A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Zinke asks key
questions about
Cascade-Siskiyou
monument
I
nterior Secretary Ryan Zinke
played his cards fairly close
to the vest when he visited
the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument in Southern Oregon
and Northern California.
The original 53,000-acre
monument was created in 2000,
but last year President Obama
added roughly 47,000 acres.
It’s one of 27 national
monuments created in the
last two decades that are
under review by the Trump
administration.
Zinke’s recommendation
to the president for potential
changes to the Cascade-Siskiyou
monument’s boundaries is due
Aug. 23. We’re unlikely to fi nd
out what that recommendation
will be until Zinke reports to
the boss. He didn’t say while in
Oregon.
But he did drop some hints.
Most intriguing of all: Zinke
says he can’t fi nd anyone at
the Department of Interior
willing to admit to having set
the boundaries of last year’s
expansion, or who can explain
how the decision was reached.
That’s interesting. If the
administrative state within the
Interior Department accepts
that the biodiversity of the
region is so unique that it
deserves special protections
— and Zinke is willing to
accept that — it should be
easy for them to explain their
justifi cation. Why these 47,000
acres in particular?
It’s an important question
to ranchers who now fi nd
their private land encircled
by the national monument,
and who worry about their
grazing allotments on what was
national forestland.
Critics of the monument
say they’ve seen the economic
damage caused by the original
designation, leading them to
expect similar restrictions on
grazing and logging within the
expanded boundary — despite
assurances to the contrary.
Zinke said any changes to
the national monument would
be based on science — which
areas contain watersheds,
plants, animals, soils and
geological features that should
be protected. He is also
examining how the boundaries
affect traditional economic
uses, such as grazing and
timber, as well as recreational
uses, including hiking,
snowmobiling and horseback
riding. That makes sense.
Those who opposed the
expansion can take some
comfort in the fact that Zinke
is a proponent of multiple-use
of federal lands. That’s what
supporters of the expansion are
afraid of.
They should not worry.
The 47,000 acres added to the
Cascade-Siskiyou were public
lands before the expansion, and
will remain public lands should
the boundaries be altered. They
will enjoy the protections that
have preserved them for more
than a century.
G UEST C OMMENT
Help paleo institute do more
By Jeffrey Key
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
I appreciate those who have
supported the Oregon Paleo Lands
Institute (paleolands.org) over the
last few years. Our six active vol-
unteers and one part-time paid
staff person continue to provide
information to thousands of visi-
tors and educational programs to
hundreds of students.
At our center in Fossil, and on
our website, information on geo-
logic resources and local com-
munity visitor services have been
available 24 hours a day 365 days
a year. Despite only having staff
resources to open the center’s
door for up to three days a week,
in 2016, we continue to provide
important services. We want to do
more.
As part of our Center Sustain-
ability Project, we have partnered
with Bonneville Environmental
Foundation (b-e-f.org) and are
moving forward to install a solar
photovoltaic system on the cen-
ter in Fossil. This project will re-
duce our monthly utility cost for
OPLI by producing more elec-
tricity than it uses. The project
is also being designed to provide
an emergency electrical source
for the community should PUD
electricity not be available. An in-
formational kiosk will be on site
to show visitors how our system
works. An accompanying edu-
cation program will be available
to local educators that will in-
clude workshops and curriculum
materials.
The board is recruiting for
additional volunteers to help us
move toward achieving our mis-
sion and expand our services.
We believe strongly that the
center should be open at least five
days a week during the peak visi-
tor season from May through Sep-
tember.
The center was built pri-
marily with public money and
should be open more to service
citizens. More support is need-
ed through increased financial
support and additional volunteer
commitment.
When the Oregon Paleo Project
was started in 2002, the thought
was that the institute could pro-
vide information and services that
the National Park Services could
not.
It would be an organization to
support the John Day Basin gate-
way communities by sharing what
services were available where. We
have been doing that, but we want
to do more.
Our group has recently moved
the plesiosaur sculpture off the
floor to increase space available to
accommodate visiting groups and
new exhibits.
Please consider joining us
to work toward fuller utiliza-
tion of this valuable public re-
source and share the stories of
the John Day River Basin. Come
by and visit with our people
and consider helping us build
a stronger community-support-
ed facility dedicated to sharing
the wonders of the John Day
Basin.
Jeffrey Kee, a Grant County
ranch manager, is the board pres-
ident of the Oregon Paleo Lands
Institute, an educational, commu-
nity-based nonprofit in Fossil.
F ARMER ’ S F ATE
Carrots, eggs and dead crabs
By Brianna Walker
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
W HERE TO W RITE
GRANT COUNTY
SALEM
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-
575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax:
541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@centu-
rylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day,
97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-
575-1721. Email: cityjd@centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax:
541-421-3075. Email: info@cityofl ong-
creek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monument
97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-2025.
Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax:
541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website: www.
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State Capitol,
Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180.
Website: www. leg.state.or.us (includes
Oregon Constitution and Oregon Revised
Statutes).
• State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario (Dis-
trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900
Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone:
503-986-1460. Email: rep.cliffbentz@state.
or.us. Website: www.leg.state.or.us/bentz/
home.htm.
• State Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R — (District
30) Room S-223, State Capitol, Salem
97310. Phone: 503-986-1950. Email: sen.
tedferrioli@state.or.us. Email: TFER2@aol.
com. Phone: 541-490-6528. Website: www.
leg.state.or.us/ferrioli.
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol or
messages for legislators) — 800-332-2313.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
All things are possible with cof-
fee and cowboy boots — at least
that’s what I told myself as I threw
a bag full of toys and snacks into
the swather for the kids. Swathing
has got to be one of my favorite
jobs. I think the only task I enjoy
more is driving forklift.
Things were going smoothly.
The kids were happily entertained,
there was an enjoyable program on
the radio and there were minimal
gopher mounds in the field I was
cutting. In that moment, life was
perfect.
Then a funny thing happened.
Bang! The platform to the right
of the cab appeared to break. I
stopped, but other than having
fallen a few inches, it looked OK.
Odd, but nothing too serious. A
few more rounds and I noticed it
had fallen even farther and was
now starting to rub on the inside
of the tire. I stopped — time to call
in help.
Ten minutes later my husband
looked miserable as we stared at
a broken drive hub. The platform
hadn’t moved at all. It was the
wheel that had tilted sideways — a
long and expensive
fix. I packed up the
toys, coffee ther-
mos and kids, and
we all piled into the
pickup.
My
husband
Brianna
looked dejected.
Walker
This spring had
been so wet it had
been nearly impossible to get into
the fields — and now that we were
in, we were broke down. Some-
times farming is like playing five-
card poker with four cards.
As we were driving home, my
husband started listing all the
things that were broke or in dire
need of attention. It reminded me
of a story my grandmother used to
tell. “Everyone in every walk of
life faces hardships and adversi-
ty. It’s how we react to them that
changes the outcome,” I told my
husband. “If you were to drop an
egg and a carrot in boiling water,
the egg would toughen up, and the
carrot becomes mushy and gross.”
My husband rolled his eyes,
“What about the crab that just
turns red and dies?”
“Ahhh. You’re ruining the
analogy. There’s no crab. Carrot
or egg. You can only pick between
the two,” I give an exaggerated
sigh.
“OK, I pick the egg,” he smirks
at me, “because then you can have
deviled eggs for lunch!”
Analogies can be cute — but
sometimes boiling water just
brings out the devil in us!
A few hours, several phone
calls and a lighter pocketbook lat-
er we were bringing back a new
swather to finish out the first cut-
ting. I threw back in the bag of
toys and a new thermos of coffee
and climbed into the freshly Ar-
mor All-ed cab. The kids immedi-
ately started pressing handprints
into the shiny glass windshield
while I enjoyed the easy straight
lines that auto-steer provides.
I began thinking about eggs,
carrots and dead crabs, and I real-
ized that my grandmother left out
an integral part of the story: cof-
fee grounds. You don’t have to be
a mushy carrot, a deviled egg or
a dead crab. When faced with ad-
versity, you can smile and use it to
make coffee.
Add cowboy boots, and all
things become possible!
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate for
the Blue Mountain Eagle.
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