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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2020)
A10 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, April 22, 2020 EOMG hosting online candidate forums 2nd Congressional District forums set for May 1-2 HOW TO WATCH What: Oregon 2nd Congressional District candidate forums Blue Mountain Eagle Stuck on who to vote for in the crowded Oregon 2nd Congressional District race? EO Media Group soon will provide residents in Eastern and Central Ore- gon an opportunity to hear from Republican and Dem- ocratic candidates. The media group is hosting online candidate forums using Facebook and MyEa- gleNews.com. The forums, which are being livestreamed and recorded without an audi- ence due to COVID-19 concerns, are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, for the Democratic candi- dates and 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 2, for the Republican candidates. “A crucial mission of local newspapers is to inform the public about matters that can affect their lives and their community,” said Kathryn B. Brown, vice president of EO Media Group. “EO Media Group is glad to be able to provide this online forum to give voters the opportunity to When: Democrat forum is 6:30 p.m., Friday, May 1; Re- publican forums are 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 2. Where: Streaming live on the Blue Mountain Eagle Face- book page. Forums can be rewatched after the event at MyEagleNews.com or on EOAlive.tv. Questions: Submit questions in advance by email to CD- 2forum@eomediagroup.com or on Facebook Live during the event. get to know more about the CD2 candidates before the May 19 primary election.” There are 16 candidates — five Democrats and 11 Republicans — running for the seat U.S. Rep. Greg Walden has held since 1998. Walden, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Oregon’s only Republican in Congress, announced in 2019 he will retire in Janu- ary 2021. With 11 Republicans entered in the primary, Brown said it was neces- sary to hold two forums on May 2. “It was important to us to make sure there was enough time for voters to hear from all of the can- didates without sitting through an overly long forum,” she said. The forums are being streamed by La Grande- based Eastern Oregon Alive TV, a local internet TV station. The forums will be available for viewing on the Blue Mountain Eagle website or on EOAlive.tv following the events. “Voters will have the chance to rewatch or watch for the first time if they missed the live stream,” Brown said. The forums are being moderated by Chris Rush, the regional publisher of the EO Media Group’s east side publications, including the Blue Mountain Eagle. Vot- ers can submit questions to CD2forum@eomedia- group.com in advance of the forums or on Facebook Live during the event. Oregon’s 2nd Congres- sional District is the larg- est of Oregon’s five dis- tricts, and is the seventh largest district in the nation, covering all of Eastern Oregon and the Medford area. Ballots are sent out April 29, and the primary election is May 19. The top vote get- ter in each party advances to the general election later this year. Oregon wolf population increases 15% in 2019 By George Plaven EO Media Group Oregon’s wolf popula- tion continued to rise in 2019 while the number of con- firmed attacks on livestock fell by nearly half, according to state wildlife officials. Ranchers in rural Oregon, however, say the number of “confirmed” wolf attacks is nowhere near the actual num- ber, and many producers have simply given up reporting cases of dead or missing live- stock after growing frustrated with how the predators are being managed. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released its annual wolf report April 15, documenting at least 158 wolves statewide. That is a 15% increase over 2018, when biologists counted 137 wolves. Oregon now has 22 estab- lished wolfpacks, up from 16 the previous year. A pack is defined as four or more wolves traveling together during win- ter. ODFW also identified nine other distinct groups of 2-3 wolves that do not meet the strict definition of a pack. Most wolves are densely clustered in northeast Oregon, with a few packs spreading into the northern and south- ern Cascades. ODFW says the total wolf population is likely higher, and the annual survey is only a minimum count based on verified evi- dence such as visual sight- ings, tracks and photos taken by remote trail cameras. The number of wolves in Oregon has steadily risen since counting began in 2009, when fewer than 20 animals were identified. Gray wolves are still listed as a federally endangered species in West- ern Oregon, though they were removed from the state endangered species list east of highways 395, 78 and 95 in 2015. Roblyn Brown, ODFW wolf coordinator, said wolves are expanding their range with three new packs in the Blue Mountains of East- ern Oregon, south of Inter- state 84. In Western Oregon, the Indigo pack was also offi- cially confirmed in eastern Lane and Douglas counties. No wolves were poached in 2019, though five were struck and killed by vehi- cles and another died from disease. A rancher in Baker County also legally shot a wolf he caught in the act of chasing a herding dog on his ranch near Halfway in March. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed wolf attacks on livestock fell 43% in 2019. ODFW staff investigated 50 possible cases of wolf-live- stock depredation, with 16 incidents confirmed, one “probable,” 12 possible or unknown and 21 non-wolf related. Overall, ranchers lost one adult cow, one steer, 11 calves, six sheep and one guard dog to wolves. Brown said she is impressed with ranchers’ ingenuity as they implement new non-lethal tools to pro- tect their livestock without harming wolves. “The wolf population con- tinues to expand into areas where livestock producers have less experience with wolves,” Brown said. “We appreciate all livestock pro- ducers for their efforts to co-exist with wolves.” Danielle Moser, wildlife program coordinator for Ore- gon Wild, a Portland-based environmental group, said figures in the 2019 ODFW wolf report are “more strong evidence that focusing on non-lethal measures to reduce wolf-livestock conflict works.” But the Oregon Cattle- men’s Association disputed the state’s numbers, and argues that more wolves will continue to pose problems for ranchers going forward. Jerome Rosa, OCA exec- utive director, said ranchers are increasingly not reporting dead or missing livestock to ODFW. In some cases, Rosa said it takes biologists days to arrive for an inspection. By that time, he said the evi- dence is too far degraded to get a confirmation. “(Ranchers) gave up on the system,” Rosa said. “The frustration out there on the countryside has just gotten higher.” Rodger Huffman and Veril Nelson, co-chairmen of the OCA wolf committee, released a joint statement say- ing ranchers do everything they can to prevent wolves from killing livestock — usu- ally at a cost to their own men- tal and financial stress — and is “more a matter of survival than attempts to co-exist.” “We also know that ‘con- firmed’ losses of livestock are nowhere near the actual losses, both by death and other losses wolves in live- stock indirectly contribute to,” Huffman and Nelson said. “When government regula- tion and management do little or nothing when there are rare confirmations, we know pro- ducers quit reporting.” The state awarded $178,319 to ranchers in 11 counties to compensate them for livestock losses, as well as for non-lethal deterrents such as fladry fencing, alarm boxes or range riders. Huffman and Nelson said the compensation program is “severely underfunded,” and discourages ranchers from participating due to its com- plexity and, ultimately, small percentage of payouts to help ranchers stay in business. While the wolf population is increasing, one of Oregon’s most famous wolves, OR-7, may be dead. The famous wandering wolf and breeding male of the Rogue Pack was photo- graphed in the fall but not documented during the winter count, ODFW said. His mate is still present, though the pack apparently did not repro- duce in 2019. OR-7 is esti- mated to be 11 years old. “We don’t know if OR-7 has died, but it would be rea- sonable to assume considering his age, which is old for a wolf in the wild,” said Brown, the agency’s wolf coordinator. “It is natural for packs to change over time as individual wolves are born, disperse or die.” OREGON'S 2ND OREGON'S 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPUBLICAN DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FORUM CANDIDATE FORUM Get to know the Republican candidates for U.S. Congress without leaving home. Get to know the Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress without leaving home. Primary election is May 19 Primary election is May 19 Forums will be video recorded without audience due to COVID-19 concerns. Forums will be video recorded without audience due to COVID-19 concerns. Streaming live on this newspaper’s Facebook page: Streaming live on this newspaper’s Facebook page: Saturday May 2, 2020 • 5 p.m. & 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, 2020 • 6:30 Watch after the event on this newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv Watch after the event on this newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv Submit your questions in advance by email to: CD2forum@eomediagroup.com or on Facebook Live during the event. Submit your questions in advance by email to: CD2forum@eomediagroup.com or on Facebook Live during the event. Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher, EO Media Group Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher, EO Media Group Live stream and video by EO Alive TV Live stream and video by EO Alive TV • A forum for the Democratic candidates will be held on May 1 • • A forum for the Republican candidates will be held on May 2 • S183626-1