Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2017)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 20, 2017 A3 Sawmill operation coming to Ritter Landowners band together to solve juniper problem Blue Mountain Eagle Color Me Free Fun Run and Walk planned Sept. 30 Blue Mountain Eagle Heart of Grant County’s fourth annual Color Me Free Fun Run and Walk to kick off Domestic Vi- olence Awareness Month in October is coming up. Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the event start- ing at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at the John Day Industrial Park. Participants receive a white T-shirt and can walk, run, skip or dance around the mile-long track as many times as they like, visiting color sta- tions where paint throwers add bright colors to the shirts. Registration is $20 per person or $40 per family and is open to all ages. Free hot dogs and water will be available. Proceeds benefit Heart of Grant County, which provides services and support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as educational programs to promote healthy relation- ships and a life free from violence. For more information about the Color Me Free Fun Run and Walk, con- tact Heart of Grant County at 541-575-4335. People in need of assis- tance can seek immediate help through the organi- zation’s 24-hour hotline at 541-620-1342. Contributed photo/Eric Sines Caleb Morris, rancher and Ritter Land Management Team board member, runs the first log through the new mill in Ritter. to economic and environmen- tal problems, and a strong ad- vocate of the emerging juniper milling industry. Sustainable Northwest helped the team tap into the Western Juniper Indus- try Fund, created by the state Legislature to help jump-start the juniper sawmill industry. It provided funding for a fea- sibility study to determine if the idea of a sawmill in Ritter would work. “We knew we had a lot of juniper, but we weren’t sure we had enough to keep a mill going,” said rancher and board member Caleb Morris. “But the study showed there’s at least a 20-year supply here, and more if we expand beyond the Ritter area.” Ritter landowner and board chairwoman Rhonda Kennedy said that in addition to exam- ining the quality and quantity of the juniper supply, the study also looked at the financial fea- sibility of a small sawmill oper- ation in Ritter. “It showed us how this Pizza fundraiser benefits hurricane victims Old West teams up with Figaro’s ro’s. Orders and payment must be placed or dropped off at Old West’s John Day office by 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2. If dropping off at the Prairie City branch, have orders and payment in by 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29. Pizzas will be ready for pick up from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, at Old West’s John Day office. A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS : Did you know there may be VA benefits available for you as a result of your spouses’ military service? See your Grant County Veteran Services Officer today for more information, located at Grant County Court House. Katee Hoffman Call 541-620-8057 for an appointment 06177 Blue Mountain Eagle Old West Federal Cred- it Union is teaming up with Figaro’s Pizza of John Day for a fundraiser benefiting the victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. There will be one size offered, extra large on orig- inal crust, with six different pizzas to choose from. Glu- ten free is available for an extra cost. Prices range from $16-20. For every pizza pur- chased, $5 is donated. Pizzas must be paid for at the time of the order. Order forms can be picked up Old West’s John Day and Prairie City offices and Figa- Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Friday 8am - 5pm Mendy Sharpe FNP Apppointments available Raise a voice of Awareness. Join the Blue Mountain Eagle as we connect with local partners to campaign for Domestic Violence Prevention. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month We will be donating half of all the proceeds to the Heart of Grant County for Domestic Violence Awareness Talk to Kim about pricing and supporting a great cause! Blue Mountain EAGLE www.MyEagleNews.com 06136 Call Kim Today 541-575-0710 kim@bmeagle.com 06162 Eagle file photo From left, Sena Raschio, Sara Burns, Gage Brandon and Reitta Wyllie throw chalk and dance during the Color Me Free Fun Run and Walk at the John Day Industrial Park last year. The event is set for Sept. 30 this year. The Ritter Land Manage- ment Team, a nonprofit group made up of nearly 30 local landowners, recently took de- livery of a portable sawmill they hope will help rid the Rit- ter landscape of unwanted juni- per and provide much-needed jobs. Western juniper, although native to Eastern Oregon, has become invasive and overtaken upwards of 9 million acres of rangelands, using up water in an already dry landscape, ac- cording to a press release from the land management team. Mature trees can consume nearly 30 gallons a day, and crowd out native plants needed by both wildlife and livestock. An Oregon State University study showed that cutting juni- per quickly restores watersheds and improves streamflows, which in turn improves grazing for cattle and habitat for species such as the greater sage grouse and mule deer. When Ritter landowners identified the spread of juniper as one of the greatest threats to the health and productivity of their lands, the group began to wonder if a sawmill might be the answer. “Everyone wants to get rid of juniper, but removal is both expensive and difficult,” said Executive Director Patti Hud- son. “Then once it’s cut and on the ground, what do you do with it?” The group contacted Sus- tainable Northwest, a nonprofit working on balanced solutions could be done and how doing it could benefit the entire com- munity,” she said. Soon after the study was completed, the team had to make a decision. The Western Juniper Fund still had money to help purchase some of the needed equipment for the Rit- ter sawmill, but not enough to do everything, and the program was about to end. Oregon Com- munity Foundation quickly stepped up to help leverage the state funds and meet the match requirement. “We had to act fast to take advantage of these funds while we still could,” said Hudson. “We decided to take a phased approach and purchase the mill and a telehandler to get us start- ed. It wouldn’t have happened without the Oregon Commu- nity Foundation’s commitment to Eastern Oregon, a lot of hard work at the state level and all the help and support Sustain- able Northwest has provided.” The Ritter mill expects one of its major customers to be Sustainable Northwest Wood, a for-profit Portland lumber- yard owned by Sustainable Northwest where juniper sales are growing at 50 percent per year. “We’re looking forward to collaborating with RLMT to sell juniper from the Ritter area. Our customers will enjoy sup- porting the group’s rangeland restoration projects through the purchase of this lumber,” said Ryan Temple, president of Sus- tainable Northwest Wood. “The market is there. We have the juniper and the means to mill it. We’re optimistic we can make this work,” said Hud- son.
