removed wolves
from the state list, it had no
bearing on Witty’s case.
Colahan prosecuted the
case at the request of the
Grant County District At-
torney who recused himself
from the case based on his
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
State wolf population grows
Oregon’s known wolf population continued to
grow in 2015. The minimum Oregon wolf pop-
ulation is now 110 wolves, a 36 percent increase
over the 2014 population.
ODFW documented 11 breeding pairs of
wolves in 2015, up from nine last year. A breed-
ing pair is an adult male and female wolf that
produce at least two pups which survive through
the end of the year. (Pups are born in mid-April
each year.) Reproduction was coni rmed in 14
groups of wolves, and 33 pups born in 2015
are known to have survived through Dec. 31.
ODFW also documented three new pairs of
wolves. Known wolf groups occurred in parts of
Baker, Grant, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Morrow,
Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties.
The rate of depredation of livestock by wolves
decreased in 2015 despite the increase in wolf
population. ODFW investigations coni rmed
nine incidents of wolves killing livestock and
acquaintance with the Witty
family.
Voigt said she would
have liked to see Witty’s
fines reduced, but during
two probable incidents. A total of 10 sheep,
three calves and one working dog were killed
by wolves, and another two calves and one lamb
were injured. This is down from 11 coni rmed
incidents and 32 livestock (2 cattle and 30 sheep)
lost last year.
While no wolves were killed by ODFW,
agents or landowners due to livestock depreda-
tion, ODFW documented seven wolf mortalities
in 2015. A i ve-month-old pup was found dead
in the Catherine Pack rendezvous area and ap-
peared to die of natural causes. One wolf that
died had a rodent in its stomach and the wolf
tested positive for a chemical that is poisonous
to animals. The cause of the death of the Sled
Springs breeding male and female found dead in
August is unknown. Three wolves were illegally
shot.
To see the full report or learn more about
wolves, visit odfw.com/wolves.
negotiations, “there were
things we felt were more
important, including remov-
ing the hunting license sus-
pension, the violation treat-
ment (having the charge
reduced to a violation) and
dismissal of the other count
which was another A misde-
meanor.”
She said the forfeiture
of the rifle was something
Witty offered in exchange
for the district attorney’s
stipulation to not request
the hunting license sus-
pension, which would have
been suspended for 36
months.
“I agree with Mr. Co-
lahan that Mr. Witty went
above and beyond in coop-
erating,” Voigt said.
Under House Bill 4040 A,
the legislature would ratify
last year’s decision by state
ZLOGOLIH RI¿FLDOV WR GHOLVW
wolves, effectively neutraliz-
LQJDOHJDOFKDOOHQJH¿OHGE\
several environmental groups
in the Oregon Court of Ap-
peals.
The Senate will soon
vote on HB 4040 A, hav-
ing passed a key legislative
committee on Feb. 23 and
earlier having passed the
House.
COURT
Continued from Page A1
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heur National Forest for 37 years, said extreme weather
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treated, and nothing could have been done.
Malheur National Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin
EURXJKWFRSLHVRID¿UHUHSRUWZLWKDQDSSHQGL[
about the Canyon Creek Complex. He said the agency
has nothing to hide, and he was willing to talk to people
DERXWWKH¿UHDQGSURYLGHDGGLWLRQDOLQIRUPDWLRQ
Kenny Delano, Mt. Vernon, said when a crime is
committed, you don’t ask the criminal to investigate.
-RKQ'D\UHVLGHQW+RZDUG*LHJHUVDLGKHZDVD¿UH
investigator for insurance companies for 33 years. Af-
ter looking at the report, he said he believed items were
missing. He said people needed to know the facts, but
he did not believe the county should pay for it.
County Judge Scott Myers said the subject was
very polarizing, and he said many of the people who
VSRNHZHUHDIIHFWHGE\WKH¿UH+HVDLGKHZDVQRWVXUH
whether the forest commissioners could be objective
if they oversaw the investigation. He also said he be-
lieved the Forest Service had provided the information
requested.
Commissioner Chris Labhart said he believed an in-
vestigation was warranted but that it should be initiated
by individuals or groups and not be funded by county
resources.
&RPPLVVLRQHU%R\G%ULWWRQVDLGKHNQHZWKH¿UH
¿JKWHUVIHOWWHUULEOHWKH\ZHUHXQDEOHWRFRQWDLQWKH¿UH
“I feel horrible for all those folks that lost their
homes,” he said, but added that no one lost their life.
The vote was unanimous to deny the request to fund
the investigation.
The Eagle/Sean Hart
County Judge Scott Myers speaks about a request for an investigation into the Canyon Creek Complex fire at
the Grant County Court meeting Feb. 24. The County Court ultimately denied the request.
WINNER
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eomediagroup.com
Maag Angus Ranch Headquarters, Vale, Oregon
Continued from Page A1
“Most of it is in sav-
ings, and we sent all four
of our kids some money to
help them out,” Dave said.
He said he plays the
lottery “fairly regularly,”
including Powerball, Mega
Millions and Oregon’s
Game Megabucks.
He said if he’d bought
the multiplier, he would
have doubled his money.
The last time he won a
sizable amount of lottery
money was about eight
years ago when he brought
home $590, hitting five of
six numbers, Dave said.
“I feel great about win-
ning $50,000,” he said. “It
puts me back ahead.”
Bill Wyllie, manager
of Chester’s Thriftway in
John Day, said the employ-
ees at the store were ex-
cited to hear they’d sold a
winning ticket.
“I think that’s cool that
we sold big winner and
hope we can do it again
soon,” he said.
The overall odds of win-
ning a Powerball prize are
one in 24.9. Odds of win-
ning the jackpot are one in
292,201,338.
Proceeds from Oregon
Lottery sales help fund
public education, parks,
economic
development
and watershed projects.
For more information,
visit www.oregonlottery.
org online.
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