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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2019)
A18 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Habitat Continued from Page A1 land to the Tribes, she said. “The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends,” said Derek Johnson, Director of Stewardship. “This is certainly not a journey we walk alone. We’re proud and fortunate to work with many wonderful conservation part- ners, like the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, to protect important habitat. When there is a strong conservation partner to take Capitol Continued from Page A1 Courtney didn’t say out- right that the legislation is done for. But Senate Major- ity Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, did. “These votes are not sud- denly going to turn to yes,” Burdick told reporters Tues- day afternoon. “We are cer- tain of that. I would call it dead.” Over the past few weeks, the vote count in the Senate has been in flux after the leg- islation passed the House. There are 18 Democrats. The bill must get 16 votes to pass. Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, was a solid no. Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, was leaning no, and on Tuesday told the Ore- gon Capital Bureau he would vote against the bill. Sens. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, were heavily courted by both sides. Brad Reed, a spokesman for Renew Oregon, an envi- ronmental group that lob- bied extensively for HB 2020, said both told him they would vote for the bill. As of late last week, Dem- ocrats pushing the bill said they weren’t certain enough votes were there, but they wanted to put it out for a floor vote to see what happened. Courtney, however, is not a fan of voting on bills with- out knowing they will pass. on long-term stewardship of prop- erty, then we work together to put the property in the hands and capa- ble care of that partner. This is best for the future of the land, the water and the partner.” The addition brings the Tribes’ holdings in the Middle Fork area to 3,000 acres. The Tribes have worked for nearly a decade restor- ing a dredge-mined section of the river upstream from the home- stead at their Oxbow Conservation Area. The Tribes are also restor- ing degraded habitat on the Forrest property, about 10 miles upstream from the homestead. Burdick, a “fervent” sup- porter of the bill, said that Tuesday’s announcement wasn’t the end of the cap and trade idea, but there was no path left in the current ses- sion, scheduled to end by Sunday night. Burdick said she wasn’t surprised by Courtney’s comments, but she knows others weren’t aware of his plan. Renew Oregon, a coali- tion of groups advocating for policies to address climate change, had already planned a rally outside the Capitol for Tuesday. Thanks to the fuel from Courtney’s statements, environmental activists were chanting outside by 11:30 a.m. and had quickly crafted signs condemning the Senate president. Sen. Michael Dembrow, a key author of the cap and trade bill, took to the podium, giving a barn-burner speech out of character for the typ- ically reserved Portland Democrat. “It is hard to be green, but it is so important for us to keep pushing and push- ing and pushing, because the people who organized this walkout, who have fled the state, are counting on us just giving up this battle,” Dem- brow said, eliciting boos from the supportive crowd. He said he would con- tinue to fight for the con- cept, as would the Demo- cratic senators with him as he spoke: Shemia Fagan and Kathleen Taylor of Portland, Robert Brunoe, general man- ager of the Tribes’ Branch of Nat- ural Resources, said the transfer was a natural fit as The Nature Conservancy and the Tribes worked together in the area for years. “Our Oxbow and Forrest prop- erties already represent half of the river’s chinook salmon spawning habitat,” Brunoe said. “The Dun- stan adds another 10 percent.” The Tribes will begin work on a management plan for the prop- erty, which should be completed in about 18 months. The land was never dredge-mined, but parts of Wednesday, June 26, 2019 the river were moved when the site was cleared for farming. No major projects are planned, but some of the remaining historic Sumpter Valley Railroad grade is blocking the floodplain, and some rip-rap is made of basalt rock not native to the area. The railroad grade project will need special approval. A house on the preserve is rented out, and the nearby barn has been improved so it can be used for special functions. There are also some historic buildings dating back to the early homestead era. Future funding will be needed for Oregon Capital Bureau/Claire Withycombe Gov. Kate Brown speaks to supporters of House Bill 2020 at a rally outside the Capitol after Senate President Peter Courtney announced the cap and trade climate legislation lacked the votes to pass Tuesday. Floyd Prozanski and James Manning Jr. of Eugene, Sara Gelser of Corvallis, Jeff Golden of Ashland and Rob Wagner of Lake Oswego. “We are looking at a cou- ple of very difficult days ahead of us,” Dembrow said. “And I need to know that everyone who is here around me is committed to this struggle. Are you? Because, speaking for the people who are behind me, we are.” Gov. Kate Brown, emerg- ing from her office after Courtney’s speech, declined to speak with a reporter, power walking toward the rally on the Capitol steps to urge lawmakers to pass the climate bill. “Let me make this per- fectly clear: The Republi- cans are not standing against climate change,” Brown told the crowd. “They’re standing against democracy.” “We need to make sure that the legislative branch operates, and we need to make sure that Republicans come back to do their jobs,” Brown said. She asked the crowd if they had the “passion” and “persistence” needed to pass the bill — cheers. She raised her fist, then turned on her heel and stepped back into the Capitol. Republican senators dis- appeared after talks with Democratic counterparts last Wednesday didn’t produce a deal. Republicans wanted the environmental legislation amended, including stripping out an emergency clause so the matter could be referred to voters through petition. Supporters of HB 2020 say Oregonians voted Demo- crats into office to enact cli- mate change policies. fish monitoring, boundary fenc- ing, weed control and signage for visitors. The BPA, which will provide some funding for the preserve, spends $250-$300 million each year in on-the-ground fish miti- gation projects, including acquir- ing land, restoring streams, water transactions to preserve instream flows, funding fish screens and working with irrigators. Representatives from the Warm Springs Tribes, The Nature Con- servancy and the BPA held a cel- ebratory event at the homestead in June. Opponents of the bill are planning a Thursday morn- ing rally. A spokeswoman for Sen- ate Republicans said Court- ney’s remarks will “ramp up” negotiations between the Senate president and Sen- ate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr., R-Grants Pass. Republicans didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get back to Salem. “This is good news,” Baertschiger said in a state- ment. “However, we are still trying to sort out the pro- cess. The bill itself has been second read and a vote will have to take place. Republi- cans must be assured that the vote or motion will guaran- tee the bill’s complete end. We need to have further con- versations so that the Repub- licans feel comfortable with the process.” Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stay- ton, said Courtney’s announcement was “won- derful,” and he thinks there will be further negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, but he wants more concessions before he’s willing to return. Burdick said the apparent failure of HB 2020 wasn’t a win for Republicans, and their actions have frayed already poor relationships between the parties. “This is not helping any- one in our caucus, it’s not helping anyone in the Leg- islature and it’s not helping anyone in Oregon,” Burdick said. “This is an act of — I don’t know what to call it — I want to call it terrorism. They are not doing their job and it’s fractured the entire institution.” Burdick said Democrats aren’t negotiating on any bills with Republicans at this point. “You cannot negotiate with someone who is not here,” she said. Several Republican sen- ators have fled to Idaho, including Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, who lives near the Idaho state line. Bentz told the Malheur Enterprise Tuesday that he’s not sure how Republicans will proceed after Courtney’s announcement. He was non- committal about returning to Oregon. “I don’t know what it means,” Bentz told the Enterprise. Girod said he and his wife are in Texas, although he declined to say exactly where. Even if Republicans agree to end their boycott, he’s not sure there is time for all of them to return and com- plete the Legislature’s work. Still, Girod added, “I think that we’re a lot closer than we were before the day started.” Baertschiger and Sens. Brian Boquist of Dallas, Bill Hansell of Athena, Dallas Heard of Roseburg, Dennis Linthicum of Klamath Falls, Alan Olsen of Canby, Kim Thatcher of Keizer and Chuck Thomsen of Hood River didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday. MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE...KUBOTA! 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