A10
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
WEDNESDAY
August 9, 2017
Swim Team fi nishes second at district meet
Athlete Quentin
Hallgarth wins
Bogart Award
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The John Day Swim Team
had a second-place fi nish at
the July 28-30 District Swim
Meet.
Prineville’s team won the
meet with 778.5 points, John
Day was second with 673
points and Lakeview had
577.5 points for third.
Of the boys teams, John
Day won fi rst place, and the
John Day girls placed third.
“I am so overjoyed at the
way all the kids swam,” said
John Day head coach Sabrina
Howard. “They showed heart
and determination in all their
events.”
Howard became head
coach of the John Day team
Contributed photo/Erin Hodge
John Day Swim Team member Quentin Hallgarth, back
left, competes against teammate Justin Hodge, right,
and other swimmers on July 22 during the home meet at
Gleason Pool.
John Day Swim Team head coach Sabrina Howard
stands with her athletes who won high-point awards
for the season, including, from left, Orion Houck, Quinn
Larson and Quinten Hallgarth, during the team awards
banquet on Monday at the John Day City Park. notforsale
last season, after serving as
assistant coach. Stephanie
LeQueiu returned this sea-
son as Howard’s assistant
coach.
“It’s been another honor
to serve as the head coach for
this team,” Howard said. “I
truly love the sport and go-
John Day City Park.
Among those recognized
were district high-point swim-
mers Orion Houck, Quinn
Larson and Quinten Hall-
garth.
Hallgarth, who swam in
the 13-14 boys division, also
won the Richard G. Bogart
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
ing through this journey ev-
ery summer with these kids. I
hope I leave a positive impact
on their swim team memo-
ries.”
On Monday, July 31, the
local athletes, coaches, board
members, family and friends
met for an awards banquet at
Memorial Award for the high-
est point swimmer for ages 5
to 18. He also won the award
in 2015 when he was 12. The
award started in the ’80s in
memory of a Lakeview swim-
mer who was killed in a car
accident.
Hallgarth said nobody ex-
pected John Day to place so
well at the district meet.
“The reason we did so
good was because of the
coaches,” he said, adding they
pushed the team to do their
best.
One memorable moment
from the district meet for
Hallgarth was racing in the
200-meter freestyle relay.
“We were on the last leg,
and I was only a little bit be-
hind of the other kid, who
was a 17-year-old,” he said.
“I didn’t pass him, but he told
me after the race that I pushed
him a lot.”
Another good memory
was seeing teammate Landyn
Beil win four of his events
in the boys 8 and under divi-
sion.
“I don’t think he was ex-
pecting to do that well,” Hall-
garth said. “The season was
amazing for everyone.”
See full meet results online
at myeaglenews.com.
Trout outlook:
Where to fi nd a good catch
Eagle file photo
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon speaks at a town hall
meeting at Grant Union Jr./Sr. High School in April.
The senator has reintroduced a bill intended to make
recreation on public lands easier.
Wyden revives
outdoor recreation bill
Legislation
to prioritize
recreation
opportunities
By George Plaven
EO Media Group
Eagle file photo
Kayden Moles of John Day catches a trout June 3 at McHaley Pond in Prairie City during the Kids Fishing Derby.
His biggest catch of the day was 15 inches long.
Olive Lake stocked with 700 trophies in July
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
For those on the lookout for trophy
trout, there are plenty of spots to drop a
line in Grant County.
Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife had their most recent fi sh
stocking at Olive Lake.
John Day District Fish Biologist
Brent Smith said repair work de-
layed their stocking schedule there,
and on July 5 there were 1,000 le-
gal rainbow trout and 700 trophies
planted there. Legal-sized fi sh are 8
inches and trophies are 15 inches or
more.
Some of the other lakes, ponds and
reservoirs stocked in the county include:
• Magone Lake: 5,000 fi ngerlings,
1,000 legal, 1,300 trophy
• Holliday Park Pond: 2,000 legal,
100 trophy
• Seventh Street Pond: 1,000 legal,
100 trophy
• Long Creek Ponds: 1,000 legal, 100
trophy
• McHaley Pond: 2,000 legal, 50
trophies planted by the Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs
• Trout Farm Pond: 3,000 legal, 300
trophy
• Cavendar Pond: 100 trophy
• Aldrich Ponds: 750 legal, 20 trophy
Smith said some places, such as
McHaley Pond, may be weeded over with
aquatic vegetation.
He noted that Aldrich Ponds, while off
the beaten path, has improved fi shing op-
portunities.
“We’ve been working on restoration
to deepen it and added habitat to help
fi sh carry over in the summer,” he said.
“We’ve had some good angler success.”
He added they’re trying to acquire
grant funding for restoration projects at
other ponds.
Stocking in areas will happen again in
the fall.
Smith said fi shing for smallmouth bass
on the John Day River is good, and there is
public access between Kimberly and Ser-
vice Creek, and other areas as well, with
spots to fl oat the river.
Phillips Reservoir, near Grant County,
had a whopping 4,000 trophies planted,
2,000 in May and 2,000 in June, as part of
an ODFW Fish Restoration and Enhance-
ment Program to boost rural economies.
Mixed in with the 4,000 big ones are
400 with brightly colored tags.
ODFW is asking anglers who catch a
tagged fi sh to report it, and as an incentive,
a $50 gift card is being offered for 40 of
the tagged fi sh.
The tag program, ODFW says, will
add excitement about fi shing opportu-
nities and help biologists estimate catch
rates and performance of the fi shery.
“The larger the fi sh are grown in the
hatchery, the greater the cost per fi sh,” said
Tim Bailey, ODFW district fi sh biologist
in La Grande, “We want to make sure that
the majority of the trophy trout that are re-
leased into the reservoir actually end up in
the creel of our anglers.”
Anglers who catch a tagged fi sh at
Phillips can report their tagged catch, har-
vested or released, by cutting the tag off at
the base and reporting non-reward tags in
person, by mail, by phone or to the ODFW
website at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/
news/2016/04_april/042516.asp.
Reward tags need to be returned in
person or by mail to ODFW’s East Region
Offi ce, located at 107 20th St., La Grande,
OR 97850.
For more information about fi shing op-
portunities in Grant County, call ODFW at
541-575-1167.
ODFW offers free youth pheasant hunts
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Oregon Department
of Fish & Wildlife is hosting
free pheasant hunts for youth
hunters, ages 17 and under,
around the state during the
month of September.
One of the hunts will be
held in Grant County on Sept.
16-17. The event runs from 7
a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, and
participants meet at Prairie
Wood Products, 457 W. Front
St., Prairie City.
ODFW stocks pheasants
for these special hunts to give
youth a head start on regular
pheasant seasons, which don’t
begin until October. Quail and
dove can also be hunted.
The hunts are free, though
participants do need a valid
hunting license and upland
game bird validation. They
must also have previously
passed hunter education.
“If your child made it
through hunter education but
is still new to the sport, this is
a great way to get them start-
ed,” said James Reed, ODFW
hunter education coordinator.
An adult 21 years or older
must accompany the youth to
supervise, but is not allowed
to hunt. Both hunter and su-
pervisor must wear a hunter
orange hat, eye protection and
a hunter orange vest. Safety
equipment will be provided
by ODFW for anyone who
needs it.
To register, visit odfwcal-
endar.com. Registration can
also be done at a license sales
agent or ODFW offi ce that
sells licenses.
For more information con-
tact the John Day ODFW of-
fi ce at 541-575-1167.
File photo
Tucker Wright, 9 of
Canyon City, had
success at last year’s
youth pheasant hunt,
sponsored by the
Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife.
The event this year is
planned for Sept. 16-17
in Prairie City.
While the issue of debating
health care is causing a sharp
political divide in Congress,
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or-
egon) took time recently to
highlight what he described
as the right way of advancing
legislation.
During a conference call
with reporters, Wyden an-
nounced he is reaching across
the aisle to revive the Recre-
ation Not Red-Tape Act — a
bill that supporters say would
make it easier for people to
enjoy the great outdoors.
Wyden co-sponsored a
version of the bill last year
with fellow Oregon Demo-
crat Rep. Earl Blumenauer
after they made the rounds
visiting each of Oregon’s
“Seven Wonders.” This year,
Wyden has reintroduced the
bill alongside Rep. Rob Bish-
op (R-Utah), chairman of the
House Natural Resources
Committee.
The focus of the bill is to
get more people outside en-
joying national lands, Wyden
said, by expediting the per-
mit process for outfi tters and
directing federal agencies to
prioritize recreation when
making land and water man-
agement decisions.
“A number of key laws
really stem from yesteryear,”
Wyden said. “To a great ex-
tent, I think this is really trying
to come up with some policies
that modernize the challenges
of outdoor industries.”
To illustrate his point,
Wyden mentioned river
guides who need to obtain
multiple permits from mul-
tiple different agencies for
trips that cross jurisdictions.
The Recreation Not Red-Tape
Act would require the Forest
Service and Bureau of Land
Management to review their
permitting processes, shorten
processing times and work
with states so visitors can buy
a state and federal pass all in
one transaction.
The bill also directs agen-
cies like the Army Corps of
Engineers, Bureau of Rec-
lamation and Department of
Transportation to make out-
door recreation a priority for
the fi rst time, and holds land
managers accountable for
achieving recreation goals.
According to the Outdoor
Industry Association, outdoor
recreation generates $887 bil-
lion in annual spending and
7.6 million jobs across the
country. Yet Wyden said he
has heard concerns from with-
in rural communities that out-
dated laws are holding back
these opportunities.
“Some of the concerns
I’ve heard just sounded like
bureaucratic water torture,”
he said.
Other provisions in the bill
would extend to the U.S. mil-
itary, requiring all branches
to include information about
outdoor recreation as part of
the basic services they pro-
vide to veterans.
As for maintaining public
lands, the bill establishes a
pilot program for interagency
trail management while also
creating a system of Nation-
al Recreation Areas, which
would be managed to uniform
guidelines.
Wyden said parts of the
bill have been modifi ed in this
latest version, but still main-
tains the same intent while
garnering greater bipartisan
support with the help of Rep.
Bishop.
“Cumbersome permitting
processes and other bureau-
cratic roadblocks have sig-
nifi cantly undermined access
to recreational opportuni-
ties for lands that should be
available for all Americans
to enjoy,” Bishop said in a
statement. “This bipartisan
bill cuts through that red-tape
and ensures federal land man-
agers are focused on their role
in providing the public with
high-quality outdoor experi-
ences.”
A number of outdoor rec-
reation groups have come out
in favor of the bill, including
the Association of Northwest
Steelheaders, International
Mountain Biking Association,
Trout Unlimited, the Ameri-
can Alpine Club and Ameri-
can Canoe Association.