Outdoors
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Oregon makes case for
prescribed fire smoke
Jes Burns
Dedra Siemon smiles after shooting a .30-06.
Oregon Public Broadcasting
S HOOTING THE B REEZE
G irls with Guns !
By Dale Valade
For the Blue Mountain Eagle
Like it or not, fellas, the number
of women participating in the various
outdoors activities is on the rise. I am
glad to see this taking place, mostly
for selfish reasons. The more people
we encourage and mentor to hunt
and shoot, the more people that will
vote and fight to preserve our rights
to do so for generations to come.
Some may feel that it’s some-
how not a woman’s place to know
how to handle a gun or to engage in
hunting or shooting of any kind. This
couldn’t be further from the truth for
many reasons. Sadly, women as a
group are specifically targeted each
year by criminals. Women are ful-
ly capable of defending themselves
against any deviants if they are prop-
erly equipped and trained. Guns, of
course, are the proper equipment in
a fight for one’s life, virtue, safety or
property. They are an equalizer.
And as far as hunting goes, grow-
ing up in the country, all of us, boys
and girls alike, were taught how to
shoot, hunt and fish. I’ve never felt
belittled or emasculated to be joined
in the field by family members or
friends of the opposite sex. I enjoy
shooting and hunting alongside these
skilled, experienced women. There is
much to be learned from these hunt-
resses. Being more patient with your
shot and lighter on your feet when
stalking come to mind. Hunting itself
is a life skill, and being able to suc-
cessfully provide meat for the table is
something everyone
should learn how to
do regardless of con-
trarian social senti-
ments.
Women can and
do shoot very well,
and they are typical-
Dale
ly much better pupils
Valade
than men. They fol-
low instruction and
take advice much better in my expe-
rience. While women can be biolog-
ically inclined to be more recoil sen-
sitive than men, I know many ladies
that shoot the big stuff too. Every-
thing from 7-mm and .300 magnums
clear up through the various .45- and
.50-caliber shoulder stompers. Deal-
ing with recoil is largely mind over
matter, something anyone can learn
to build up a tolerance for. Having a
big game rifle that fits your physique
does even more to mitigate a lot of
“felt recoil” as well.
Most females I’ve informally
polled about shooting and hunting
don’t get caught up in the stigma of
numbers or bravado like us males.
They don’t feel desiccated by not
carrying a veritable cannon or by re-
fraining from lobbing shots into the
next county. They do typically fo-
cus on what’s most important when
hunting like staying warm and well
hydrated, safe gun handling, making
good shots and treating every game
animal they take as a trophy, regard-
less of antler orientations. Bragging
rights and Boone and Crockett scores
are of much less importance than
putting venison in the freezer for the
women I’ve talked to.
In magazines and on television,
we see an increasing number of fe-
male hosts with their own network
shows and in professional capacities
as competitive shooters or guides on
dangerous game hunts. These lovely
women are just deadly with a rifle
or bow. And what a fulfilling way to
spend time in the outdoors! Ladies,
if you’re curious, look up Eleanor
O’Connor, Salome de Villiers, Eva
Shockey, Julie Golob, Lena Miculek
or Melanie Peterson.
I, for one, welcome these new-
comers and veterans alike. And I’m
not alone, the various manufacturers
have taken note. All manner of new
product lines have been designed
with the features most appealing to
a feminine shootist in mind. Rifles,
bows, camouflage clothing, boots,
headgear and packs are just a few
of the items available that are fit for
Jane Q Hunter.
Don’t miss the chance to expose
more folks to the wonderful tradi-
tions we here in Eastern Oregon hold
so dear. Positive reinforcement and
good experiences afield can impact
lives for generations.
Ladies, if you’re wanting to learn
how, or if you are already hopelessly
hooked like the rest of us, we want
to hear from you! Email us at shoo-
tingthebreezebme@gmail.com and
sound off.
Dale Valade is a local country
gent with a deep love for handload-
ing, hunting and shooting.
A7
Oregon is proposing to change
how it regulates smoke. The idea is
to make it easier to use intentional-
ly set or prescribed fire on public
and private land.
Wildfire smoke has increasing-
ly become a point of contention
in communities across the Pacific
Northwest. For example, Southern
Oregon has experienced the worst
air quality in the state this summer.
There have been around 25 days
when the air quality has reached
unhealthy levels.
It’s broadly accepted that light-
ing prescribed fires in times when
fire danger is low can burn up ex-
cess fuels in the forest and help re-
duce the severity of wildfire — and
it should also help with smoke in
the summer.
The Oregon Department of For-
estry and the Department of En-
vironmental Quality are working
on rule changes that will increase
the number of burn days avail-
able for prescribed fire. Currently
ODF says about 165,000 acres are
burned each year in the state, and
they’d like to get that number up.
The main push is to relax air
quality standards around commu-
nities.
The smoke from prescribed
burns is regulated and currently not
allowed to blow toward most of the
population centers in the state.
The changes would allow limit-
ed amounts of smoke to enter com-
munities.
The 24-hour average smoke lev-
el would have to stay below a cer-
tain level. There would be a 1-hour
smoke limit as well, but commu-
nities with approved public infor-
mation plans could apply for an ex-
emption. The changes are designed
to increase the number of burn days
and should eventually lead to more
annual prescribed fire.
“If we don’t have the ability to
use prescribed fire in and around
communities in specific areas, then
the wildland fire they’re going to
learn to live with would be cata-
strophic,” said Joe Stutler, a natu-
ral resource advisor for Deschutes
County who supports the effort.
“The issue is, ‘How do you like
your smoke?’”
There has been some opposition
to relaxing air quality standards.
The American Lung Association
in Oregon says it can’t support the
proposal.
Lisa Arkin of the environmental
health group Beyond Toxics isn’t
thrilled either. She thinks the rules
are too broad.
“The agencies have failed to
separate out prescribed burning as
part of an ecological and fire pre-
vention tool in fire landscapes as
opposed to increasing the amount
of smoke that’s allowed from slash
burning on corporate timber plan-
tations,” she said.
Slash is the bark and branches
left behind and piled after a logging
or thinning operation. According to
the Oregon Department of Forest-
ry, slash is often removed (through
burning or other means) to reduce
the risk of wildfire and/or prepare
the site for replanting.
Both kinds of burning are con-
sidered prescribed burns under the
state’s Smoke Management Plan.
Even if the rule changes are ap-
proved, it may be a while before
any substantive changes happen in
wildfire season. Public comment
on the proposed changes will be
accepted through Sept. 14. Sepa-
rate decisions by ODF and DEQ
are expected over the next several
months.
Forest Service announces new Pacific Northwest regional forester
Glenn
Casamassa
appointed to
position
By George Plaven
EO Media Group
The U.S. Forest Service
has named a new regional for-
ester for the Pacific Northwest
covering Oregon and Wash-
ington.
Glenn Casamassa, a long-
time Forest Service employee
and former supervisor of the
Arapaho and Roosevelt na-
tional forests and the Pawnee
National Grassland in Colo-
rado, will take over Sept. 17
at the Portland office. He suc-
Glenn Casamassa
ceeds Jim Pena, who retired
July 3.
Casamassa is a 30-year
veteran of the Forest Ser-
vice. As the regional forester,
he will oversee 16 national
forests, two national scenic
areas, the Crooked River Na-
tional Grassland in Oregon
and two national volcanic
monuments.
In a statement released by
the Forest Service, Casamassa
said he is committed to work-
ing with agency employees,
tribes and local communities
to share stewardship of public
lands across the two states.
“Being good neighbors
and setting a standard of ex-
cellence for public and cus-
tomer service are priorities for
the region in working along-
side the people who care for,
value, and depend upon these
lands,” Casamassa said.
Casamassa earned his
bachelor’s degree in for-
est ecology from Utah State
University, and completed
post-graduate work in logging
system engineering at the Or-
egon State University College
of Forestry. He began his ca-
reer as a forestry technician,
working as a seasonal fire-
fighter on the Tonto National
Forest in Arizona.
Casamassa landed his first
permanent job on the Tongass
National Forest in Alaska, and
from there went to work on
the Wasatch-Cache National
Forest in Utah. He has also
served as district ranger of the
Moab and Monticello ranger
districts on the Manti-La Sal
National Forest, and was the
regional environmental coor-
dinator for the Forest Service
Intermountain Region, span-
ning portions of Utah, Col-
orado, Wyoming, Idaho and
Nevada.
Casamassa also worked as
a legislative affairs specialist
at the agency’s Washington,
D.C., headquarters. Forest
Service Interim Chief Vicki
Christiansen said Casamas-
sa has played a leading role
in reforming regulations at
the national level, and brings
with him “tremendous land
management and conserva-
tion leadership experiences.”
Jerome Rosa, executive
director of the Oregon Cattle-
men’s Association, said he is
looking forward to working
with Casamassa to address
outstanding issues — namely
livestock and grazing guide-
lines — in the final draft of
the Blue Mountains Forest
Plan Revision, which sets
goals and desired conditions
for 5.5 million acres in the
Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman
and Malheur national forests
in Eastern Oregon.
“We’re really excited
about the opportunity to work
with him,” Rosa said.
Dianne Guidry, who has
served as the acting regional
forester since Pena retired in
July, will resume her role as
deputy regional forester after
Casamassa arrives.
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
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