A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Delisting
gray wolf
long overdue
L
et’s take stock of the
progress of the gray
wolf’s recovery in
the Lower 48 states, shall
we?
As it currently stands,
upwards of 6,000 gray
wolves have taken up res-
idence in states ranging
from California, Oregon
and Washington state on
the West Coast across the
northern continental U.S. to
Michigan. That’s in addi-
tion to about 55,000 wolves
that live across the border in
Canada.
In every state, the popu-
lation estimates are just that:
Wildlife managers offer only
a minimum population esti-
mate because they don’t
really know where all of the
wolves are. They are pop-
ping up all over the place.
In Oregon and Washing-
ton, they are now in the Cas-
cade Range and heading far-
ther west and south.
OR-7, the wolf that took
off from northeastern Ore-
gon and headed down to
California before returning
to southern Oregon, found
a female mate that wildlife
managers didn’t even know
about and formed a new
pack.
Many of those wolves are
descendants of 66 from Can-
ada that were reintroduced
in Yellowstone National
Park and central Idaho in the
1990s. Others followed their
noses into the U.S. from
Canada.
The wolves have caused
massive problems for ranch-
ers, who have lost sheep,
cattle and working dogs to
the predators while wild-
life managers were forced
to stand by. Because the
wolves are protected, only
after livestock was repeat-
edly attacked were man-
agers able to do anything
other than tell ranchers about
non-lethal tactics such as
fencing with fl ags on it and
hiring range riders.
If anyone has needed pro-
tection, it’s been ranchers.
One thing is clear: The
wolf population is thriv-
ing in the U.S. — and it will
continue to thrive.
Under the federal Endan-
gered Species Act, wolves
are treated as though they
are frail little creatures that
cannot survive without
protection.
In point of fact, the
wolves are multiplying and
spreading across the coun-
tryside in all directions. At
this point, they need no pro-
tection from anyone.
The U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service has now pro-
posed taking the gray wolf
off the endangered species
list.
All we can say is it’s
about time. Wolves should
be managed the way any
other game animal is
managed.
The reintroduction of gray
wolves can be described
as many things, but it has
accomplished its goals.
Wolves are back. They are
thriving. They need no spe-
cial protections.
Those are the facts. It’s
long past time to take them
off the endangered species
list.
GUEST COMMENT
Memorial Day reminds us of ideals
E
very year, I’m struck by
the powerful — and often,
opposing — emotions that
Memorial Day stirs.
We celebrate our freedoms, and
yet, we mourn the cost that they
required. We look ahead to a bright
future, while we remember the tri-
als and challenges of the past. We
honor those who served, but we
grieve their loss.
Celebration, and sadness. Grati-
tude, and remorse. Hope, and help-
lessness. Memorial Day is unique
in evoking such a broad spectrum
of feeling, because it is this holi-
day that speaks most keenly to our
highest ideals, as well as the steep
price we are willing to pay for
them.
Sadly, it is also a day that, for
many, has lost its signifi cance.
President George W. Bush would
often tell the story of asking
schoolchildren what the meaning
of Memorial Day is, only to have
them respond, “That’s the day the
pool opens!”
For many Oregonians, Memo-
rial Day is primarily the unoffi cial
start of the summer recreation sea-
son, a chance to enjoy our amaz-
ing forests and beaches, rivers and
lakes and mountain trails.
We should enjoy all that our
state has to offer, but we should
also keep in mind the words
of another president, John F.
Kennedy: “A nation reveals
itself not only by the citizens
it produces but also by the cit-
izens it honors, the citizens it
remembers.”
We must remember the fallen
because the courage, the strength,
the selfl essness and the sacrifi ce
of each one of these brave war-
riors is the ideal to which we all
Not everyone
hates snakes
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax:
541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509.
Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@
centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John
Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028.
Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@
centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601.
Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@
cityofl ongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426,
Monument 97864. Phone
and fax: 541-934-2025. Email:
cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688.
Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@
ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website:
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State
Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503)
986-1180. Website: leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol
or messages for legislators) — 800-
332-2313.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
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ones I have ever found and photo-
graphed were in east Texas.
I have to say that I probably hav-
en’t found 500 rattlesnakes in my life,
so I admire Steinbruck’s ability to
fi nd them. I agree that it makes sense
to control rattlesnakes in your home
environment. But in their natural
home environment be alert, and if you
fear rattlesnakes, don’t go where they
live and don’t live where they belong.
All living things interact to create a
balance in nature — with the possible
exception of man. All snakes, includ-
ing rattlers, are a part of that balance.
Terry Steele
Ritter
Grant County
offi cers go above
and beyond
To the Editor:
You know that terrible sinking in
your stomach when you lose your
wallet? I had driven from Sisters
to an Episcopal clergy gathering in
Cove on May 6. Unpacking the car,
where was my backpack? My iPad?
My wallet? I remembered that beauti-
ful little park with restrooms in Day-
ville. That’s where it must be. If it
still was. No point driving back to
look. That was three hours ago.
But — it was Dayville. Cen-
tral Oregon. Maybe we aren’t all
strangers who do not care. Or even
if strangers, we can care about each
other anyway. I’d turn in a lost wallet.
Wouldn’t you?
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gave their lives on the foreign soils
of Europe, the black sands of the
South Pacifi c, the frozen reaches of
Korea, in the sweltering jungles of
Vietnam, the scorching deserts of
Afghanistan and Iraq and in many
other places across the globe.
The United States lost more
than 400,000 of its sons and
daughters in World War II — 2,826
from Oregon. In Korea, 54,246
American service members gave
their lives (287 Oregonians), and
in Vietnam, 58,209 (791 from our
state).
In Iraq and Afghanistan, we lost
6,713 American service members
— 142 Oregonians. Each one of
their names is etched on slabs of
granite that form the heart of the
Afghan/Iraqi Freedom Memorial,
located just a few steps from the
Oregon Department of Veterans’
Affairs offi ce building. Each one of
their names is read aloud each year
at our Memorial Day ceremony, as
we seek to honor and remember
their sacrifi ce.
Each one represents the loss
of a bright and shining light in
the lives of their families, a pain
that they feel each and every day
— not just on Memorial Day. We
remember and honor their sac-
rifi ce as well. They, too, paid a
great price for the freedoms we
now enjoy.
On behalf of the Oregon
Department of Veterans’ Affairs,
I urge all Oregonians to take a
moment this Memorial Day, to
remember our fallen heroes who
gave their lives in service to our
nation, and say, “Thank you.”
Kelly Fitzpatrick is a U.S. Army
veteran and the director of the
Oregon Department of Veterans’
Affairs.
should aspire.
On this Memo-
rial Day, I think
of Bob Maxwell,
a great American
and Oregonian
whom we lost ear-
Kelly
lier this month.
Fitzpatrick
Bob was a World
War II combat
soldier, and until his death, the
only Medal of Honor recipient
still living in our state. While he
did not die fi ghting for our coun-
try, he fearlessly faced death in a
way few Americans ever have.
He earned that medal — the
U.S. military’s highest decora-
tion for valor — for the courage
he showed during a battle in Sep-
tember 1944, when a live Ger-
man hand grenade was tossed in
the midst of his squad. Without a
second thought, he hurled himself
upon it, shielding his comrades
from the blast with nothing but a
blanket and his unprotected body.
Maxwell cheated death that
day, though he carried shrapnel in
his body for the rest of his life. It
was a life he dedicated in humble
service to the veteran community,
and to the memories of his brothers
in arms, who never got the chance
to come home.
We must never forget the true
cost of war. It is a price paid not
in dollars and cents, but with
the blood of our heroes. They
were nothing less than the best
America had to offer, those who
answered the call when their
nation needed them, who paid
the ultimate price to protect us
and our way of life.
The stories of their sacrifi ce
are forever woven into the fabric
of our nation and its history. They
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor:
I read the article, “Spring is rat-
tlesnake hunting time” in the Eagle
(May 8). I am troubled by the thought
of Bob Steinbruck fi nding 500 snakes
in the past year. I want to know: Is
he implying that he killed all those
snakes? He describes the differ-
ent ways of killing snakes. His treat-
ment of rattlesnakes is the very mind-
set that has led to man-caused species
extinctions. I grew up here in Grant
County killing every rattlesnake I saw;
however, after being bitten by one, I
became intensely interested in them
and photographed them from here to
Latin America. I do not expect every-
one to have the deep interest in rat-
tlesnakes that I have, but at the very
least, no one should be ignorant about
their valid role in nature.
Steinbruck did not have some facts
straight. It was stated that snakes shed
their skins once a year including the
rattle. Both points are wrong. Snakes
can shed as many as four times a year
depending upon the length of the sea-
son, and the age and growth rate of the
specimen. The rattles do not shed, but
with each shedding the snake gains
a new segment of rattle. He goes on
to say that the western diamondback
rattlesnake is found in Arizona and
Texas. That is so, but it is found in at
least fi ve more states. He says the tim-
ber rattlesnake is only found east of
the Mississippi. They occur farther
west of the Mississippi, for the only
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Subscriptions must be paid
prior to delivery
Thoughts of the
upcoming primary
To the Editor:
I don’t know why, but as I read
the great piece in the paper about the
savagery of a wolf pack coming after
some lone critter, the thought of the
upcoming primary kept coming to
mind.
Richie Colbeth
John Day
Periodicals Postage Paid
at John Day and additional
mailing offi ces.
POSTMASTER
send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
Phone: 541-575-0710
I called Grant County Sheriff’s
Offi ce. “I think I left my backpack in
the restroom.” And the answer, “We
have a backpack.”
Oregon State Police Sgt. Tom
Hutchison later confi rmed it was
mine. I had spent a couple hours
before reaching him refi guring my
side trip to Yakima to divert through
Dayville and how much I needed to
borrow to fi ll my tank. But no, he had
spent that time fi guring out how to
deliver it.
In the end, he took it to Baker
City. From there Trooper McCray
took it to Ascension Camp in Cove.
The clergy interrupted our meeting
to thank Trooper McCray and all his
colleagues for their service.
I take this opportunity to com-
mend Sgt. Hutchison, Trooper
McCray, the Pecks who found the
backpack and all of us who still
remember that we are connected to
one another.
The Rev. Willa M. Goodfellow
Sisters
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