A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
A BLM nominee
with ties to
ecoterrorists
W
e add our voice to
it appears she may have taken
a more active role in radical
those who be-
environmentalism.
lieve an enemy of
In 1989 she typed and
livestock grazing with ties to
mailed
a letter for a former
ecoterrorists shouldn’t lead the
roommate, John P. Blount,
Bureau of Land Management.
anonymously warning the U.S.
Tracy Stone-Man-
Forest Service that 500
ning has been nomi-
pounds of spikes had
nated by President Joe
been driven into trees
Biden.
in a swath of Idaho’s
The agency has a
Clearwater National
huge footprint in the
Forest set for harvest.
West. It manages 247
Tracy
Blount later served
million acres of fed-
Stone-Manning
17
months in prison in
eral public land, includ-
connection to the spik-
ing 155 million acres used for
ing
incident.
livestock grazing. BLM over-
There is no evidence that
sees 18,000 separate grazing
Stone-Manning participated
permits.
directly in driving the spikes.
Stone-Manning has stan-
She maintains that she was
dard bona fi des that set the
hearts of environmental activ- never under criminal investi-
gation. She was off ered, and
ists afl utter. She spent nearly
accepted, immunity from pros-
four years with the National
ecution in 1993 in exchange
Wildlife Federation, serving
for her testimony.
as an associate vice president
She clearly had knowl-
and a senior policy adviser.
edge
of the incident, and was
She served as director of the
Montana Department of Envi- not immediately forthcoming
ronmental Quality. She led the despite the danger the spikes
posed to loggers cutting the
Clark Fork Coalition, a con-
trees. Anything for the cause.
servation group dedicated
According the Montana
to preserving the Clark Fork
Standard, Stone-Manning
River Basin.
addressed the incident in a
She is no fan of livestock
state legislative hearing when
grazing on public lands.
she was nominated to lead the
In 1992 she wrote in her
Montana Department of Envi-
master’s thesis at the Uni-
ronmental Quality.
versity of Montana, “Into the
“I’m sure everyone in this
heart of the beast: A case for
room regrets things they’ve
environmental advertising,”
that livestock grazing on pub- done in their early 20s, but
we all accumulate lessons,”
lic land “is destroying the
Stone-Manning said at the
West.”
time.
In a series of mock maga-
A youthful indiscretion?
zine advertisements, she made
Hardly.
the case against a variety of
We agree with Bob Abbey,
things that she contends hurt
BLM’s director during Pres-
the environment, including
ident Barack Obama’s fi rst
livestock grazing.
term, who said her participa-
“It is overgrazed. Most
likely, the grasses won’t grow tion in the plot disqualifi es her
back, because the topsoil took for the position.
“BLM needs a really strong
fl ight,” she wrote. “Worse still,
leader,” Abbey told the Daily
the government encourages
Montanan. “To put someone in
this destruction. It charges
that position that has this type
ranchers under $2 a month to
graze each cow and its calf on of resume will just bring need-
public land — your land.”
less controversy that is not
Pretty standard piffl e for
good for the agency or for the
environmental activists. But,
public lands.”
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
The backup plan
aybe some of you didn’t
hear me at the far edges
of the border of Grant
County, but the noises I was mak-
ing upon discovering the results
of ODFW’s 2021 big game hunts
draw could not be confused with
elation. I believe it sounded like
some kind of combination of Wil-
liam Shatner exclaiming, “Khan!” in
Star Trek II and the Wicked Witch
of the west getting caught on the
beach during a tsunami. Needless to
say, like many of you, I got skunked.
So did my wife, Emma, despite hav-
ing a boat load of preference points.
The anger, disappointment and frus-
tration can last days or even weeks
after getting this manner of news.
All is not lost, however. With
lots of general season over-the-
counter tags, Oregon hunters and
huntresses can yet get a chance to
take their favorite rifl e for a walk in
the woods. Unlike Eastern Oregon,
the entire western side of the state
is open for hunting blacktail deer
via the general season. Some units
have restrictions, but a perusal of the
M
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
‘What misplaced
priorities’
To the Editor:
I would like for any of my
Democrat friends to explain why
our Democrat House, Senate and
governor would choose to spend
$100 million to provide free health
insurance to illegal aliens rather
than spend that money to help the
thousands of veterans who are liv-
ing on the streets. What misplaced
priorities! What shameful action!
Ralph Goodwin
John Day
Use 747
supertanker
for fi res
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201 S.
Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City 97820.
Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax: 541-575-
0515. Email: tocc1862@centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville 97825.
Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-987-2187.
Email: dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day,
97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-575-
1721. Email: cityjd@centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long Creek
97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax: 541-421-
3075. Email: info@cityofl ongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monument
97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-2025.
Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt. Vernon
97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax: 541-932-
4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie City
97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax: 820-
3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca 97873.
Phone and fax: 541-542-2161. Email:
senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone:
503-378-3111. Fax: 503-378-6827.
Website: governor.state.or.us/
governor.html.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
To the Editor:
Here we are, at the beginning of
what could prove to be worst wild-
fi re season ever, and the world’s
best fi refi ghting tool sits unused
and not ready to go because of
decisions made by the U.S. For-
est Service and states not to use
it. Unfortunately, in 2002, two
Lockheed C-130 Hercules air-
planes crashed while fi ghting fi res,
one in California and one in Col-
orado. In 2004 the Forest Ser-
vice made the decision not to use
the large tanker fi refi ghting air-
planes, instead relying on helicop-
ters and smaller planes. The super-
tanker would have really helped on
these fi res: The 2020 Oregon fi res
burned 1,221,324 acres, killed 11
people and burned 3,000 buildings.
At Canby, Oregon, in the middle
of the day the streetlights and out-
side lights of businesses were on
because of the darkness from the
smoke.
On July 12, 2017, lightning
started the Chetco Bar Fire, near
Brookings, Oregon, and it burned
191,125 acres. In 2017 The Eagle
Creek Fire near Cascade Locks,
Oregon, burned 50,000 acres and
most likely could have been put
out quickly by the supertanker if it
would have been used. There is a
large fi re burning at Mt. Shasta in
California. Are we going to have
to experience a disaster, like the
building collapse at Surfside, Flor-
ida, before we realize that we need
to prepare for these things ahead of
time? When the fi re is burning, it is
too late to start preparing for it.
Bob Mattila
Brush Prairie, Washington
Library ‘one of
the most valuable
off erings’
To the Editor:
I am excited to be able to
return to our Grant County Public
Library. The ladies there were very
helpful during the pandemic clo-
sure/altered hours. With their guid-
ance, my family was able to access
scores of books that kept our san-
ity during these times. I was
always excited when Chris would
call to inform me a few more trea-
sures were available. Being able
to browse inside will open up even
more book choices. This resource
is one of the most valuable off er-
ings Grant County provides as it
helps so many families with educa-
tion, information and fun.
Ryan McKnab
Canyon City
‘Put some true
leaders at the helm’
To the Editor:
It appears that the Blue Moun-
tain Eagle has relaxed its stated
policy “no personal attacks; chal-
lenge the opinion, not the per-
son,” as Judy Kerr made some
very questionable accusations
against my character. That’s OK.
Does anybody even listen to her
anymore? I was tired of her rheto-
ric years ago. And yes, Judy, I do
know what a quorum is. That is
why several other elected offi cials,
which I assume you are speak-
ing about, may face recalls of their
own by the time I am fi nished.
Grant County citizens, if you are
happy with the status quo and
believe our county’s leadership has
led us in the direction of progress
and prosperity, then don’t sign the
petition. If you are ready to make
a change and put some true lead-
ers at the helm, let’s start at the top
and go from there. Recall petitions
are now circulating.
Josh Walker
Seneca
L
ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues.
Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-
you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must
be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for
questions. We must limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue
Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
(including online access)
Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com
One year ..................................................$51
Monthly autopay .............................. $4.25
Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60
Reporter ...................................................... Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com
Sports ........................................................sports@bmeagle.com
Multimedia ............................................................. Alex Wittwer, awittwer@eomediagroup.com
Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
Subscriptions must be paid
prior to delivery
Online: MyEagleNews.com
Periodicals Postage Paid
at John Day and additional
mailing offi ces.
POSTMASTER
send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
Offi ce Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, offi ce@bmeagle.com
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
there isn’t much else one can do
when they come up empty handed
in the draw. Believe me, this isn’t
the fi rst time it’s happened to me,
nor will it likely be the last. A
good hunter should always have
a backup plan. To think outside
the box, several of our border-
ing neighbor states have over-the-
counter non-resident deer and elk
tags available. While you’ll spend
considerably more money to do
so, hunting out of state is fun and
very rewarding. In addition to more
money, it will require additional
planning and preparation. Only you
can decide if they are worth the
eff ort.
While I’m still reeling from the
excrementary Father’s Day gift I
received from ODFW this year, I’m
already working on my contingency
plan and a few interesting gun proj-
ects as well. How about you?
Got a backup plan? Write to us at
shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com!
Dale Valade is a local country
gent with a love for the outdoors,
handloading, hunting and shooting.
hunting regulations
can steer you where
to go. Be sure to
take your poncho;
it gets wet on that
side of the moun-
tain. There are also
Dale Valade
general season elk
tags available —
some of which overlap the deer sea-
son permitting you the opportunity
to hunt two species simultaneously.
Not interested? There are no
general season deer hunts on the
east side, but there are over-the-
counter tags for both spike and
cow elk. The spike-only hunts are
located in the northeast corner of
the state due to those units collec-
tively providing home to the larg-
est elk herds in the state. The gen-
eral season cow tags are only good
on select private land within the
prescribed boundaries so make sure
you have somewhere therein to go
before buying the tag. Ask around,
it may surprise you which landown-
ers will say yes.
Aside from those opportunities,
Phone: 541-575-0710
Copyright © 2021
Blue Mountain Eagle
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication covered by the copyright
hereon may be reproduced or copied
in any form or by any means — graphic,
electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, taping or information
storage and retrieval systems — without
written permission of the publisher.
facebook.com/MyEagleNews
@MyEagleNews