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News
Blue Mountain Eagle
WOLF
Continued from Page A1
The groups also believe
ODFW should continue col-
laring wolves, and should set
a population cap for wolves
in Oregon. Without a bench-
mark, “we will not be able to
tell when wolves have reached
their natural carrying capacity”
in the state, the Farm Bureau
said in a statement.
Cattlemen also want local
biologists to make the call on
lethal control of wolves, not
department administrators in
Salem. Todd Nash, the associ-
ation’s wolf policy chair, said
ranchers’ views aren’t refl ected
in the draft plan.
“It doesn’t look like we were
even in the room, and that’s re-
ally disappointing,” he said.
Some activists, however,
believe ODFW is moving too
quickly to relax conservation
safeguards, including the deci-
sion in 2015 to take wolves off
the state endangered species
list. Among other things, they
point to the annual wolf count
fi gures released this past week
as proof the population is frag-
ile. The minimum count of 112
wolves at the end of 2016 was
only two more than in 2015, af-
ter years of sharp growth. Even
ODFW described the popula-
tion gain as “weak.”
The department said a com-
bination of factors probably
contributed to the modest in-
crease. At least seven wolves
were killed in 2016, including
WYDEN
Continued from Page A1
John Day resident Ashley
Stevick asked what he was
doing to protect access to
health care and women’s re-
productive rights.
“I’ve always felt that
health care is the most im-
portant issue,” Wyden said,
adding he would continue to
protect the Affordable Care
Act and the protections it of-
fers.
“On my watch, as long
as I’m chairman and a rank-
ing member on the fi nance
Known Oregon wolf packs
Confirmed pack/individual range
(As of Dec. 31, 2016)
Estimated pack/individual range
NOTE: Polygons represent estimated
ranges for known wolf packs with
radio-collared animals.
82
Portland
Pendleton
197
Unnamed
Heppner
5
26
Minam
Meacham
97
101
Chesnimnus
Wenaha Shamrock
Snake
Walla Walla
River
N. Emily
395
84
Salem
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
OR30
Desolation
22
Mt.
Emily
Catherine
26
84
Harl
Butte
OR29/36
OR37
20
26
126
Bend
Eugene
OREGON
20
97
58
Silver
Lake
OR25
5
101
Rogue
N
Keno (status unknown)
25 miles
199
Medford
5
*At least one breeding pair
395
Ontario
Wolf pack population
Pack/area
Total
Wenaha*
Walla Walla*
Snake River*
Minam*
12
11
9
11
Mt. Emily
Meacham*
Rogue
8
7
6
Desolation
Shamrock
Catherine*
1
4
5
Source: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
(cont.)
Keno
Heppner
Silver Lake
OR30 pair
Chesnimnus*
Harl Butte*
N. Emily
OR29/36
Lone/misc.
Minimum total
Total
1
3
1
2
9
10
3
2
7
112
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
four members of the Imnaha
Pack shot by ODFW for re-
peated livestock attacks. Blood
samples taken from captured
wolves indicated many ani-
mals were exposed to recent or
severe parvovirus infections,
which can take a toll on pups.
Finally, bad winter weath-
er hampered efforts to count
wolves. Wildlife offi cials stress
the annual population fi gure is a
minimum number, and believe
the state has considerably more
wolves.
Nonetheless, Nick Cady,
legal director for the Eu-
gene-based group Cascadia
Wildlands, said wolves aren’t
the “exponentially growing
and undefeatable species” that
opponents sometimes describe.
“One hard winter and there’s
no growth,” he said.
Cady said wolf recovery
faces numerous hurdles. An-
ti-predator bills pop up in the
Legislature on a regular basis
and ODFW is deferential to
hunting interests that provide
budget money through license
sales, he said. The state appears
headed to a wolf management
approach that allows hunting
while doing “basic level mon-
itoring so they don’t go extinct,
which I think wolves are not
ready for.”
Cascadia Wildlands oppos-
committee, we are not going
to deny women the opportu-
nity to go to the doctor they
trust,” Wyden said.
Grant County resident Pat
Holliday urged Wyden work
with Republicans to solve
problems and to fi ght for the
re-authorization of Secure
Rural Schools funds, which
have helped fund schools,
roads and restoration projects.
Wyden, who co-authored
the SRS legislation, said he
would “pull out all the stops”
and work with Republicans to
get the funds back. He said he
had support in the House for
the issue and that a key fac-
tor would be to get the timber
harvest back up. Wyden said
he wanted to break the par-
ty gridlock and party polar-
ization by working together
on issues both parties could
agree on, such as tax reform
and fi ghting against special
interest lobbies.
A Grant Union student
asked Wyden about the
“blockade” of claims the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs
was dealing with. Wyden
responded that veteran care
in Oregon is actually quality
care, if vets are able to access
it. He proposed hiring more
employees at the VA and
making more care providers
available to veterans.
Former Grant County
commissioner Chris Labhart
expressed disappointment at
recent divisive rhetoric in the
country and asked Wyden to
clarify proposed cuts to the
Meals On Wheels program.
Wyden said the Depart-
ment of Health and Human
Services could receive a 16.7
percent cut, which would
affect Meals on Wheels. He
commended Labhart for his
work delivering meals to se-
nior citizens in Grant County
and said preventative care,
such as ensuring seniors’ ba-
sic needs are met, keeps them
out of the emergency room
and cuts down on Medicaid
costs.
In response to a question
about increased national se-
curity, Wyden urged people
not to give up liberty for secu-
rity. He said he was working
against efforts to weaken en-
cryptions protecting informa-
tion against hackers, terrorists
and pedophiles.
Local attorney Jonathan
Bartov asked Wyden about
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195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, Oregon
05506
541-523-6377
es killing wolves if deer and
elk populations drop. Cady
said proper habitat is a greater
factor in ungulate populations
than wolves. The group also
opposes draft plan provisions
that allow USDA Wildlife Ser-
vices to conduct livestock dep-
redation investigations. Cady
said the agency is too quick to
blame wolves for every attack.
Wildlife Services came
under intense criticism this
spring when it killed an Or-
egon wolf with an M-44 cy-
anide poison trap set to kill
coyotes. Soon after, a dog
in Idaho died and a teenage
boy was injured when they
encountered an M-44. Wild-
life Service subsequently
announced it would not use
the devices in six Eastern
Oregon counties where the
majority of the state’s wolves
live.
“Given their track record,
they shouldn’t be involved in
predator management in Or-
egon in any capacity,” Cady
said.
Past wolf hearings have
become displays of the
state’s urban-rural divide.
Wildlife activists from Port-
land and Eugene, and from
out of state, tend to celebrate
the presence of wolves re-
stored to the landscape. Cat-
tle ranchers and other rural
residents tend to testify about
the expense of defensive
measures and the grisly re-
sults of livestock attacks.
As the draft wolf plan au-
thors put it, “people with the
most positive attitudes about
wolves have been those with
the least experience with
them. People who live in ar-
eas with wolves have more
negative attitudes toward
wolves than the general pub-
lic, and negative attitudes
are further amplifi ed by wolf
predation of livestock.
“In Oregon, it is expected
that an increasing and ex-
panding population of wolves
will result in more, not less,
confl ict in the future,” the
plan concludes.
The plan says the impact
of wolves on deer and elk is
mixed, and is complicated
by the presence and feeding
habits of cougars, bears, coy-
otes and bobcats.
When
hunting
elk,
“wolves continually test prey
to identify weak individuals”
they can single out for attack.
Such “near constant hunting
pressure” could change the
habitat use, vigilance, move-
ment rates and migration
patterns of elk, according to
the report. The fi tness and
reproductive potential of elk
could be expected to decline
in such cases.
Wolves don’t eat mule
deer that often, but their pres-
ence could force cougars into
steeper terrain where they’d
be more likely to encounter
mule deer, according to the
report.
The second public meet-
ing is Friday, May 19, at the
Embassy Suites hotel near
the Portland Airport.
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
John Day resident Ashley Stevick asks U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden a question about healthcare during a town hall
meeting at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School.
protections recently repealed
by the Federal Communica-
tions Commission that pro-
hibited communication pro-
viders from selling personal
information such as browsing
history without explicit con-
sent. Bartov asked if any ef-
forts were being made to rein-
state those protections.
Wyden called the repeal
“one of the most horrible de-
cisions I can remember” and
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
an example of “outrageous
special interest power.” He
said browsing information
is incredibly personal and
shouldn’t be sold without
consent and said he would
work to try to overturn it.
Wyden closed the meeting
by saying political change
starts at the ground level in
places like town hall meetings
and works from the bottom
up.
541-523-6377
05370