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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2020)
OUTDOORS MyEagleNews.com A7 Forest Service mulls cutting wild horse numbers in Ochocos SHOOTING THE BREEZE By Michael Kohn EO Media Group The 7mm-08 Remington I Wednesday, December 16, 2020 ’ve got to confess, it’s eas- combined with excellent accu- racy and more than sufficient ier to love some cartridges than others. The 7mm car- power are what endears it to tridges among others have so many shooters, especially taken some convinc- the young or just start- ing, being as the hear- ing out. Even veteran say around campfires shooters find it a qual- ity choice for just about I have frequented over anything. Were I to build the years were some- times less than char- or buy a rifle whose pri- mary focus was to be itable. Still, despite as lightweight, com- our personal biases, Dale Valade pact and yet powerful each cartridge in exis- tence, objectively, has as could be, the 7mm- both pros and cons. The 7mm- 08 would be high in the running 08 Remington is definitely a especially if its primary use was standout with a lot of dynamite mixed cover, high country deer to offer in a small package. and elk hunting. The 7mm (.284) The .308 Winchester case has an excellent range of bul- has, like many others before it, let choice for handloading; the most desirable and useful for the been the parent case to a myr- iad of wildcats and standard- deer and elk hunter will run from ized factory offspring. Not all 140- to 165-grain as these are of the factory cartridges are as most balanced in bullet weight to popular as they could or should velocity ratios. Medium to slow be, but the 7mm-08 is sec- burning rate powders will result ond only to the .243 in popu- in at least hunting grade accuracy larity among the various .308 at worst and eye popping clover- leaf groups at best even in light- progeny. Designed to dupli- cate the performance of the old weight short, skinny barrels. 7x57mm Mauser but in a true Last fall my wife Emma short action, the 7mm-08 is as took her first cow elk with a sin- gle, well placed shot from her they say “all that and a bag of 7mm-08 at 200 yards. That was chips.” with 140-grain Remington fac- Although we revere the tory ammunition. This year, 7x57mm Mauser, the few selections of contemporary fac- she decided to bring it along to tory ammo are held to lower fill her LOP antlerless deer tag. than potential power levels Armed with 140-grain Sierra in deference to the old 1893 Gameking handloads, she did Mauser and Remington Roll- not fail to impress yet again. This ing Block rifles lingering in the is typical performance from a hands of the potentially unin- properly loaded and operated formed. Unlike the maligned 7mm-08 Remington to those that .284 WCF, the 7mm-08 is easy have them. If you’re in the mar- ket, this may be the next gun you to find, both components and a buy that you never knew you wide variety of available fac- tory ammunition choices. Rifles needed to have. Are you a fan of the 7mm- are compact and lightweight yet 08? Write to us at shootingth- don’t kick so badly as to send you out from under your favorite ebreezebme@gmail.com! Dale Valade is a local coun- sombrero. Practically anyone can try gent with a love for the out- master a rifle with these choice doors, handloading, hunting features. and shooting. These desirable attributes A herd of feral horses that grazes on land within the Ochoco National Forest could have its numbers slashed if a new manage- ment plan for the horses is adopted. The appropriate management level of horses in the Big Summit Wild Horse herd is 12 to 57 animals, according to a plan released by the Ochoco National Forest. Currently, the herd includes around 135 horses. The Big Summit herd is unique in the Pacific Northwest as it’s the only one in Oregon and Washington to be managed solely by the U.S. Forest Service. The Bureau of Land Management is responsi- ble for most of the wild horse herds in other areas of Oregon. The herd is located about 30 miles east of Prineville and grazes on 27,000 acres of land located between 4,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation. A 1975 management plan set the num- ber of horses in the area at around 60. When numbers exceeded that amount, the Forest Service worked with the Bureau of Land Management to transfer horses to a facil- ity near Burns. Funding for that agree- ment ended in 2013, and since that time, the Forest Service has witnessed a dramatic growth in the herd. In its updated management plan, the Forest Service says it aims to keep the num- ber of horses at the “high end” of the appro- priate management level. The numbers will be maintained through contraception and sterilization. Contracep- tion includes tools such as PZP, an immu- nocontraceptive vaccine. Other methods to slow population growth will also be con- sidered, but only if approved by the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board or other governing agencies, according to details in the Forest Service plan. DNA samples will also be collected to ensure that the herd maintains an accept- able level of genetic variability. New mares from similar habitats will be introduced if it’s determined that greater genetic variabil- ity is required. Excess horses will be removed by gath- ering them together and trapping animals. Trapped animals will then be prepared for adoption or sale, according to the manage- ment plan. The Forest Service says it needs to EO Media Group/Ryan Brennecke A herd of feral horses graze in the Ochoco National Forest near Prineville in 2018. reduce the number of animals to protect forest ecology, which is at risk of being overgrazed if the numbers of wild horses remain at current levels. The management plan specifies that riparian areas, where the horses graze in winter, are particularly vulnerable. In addition to protecting the ecology, it is believed that the larger numbers are not sustainable in winter, when grass is difficult to access through the snow. In its plan, the Forest Service acknowl- edged that wild horses have survived harsh winters at population numbers above the proposed management level. However, the report states that riparian areas suffered damage from overgrazing during those periods. It adds that “less than desirable body conditions” were evident on some of the horses that survived the harsh winters. The Forest Service decision was based on consultations with wildlife agencies, which consider the needs of all species in the area. Based on those discussions, the Forest Service determined that the size of the current herd could threaten other spe- cies by depriving them of forage. The 1975 management plan in current use recommends the herd be maintained at 60 horses, and does not allow numbers to fluctuate based on changes in climate, available forage or resource conditions. The new proposal states the determina- tion is based on the best available science but adds that the suggested changes have provoked public controversy. “Although some aspects of wild horse management are socially controversial, there is no evidence to demonstrate a sub- stantial dispute within the science commu- nity about the effects as described in the Environmental Assessment,” the report states. Gordon Clark, 87, a Jefferson County rancher who supports the Forest Service plan, agrees with scientific claims that too many horses can cause environmental deg- radation and put other species at risk. “Would the general public rather see an elk or a deer or a horse in the forest? The horses are the alpha species so they push the elk and the deer out of the area,” said Clark. “The horses really overgraze that area; they are bad for the forests.” Clark does have a stake in the decision. For more than two decades he grazed sheep in the Big Summit area with an agreement from the Forest Service but stopped three years ago when the number of wild horses increased. Since 2014 Clark has been advis- ing the Forest Service that the grazing plan was “falling apart.” “The horses use certain areas a lot, espe- cially in the winter, and the horses use ran- dom grazing patterns,” said Clark. “There is nothing uniform. The horses go to one place one summer then another place another summer. So grazing allotments are gone. They don’t work anymore.” Opponents to the plan argue that winter conditions do not pose a threat to the horses. Frank Porfily, a Prineville resident, says he has observed the horses over the past five years and does not believe their increased numbers are a problem. “I have not observed a lack of forage in the area,” said Porfily. The plan is currently in an objection period during which people who made pre- vious comments can comment again. THE PERFECT GIFT... A NEW KUBOTA! 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