Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 1986)
T W O - n * Heppner < .«rette f i r n « , Heppner. O regon W f d n w d » ), Jul> 2 . IV M New Zealand fence good for the pasture; good for the water An idea from New Zetland w ill upgrade forest pasture for Morrow County Caitle rancher* and. at the same time, improve water quality to attract spawning fish, says Susan Hay man. range manager for the North Fork John Day Ranger District o f the Umatilla National Forest The five-strand, high tensile, smooth wire fence built in the fashion o f those in New Zealand encloses a 2. VK) riparian pasture ad jacent to Five M ile Creek, in the F 0 Whitney Cattle Allotment The pasture includes not only the creek hank but also bunch grave and timber No* to he confused with corridor fencing where a narrow area along a stream is lanced to protect the creek bed. the New Zealand fence project encloses a wide area m i the cows cannot see the water or the green grass and creates a new type o f range management Improved water quality is the main objective o f the new management play Dayman says The hanks o f Five M ile Creek arc undercut and in danger o f collapsing into the stream as cattle come down to drink or o f breaking o ff and washing sediment downstream as ice jams break up Steelhead not native to Five Mile Creek, may he expected in the future i f the state blasts the falls 1$ miles downsteam. the only natural barrier now keeping steelhead from the John Day from coming into the stream Steelhead prefer a spawning ground with larger gravel says the range manager Sediment in (he stream fills the spaces between the gravel and can become hard, almost like concrete, discouraging fish from spawning or suffocating eggs already in the stream To further improve water quality, the forest service may plant addi tional trees near the creek to increase shading and keep the water cooler, another quality the fish like Fven if fish other than the native trout never get this far up the creek, improved water quality w ill improve the water quality farlher downstream in the John Day River system, she said The new management plan w ill also improve the pasture adjacent to Five-Mile Creek. Dayman says The pasture has never been rested with permittees grazing 620 cow-calf Fivemile Creek in its current condition exhibits undercutting of the banks (background). Susan Hayman and Resource* Asst Monty Heath point to riparian pasture area of F G Whitney allotment. Cleared area creates narrow corridor for new fence pairs in the entire F G Whitney allotment between June 16 and (X toher I S S . SPECO SPECÛAL anniversary TIRE SA LE C o u n try Squire A /P Radiais M ud S now o# on d ry roads Tha C o u n try S q u ir t A /P ra d ia l i t an ail around tra c tio n tira $9928 AS LOW AS mr ;• ts • a»T **‘*<KJ aHSrt« <•*! . V <*iâèdiM à u léiÉ M . STH lu tu «I ILwImi to p i f » itwrai r i o * r m ta livrant» Kentucky Blue Grass in (he meadow which normally increases when grazed is on the way out in this meadow . Flay nun say s This trend says that something is not right and we need to change Cattle use can accelerate some o f the natural pro cesses, but experts disagree about how much erosion is natural and how much is caused hy the cattle The new management plan rests the pasture for three years beginn ing this summer and then allows 10 days intensive grazing each year (or two years resting the pasture the third year " I f we didn't change the manage ment system, we could work in v in e areas, but not achieve the results we would if we co-operate. " Flay nun said C om dor fencing includes the desireablc pasture, but the new plan allows ranchers in the Fivemile Cal tic Assoc to use the more desireablc pasture about the same amount of time overall that they were able to with the previous system Short duration high intensity graz ing should improve the pasture, Hayman says After the cattle have grazed, the meadow is hit hard, but then it is rested and has a chance to recover. Cattle churning up the coil also improves the seedbed for the shallow soil grasses W ith corridor fencing, explains Hayman. the cows start pushing on the fence during hot weather trying to get to the water and the cooler area along (he creek bank where the grasses are greener and tastier than the drier grasses When a calf gets through the fence, its mother tries all the harder to get through, sometimes breaking or damaging the fence. Hayman said Fencing a larger area prevents the cattle from seeing the more desireablc pasture Although cattle do seem to remember their favorite places from year to year, "o u t o f sight, mil o f m in d ," works in our favor and saves wear and tear on the fence and the pasture The New Zealand fence was cheaper to build than a barbed wire fence and we expect it w ill be cheaper to maintain, she says Th's fence, financed bv timber sales, w ill — .S fS P l II? KM ri 5 ® tM orrow County Grain Growers« 39 043 730 I I « The turnout in last week 's vote by mail election was as large as the tu r nout in primary elections, said Mor row C ounty C le rk Barbara Bloodsworth "T hat's unheard o f in a small election " The turnout is normally 25 30% in a one issue elec tion, she said which is not a big enough fiarticipation to say. that the o u tco m e"is what the m ajority wants According to the number o f ballots, the turnout, county wide was about 57% Some o f the ballots mail ed out were undclivcrablc and returned to the Clerk's Otticc. she said making the voting percentage closer to 67% . she said, if you con sidcr only the ballots which were ac tually delivered to registered voters For the county's first vote-by- mail election, it went smo«*th!y. she said The cost was about the same ps a regular election this time because she was not able to order supplies in hulk to gel a price break "N o w that we know the vote-by- mail works and works well, we w ill ? » »* & d ill OPEN 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. July 7, 8, 9 W here the C ustom er I» the C o m pa n y GREEN FEED I \ . ’ T ♦ J irjuxm I J 1 J 1 » .’ 6 ' 7 f X. 6 ’ X. lVll2£ „ H e p p n e r H o te l P r o je c t 1 1 Limit pfOCCSS IllOVCS tO IICXI Step The city has moved a step forward in its attempt to gain a loan from the state housing division, city attorney Bill Kuhn said Monday The loan tor $600.000 w ill he used in conjunction with a $500.0(X) federal block grant already awarded the city o f Heppner for development o f a 28 unit elder ly housing project at the Heppner Hotel City officials w ill meet with Last Central Oregon Association o f Counties and the state housing divi order in bulk " Most people seem to like the con venience of the mail vote, she said, especially this time o f year when farmers and those who work in timber related jobs arc so very busy The county can use this method for any election except a primary or general election Some votes came in late, however Still in envelopes at the Clerk's o f fice arc 16 ballots which arrived June 25, nine which arrived June 26. and one which arrived June 27 Juvt in time to he counted were 119 ballots which arrived by mail Tucs day, June 24. and 45 which were hand delivered to the Clerk's Office on election day 0 sion in Salem July 15 to learn how to gather the information needed for the actual loan process The city has been in the pre-application process The city has been gathering pre- applications fro m prospective residents to convince the state that there is a need tor the project. A form er July I pre application deadline has been extended, said Kuhn, because the city now has more time to present them to the state The state w ill want to know if pcopl- w ill want to live there, he said The forms arc available at Hepp ner City Hall. At the July 15 meeting, the city hopes to learn how much rent the state w ill allow it to charge for ren tal units in the project The state w ill be concerned. Kuhn said, (hat rent costs per unit arc kept at a reasonable amount yet leaving the city enough money to pay bac k the loan The c i ty also hopes to learn i f it understands correctly that tenants must have an income under $28.(XX), Kuhn said Computer G / a a zeit im e s e nting Wt* will be CLOSED July 4th, 5th & 6th. Open Monday July 7th. Have a Safe & Happy 4th of luly! P eterso n ’s ! thev do against barbed wire fences w hich w ill also help keep maintenance costs down, Hayman said Lower maintenance costs are to the advantage o f the forest permit tees because they arc responsible for upkeep on a ll structural im provements on the allotment Hayman has been involved with the project since working as an in tern range manager wh'le studying for her degree at Washington State University in Pullman The same person rarely gets to do both the analavsis o f an area and then write the plan, she explains, but her in volvement with both phases has given her close ties to this project " I 'm fairly confident the manage ment plan w ill w o rk ." she said " I don't sec how it can tail _ ! I Thank You. Lee & Barbara P Iall ing against the fence may stretch the fence so it is tijvpcd over rather than standing up. but when the tree is removed, the fence w ill bounce right back to its normal position The wires are held in place with barbed two inch staples rather than the regular 1*6” staples used for a barbed wire fence This particular fence is built so that the first and third wires can be electrified if necessary, but the Forest Service anticipates that mas not he necessary Since the New Zealand wire carries a bigger charge than a domestic wire fence. Hayman says, the Forest Service is reluctant to use it on public lands Cattle tend not to rub against smooth wire to scratch themselves as Vote-by-mail goes smoothly,Clerk says J u ly 4 , 5 , ifA O Y FOR M A R V fS T w dh CO OP I»»#» tor your Iru c M ft comOtnaa D o n t about O N TME FARM Tira Sarvica and Can#« 0.1« and g roat# Bwna «E M cost $3.300 per mile which is con siderably less than the S.V.VX) jier mile cost of building a barbed wire fence The fence is 5*4 miles long begin ning at the intersection of Forest Roads 3.312 and 5318 and ending at the tip o f Matlock Prairie Rock jacks at quarter mile intervals sujs- port the wires which are connected to treated posts with heavy duty ten sion vpnngs Splices without twisting maintain the lull strength o f the fence Spacer posts at «0 ft inter vals keep the wires aligned At the next quarter mile post, the wires arc connected with ratchets so the ten sion o f the fence can be controlled It also means that during winter months the top wire can he lowered to make it easier for elk to clear the fence. Hayman explained The New Zealand wire has a 6.(XX) lb breaking strength so n doesn't break as easily with falling limbs or trees, sacs Has man A tree j H e Will Bo CIOSIIF « •A T I On Cana. T M M I T I TAKING CAMS OP ! COUNTRY'S BUSINESS Susan Hayman ex plains how fence tension can be controlled with a simple tool. Joe Yocom of Morrow County Grain Growers demonstrates flexibility of New Zealand fence Jewelers 676 9200
