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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2022)
A4 Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 16, 2022 OPINION OUR VIEW Let high court have its say on WOTUS I t9s rare that an issue creates near-unanimity among agricul- tural groups, but the federal government9s continued mishan- dling of the Waters of the U.S. rule has done just that. The American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, the National Association of State Departments of Agri- culture and scores of other agricultural groups agree that the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should stop, back up and wait for the Supreme Court to rule on WOTUS. Then if they need to clarify WOTUS in some way, they rst should listen to farmers and ranchers about their concerns. The EPA and the Corps have been bumbling their way through WOTUS rewrites for years, ever since the U.S. Supreme Court rst muddied the rule with its own interpreta- tions. The justices used nebulous terms such as <nexus,= which sounds more like a brand of automobile than a way to manage water. The EPA and Corps have done no better. Any middle school English teacher would unk the agencies9 authors for their lack of clarity. Injecting legalese and vagueness in nearly every facet of the rules, a farmer would need a lawyer, hydrologist and a fortune teller to determine what, exactly, the agencies are trying to say. First the Obama administration tried to clear up WOTUS and failed, then the Trump administration tried with some success. Then for a reason yet to be explained, the Biden administration jumped into WOTUS again. They say any project that doesn9t involve meddling by the federal government threatens clean water 4 despite the fact that states are also involved and per- fectly capable of protecting water not within the federal govern- ment9s purview. Which would be funny if it didn9t demonstrate how feckless the folks at the EPA and Corps are. They must not have anything else to do. What9s missing from their work product is proof the Clean Water Act needs to be strengthened. All they seem to be doing is bowing to environmental groups. At issue is the portion of the federal Clean Water Act that includes navigable waters. Time was, navigable water meant just that 4 rivers and lakes on which boats can travel. But that was too clear 4 and too narrow 4 for some folks, who want to include not only rivers, lakes and streams, but ditches, seasonal creeks and everything up to and including mud puddles. Later this year the U.S. Supreme will take another swing at WOTUS. Hopefully, it will do a better job than before. Jus- tices, who are trained in the law but not in plain English, are not known to be wordsmiths. In the meantime, the eager beavers at the EPA and the Corps of Engineers would do well to take a break and let the Supreme Court decide the issue. If any changes to WOTUS are required, the justices will let them know. My Tongan riter s retreat O OFF THE BEATEN PATH n Jan. 15, an underwater vol- cano erupted in the Ha9apai Islands group, Kingdom of Tonga. News updates related the destruction from ash and the tsunami. I9m stunned by the news, even more so as I9ve visited there. Several years ago, I announced to my adult children, <I9m taking a trip to the South Paci c.= <How come the South Paci c = one asked. <Writer research.= <What Mom means 4 that9s an excuse to take a vacation.= Since I travel on the VLB (Very Low Budget) travel plan, some of the kids helped me reserve places to stay so I wouldn9t end up stranded overnight on a deserted beach with only a beach towel. Years ago, I visited the Tongan Ha9apai Island group, the small- est and least developed of the island groups and now the o shore site of the eruption. When I ew there, from the air I spotted the road that ran the length of the island. The landing strip ran across the island. I saw airport sta running to close gates on the road to keep vehicles and animals o the runway while the plane landed. After I got settled in my one- room fale (cottage), I took a taxi to a nearby café. The few customers sat outdoors around one table at dusk. <You traveling American,= the German backpacker said to me, <you now o cial Travel Writer.= The cook, Tongan taxi driver, and a young English couple on their way to New Zealand agreed. I savored the words, Travel Writer, like a morsel of suckling pork from an umu. I9d met the English couple a week before on another Tongan island over dinner illuminated by cit- ronella candles and lamplight. They ini- tiated a multicul- tural discussion with fellow travel- Jean Ann ers on how to save Moultrie pigs 4 speci - cally, Tongan pigs destined for banquets and Sunday feasts. While our food cooked, the English couple gave a project update. <We9re making e orts to establish a no- y zone over the pro- posed Piggie Island.= They heartily endorsed my Travel Writer status. Even though I was staying at a place where my shower consisted of a garden hose draped over a fence, I noted them to be a couple with incredible insight regarding my credibility related to travel writing. I attributed these illuminating bursts of brilliance from all of us to large doses of South Paci c sun, sand-encrusted sunscreen, the per- sistent scent of mosquito repellant, and time spent o the power grid. After dinner, I returned to my fale. As the power generator growled to a halt and I fumbled in the dark to light a candle, my rst Travel Writer insight emerged. Travel Writer9s Tip #1. Do not accidentally burn your passport. The next morning, I strolled past palm trees and a beached boat to the ocean. I yelped with pleasure. I discovered the quintessential Travel Writer9s Retreat. My Retreat! The beach shack consisted of ve poles that supported a roof composed of crossed poles topped with woven palm fonds as weath- ered and brittle as corn shocks on an Amish farm. The structure was large enough to accommodate two beach towels or one eager Travel Writer. I announced my plans to the owner9s wife. <You9ve got to be kidding,= she said. She was immune to sea- and sun- crazed tourists. I yearned for something o cial. <You can use the beach shack anytime you visit,= she insisted. A Travel Writer is persistent. I begged. She relented. <OK, a token pay- ment for 8utilities.9= This covered heat, lights and cooling, basically covering sun, wind, and bring your own drinking water. A few days later at sunrise, I hiked to the beach to bid the retreat farewell. I plopped down on the ground in my <decorated cubicle= and hefted a sea-washed coconut, papaya-sized hunks of coral and a handful of shells. The sand I squished through my toes felt coarse like the coral chunks it was 4 not yet evolved to soft and powdery. Now as I hear the news about charitable groups rushing sup- plies and aid to the Tongan Islands, I recall the frightening times when Mount St. Helens erupted. It seems most anytime in the news, there are reports of forest res, winter storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, torna- does, or droughts 4 with humani- tarian-minded people reaching out hands to help. Jean Ann Moultrie is a Grant County writer. Her VLB (Very Low Budget) travel plan has not caught on, with her fine dining consisting of bread and peanut butter from a grocery store and the airplane choice filled with 200 mothers and grandmothers and 100 crying babies. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Aquatic center survey This is just a few problems with senseless. We know better. Passing this city of John Day project which the the River Democracy Act is a modest, is ata y a e yet important, step towards protecting P&R has decided to pursue even after 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 R EPORTER S PORTS M ULTIMEDIA M ARKETING R EP O FFICE A SSISTANT Bennett Hall, bhall@bmeagle.com Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com sports@bmeagle.com Alex Wittwer@awittwer@eomediagroup.com Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Alixandra Hand, oo ce@bmeagle.com PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY EO Media Group Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Copyright © 2022 Blue Mountain Eagle Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing oo ces. SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) One year ..................................................$51 Monthly autopay .............................. $4.25 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery POSTMASTER — send address changes to 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. www.facebook.com/MyEagleNews @MyEagleNews To the itor In the Feb. 9 BME, <Survey says: Voters split on pool bond.= While the editor gives a fairly positive outlook using the right facts, I feel we must look at the <other side= also. To start with, this survey is terri- bly awed for the following reasons: Some citizens could not address the platform provided by the hired Cali- fornia rm on their computers. I know also of at least two households out of the JDCC Parks and Rec district that were included. So when Lisa Weigum <emphasized= the fact that voters <only included voters inside the dis- trict= is false. I informed her at a P&R meet- ing of the issues why the survey they approved with taxpayers9 money was awed. Failing to realize it shows a continued level of incompetent behav- ior by the district. $25,000 down the drain like unused water. Weigum also should have recused herself from any vote in reference to this project of the pool. She has been an advocate of an earlier e ort and tes- ti ed in favor of this project thrown at taxpayers by the city of John Day. If you agree with the narrative of this survey being legit, then you should not have to go very far into the analysis of it. On the subject of <seri- ous problems locally,= the issue states <A lack of activities for young peo- ple= places on the bottom of the list. It was fth out of seven items. This has been the top selling point in the JDC- CPR narrative of this latest, continued, assault on taxpayers. being rejected by a survey executed in the town of Canyon City, which Weigum now is a councilor. Talk about hypocrisy! This is about the city of John Day trying to raise everyone9s tax liabilities in the county. Now beyond the coun- ty9s borders with Green9s involvement in the Tri-Cities Coalition (3R), cost- ing the city9s taxpayers money while abolishing the police. I hope <all= voters show up and vote no when this levy/tax shows up on the ballot. Bob Pereira John Day River Act a step in right irection To the itor Like many of our Northeast Ore- gon friends and neighbors, we support the River Democracy Act proposed by Sens. Wyden and Merkley. We o er here a few of our reasons: Meaningful action addressing life-threatening climate change is overdue. Our waterways pay a heavy price for our drive to squeeze every last penny from natural resources. Centuries of destructive practices have damaged every ecosystem on earth and threaten planetary life itself. Our full-speed-ahead enterprise destroys plant and animal species at mass extinction rates, canceling them from our intricate web of life. In light of climate change and biodi- versity collapse, destructive <business as usual= practices are worse than and restoring our natural world. The River Democracy Act does not <lock up= our public lands. They remain as accessible as ever. Wild and Scenic designation allows resto- ration of these waterways and protects them from future degradation. Sen. Wyden and his sta have carefully lis- tened to stakeholders and speci cally addressed their concerns in the bill. Maps abound: A statewide map depicting all of the proposed stream reaches is found at tinyurl.com/rda- map. The River Democracy Act itself forms an atlas, its stream names and geographic details easily found on any map or GPS device. Acquiring ourselves a detailed map of Killa- macue Creek, we nd its reach length is indeed 4 miles, contrary to a pub- lic o cial9s complaint it was but 2 miles, as printed in the Feb. 2 Baker City Herald. We need long-range thinking to protect the natural systems on which all life depends. Two years ago local citizens, businesses and organizations answered the call for nominations, did their homework, and made their rec- ommendations, since reduced to pro- tecting just 4% of Oregon9s water- ways. The River Democracy Act represents local knowledge and exper- tise in managing local resources for a sustainable future. Thank you, Senator. Now is the time to pass the bill. Our kids, grand- kids, and future generations will thank you, too. Mike Higgins Mike Beaty Halfway