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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2020)
A6 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, November 18, 2020 The long road ahead to a vaccine T he news of skyrocketing numbers of COVID-19 infections across the United States is reminding us of the original meaning of the phrase “going viral.” If you’re talking about a social media post going viral, that’s a good thing. If you’re talking about an actual virus, like COVID- 19, viral spread is greatly concerning. We are seeing fear that hos- pitals across the Midwest will soon be overwhelmed by COVID patients, mostly due to the challenges of having enough healthy staff. Shortages of nurses and other health care workers in North Dakota have led the governor to allow those with a positive COVID test but no symptoms to remain on the job (but yet he has not initiated a statewide mask mandate). We don’t want this to happen in Oregon. Especially in rural Oregon, where hospitals are small, few and far between. Viral means uncontrolled. It means aggressive. It means rap- idly spreading. We know what we need to do to slow the spread. The CDC announced this week that not only do masks work to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, but that “increasing universal masking by 15% could prevent the need for lockdowns and reduce asso- ciated losses of up to $1 trillion or about 5% of gross domestic product.” We’re at the point where we should assume that many people around us are infected, and act accordingly. Wearing a multi- layer cloth mask, keeping your distance and limiting the time spent with other people indoors are all important. News of the Pfizer vaccine achieving 90% of effective- ness in clinical trials is encour- aging. However, there is a long road ahead. Assuming it gets FDA approval, there are signif- icant logistical challenges that must be overcome before any- one in Eastern Oregon can be protected by the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be continuously stored at tem- peratures of -100 degrees Fahr- enheit or colder, requiring an “ultra-cold” distribution chain that does not currently exist. The vaccine is shipped in batches of 1,000. This could work well in urban areas, where it would be fairly easy to assem- ble that many people. Not so in rural America. And it’s not a one-shot-and- you’re-immune kind of vaccine. Two shots are required, 21 days apart, and acquiring immunity takes some time after that point. Health care providers, emer- gency personnel and other essential workers are likely to be put at the front of the line for the new vaccine, along with people at high risk for severe infection due to underlying medical conditions, and people 65 years and older. So, we have many months ahead before a COVID vaccine will make a dramatic impact on the pandemic. Our advice: Find a comfort- able multi-layer cloth mask and hunker down. GUEST COMMENT Enhance migratory habitat O regon Hunters Associa- tion, a group of conserva- tion-minded sportsmen, urges the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop and implement a policy to enhance and conserve migratory habitat for big game, and all wildlife that make seasonal movements. Habitat con- nectivity, the degree to which sepa- rate habitat patches are connected, is a crucial factor for conservation of wildlife. Increases in urban and energy development have resulted in extensive habitat loss and frag- mentation for many species in Oregon. Fortunately, advances in wildlife tracking technology have allowed wildlife managers to more accurately identify where animals move on the landscape, as well as impediments to wildlife space use. For ungulate species (e.g., deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep), migra- tion corridors are fundamental to their life history, but until recently, these corridors were thought of as conduit between seasonal ranges rather than essential habitat. Many big game migration cor- ridors are currently obstructed by transportation infrastructure and energy development sites. There- fore, state agencies must con- sider the full extent of migratory habitat to better manage ungulate populations. ODFW is making leaps and bounds through the Oregon Con- nectivity Assessment and Map- ping Project, an innovative effort to map wildlife movement and cor- ridors across the state. Oregon has an opportunity to ensure this new information leads to sound man- agement solutions by develop- Jim Akenson Lori McKinnon ing agency pol- icy to formally identify migration corridors. This action will bolster cur- rent conservation projects where many groups (including OHA) are working to conserve and enhance migratory habitat. For example, OHA has pledged over $114,000 and many volunteer hours to the Gilchrist Wildlife Underpass Proj- ect aimed at reducing ungulate mortality and vehicle collisions on U.S. Highway 97. Additionally, a migration policy will frame new partnerships between private land- owners, non-government organi- zations and government agencies, which will result in additional con- servation projects and funding sources. Recently, Coastal Farm & Ranch, after obtaining the low bid to provide fencing material, gener- ously supported the Gilchrist Wild- life Underpass Project by provid- ing fencing materials at a discount below their initial low bid. OHA’s Bend Chapter has invested hun- dreds of volunteer hours maintain- ing the fence that funnels wildlife to the Lava Butte wildlife under- pass on U.S. Highway 97, approx- imately 50 miles north of the new Gilchrist underpass. The Lava Butte wildlife underpass has reduced vehi- cle-wildlife collisions by 86%. Indi- viduals can support and help fund habitat connectivity and migra- tion corridor projects by purchas- ing a specialized watch for wildlife license plate voucher at myowf.org/ watchforwildlife. Global Positioning System wild- life tracking collars have become commonplace in wildlife manage- ment today, and this shift to more efficient and accurate technology will allow for more precise man- agement into the future. GPS col- lars collect an immense amount of animal location data on fixed time schedules, and these data are ideal for describing ungulate resource selection and utilization and migratory habitat. A migration policy will assist ODFW and their partners in obtaining additional grant funding to provide wildlife professionals with additional GPS collars, which will in turn further our knowledge of migration corri- dors, resource selection and popu- lation dynamics. How can Oregonians assist with protecting wildlife and their hab- itats? By working with their local wildlife biologist, watershed man- agers, ODFW commissioners and legislators to promote continued research and policy development. In addition, the public can support pro- tection of wildlife, their habitats and mitigation from land management, urban and energy development and transportation infrastructure projects through county, state and federal public comment processes. Jim Akenson is senior conserva- tion director for the Oregon Hunt- ers Association, and Lori McK- innon is the president of Coastal LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Democrats and Republicans versus extremists Blue Mountain EAGLE USPS 226-340 Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper Email: www.MyEagleNews.com Phone: 541-575-0710 John Day, Oregon MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION E DITOR & G ENERAL M ANAGER R EPORTER R EPORTER S PORTS M ARKETING R EP O FFICE A SSISTANT Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com Rudy Diaz, rudy@bmeagle.com Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com sports@bmeagle.com Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY EO Media Group Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offices. 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County .....................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .....................$57 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery www.facebook.com/MyEagleNews POSTMASTER — send address changes to Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Copyright © 2020 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be repro- duced or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including pho- tocopying, taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher. @MyEagleNews To the Editor: My family history goes back to Grant County’s early days. My father was a sawmill worker, my mom worked at the hospital and whereas we didn’t have much income, we got by. Most of the people I knew were as my par- ents were: Democrats. When I got older, I became acquainted with some Republicans — but they seemed like good eggs. My how things have changed. I know part of the blame for disliking Democrats began in the Reagan years when people like me, with environmental leanings, thought that the forest had value beyond how much lumber it would yield. Then came Clinton/ Gore and the spotted owl, and many jobs were gone overnight. I realize now that the way this happened was too extreme! However, when I take a look at the people that have moved to Grant County in recent years, drawn here by far-right consti- tutionalists, I believe we have swung to the opposite extreme. I sat down at the computer with my wife recently and looked at some of the total garbage that was being offered on social media as factual information, and I was appalled. Some of the business people who are against wearing a mask to pro- tect us all from the coronavirus go beyond comprehension. They are not seeing neighbors who support their businesses; they see political enemies. But the greatest outrage is how a person who claims to be a Chris- tian could vote for a low-class, evil person like Trump. Jesus Christ is not a Trumpite. Terry Steele Ritter ‘Teach our youth to value inclusion over division’ To the Editor: Sunday evening a list of “mask- holes” circulated on Facebook — individuals who allegedly (and in most cases inaccurately) reported people for not wearing masks. The text read, “If anybody is interested in who has been turning people in for not wearing masks here in Grant County then this is who they are.” This is an updated list from the last time it was shared, and this time my name was on it too. A few months ago I dismissed the list as absurd, thinking nothing would come of it. This time I’m a lit- tle upset — less for myself and more for what it says about our community. Here’s the thing about lists. A list implies something should be done — like a to-do list to check off. Having just listened to the pod- cast Bundyville, I’m reminded of Ammon Bundy’s call to do “what- ever it takes.” You see, a list like this encourages action but leaves the to-do up to the reader’s imagina- tion. This is alarming. Here we are post election with a president deter- mined to undermine the legitimacy of the results, who has unnecessarily turned COVID-19 political, and who has inspired violence in a manner similar to Ammon Bundy. I wrote to the men who shared the list and asked them to take it down. With one I had a lengthy con- versation: “Do you really think it’s necessary to post a list like this at all? I think it’s rather dangerous. While you might be a reasonable man, someone who isn’t could very well decide to target folks on a list like this.” I added a friend in Prairie City said some boys in her daughter’s class were talking about killing lib- erals if Trump loses. That’s the kind of divisive and hateful environment a list like this feeds. It’s irresponsible. Abhorrent. And our youth are right here watching. A few of them are already threatening to kill liberals. Sure it’s probably just talk, but what if one goes through with it? Please use your voice to denounce threats of violence and the spreading of fictitious lists. Stand for our community and teach our youth to value inclusion over division. Ashley Stevick John Day
