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Local hunters, recreationists hear
of dwindling public access to
former Kinzua Corp. properties
Lease-holder willing to work with locals to find common ground
imes
VOL. 116
NO. 17
6 Pages
Wednesday, April 23,1997
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
New playground equipment at elementary school
Volunteers assem ble playground at Heppner Elementary School
Almost finished-just w aiting for the cem ent to set.
Heppner Elementary School
children are eagerly awaiting
April 23. That's the day they w ill
be able to try out the new
playground equipment that was
installed at the school Friday,
April 18.
HES Principal Bill Karwacki
said that the school had to
remove
older
playground
equipment because it was not
safe for children and did not
meet insurance standards. The
school took out swing sets, a
slide and climbing apparatus.
"When we took all of those
things out, it left use without a
lot for kids to do,” said
Karwacki.
He said that they had received
the okay to purchase the new
equipment out of the school bond
issue, but it turned out that it was
not necessary, as he was able to
pay for the expenditure out of the
regular school budget.
Karwacki and his wife, Penme,
worked Friday to install the new
equipment, along with Mark and
Marcy Miller, Mark, Tami and
Shannon
Rietmann.
Ken,
Kaedene, Madison and Lane
Bailey. Bruce, Debbie. Matt and
Luke
Young,
Skip.
Sandy, Whitney
and
Don
Matthews, Rick Britt, Jay, Sloan,
Baillie and Blair Keithley,
George and Kiel Naims, Kelly
and Kelsie Fox, Ron Anthony,
Chad Doherty, Chris Paullus and
the Columbia Basin Electric Co­
op.
Memorial Day dinner meeting set
Bv the Condon Times-Joumal
Game hunters, fishermen and
women, mushroom hunters,
campers and others who have for
half a century or better traversed
the: thousands of acres of prairies
and timberland formerly owned
by Kinzua Corporation gathered
at Isobel Edwards Hall at Fossil
last Thursday to hear more about
dwindling public access in the
area.
About 60 people met with Bryce
and Peg Logan who have
recently leased the hunting and
recreation rights on about 35,000
acres of former Kinzua-held land
in an area known by Oregon Fish
and Wildlife terms as the North
Fossil Unit.
An additional
40,000 acres or so of former
Kinzua land lying north of Road
21 was leased, and access
reduced, last year.
Pioneer
Resources, the
company which purchased the
land
from
the
Kinzua
Corporation of old, offered the
lease to the Logans, they
explained at last week's meeting.
At first the Logans said no, but
later reconsidered, after thinking
that if "the land will be closed (to
public access) no matter what, it
might as well be leased to
someone local."
The area encircled by the heavy
black line on the map below
roughly defines the 35.000 acres
now leased to the Logans. The
area for which the lease will be
in effect is, where possible,
bordered by roads or fences. The
northern border of the Logan
lease is Road 21, the main haul
road from Kinzua to Camp 5 to
Highway 207, and another
massive block of former Kinzua
land lies north of Road 21, which
is leased and closed to public
access.
"We are going to do fee
hunting," Bryce Logan told those
at the meeting last week. "And
in order to do that, it must be
closed."
The area will be closed to
public access during archery,
deer and elk hunting seasons,
Logan said. The roads will be
closed.
"We don't know about the cow
season yet. We want to work
with other landowners, BLM and
Fish and Wildlife," he said.
Fees have been established at
$2,000 for bull elk season, $650
for deer season and $ 1,000 for 10
days in archery season.
The area will be closed to
mushroom hunters, wood cutters
and turkey hunters. Logan said
that it is his understanding from
Pioneer Resources that wood
cutting will be allowed from the
slash piles along Road 21.
Representatives from churches
and organizations sponsoring a
public Memorial Day dinner at
the county fairgrounds will meet
Tuesday. April 29, at 5 p.m. at St.
wouldn't be here tonight sharing
our concerns. It's good that it's
local."
Persons interested in obtaining
more information about the
accessibility for hunting and
recreation on the former Kinzua
property
may call
Brian
Thompson, who is in charge of
the grazing and recreational
leases for Pioneer Resources at
Heppner, 541-676-9000.
As a result of two earlier
meetings that were hosted by the
ODFW, Bob Krein, ODFW
district wildlife biologist at
Heppner, has indicated that the
following suggestions will be
proposed to the regional and
Portland ODFW offices:
- First season elk - Either sex;
specific
number
of tags
authorized, hunters apply for the
North Fossil Unit hunt by May
15, 1998; tags valid only for
North Fossil Unit.
- Second season elk - Either
sex; no limit to the number of
tags: hunters apply for the North
Fossil Unit hunt by May 15,
1998; tags valid for North Fossil
Unit only.
-Antlerless season - Will be
continued; number of tags will be
determined by damage problems.
-Archery season - No changes;
no review of the archery season
framework is anticipated in the
near future.
WCC barbecue
The Willow Creek Country
Club will have a family barbecue
on Sunday, April 27, at 4 p.m.
Each family will bring their
own meat to the barbecue. Those
whose names begin with “A”
through "K" are asked to bring
salad, and “L" through “Z”, des­
sert.
John and Pat Edmundson,
Rollie and Debbie Marshall and
Ray and Norma French will host
the barbecue.
Rolling Hills Run
planned Saturday
The 1997 Rolling Hills Run
will be held Saturday, April 26,
beginning
at
Heppner
Elementary School.
The annual 5 and 10 K
run walk is held as a benefit by
the South Morrow County EMT
Association to raise money for
equipment
purchases
for
ambulances in Heppner and
Lexington and the First Response
vehicle stationed at lone.
For more information about the
race, call Bill Sheirbon. 989-
8526 evenings and weekends.
Duty Master w ork boot
List Price: $195.00
Patrick's Senior Center in Hepp­
ner.
Individuals and other organiza­
tions interested in supporting this
event are invited to attend.
The Logans will also have the
authority over the traffic and
activities at Searcy Pond, the
popular fishing and recreation
spot for many in the area, young
and old.
"We recognize how many
people use that (Searcy)," Bryce
Logan said. "We're trying to
keep that open."
As it stands now, the
Department of Fish & Wildlife
will stock Searcy with fish this
year and fishing will be open to
the public probably through mid-
August. However, there will be
no camping, no camp fires and
no firearms at Searcy or
throughout the closure area.
The situation for the Searcy
area beyond mid-August has not
been determined at this point,
though ODFW has indicated it
will continue to stock the pond
with fish as long as the public is
allowed access to it.
Asked about the situation at
Camp 5, the Logans indicated
they have no control over what
occurs there. Camp 5, also
known as Wineland Lake and
Wetmore, is not included in the
property the Logans have leased.
Fossil resident Lee Bouchard
spoke of the heritage of the local
people with the land, and
suggested that the Logans
consider local cow hunts,
reduced rates for local hunters, or
providing other opportunities for
local hunters, who would, in turn,
help the Logans in policing the
area.
"It's a big project," Bryce
Logan responded. "Obviously
we'll need some help, and
possibly there will be room to
trade some favors."
The Logans indicated that they
realize the value of the large
hunter population that is attracted
to the Fossil area during the
hunting seasons, and want to
continue that attraction. And
they are not discounting that
there may be other forms of
recreation that may develop out
of the change, though no
specifics were discussed
"Why not offer more tags for
less money for year-round
recreation?" the Logans were
asked.
"The area has been over hunted
in the past," Logan responded.
"There have been too many
hunters. We're trying to create a
quality hunt for fewer people."
In summarizing his theory of
the situation, area resident Tom
Troxell said that Pioneer
Resources is eliminating some of
its liability by reducing the
number of people in the area
"It's better that it’s in the hands
of someone local," he said, "than
somebody else. Otherwise we
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