Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2004)
Heppnec Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - THREE Partnership formed to 2004 Fair and Rodeo Parade winners announced enhance cooperation between BLM and SWCDs The Oregon Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon State Office entered into an agreement to improve communication and coordination to manage, develop and protect federal and private land and water resources in an environm entally and economically sound manner. This agreement is a local example of the cooperative conservation strategy that is being discussed for sage grouse habitat conservation at a national level by the Western Governors’Association, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the BLM. While the BLM manages 15.7 million acres of public land in Oregon, Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) provide leadership, technical assistance and cost share services for conservation of private lands in Oregon. In many cases the BLM and SWCDs work closely to manage adjacent federal and private lands. A Memorandum of Understanding signed on Aug. 11 formalizes the working relationship between BLM and Oregon’s SWCDs. “I believe in the motto, ‘When you’re building something to last, you don’t have to hurry.’ The time and effort to build this agreement will have great benefit in the future,” said Johnny Sundstrom, OACD President. “We are very satisfied with the results.” “This agreement will help SWCDs fulfill our historic functions by bringing together both public land managers and private landowners to benefit both while maintaining the strengths of each,” said Sundstrom. “SWCDs have always been the link between government programs for conservation on private working lands and the owners and managers of that landscape. Now, we are moving ahead to become partners in the relationship between federal lands and local citizens. Working together for the benefit o f both natural resources and communities requires commitment and dedication, but what else has such great potential to enhance both?” he added. “We are excited about the on-the-ground work this agreement brings forward,” said Elaine M. Brong, BLM State Director, Oregon/Washington. “We look for this to enhance our existing working relationship and encourage innovative collaborative efforts between BLM and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts.” Among the areas Births Jonathan Hai lamirez- a son, Jonathan lai, was bom Aug. 6,2004, t Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston to ioemi Ramirez of loardman. Fernando JR lodriguez- a son, emando, was bom Aug. 6,2004, at Good Shepherd ledical Center in lermiston to Isela odriguez of Boardman. prioritized for cooperative conservation efforts are lands managed for sage grouse habitat, drought recovery, coordinated wildfire rehabilitation, and management of noxious weeds. A second priority will be identification of areas for enhanced collaboration and capacity building. One partnership that may be facilitated by the Memorandum of Understanding involves the Malheur SWCD and the BLM Vale District. Malheur County in Eastern Oregon contains one of the largest areas of upland range vegetation that provides vitally im portant sage grouse habitat. The proposed partnership would focus on removing encroaching Western Juniper and restoring native grasses and shrubs. Results of the project should reduce catastrophic wildland fire potential and improve wildlife habitat. To facilitate coordination the BLM and SWCD will convene annual meetings to identify goals and priorities, identify liaisons and technical experts, initiate joint planning studies and demonstration projects and conduct training’s and conferences. Additionally, the.ag en cies will seek opportunities to apply of new field technologies. OACD’s purposes include providing leadership, information and state representation to advance the interests of soil and water conservation districts for the conservation and wise use of Oregon’s natural resources. OACD also informs and involves the public in activities enhancing soil and water conservation, flood prevention, land use planning, economic development, recreation uses, fish and wildlife habitat and other benefits by collaborating with public and private partners through the 45 SWCDs. The main purposes of SWCDs are to identify local natural resource concerns and then provide technical assistance and access to financial resources to allow landowners to focus financial and technical resources on recommended conservation systems. More information on OACD and SWCDs is available at www.oacd.org. The BLM, an agency o f the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land- 261 million surface acres- than any other federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1.9 billion, also administers 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing activities such as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development and energy production and by conserving natural, historical, cultural and other resources on the public lands. Bank of Eastern Oregon float took 21"1 in the Community Floats. Bus and 2nd- M orrow County Grain Growers; Community College and 2nd- O th er- l sl- Bank o f Eastern Oregon; Shamrockettes Dance Team Commercial Floats- and 2nd- Nathaniel Roberts l sl- Mid Columbia School and Rusty. The newly formed Shamrockettes Dance Team took first place in the “Other’" category. The 2004 Morrow County Fair and Rodeo Parade was held Saturday, ,Aug. 21 in Heppner. Winners included: Courts and Royalty- l 5'- Morrow County Queen and Court, 2nd- 1949 Queen Shirley Rugg and Court and 3rd- Umatilla County Fair Court; Junior Riding a G roup- 1st- M aK enzi Hughes and Bobbie Correa and 2nd- Jessica Hughes, T aighler D ougherty and Mary Rietmann; S en io r R iding to hold G ro u p -1 Drive You Crazy and 2nd- Stars o f Cancer; meeting Musical Groups- Ist- The Oregon Wheat Main Street Cowboys; C om m ission will hold a Community Floats- regular m eeting Aug. 31 1*'- Blue M ountain through Sept. 1 at the Wheat M arketing C enter C onference Room, 1200 NW Naito Parkway, Suite 240, Portland, OR at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The m eeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. The ADA p ro h ib its d iscrim in a tio n against persons with disabilities. To request an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other acco m m o d atio n s for persons with disabilities, please contact the Oregon Wheat Commission office 48 hours in advance at (503) 229-6665 or TTY (503 ) 986- 4762. The C om m ission meeting is open to the public and anyone w ish in g to attend is encouraged and w elcomed to do so. ow e f I I I 1 '1 . Peterson's I V, continued from page one highly trained professional who has instant access to the c a lle r's com plete health history and will quickly link each subscriber to the care they need. L ifelin e professionals must undergo in ten siv e tra in in g in g ero n to lo g y , stress m anagem ent and related topics on aging before they are c e rtifie d to answ er subscriber calls. L ifelin e S ystem s was founded in 1974 by a husband-and-wife team of gerontologists- Drs. Andrew S. and Susan Dibner. Today the company supports over 2500 community partners and m ore than 350.000 cid ers from its M assachusetts operations. Over 20,000 calls per day are handled from elders in under 20 seconds each. To learn more about Lifeline, call Molly Rhea at (541) 676-2946. Pioneer Memorial Home Health and Hospice is a department o f the Morrow County Health District. i $ CU STO M $ ANN E iij R S c?3ax (% ak/ B ^ew -eb $3-— ^ Heppner PMHH offers Lifeline services Jewelers/ 676-9200 Il éy cYìlele/ n Heppner Gazette-Times 6769228 > I $$ COPY PAPIR Realm or Cairton Heppner ( u i r l t r Times 1