The
COWKIDS RUSTLE
UP FUN
– PAGE 9
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W EDNESDAY , A UGUST 24, 2016
• N O . 33
• 16 P AGES
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www.MyEagleNews.com
Solar eclipse countdown begins
Preparing for ‘the most
observed astronomical
event in human history’
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Darlene Yan, program coordinator for Multiverse,
speaks to a Grant County audience in Canyon City
about next year’s solar eclipse.
Rail Fire
expands
to 32,170
acres
After seeing his fi rst total solar eclipse
in Scotland in 1999, Mark Bender has
traveled the globe to see the “mind-blow-
ing” astronomical event.
Rainy weather with visibility like
“pea soup” almost prevented the photog-
rapher and fi lmmaker from witnessing
a life-changing event, he said, but just
before the moon passed between the sun
and the Earth, casting a shadow that turns
daytime to darkness, the clouds parted.
“Because of all the water in the atmo-
sphere, it not only had the corona, but
the corona had all these little rainbows
shooting off it — it completely changed
my life,” he said. “I needed to see more
of that action.”
Since then, he has traveled to Africa,
Indonesia and near the North Pole chas-
ing eclipses. A little less than a year from
now, on Aug. 21, 2017, the rare “totality”
— when the moon completely covers the
sun — may bring people from around the
world to Grant County. Not only will the
eclipse travel right over the rural county,
the lack of lighting compared to urban ar-
eas will enhance the viewing experience
when the sun goes dark.
In Oregon, the last total solar eclipse
was almost 100 years ago, and the last
one to pass over the continental United
States was 37 years ago. This eclipse will
travel coast to coast in the United States,
in a line, from Newport, Oregon, to
Charleston, South Carolina. Bender said
many people will travel to see the once-
in-a-lifetime event.
“There will probably be 10 million
people who want to come into the path
— the whole path — and that’s a small
estimation,” he said. “It’s unparalleled. ...
This will be the most observed astronom-
ical event in human history.”
See ECLIPSE, Page A3
NOTHING EASY ABOUT EASEMENTS
Firefighters have
blaze 40-percent
contained, but it’s
still growing
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
Firefi ghters have contained
more of the Rail Fire near Unity,
but it continues to grow.
The fi re now encompasses
32,170 acres and is 40-percent
contained, according to a Tues-
day update from the management
team.
As a precaution, County Judge
Scott Myers said a level one
pre-evacuation notice has been is-
sued for Summit Rock, Elk Creek
Campground and Hunter’s Camp
Area. Level one means residents
and visitors to the area should be
ready to leave if conditions wors-
en.
The areas under advisory are
2 to 3 miles southwest of the Rail
fi re, Meyers said. The area ex-
tends from Summit Prairie Road
east to the Grant County line and
south from the Grant County line
3 miles to Tub Springs.
Windy conditions fanned the
fi re Monday night, testing con-
tainment lines, but fi refi ghters
were able to extinguish small spot
fi res, the management team re-
ported. Cooler temperatures, high-
er humidity levels and air support
have helped fi refi ghters along the
fi res southeast fl ank.
Mop-up operations are the
primary concern on the western,
northern and eastern edges of the
Eagle photos/Sean Hart
Roger Ediger describes his difficulty with easements at his Mt. Vernon ranch with McClellan Mountain in the background.
Easement acres by holder ...
(More than 24 million U.S. acres have been placed in easements.)
Unknown holder: 551,061 or 2.2%
Jointly held: 1 million
or 4.1%
Local government:
1.1 million
or 4.4%
Federal:
5.3 million
or 21.5%
Other*: 191,491 or 0.8%
By Mateusz Perkowski
Non-governmental
organization:
10.3 million
or 42%
(As of July)
*Includes regional
agency, private holder
and Native American.
State: 6.1 million or 24.9%
See FIRE, Page A16
Other*: 342,216 or 1.4%
Ranch: 795,813 or 3.2%
Other open space:
1.4 million or 5.8%
Farm: 1.7 million
or 6.8%
Forest:
2.1 million
or 8.6%
Unknown:
8.1 million or 32.9%
Source: National Conservation Easement Database
Anxiety surrounds conservation
agreements and making them work
... And by
category
Environmental
system:
10.1 million
or 41.2%
EO Media Group
R
ancher Roger Ediger has no problem
giving up the ability to subdivide his
nearly 2,700-acre property near Mount
Vernon.
Development is the biggest threat to ag-
riculture, wildlife and open space, Ediger
believes, which is why he decided to place
a conservation easement on the land that will
preserve its current condition in perpetuity.
“If we don’t look farther than our own
lifespan, then we’ll have nothing,” he said.
However, Ediger still faces a dilemma.
He is reluctant to have an environmental-
ly oriented land trust or similar entity impose
conditions on how he operates the ranch in
exchange for “holding” the easement.
Since no third party holds the easement,
though, it’s possible that a future landowner
will simply ignore the prohibition against de-
velopment if nobody’s there to enforce it.
“An easement is only as good as it is en-
forceable,” said Mike Running, executive di-
rector of the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts.
A microcosm
Ediger’s situation is a microcosm of the
anxiety surrounding conservation easements
in the agricultural community.
Some farmers want to extinguish devel-
opment rights to protect the landscape while
reducing property values to cut inheritance
taxes, but they’re worried about someone
forever looking over their shoulder.
“I have no desire to be micro-managed. I
have no desire at all,” said Ediger, who hopes
that Grant Soil and Water Conservation Dis-
trict will ultimately agree to hold his easement.
*Includes
recreation,
education and
historical preservation.
NOTE: Sums may not
equal 100 due to rounding.
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
“
If someone comes around
with the right amount of
money, they can keep you
tied up in court until you holler
uncle.”
Roger Ediger
Mt. Vernon rancher
Roger Ediger’s cows graze on his Mt. Vernon ranch.
See ANXIETY, Page A16