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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2018)
LADY PROS ADVANCE TO STATE RANKED FIRST – PAGE A10 The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W edNesday , o ctober 24, 2018 • N o . 43 • 18 P ages • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com ‘S URVIVING ON FAITH’ Couple brings adopted daughter home after lengthy stay overseas By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle A birthday celebration for 4-year-old Emmanuella “Wella” Wilson Oct. 14 in- cluded a small gathering of grateful family members. James and Kaylee Wilson, now resi- dents of John Day, flew to Accra, Ghana, in November 2016 to adopt Wella. It was a process that took much lon- ger than expected. When the Eagle last reported on the family in February, they were still waiting for their daughter’s immigration documents to be approved. The trio finally landed on U.S. soil on June 23 this year, a total of 590 days since first arriving in the African country. “It’s fun to see her blossom and thrive,” Kaylee said of Wella. When James and Kaylee first met their daughter, she was a malnourished 2-year-old, stricken with malaria, the parents said. In order to adopt, the couple was required to take 12 hours of parent- ing classes and read several books with topics that included adopting children with attachment issues. “Those were things we prepared for, which we didn’t have to deal with,” James said, adding their daughter bond- ed well with them. Wella is now thousands of miles away from her birth country, but Kaylee said, “In her world, nothing has changed — she’s with mommy and daddy.” Although their daughter has adapt- ed well to her new surroundings, James and Kaylee said they had some adjusting to do. See FAITH, Page A18 Wella Wilson blows kisses. Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter James and Kaylee Wilson have enjoyed adjusting to life back in the U.S. after a long process adopting their daughter Wella, 4, in Ghana. Forest Plan objections could swamp reviewers More than 300 objections received By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision for the Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national for- ests drew 341 objections before the filing period ended Aug. 28. Many issues are shared by objec- tors, including the size of the allow- able timber harvest, grazing restric- tions and combining three forests into one document. Published June 29, the plan is supported by a final environmen- tal impact statement (FEIS), draft record of decision and other docu- ments. According to the manage- ment planning rule adopted by the Forest Service in 2012, a reviewing officer typically has 90 days to re- solve objections. Review process The first step is to determine eli- gibility of objectors and their objec- tions. Objectors must submit sub- stantive formal comments and link previous comments with objection issues, with exception of new in- formation that arose after the 2014 comment period ended, according to Forest Service literature. Peter Fargo, acting team leader and public affairs officer for the Blue Mountains Forest Plan, told the Ea- gle how a reviewing team typically addresses a large number of objec- tions, many of which are lengthy and complex. The reviewing team will look for similar issues and place them into categories that will be used to inform agendas for resolution meetings, he said. “The review team often finds that it needs more than 90 days to work through the objection-resolution process, and that not all issues can be resolved,” Fargo said. “If more than 90 days are necessary for the resolu- tion process, objectors and interested persons will be notified.” All objectors and interested per- sons will be invited to resolution meetings, and public notices for meetings will be placed in local newspapers, Fargo said. The meet- ings will be open to the public as observers only. The reviewing officer will decide how many resolution meetings will be held as well as the meeting format and agenda, Fargo said. Resolution meetings will likely combine simi- lar, overarching issues on which the reviewing officer would like further dialogue, he said. “Although not all issues can be resolved, the goal of the resolution See FOREST, Page A18 Predator program passes one-year mark Funding needed to make up budget shortfall By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Richard Hanners USDA Wildlife Services District Supervisor Patrick Smith and Animal Damage Control Officer Nick Lulay describe progress and needs for the county’s predator control program at the Grant County Court’s Sept. 26 meeting. Federal animal damage control agents spent more than 1,000 hours in Grant County over the past year, controlling a wide range of predators and other animals. The work primarily took place on 75,155 acres of pri- vate land belonging to 25 par- ticipating landowners, accord- ing to a data report generated by USDA Wildlife Services. Nick Lulay provided nearly all the predator control work. Traps, snares and firearms were used to kill 185 animals over the past year, including six badgers, 25 chipmunks, 114 coyotes, two marmots, four skunks, two rock doves and 32 common ravens. In addition, 10 inactive barn swallow and cliff swallow nests were removed with hand tools. The actions eliminated damage threats to alfalfa and other hayfields, pasture land, calves, goats and pets, the re- port stated. Ravens posed a threat to calves, starlings threatened pets and ground squirrels and badgers caused damage to hay- fields and pasture land, accord- ing to the report. When asked about wolves, USDA Wildlife Services Dis- trict Supervisor Pat Smith told the Grant County Court Sept. 26 that wolves were handled by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. His agency couldn’t touch wolves without going through an environmen- tal assessment process, he said. Funding shortfall Grant County had no fed- eral animal damage control officer for nearly two decades when successful lobbying by See PROGRAM, Page A18
