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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2017)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Land and water recreation growing Wednesday, November 8, 2017 A9 FOREST Continued from Page A1 Rager Ranger Station closure discussed By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle File photo/Kevin Sperl Stacy Forson is the supervisor of the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland. Commissioner Boyd Britton emphasized that he had “strong concerns” about the Western Rivers Conser- vancy acquiring this private land. He said he had a “per- sonal vendetta” against the group and was happy to see the federal government take it from them. Teitzel also reported on several improvement proj- ects, including the water- line extension to the BLM’s Dayville fire guard station, rehabilitation of Mallo- ry Creek Road to improve water quality and protect spawning steelhead in the North Fork of the John Day River, reconstruction of 30 miles of fencing burned in the 2014 South Fork Com- plex Fire and reseeding of up to 3,000 acres in the Murderers Creek drainage to improve ecological con- ditions and wildlife habitat. The Eastern Oregon Trails Alliance has also ap- proached the BLM about developing a trail system on Little Canyon Mountain, Teitzel said. This follows a trend of increasing recre- ational use on the district. Several groups have ex- pressed interest in the Rager Ranger Station near Pauli- na, Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland Supervisor Stac- ey Forson said. The Forest Service closed the station in 2012, citing a $4 million maintenance backlog, and announced plans to decom- mission 33 structures at the site, leaving three historic buildings built by the Ci- vilian Conservation Corps. The groups hope to main- tain the facilities for public use. “Can’t they be put up for sale?” Britton asked. “It’d be a shame to spend money to keep them up and then tear them down.” Forson noted that sell- ing the facilities to a pri- vate party would create an inholding in the national forest. She said the Forest Ser- vice planned to enlist a vol- unteer site steward to watch over the facility as it did this past summer. A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS : The first installment of the 2017-18 property tax is due Wednesday, November 15th, 2017 by 5:00 p.m. Payments may be made at the Tax Collector’s Office at the Grant County Courthouse in Canyon City, or the payment may be mailed and postmarked no later than November 15th, 2017. Please remember that delinquent taxes accrue interest at the rate of 16% per year. If you have any questions, please call the tax office at 575-0107 or 575-0189. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden speaks during a Hermiston Rotary luncheon in September in Hermiston. bill as a way to maximize the interests of logging companies while severely undermining en- vironmental review laws. Andy Kerr, former conservation di- rector for Oregon Wild, has written the bill would essen- tially gut the National Environ- mental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and Equal Access to Justice Act to advance the interests of logging. Walden said the proposal now heads to the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote out of the House. Unlike the pre- vious four years, he said the administration in Washington, D.C., seems more receptive to advancing the bill to the Presi- dent’s desk. “I think we have a good opportunity this time,” he said. “This time, we’re not fighting the head winds of an administration that wasn’t supportive. That changes the dynamics.” W E T HA N K O U R V E T E R A N S O F T H E PA ST , P R E S E N T A N D F UT U R E F O R T H E I R S E RV I C E . 21226 Land management, wild- fires and new recreational uses were major topics in the annual Ochoco National Forest and Bureau of Land Management updates pre- sented at the Oct. 25 Grant County Court meeting. BLM Prineville District Manager Dennis Teitzel, who became the district manager this past June, re- ported that nearly 6,500 boaters entered the John Day River this year, with the BLM selling 1,137 permits. That included 447 launched from Clarno or Thirtymile and 295 from Muleshoe or Service Creek. “The BLM collected just over $21,000 in fees that will continue to be put back onto the John Day River for maintenance and patrols,” he said. County Judge Scott My- ers noted that ODFW lifted the limits on smallmouth bass fishing in the John Day River this year, which should generate even more boating interest. The BLM is considering acquiring up to 11,500 acres of private land adjacent to the John Day River and Thirtymile Creek, Teitzel said. The acquisition would provide public access to the John Day Wild and Scenic River, the Armstrong Can- yon Area of Environmental Critical Concern, the Lower John Day Special Recre- ation Management Area and the Thirtymile and North Pole Ridge Wilderness Study Areas. administered by the Feder- al Emergency Management Agency — to cover firefight- ing costs. “That way, work can contin- ue on the ground that’s so nec- essary,” Walden said. The federal government spent a record $2.5 billion fighting wildfires in 2017, in- cluding 678,000 acres burned in Oregon. By eliminating fire borrowing, Walden said more work can be done to lower the size and intensity of fires mov- ing forward. The bill itself features sev- eral provisions to increase the pace and scale of forest resto- ration, Walden said. For exam- ple, thinning projects as large as 10,000 acres could qualify for a categorical exclusion, fast-track- ing environmental review. That limit increases to 30,000 acres if the project is developed by a collaborative group. The bill also requires the Secretary of Agriculture to create a pilot program for re- solving lawsuits against forest management projects through arbitration, as opposed to going to court. Plaintiffs would not be able to recover their attorney fees in such cases under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Finally in Eastern Oregon, the bill lifts the prohibition on logging trees more than 21 inches in diameter, a rule that county officials argue “has no basis in science.” Opponents of the Resilient Federal Forests Act criticize the MICHAEL RUSHTON, DPM PODIATRIC PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON 2830 10TH ST., BAKER CITY, OR 541-524-0122 PO Box 185 Canyon City, OR 97820 Did you know a service-connected disabled veteran is entitled to FREE use of Oregon State Parks? See your Grant County Veteran Services Officer today for more information, Katee located at Grant County Courthouse. Hoffman Call 541-620-8057 for an appointment 18301 Let our family of Pharmacists Remembering those who have served and paid for our freedom this Veterans Day serve you! Give us a call today 541-676-9158 - Heppner 541-384-2801 - Condon We welcome the opportunity to visit with you about our services! 400 Patterson Bridge Road John Day, OR 97845 541-575-0161 www.otecc.com Heppner & & Condon Heppner Condon Jeanette Hueckman, Agent 101 W. Main St., John Day 541-575-2073 541-523-6377 541-963-6577 541-573-6377 541-576-2160 18304
