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
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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
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tM orrow County
Grain
Growers«
39
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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
?
»
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&
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
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I J 1 J 1 » .’
6 ' 7 f X. 6 ’
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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