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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2016)
A12 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, March 9, 2016 Fourth of a four-part series Our federal lands The Immutable Public Lands Encompassing 1.9 million acres, Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument was created by President Bill Clinton and entrusted to BLM in 1996. 1946 Sen. Edward V. Robertson introduces legislation calling for ceding unreserved federal lands to state control; U.S. Grazing Service and General Land Office merge to form the Bureau of Land Management. Korean War 1950-53 1959 Alaska formally admitted to the Union; Hawaii becomes 50th state. underdeveloped federal lands to preserve their natural condition. 1966 National Historic Preservation Act expands protection of prehistoric, historic properties. 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires all federal agencies to assess their environmen- tal impact. 1970 President Richard Nixon creates the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a non-cabinet government agency to monitor and enforce environmental laws. 1973 Endangered Species Act provides federal protection to threatened plants, animals and the ecosystems they rely upon. Vietnam War 1964-75 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution marks American escalation in Vietnam conflict. 1964 Public Land Law Review Commission is established.; Wilderness Act extends protection to 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act requires public lands remain in federal ownership and maintained for multiple use; repeals all pre-existing Homestead Acts, phasing out homesteading. 1979 Nevada and four other western states pass legislation calling for the return of BLM-managed lands to the states. The “Sagebrush Rebellion” gains political allies in President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of the Interior James Watt. 1990 The Northern Spotted Owl is designated a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, thereby affecting timber sales on federal land within its range. 1996 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is designated as BLM’s first national monument. 2008 BLM-managed lands are officially designated as the National System of Public Lands. Today The federal government owns and manages approximately 630 million acres, roughly 28 percent of the 2.3 billion acres that make up the U.S. land base. Sources: Congressional Research Service; U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management; USDA Forest Service; The Forest History Society; EO Media Group research The Eagle/Sean Hart Ruby Hopper, 3, Mt. Vernon, paints with watercolors at the community art show Saturday at the airport in John Day. Her grandmother Joan Hopper showed work at the event. SHOW Continued from Page A1 Carmen McCormick, Seneca, said it was her sec- ond time showing her water- colors at the show. She said the show featured more art than she expected, and she plans to return next year. Theresa Stinnett read from her new novel, “A Hero at Heart,” at the show and said she enjoyed the experience. She said her fa- vorite part of being an artist is pouring herself into her work. “Keep the love in it,” she said. “Don’t get bogged down in the details or when you mess up. Keep doing what you love.” SHOOTING other of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupiers. When law enforcement Continued from Page A1 RI¿FLDOV VWRSSHG WKH FRQYR\ On a remarkable cellphone carrying these militants, Cox video shot by militant Shawna began recording on her phone. Cox, Finicum can be heard re- Investigators were able to peatedly ignoring commands sync law enforcement footage from law enforcement to sur- with Cox’s cellphone footage. render. He’s also heard insist- During the press confer- LQJWKDWRI¿FHUVVKRRWKLP HQFH WKH RI¿FLDOV SOD\HG WKH Finicum was hit with three footage, which showed peo- bullets in the back. Those ple in the vehicle carrying ZHUH MXVWL¿HG LQYHVWLJDWRUV Finicum, Cox, Payne and one said. of the Bundy brothers refus- Oregon State Troopers ing commands by law en- shot Finicum, an Arizona forcement to stop and get out rancher, along Highway 395 of their vehicle. on Jan. 26. He was en route to At one point in the video, a meeting in John Day, along Finicum told Oregon State with Ammon and Ryan Bun- Police to back down. Finicum dy, Ryan Payne, and several said he was going to meet Grant County Sheriff Glenn 3DOPHUDQGSURPSWHGRI¿FLDOV to “go ahead and shoot me” if they wanted stop him. After a few minutes of discussion inside the vehicle, Finicum approached the road- EORFNDWPSKRI¿FLDOVVDLG Tuesday. The Central Oregon Major Incident team led this investi- gation. At the request of Har- ney County District Attorney Tim Colahan, Malheur Coun- ty District Attorney Daniel Norris also reviewed the in- YHVWLJDWLRQRI¿FLDOVVDLG The FBI said Finicum had a loaded 9 mm semi-automat- ic handgun in the left inside pocket that he reached for be- fore being shot. The federal investigation, conducted by the Department RI -XVWLFH¶V 2I¿FH RI ,QVSHF tor General, will determine whether a member of the hostage rescue team failed to GLVFORVH ¿ULQJ DW )LQLFXP DV he left the truck and whether anyone participated in a cover up over those shots. “The county’s investigation also indicated that, in between WKHWZRVHULHVRIVKRWV¿UHGE\ OSP troopers, one, and possi- bly two, additional shots were ¿UHG E\ ODZ HQIRUFHPHQW DV Mr. Finicum was exiting the vehicle after hitting the snow bank,” U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said. “The question RI ZKR ¿UHG WKHVH VKRWV KDV not been resolved.” SESSION sion to wait on the proposal until the 2017 session, Clem said. that plan, and it will force PacifiCorp to stop buying out-of-state coal power to serve Oregon customers. The bill requires Pacif- iCorp, Portland General Electric and any new mu- nicipal electric utilities to get 50 percent of their power from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2040. Representatives of Portland General Electric and a re- newable energy advocacy group said during a hear- ing last month this means the biggest impact of the bill could be to discourage utilities from replacing coal with natural gas, although utilities will still need new natural gas facilities to pro- vide reliable power when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. I’ll guarantee you it’s the most important vote we’re going to cast today to the Continued from Page A1 hundreds of thousands of the possibility those groups Oregonians who need the would recruit primary chal- real help in their lives that lengers, and the March 8 can- this bill will provide,” said GLGDWH¿OLQJGHDGOLQHORRPHG Senate President Pro Tem over the session. Diane Rosenbaum. Courtney said he did his Senate Bill 1532 sets dif- best to ease tensions in the ferent minimums in each of Senate, and that included the three regions according to a decision not to ask the state county’s population, median police to track down missing income and cost of living. Republicans. “I didn’t want By 2022, wages will reach to call out the state police,” $14.75 in the Portland area, Courtney said. “Lord, I $12.50 in rural and coast- didn’t want to do that. ” al counties with struggling economies and $13.50 in the Minimum wage rest of the state by 2022. Both chambers passed The first pay bump starts unprecedented minimum in July, from $9.25 to $9.75 wage legislation last month statewide. that gives significant raise Reps. Brian Clem, D-Sa- over a seven-year period and lem, and John Davis, R-Wil- customizes the increases to sonville, tried to come up regional population density, with a last-ditch effort to income and other economic give tax credits to offset factors. Gov. Kate Brown the cost of the increases to signed the bill Wednesday. farmers and small business- “It is my belief this bill es owners who expressed is the most important vote fear that the expense could we’ll cast this session, and drive them out of business. Concerns about how those limited tax credits would be divided up put a wrench in the bill and forced a deci- BAKER CITY CARPET EXPRESS Your Professional Floor Store Come in and see our great selection of: Carpet ~ Vinyl ~ Tile ~ Hardwood ~ Luxury Vinyl Flooring and Window Coverings Now in Stock: Waterproof Carpet Come in and talk to Cowboy Jimmy, Kris, or Anne for your new flooring. Low Prices • 12 Month Same as Cash O.A.C. • Discount Prices “Remember, you walk on our reputation!” 541-523-7360 2080 3rd Street, Baker City Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30 • Saturday Noon-4pm HURRY IN! Alan Kenaga/Capital Press DO NOT MISS OUT! 03534 Renewable energy Another top priority for legislative Democrats this session was a controver- sial bill to double Oregon’s existing renewable energy mandate and stop the state’s two largest utilities from paying for coal power. The bill also greatly expands incentives for power plants that burn garbage and wood. The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday on a near par- ty line vote, with Sen. Bet- sy Johnson, D-Scappoose, joining Republicans to vote “no” on the bill. Since the House already passed the legislation, it goes next to the governor for her signa- ture. Brown has suggested that she supports the bill, but has not said publicly wheth- er she will sign it. Portland General Electric already plans to close Ore- gon’s only coal power plant in Boardman by 2020 and stop purchasing coal power from out of state. But the bill will ensure Portland General Electric follows through on A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 Housing House Democrats early in the session negotiated a deal with affordable hous- ing advocates, real estate lobbyists and builders on a plan to help increase the state’s stock of affordable housing while making some concessions to developers. The deal yielded a bill to end the state’s 17-year ban on requiring developers to include affordable housing in their plans, a measure to prohibit rent increases in the first year of month- to-month tenancies and increase notice for rent in- creases from 30 to 90 days, a pilot affordable housing program for smaller com- munities and controversial measure to allow annexa- tions without going to the people for a vote. House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, said lawmakers would work to address the housing crisis again in 2017. By the end of the ses- sion, however, Republicans agreed to up the tempo, af- ter Democrats made some concessions in the interest of wrapping up before the weekend.
