State
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
A9
Oregon FFA convention offers students view to future
By Eric Mortenson
EO Media Group
CORVALLIS — If the
1,400 students attending the
Oregon FFA state convention
had some questions about
career prospects, Alexzandra
“Alex” Murphy was offering
some answers.
Murphy teaches a new
precision irrigated agricul-
ture program at Blue Moun-
tain Community College in
Pendleton, and she said ag
employers are clamoring to
hire people trained in new
technology.
“People have been asking
me for students,” she said
while stationed at a college
information booth. “There is
a huge demand for workers.
Everywhere I go, they say,
‘We want more good work-
ers.’”
Students with FFA ex-
perience are particularly at-
tractive to employers, she
Shea
Booster
Alex
Murphy
said, because they’re already
tuned into multiple facets
of agriculture. And it hasn’t
been dif¿cult recruiting stu-
dents to study precision ag
applications, Murphy added.
“I don’t know too many
kids who don’t get excited
about technology,” she said
with a laugh. “Turning off
your (irrigation) pivot with a
cell phone is awesome.”
Blue Mountain Communi-
ty College was among the ca-
reer vendors participating in
the convention, held March
18-21 at Oregon State Uni-
versity. Students from Future
Farmers of America chapters
Hailee
Patterson
Liberty
Greenlund
across the state attended.
Among many activities, they
took part in public speaking
and parliamentary procedure
competitions, heard from
guest speakers and had a lit-
tle fun on the side, such as a
session on western dancing.
State of¿cers for 2016-1
were selected as well. They
are: President Shea Boost-
er, of Bend; Vice President
Hailee Patterson, of Imbler;
Secretary Liberty Greenlund,
of Yamhill-Carlton; Treasur-
er Raymond Seal, of Joseph;
Reporter Zanden Unger, of
Dallas; and Sentinel Bryson
Price, of Sutherlin.
Bryson
Price
Raymond
Seal
Zanden
Unger
While advisers such as
Murphy of BMCC were avail-
able to offer career advice,
other convention speakers had
something to say about life in
general.
Kelly Barnes, a motiva-
tional speaker from Oklaho-
ma, used a fast-paced pre-
sentation to suggest students
should examine their lives
and make changes.
Barnes, who grew up on
family dairy and beef opera-
tions, said he found his call-
ing during an FFA leadership
conference and now spends
his time talking to corporate
and educational groups.
Kelly
Barnes
To the Oregon FFA stu-
dents, Barnes listed three ar-
eas for consideration.
He asked them to realize
they have ingrained habits or
daily routines, things they do
without thinking that may be
wasting time or even holding
them back.
“When we do things a
certain way, what happens
when someone asks you to
change?” he asked. “The an-
swer is no.”
Barnes said students should
review what he called their
“inputs,” the music, movies,
books or organizations such
as FFA that inÀuence their
lives. While many students
will say they don’t act badly
because of coarse entertain-
ment, for example, they will
acknowledge that other inputs
make them feel sad, happy,
excited or inspired.
“You put good things
in, good things come out,”
Barnes said.
Last, Barnes talked about
the “rule of ¿ve.” He asked
students to think of their inter-
actions with ¿ve friends. Of
that group, he said, who is the
smartest, has the most goals,
makes the best decisions and
is looked at as a leader.
“The rule of ¿ve says you
are the average of the ¿ve
people you spend the most
time with,” he said. “If you’re
the smartest, who’s pushing
you to be smarter?
“Find people who are go-
ing to push you,” Barnes con-
cluded. “Surround yourself
with people who are better
than you.”
Sharp disagreements mark path as Oregon begins wolf plan review
By Eric Mortenson
EO Media Group
SALEM — Opposing
sides in Oregon’s continuing
wolf argument both believe
some aspects of the state’s
management plan should be
reviewed by independent par-
ties.
Speaking March 18 to the
Oregon Department of Fish &
Wildlife Commission, conser-
vationists repeated their view
that an external scienti¿c re-
view should have been done
before the commission took
wolves off the state endangered
species list last November.
Livestock, hunting and
farming interests, meanwhile,
suggested a third-party should
make the call on whether live-
stock attacks are listed as con-
¿rmed wolf depredation or
only “probable,” which don’t
count toward lethal control
decisions.
On just about every other
aspect of wolves in Oregon,
however, the two sides dis-
agree. Panelists representing
both sides were invited to
meet with the ODFW Com-
mission and stake out their
positions as the state begins
what is expected to be a nine-
month review of the wolf
management plan.
The review begins as cattle
and sheep producers, hunters
and the Oregon Farm Bureau
have scored a couple of key
victories. First was the com-
mission’s delisting decision
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Michael Finley, right, chair of the ODFW Commission,
discusses wolf management with Rob Klavins, left, of
Oregon Wild and Amaroq Weiss, second from left, of
the Center for Biological Diversity.
in November, and the Oregon
Legislature followed that up
by passing a bill that protects
the decision from legal chal-
lenge. Since then, the state’s
annual wolf survey showed the
state population grew 36 per-
cent in 2015. Wildlife biologist
Russ Morgan, ODFW’s wolf
recovery manager, said the
numbers represent a continuing
success story as wolves expand
in number and range.
Panelists from Oregon Wild,
Center for Biological Diversity,
Defenders of Wildlife and Cas-
cadia Wildlands repeated their
view that delisting was prema-
ture and not supported by inde-
pendent scienti¿c review. Rep-
resentatives said they oppose a
state population cap or range
limits on wolves. They also op-
pose sport hunting of wolves,
which some think could be an
eventual result of delisting and
plan revision.
Amaroq Weiss, of the Cen-
ter for Biological Diversity,
said some Oregon actions un-
dermine wolf protection. The
Legislature passed a bill in-
creasing the ¿nes for poaching,
she said, but excused “uninten-
tional take.”
“The law provides an abso-
lute defense for someone who
shoots a wolf and claims he
thought it was a coyote,” she
said, noting the case of an Ore-
gon hunter who was prosecuted
for a 2015 incident. “The state
is saying, claim it was an acci-
dent and we’ll turn our back.”
Rob Klavins, Northeast Or-
egon ¿eld coordinator for Ore-
gon Wild, said wolf poaching
has increased, the delisting and
legislative action was “unfair
and unethical” and discussions
Recognizing our
Local Dentists on
are marked by “renewed con-
Àict and controversy” even as
a majority of Oregonians favor
wolf protections.
“We’re skeptical, but we are
here again,” he told the com-
mission.
The other side had points to
make as well.
Mary Anne Nash, an at-
torney with the Oregon Farm
Bureau, said conservationists’
complaints about transparency
and scienti¿c review are “in the
eye of the beholder.”
“They mean their preferred
outcomes, and their science,”
she said.
Dave Wiley, with the Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation, said
ODFW must protect Oregon’s
deer and elk herds as wolf
packs expand.
Jim Akenson, conservation
director for the Oregon Hunters
Association, said it’s “wonder-
ful” to restore wolves to the
ecosystem, “But at some point
there needs to be management.
We’ve reached that point,” he
said.
Wallowa County rancher
Todd Nash, head of the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association wolf
task force, said ODFW has too
high a bar for con¿rming wolf
attacks and an outside party
ought to do it instead. He and
others also favor establishing
geographic management zones
in which wolves could be con-
trolled on a more local basis.
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