NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
A3
Judge won’t halt logging
Environmental
groups fail to block
S. Oregon projects
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
EUGENE — Environmen-
tal groups have failed to con-
vince a federal judge to block
two logging and fuels reduc-
tion projects on 8,000 acres of
public forestland in Southern
Oregon.
U.S. District Judge Ann
Aiken has refused to issue a
preliminary injunction against
the U.S. Bureau of Land Man-
agement’s Bear Grub and
Round Oak projects because
the environmental lawsuit
against them probably won’t
succeed.
The Klamath Siskiyou
Wildlands Center, Oregon
Wild and Cascadia Wildlands
nonprofi ts are unlikely to pre-
vail on their claims that fed-
eral wildlife biologists improp-
erly considered the eff ects of
BLM’s forest treatments on
threatened spotted owls, the
judge said.
While the ruling doesn’t
end the lawsuit, Aiken deter-
mined the environmental
plaintiff s “failed to show seri-
ous questions” regarding their
Tom Kogut/USFS
Environmental groups argued that two Southern Oregon tim-
ber projects would harm the threatened spotted owl, but a fed-
eral judge has refused to stop the forest treatments.
allegations that the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service’s analysis
violated the Endangered Spe-
cies Act.
“And on this preliminary
review, FWS appears to have
considered the relevant fac-
tors and articulated a ratio-
nal connection between the
facts found and the decisions it
made,” as required by federal
law, the ruling said.
In consulting with BLM on
the projects, federal wildlife
biologists found that the for-
est treatments would proba-
bly downgrade habitat in 37 of
the spotted owl’s home ranges
within the project areas, Aiken
said.
However, the projects will
require that logging units be
dropped from timber sales if
they’re occupied by spotted
owls and will include other
design criteria to avoid disturb-
ing the species, Aiken said.
The federal government
is unlikely to jeopardize the
owl’s continued existence or
otherwise “take” the threat-
ened species because the vast
majority of its nesting, roosting
and foraging habitat won’t be
negatively aff ected by the for-
est projects, she said.
“Instead, it found that the
majority of (the habitat) in the
action area — 96% in Bear
Grub and 83% in Round Oak
— would remain untreated and
available to support current
and future spotted owl popula-
tions,” the ruling said.
The judge said she cannot
substitute her judgment for that
of federal biologists but will
allow the environmental plain-
tiff s to proceed with the lawsuit
because they have standing to
pursue the allegations in fed-
eral court.
The environmental plain-
tiff s fi led the lawsuit last year,
claiming the projects will fur-
ther distress vulnerable spot-
ted owl populations. They
also alleged the federal gov-
ernment relied on uncertain
or unenforceable conserva-
tion measures in approving the
treatments.
Boise Cascade Wood Prod-
ucts and the Timber Prod-
ucts Co. have intervened in
the lawsuit to defend the proj-
ects, which would generate 38
million board-feet of timber
for their veneer and plywood
mills, according to a court
document.
A logging truck typically
hauls about 4,000-5,000 board-
feet of timber.
“Thus, proposed interve-
nors have a direct and sub-
stantial interest in being able
to harvest the timber off ered
through these projects, and a
direct and substantial interest
in ensuring suffi cient timber
supply from the BLM gener-
ally,” they said.
State slow to pay rental aid
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — The Ore-
gon Housing and Commu-
nity Services Department
said that as of Wednesday,
April 6, it has made $319.3
million in emergency rental
assistance payments to land-
lords on behalf of 48,313 Ore-
gon households since the U.S.
Treasury made the fi rst fed-
eral funds available in May
2021.
But it has received a total
of 105,082 applications.
Because of duplicate appli-
cations, the actual number of
households applying is closer
to 100,000, state offi cials say.
A household can get assis-
tance only once.
State law shields ten-
ants from eviction proceed-
ings while their applications
for assistance are pending, if
they show proof to their land-
lords. The shield ends when
the application is approved or
denied. The law also set Feb.
28 as the deadline for pay-
ment of past-due rent, going
back to the onset of the coro-
navirus pandemic on April 1,
2020.
March 21 was the dead-
line, and it resulted in a fi nal
statewide surge of 13,592
applications for the month.
The program paused applica-
tions on Dec. 1, reopened on
Jan. 26, and was scheduled to
close March 14. But Oregon
got a last-minute allocation of
$16 million in federal funds
that went unspent in other
states and communities.
State offi cials still hope
for a greater share of the
additional $198 million they
requested from the Treasury.
Five counties and the city
of Portland got federal funds
separately for their own rental
assistance programs, and their
totals are not refl ected in the
state agency fi gures.
The Oregon Legislature
approved $200 million from
the state budget for emer-
gency rental assistance in a
special session in Decem-
ber 2020, when prospects for
federal aid appeared uncer-
tain. That $200 million was
spent by the close of the two-
year state budget cycle in June
2021.
Oregon got an initial $289
million for emergency rental
assistance from the U.S. Trea-
sury, which allocated money
that Congress approved as
part of the 2021 American
Rescue Plan Act, President
Joe Biden’s pandemic recov-
ery plan. That $289 million
has been spent or committed.
The program has contin-
ued with $100 million more
that the Legislature approved
from the current state budget
in December, plus $16 mil-
lion more from the Treasury,
and $13 million that the state
housing agency shifted from
housing stabilization pro-
grams. Oregon also got $1.1
million from the Treasury late
last year.
Tenants can call Ore-
gon Law Center’s Eviction
Defense Project at 888-585-
9638 or evictiondefense@
oregonlawcenter.org.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
Valley View Easter egg
hunt and open house
• 2-3:30 p.m., Valley View
Assisted Living, 112 NW Val-
ley View Drive, John Day
Drinks and hors d’ouevres
will be served. RSVP to srodri-
guez@sapphirehealthservices.
com or 541-575-3533.
‘62 Days planning meeting
• 7 p.m., Sel’s Brewery, 113
Washington St., Canyon City
Regular weekly meeting
of the Whiskey Gulch Gang to
plan this year’s ‘62 Days festiv-
ities. Anyone who wants to help
is welcome. For more infor-
mation, call Colby Farrel at
541-620-0874.
SATURDAY, APRIL 16
Bunny Hop 5K
• 9 a.m., Dayville City Park,
Highway 26, Dayville
The seventh annual 5K walk
and run benefi ts the renova-
tion of the Dayville Commu-
nity Hall. Registration begins at
8 a.m., with the race starting at
9. The cost to participate is $15
(no shirt included this year).
Mt. Vernon Easter egg hunt
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
• 10 a.m., Phil Boyd
Memorial Park, Mt. Vernon
The Mt. Vernon Volun-
teer Fire Department pres-
ents its annual Easter egg
hunt, with prizes for kids
up to age 10. Fire truck
rides are off ered starting at
9 a.m.
Dayville Easter Egg Hunt
• 10:15 a.m., Dayville City
Park, Highway 26, Dayville
The city’s annual Easter egg
hunt, which follows the Bunny
Hop 5K, is divided into four age
groups, from babies through
sixth-graders.
SUNDAY, APRIL 17
Easter sunrise service
• 6:30 a.m., Crisp Heights,
Southwest Fourth Avenue, John
Day
A sunrise service to celebrate
Easter. For more information,
call 541-575-5840.
WEDNESDAY,
APRIL 20
County commissioner can-
didate forum
• 6 p.m., main conference
room, Grant County Regional
Airport, 72000 Airport Road,
John Day
The Blue Mountain Eagle
will host a free public forum
with the three candidates run-
ning fr a seat on the Grant
County Court. The candidates
will talk about their campaigns
and answer questions about
issues facing the county.
THURSDAY, APRIL 21
Pool facility open house
• 6-7:30 p.m., Parks and Rec
offi ce, 845 NW Bridge St., John
Day
The John Day/Canyon City
Parks and Recreation Dis-
trict will host an open house to
answer questions about plans
for a new community pool at the
Seventh Street Sports Complex
in John Day.
Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St.,
John Day
A fundraiser for the Grant
Union High School Class of
2026. Dinner provided by the
Elks Club at 6 p.m., with bingo
starting at 6:30. The cost to play
is $5 per card.
‘62 Days planning meeting
• 7 p.m., Sel’s Brewery, 113
Washington St., Canyon City
Regular weekly meeting
of the Whiskey Gulch Gang to
plan this year’s ‘62 Days festiv-
ities. Anyone who wants to help
is welcome. For more infor-
mation, call Colby Farrel at
541-620-0874.
Do you have a com-
munity event in Grant
County you’d like to pub-
licize? Email informa-
tion to editor@bmeagle.
com. The deadline is noon
Friday for publication
the following Wednesday.
Contributed Photo
From left, Ryan Gerry, Grant Union High School principal, with
Rep. Kurt Schrader and Majalise Tolan, secondary director for
the Lincoln County School District.
Mr. Gerry goes
to Washington
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Grant
Union High School Principal
Ryan Gerry joined 300 school
administrators in Washing-
ton, D.C., last month to ask
lawmakers for additional
resources to address top pri-
orities in education, including
school staffi ng shortages and
a student mental health crisis.
Gerry, the Oregon Asso-
ciation of Secondary School
Administrators’
executive
committee president, attended
the National Association of
Secondary Principals advo-
cacy conference.
The principals met with
roughly 200 members of Con-
gress and their staff as they
fi nalized the fi scal year 2022
federal education budget.
For his part, Gerry said he
presented his concerns to sev-
eral members of Oregon’s con-
gressional delegation, meeting
with Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep.
Kurt Schrader and staff ers
from Rep. Cliff Bentz’s offi ce.
Gerry said while he had
attended conferences around
the state, this was the fi rst con-
ference he’d attended in the
nation’s capital.
The advocacy group
pressed for increases in prin-
cipal preparation programs
and mental health services for
students.
According to the National
Association of Secondary
School Principals’ website,
the lobbying eff orts paid off .
The whittled-down federal
budget included a $27 mil-
lion increase for state grants
that fund teacher and principal
training and $111 million — a
$95 million increase over fi s-
cal 2021 — that can be used
to train more school coun-
selors, social workers and
psychologists.
Gerry said the country has
not previously seen the levels
of staffi ng and teacher short-
ages coupled with a national
issue with student wellness
such as what is coming out
of the pandemic period of
COVID-19.
Sponsor:
S275526-1
Tim’s
Mobile Pipe Press
OUR PLACE OR YOURS
Irrigation Pipe Repair
Mount Vernon,Oregon
208-251-4929
FRIDAY, APRIL 22
Bingo night
• 6 p.m., John Day Elks
Outpatient
Ear & Foot Clinic
Open Monday - Friday
8am - 4pm
422 West Main
John Day, OR 97845
Ears are examined and cleaned
by a trained professional.
Regular and High Risk foot
care done by specially trained
RN or CNA.
Call to schedule your ear
appointment today!
541-575-1648
Contact your Primary Care
Provider for foot care referrals.
2022
I
Northeast Oregon
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