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News
Blue Mountain Eagle
WOLVES
Continued from Page A1
The Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association said the order
didn’t go far enough.
“As an organization, we
are extremely disappointed
that they are not taking out
the entire pack with all the
depredations that have oc-
curred and all the work that
has been done on the Oregon
wolf plan,” Executive Di-
rector Jerome Rosa said in a
prepared statement. “To not
take the entire pack? This is
code for our ranchers that
cattle will continue to be
killed.”
The association said dry
summer weather caused the
pack’s natural food source –
deer and elk – to move high-
er into the mountains and
made rancher’s cattle “easy
targets.”
Cascadia Wildlands, a
Eugene-based group, said
it is “disgusted” the de-
partment will kill wolves.
In March 2016, the depart-
ment shot four wolves from
the Imnaha Pack; the Harl
Butte pack may include rem-
nants of that pack and other
wolves from the Imnaha and
Snake River wildlife man-
agement units.
“It is becoming pain-
HYDROPONIC
Continued from Page A1
of our dollars right back
into the community, the
city wins — just everyone
wins,” Wyllie said.
Local markets, restau-
rants, schools and the hos-
pital are all potential cus-
tomers, Lieuallen said.
He speculated the
greenhouse could yield
more produce than could
be consumed locally.
Produce grown locally
could have a longer shelf
life and potentially re-
duced cost, encouraging
residents to eat healthier,
Green said.
Two to three jobs could
be created by the facility,
and volunteer labor could
be compensated with pro-
duce.
The facility would
initially use fresh water,
but could be switched to
using reclaimed water
from a possible wastewa-
ter treatment plant pro-
posed for the Innovation
Gateway.
Potential partners for
the venture include Ore-
gon Regional Solutions,
the county and academic
institutions.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
fully obvious from every
experience in Oregon and
Washington that killing
wolves leads to more con-
flict down the line and
does not address the prob-
lem,” Cascadia legal di-
rector Nick Cady said in a
prepared statement. “We
are setting ourselves up for
a perpetual cycle where we
are throwing away pub-
lic dollars and needlessly
killing a still-recovering
species.”
The Portland group Ore-
gon Wild also criticized the
kill order.
“If ODFW kills these
wolves, it will demonstrate
that Oregon has a failed
wildlife agency and a broken
wolf management plan,” Ex-
ecutive Director Sean Ste-
vens said in a prepared state-
ment. “It’s clear now that
Gov. (Kate) Brown needs to
step in and reform this fail-
ing agency so that the public
can trust that its wildlife is
being protected.”
In deciding to kill two
wolves, the department
determined livestock pro-
ducers had taken proper
non-lethal measures to deter
attacks and hadn’t done any-
thing to attract wolves to the
livestock, such as leaving
bone piles or carcasses.
Ranchers, their employ-
ees, a county range rider and
a volunteer provided “daily
human presence” in the area,
ODFW said. One ranch-
er in the area said the pack
frequented an area that put
them in the middle of sev-
eral herds grazing by permit
on public land.
On seven occasions in
June and July, ranchers or
the range rider hazed wolves
that were chasing or were
close to livestock.
They chased wolves
away by yelling, firing a
pistol, shooting at them
and riding a horse to-
ward them, according to
ODFW.
Ranch hands also spent
the night with herds and
kept stock dogs in horse
trailers at night, as wolves
FIRE
“All in all, things are look-
ing pretty good,” she said.
Smoky skies, however,
may linger for another week,
affecting local air quality. The
National Weather Service in
Pendleton has issued another
air quality alert through noon
Saturday for Grant, Umatilla,
Morrow, Union, Wallowa,
Wheeler, Gilliam and Sher-
man counties.
Meteorologist Mike Mur-
phy said a low pressure sys-
tem is expected to move into
the area Saturday, bring-
ing winds out of the west,
which will help to clear out
the haze. Thunderstorms and
lighting may also be in the
forecast, which would likely
mean more fi res given how
hot and dry the forests have
been.
Matt Howard, unit forest-
er for ODF in Wallowa, said
the formula they use to de-
termine how ripe conditions
are for burning — known as
the energy release compo-
nent — is at extreme levels
around the Northeast Oregon
District, thanks to months of
below-average precipitation
and record heat.
“We have transitioned
quickly, and we are now in
a critical period in our sum-
mer for fi re danger,” Howard
said.
Coming off a wet winter
with above-average snow-
pack, Howard said grass-
es were growing taller and
thicker than in previous years
heading into spring. Now,
those same grasses are dry,
cured and ready to burn.
With lightning potentially
on the horizon, Howard urged
people to take care when rec-
reating in the forest to avoid
causing more unnecessary
human fi res and straining
fi refi ghting resources.
“We really don’t want
to be messing with hu-
man-caused fi re when we’ve
got lightning like that coming
in,” he said.
Out of 74 total fi res re-
ported this year by the Blue
Mountain Interagency Dis-
patch Center, 30 have been
human-caused,
burning
1,298 acres.
“They’re taking quite a
few resources to gain the up-
per hand on some of these in-
cidents,” Howard said.
ODF lands are in a regu-
lated use closure, prohibiting
all open fi res except at des-
ignated locations. Proper-
ty owners also cannot use a
Known Oregon wolf packs
Confirmed pack/individual range
Estimated pack/individual range
NOTE: Polygons represent estimated
ranges for known wolf packs with
radio-collared animals.
82
Pendleton
197
Unnamed
Heppner
5
26
Minam
Meacham
97
101
Chesnimnus
Wenaha Shamrock
Snake
Walla Walla
River
N. Emily
395
84
Portland
Salem
(As of Dec. 31, 2016)
OR30
Desolation
22
Mt.
Emily
Catherine
26
84
Harl
Butte
OR29/36
OR37
20
26
126
Bend
Eugene
97
OREGON
20
58
Silver
Lake
OR25
5
101
Rogue
N
Keno (status unknown)
25 miles
199
Medford
5
*At least one breeding pair
southeast of Elgin on private
forestland.
Jamie Knight, spokes-
woman with the Oregon De-
partment of Forestry, said the
Indian Lake Fire is 65 per-
cent contained and burning
on a mix of lands protected
by ODF, the Forest Service
and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
It is not certain whether any
structures were damaged,
Knight said Monday after-
noon. No closures have been
issued for the area.
The Clarks Creek Fire,
meanwhile, is now 80 per-
cent contained. Crews on
both fi res are working to
strengthen lines and mop up
hot spots, Knight said.
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
Continued from Page A1
395
(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
are territorial and might
be drawn to attack dogs.
Some producers changed
grazing practices, such as
bunching cow-calf pairs in
a herd so they could protect
themselves.
They also delayed pasture
rotations to avoid moving
into areas where wolves had
recently been, according to
ODFW.
Producers
removed
potential
wolf
“attrac-
tants” such as injured or
sick cattle, taking them
back to home ranches for
treatment.
A dead bull’s carcass was
removed from an area near
a pond where cattle were
concentrated, according to
ODFW.
The department first re-
ceived a lethal control re-
quest from producers in
October 2016 after a fourth
confirmed
depredation.
ODFW turned it down at the
time because cattle were be-
ing moved out of the grazing
allotments.
This time, cattle are ex-
pected to be grazing on pub-
lic land until October and on
private land until November.
Brown, the ODFW acting
coordinator, said there is a
“substantial risk” livestock
attacks would continue or
escalate.
chainsaw, weld metal or mow
dried grass with power-driven
equipment between the hours
of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
On the Malheur, Umatilla
and Wallowa-Whitman na-
tional forests, chainsaw use is
prohibited at all hours. Under
Phase C public use restric-
tions on the Malheur, camp-
fi res are banned.
On Forest Service and
ODF lands, off-road vehi-
cle travel is not allowed, and
smoking is prohibited in the
woods except in vehicles,
boats or cleared areas.
Howard said it is the pub-
lic’s responsibility to know
what restrictions are in place
within each jurisdiction be-
fore heading out.
For more information,
visit fs.usda.gov/malheur or
bmidc.org.
Rep. Knute Buehler seeks governorship
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
State Rep. Knute Buehler,
R-Bend, has offi cially an-
nounced his plan to run for
governor.
Buehler, an orthopedic sur-
geon who had been rumored to
seek the post in 2018, was fi rst
elected to the Oregon House of
Representatives in 2014.
The Bulletin on Thursday
reported Buehler announced
his candidacy during a meet-
ing with the newspaper’s edi-
torial board Wednesday.
In an offi cial announce-
ment Thursday, Buehler said
that Oregon “needs change —
and I’m ready to lead it.”
He said he intended to pur-
sue public pension reform, “re-
store fi scal sanity to Oregon’s
budget,” and work to boost the
state’s economy by emphasiz-
ing job training and holding
back on “excessive, job-kill-
ing” regulations.
Buehler’s political action
committee has collected more
than $97,000 in campaign
donations this year and spent
about $106,890, as of Thurs-
day morning, according to state
campaign fi nance records.
Buehler grew up in Rose-
burg and attended Oregon
State University. He was a
Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and
earned a medical degree from
Johns Hopkins University.
More than a year before the
November 2018 election, Bue-
hler is the fi rst offi cial contend-
er in the race. The timing of his
announcement in early August
is unusual for a gubernatorial
campaign. Buehler has hired
political strategist Rebecca
Tweed to run his campaign.
Tweed was statewide cam-
paign coordinator for the “No
on Measure 97” coalition. The
coalition’s campaign helped to
defeat the $6.1 billion corpo-
rate sales tax measure in 2016.
In the bid for the GOP nom-
ination, Buehler could face off
with Happy Valley Mayor Lori
Chavez-DeRemer. The Re-
publican mayor opened a Lori
Chavez-DeRemer for Gover-
nor PAC in June to raise mon-
ey for a potential run but has
not offi cially declared.