A18
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Bulls
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Wolves
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State wolf plan
The Oregon Fish and
Wildlife
Commission
approved an updated Ore-
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MO
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For
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395
MALHEUR
NATIONAL
FOREST
st
look like they simply fell
over and died.
“Maybe they were poi-
soned,” said Jenkins. But
if they were, it could not
have happened by natural
causes. Jenkins said Tygh
Campbell, the property
owner’s son, along with
Clint Weaver, the cow boss,
scoured the property look-
ing for poisonous plants
but found none.
Jenkins said a nec-
ropsy to fi nd out the cause
of death was not possible
because, when the bulls
were found, they were
already past the 24-hour
window when a veteri-
nary inspection would have
been effective.
Marshall said the bulls
had probably been dead
for two to three days when
they were found.
The bulls had lived on
a 140,000-acre ranch and
resort in Seneca, south of
John Day. Dr. Scott Camp-
bell, a veterinarian, owns
the ranch.
Marshall said, even
though livestock workers
are on the property with
the cattle every day, it’s a
rough, forested terrain so
it’s understandable that the
bulls weren’t found for a
few days.
“People always seem
surprised that a cattle
rancher wouldn’t notice
some of his animals are
dead right away,” said
Jerome Rosa, executive
director of the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association.
“What they don’t realize is
the enormity of these prop-
erties. Unless you’re in a
plane or helicopter, you
can’t see everything that’s
happening.”
Even stranger than the
deaths, said Jenkins, are
the mutilations. Only a few
pieces of the body were
removed on each animal —
the anus, scrotum, testicles
and tongues. One bull was
also missing its penis and
the tip of one ear.
According to Rosa of
the OCA, it’s not unusual
to fi nd small body parts
missing in natural preda-
tory cases. When coyotes
and wolves fi nd a carcass,
Rosa said, they often go
for the easy pickings fi rst,
chewing off parts like tes-
ticles and tongues.
Plan
Area in
detail
R o ad
Fo r e s
t
15
Roa d 16
Seneca
MALHEUR
NATIONAL
FOREST
Silvies
Valley
Ranch
Silvies
395
2 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
What’s strange about
this case is that the areas
with missing parts don’t
appear to have been
chewed. Deputy Jen-
kins said the wounds,
when examined, appeared
clean-cut.
“The parts were defi -
nitely cut out with a sharp
blade,” he said. “There
weren’t any signs of pred-
atory eating or chewing.
They were cut out by at
least one person.”
The Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association has offered a
reward of up to $1,000 to
anyone who can provide
information leading to the
arrest and conviction of
whomever is responsible.
A separate $25,000 reward
is also being offered by an
interested party.
“Whenever there’s a
case like this, all the con-
spiracy theorists come
out,” said Jenkins. “Some
say it was done by aliens.
Others say it’s a cult doing
a satanic practice. Some
even think it’s the govern-
ment. It’s a little ridiculous.
I’m confi dent some person
or group did this, and we’re
trying to get to the bottom
of it.”
Those with information
about the case, said Jen-
kins, should call the Har-
ney County Dispatch Cen-
ter at 541-573-6156.
Marshall advises ranch-
ers and other people to be
careful.
“This is a very danger-
ous situation. I want people
to be extra careful to pro-
tect themselves and their
livestock. It makes me sick
that our gentle bulls were
killed and mutilated in this
way.”
gon Wolf Conservation
and Management Plan on
June 7. The plan was fi rst
adopted in 2005 and was
updated in 2010. The plan’s
goal remains the same: “To
ensure the conservation of
gray wolves as required by
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range for elk, mule deer and
bighorn sheep, as well as 10
BLM grazing allotments and
fi ve Forest Service grazing
allotments.
The NEPA process for the
proposed plan will consist
of two environmental analy-
ses, the scoping document
states. Phase 1 will estab-
lish an appropriate manage-
ment level, while decisions
on how to achieve that goal
will be established in Phase
2.
Comments on the scop-
ing document for the pro-
posed management area
plan can be sent to Blue
Mountain District Ranger
Bob Foxworth at the Mal-
heur National Forest Supervi-
sor’s Offi ce building in John
Day. The deadline is Aug. 17.
Herd population
The Murderers Creek
herd originated with horses
that escaped Native Amer-
ican herds and horses that
escaped or were set loose
by soldiers and settlers. Five
stallions from two BLM
herds were introduced to the
area in 1997 to add genetic
variation, but it’s believed
they were not accepted by
wild horses already in the
area.
The wild horses have few
natural predators. Offi cials
have estimated herd popu-
lation growth in the past at
20% per year, but the scop-
ing document puts the fi gure
at 10-15% per year. The goal
has been to reduce the pop-
ulation through “gathers,”
where horses were rounded
up and offered for adoption,
held about every four years.
Population estimates in
the past include about 180
wild horses in 2004, about
430 with a better count in
2005, about 520 in 2008,
about 150-200 in 2009 and
about 200 in 2012. The
scoping document reports
about 228 horses in 2014,
about 264 in 2016 and about
339 in 2018.
The Forest Service and
BLM created a wild horse
plan for the Murderers
Creek area in 1984 with a
limit of 140 horses. A 2007
plan set the population tar-
get at 50-140 horses and
allowed for periodic gathers.
A 2017 Forest Service and
BLM analysis called for a
management level of 50-140
Oregon law while protect-
ing the social and economic
interests of all Oregonians.”
The U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service delisted the gray
wolf from protection under
the Endangered Species Act
in 2011 east of highways
395, 78 and 95. Oregon del-
isted gray wolves in Novem-
ber 2015.
The updated plan includes
new information on status,
population and distribution,
new science related to biol-
ogy and management and
management improvements
based on information gained
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
horses with periodic intro-
duction of young mares for
genetic reasons.
“The analysis determined
that the joint management
area is large enough and
vegetation and topography
diverse enough to provide
suffi cient cover and space
for the wild horses,” the
scoping document states.
The agencies hired con-
tractors in the past to gather
wild horses, using wran-
glers to move horses out of
the steep timbered country
to more open areas lower
down where helicopters
could drive the horses to
corrals. Pilot horses were
used to lead the wild horses
to the corrals, and hay was
used as bait. Gathers in the
Murderers Creek area began
with more aggressive tac-
tics in the 1970s. Horses
were taken to the Burns
BLM facility and offered for
adoption.
About 111 horses were
gathered in February and
March 2004, but the goal was
130-150. About 135 horses
were gathered in December
2007 and January 2008, but
only two horses were gath-
ered in August 2010 when
the goal was 100. Offi cials
said the Murderers Creek
horses were learning how to
avoid being captured. About
60 horses were gathered in
winter 2011, which was con-
sidered a success. A BLM
proposal in 2012 called for
removing about 263 horses
over a 4-5 year period.
Population study
A two-year study funded
by a $55,500 Title III grant
provided the most accurate
population count. The Mur-
derers Creek Wildhorse Edu-
cation Outreach project was
created by Grant County
Judge Dennis Reynolds
and Cindy McArthur, the
range program manager for
the Blue Mountain Ranger
District.
Contractors on horseback
rode the entire 108,000-acre
management area, travel-
ing from pasture to pasture.
About 430 wild horses were
counted in summer 2005.
Wild horses are territorial
and do not jump fences, so
damage to the land mostly
occurred in places where
the horses concentrated, the
study found.
“Cattle are often blamed
for damage done by horses,”
McArthur said at the time.
“A horse can wear down the
over the years. But some
things remain unknown.
“While Oregon’s wolf
population is predicted to
continue to grow and expand
its distribution, it is unclear at
this time what the future pop-
ulation and specifi c distribu-
tion will be,” the plan states.
According to the updated
wolf plan, 134 confi rmed dep-
redation incidents occurred in
Oregon from 2009-2018 with
193 livestock losses, includ-
ing 71 cattle.
“As the Oregon wolf pop-
ulation increased from 2009-
2018, incidents of wolf dep-
Fed up with their cat-
tle being blamed for stream
bank damage they claimed
was caused by elk and wild
horses, Dayville ranchers
Loren and Piper Stout sued
the Forest Service in 2009
claiming the agency violated
the Endangered Species Act
by failing to adequately
manage the wild horse herd.
The Stouts were among
a group of ranchers forced
to stay off their Forest Ser-
vice grazing allotment in the
2008 season after the Ore-
gon Natural Desert Associ-
ation and other environmen-
tal groups won a preliminary
injunction in U.S. District
Court.
During the time their 300
cows couldn’t use the graz-
ing allotment, the Stouts
went to work document-
ing impacts to riparian hab-
itat where no cows were
grazing. They took photo-
graphs of horses standing
in the creek at culverts or
on stream banks and grass
grazed right to the ground.
The Stouts also claimed the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife allowed elk
numbers to triple in the area.
In October 2010, the
Stouts fi led a new complaint
alleging the Forest Service
and BLM’s failure to con-
trol the wild horse popula-
tion resulted in violations to
stream condition standards
set by the National Marine
Fisheries Service to protect
John Day River steelhead.
U.S. District Court Judge
Ancer Haggerty ruled in
March 2011 that the Forest
Service failed to consult with
the National Marine Fish-
eries Service and ordered
the agency to do so. By that
time, the Stouts had reduced
their cow herd to 23 pair.
Haggerty also issued a
ruling on seven Forest Ser-
vice grazing allotments.
Noting that a new biologi-
cal opinion examining pos-
sible impacts on endan-
gered species and critical
habitat would not be com-
pleted in time for the current
grazing season, Haggerty
ruled that the Forest Service
could allow grazing on areas
where mitigation measures
such as fencing had already
been taken in 2010 to keep
cows out of sensitive areas.
In an April 2012 ruling,
Haggerty rejected Stout’s
claim that the Forest Ser-
vice violated laws governing
management of wild horses
and forests in the Murderers
Creek area. Haggerty ruled
that the agency acted within
its discretion by setting the
appropriate
management
level at 100 horses and that
the Forest Service did not
act unlawfully by allowing
the wild horse population
to increase past that level,
given the agency’s budget-
ary constraints and the cost
of horse gathers.
Stout told the Eagle he
was forced to sell his cows
as a result of the federal
allotment closures and the
cost of the lawsuit. He still
runs cows in the Murder-
ers Creek area, but it’s for
the rancher who took over
his allotment. He also notes
that he won the legal battle
by forcing the government to
remove about 400 horses.
redation trended upward,” the
plan states.
Factors that can affect
wolf depredation of livestock
include pack size, livestock
density, pasture size and
remoteness, livestock hus-
bandry methods and abun-
dance of native prey, the
plan states. Cattle depreda-
tions may increase in spring,
when calves are small, and
then peak in the fall, when
wolf pups are larger and
pack cohesion and energy
demands are higher.
Ranchers are not required
to use nonlethal methods to
prevent wolf depredations,
but nonlethal methods must
be tried, documented and
deemed ineffective before
ODFW will authorize lethal
means.
Nonlethal
deterrents
include removing attrac-
tants like carcasses, fenc-
ing when possible, chang-
ing locations, changing herd
structure, delayed turn out,
evening feeding, changes to
calving, low-stress livestock
handling and maintaining a
human presence — includ-
ing use of range riders, hazers
and herders.
land quite a bit. They’re real
big competition for the cat-
tle, elk and deer.”
A proposal to euthanize
wild horses to reduce the
population was made by
the BLM in July 2008. The
agency was facing a bud-
get shortfall of more than
$3 million at the time. Low
adoption rates had created a
backlog, and about 60% of
the $37 million wild horse
budget went to long-term
holding.
Less than 2,000 of the
5,000 horses the Burns BLM
offi ce hoped to see adopted
found new homes. Oppo-
nents to euthanizing said
the proposal was motivated
by budgetary reasons. In the
meantime, the BLM said it
would postpone gathers.
A proposal to use a birth
control chemical called PZP
was discussed in 2010. The
method was not considered
effective because it needed
to be implemented at certain
times of the year and horses
needed to be rounded up to
administer the chemical.
Mares could be darted from
the air, but that decreased
the chemical’s effectiveness.
With so many private and
public concerns about wild
horse impacts to natural
resources in the Murderers
Creek area, a local rancher
was surprised to encounter
a Forest Service employee
on Dec. 14, 2018, hauling
several wild horses from
the Ochoco National Forest
to be released in the Mur-
derers Creek area. Malheur
National Forest representa-
tives said they would look
into the matter.
Rancher’s lawsuit
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