Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2012)
Wolf management could cost state government up to $500,000 annually Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Libran University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 By David Sykes M a n a g in g O r egon's growing grey w olf population could end up costing state governm ent up to half a million dollars a year, according to a bud get report on the Oregon D epartm ent o f Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) website. The cost to taxpay ers, and hunters to some degree, to fund state efforts reintroducing wolves into Oregon also came up during a program o f the Morrow County Livestock Growers annual meeting last week in Heppner. Rod Childers, Or egon Cattleman’s Associa tion (OCA) Wolf Commit tee Chair, told a group o f lo cal cattlemen that, counting local biologists’ salaries, the state is actually spend ing closer to $608,000 dur ing the current biennium on wolf management. Childers said the m ajority o f that money is coming from the federal governm ent, but that $53,000 to $55,000 is actually coming from tag and license fees charged to Oregon hunters. A ccording to the ODFW website, projecting out into the future, “Oregon expects to have to spend an estimated $400,000 to $500,000 annually to man age this species.” C h ild e rs sp e n t Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon most of his time at the lo cal c a ttle m e n ’s m eeting talking about the best way for cattlemen to handle the com ing influx o f w olves into Morrow County. Hav ing lived and ranched in Wallowa County, Childers knows first-hand about the effect o f w olves on the cattle business, and what to do when there is a wolf kill. Wallowa County has recorded 22 livestock kills since May o f 2010. “The first thing to do if you suspect one o f your cows (or other ani- 50 «? VOL. 131 NO. 3 8 Pages Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Town and Country Awards winners announced The H ep p n er C h am b er o f C om m erce Town and Country Com munity Awards event, spon sored by CenturyLink, was held at the Morrow County Fairgrounds on Thursday, January 12. This y e a r ’s them e was “ People, the Shining Light o f Our Com m unities.” The following awards were given out: Y outh R e c o g n i tion, Zechariah Hintz; Busi ness o f the Year, H ow e’s About Pizza; Woman o f the Year, Judy B uschke; M an o f the Year, Chuck Bailey; Cit izen-Educa tor o f Year, Sherry Mat- Zech Hintz te s o n ; and L i fe t i m e mals) was killed by a wolf is to call your local sheriff,” Childers said. He said the sheriff will treat the kill just like a crime scene, call the appropriate people from ODFW and the federal Fish & Wildlife, and determine if the kill was by a wolf. C hilders said docum ent ing w olf kills will not only get the rancher reparations but also determ ine if the w olf might be taken out. The state has authorized $100,000 in reparations money to be paid to ranch ers who lose cattle. “ Don’t be driving around and letting the dogs run all over the place if you come upon a suspect ed kill,” Childers told the ranchers. “Stay out o f the area and call the sheriff.” F ie ld b io lo g is t Russ M organ (N R S3) is the state o f Oregon Wolf Coordinator; his proposed budget on the ODFW web site is broken down as fol lows: Table X -l. Potential Line Item Coats Associated with Implementation of the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan Estimated Cost Comments Line Item S99.59C) A n n u a l salary p lu s b e n e fits. Field biologist (NRS 3) $ 5 6 ,5 4 0 Field biologist assistant(NRS 1) A n n u a l salary p lu s b e n e fits. Tim Collins and daughter Maggie provided entertainment for the 2012 Town and Country Awards last Thursday. -Photo by David Sykes Achievement, Randall Pe terson. The 2011 Youth Recognition Award recipi ent is Zech Hintz. Hintz, a senior at Heppner High School, is involved with student council. FFA, 4-H, choir, drama and the RDI Ford Leadership program. He is a student representa tive on the com m unity’s -See TOWN & COUNTRY/ PAGE THREE New bakery gives sweet touch to Main Street By A ndrea Di Salvo Heppner shoppers who were out early on Mon day may have noticed the sm ell o f baking w afting down Main Street. T h a t ’s b e c a u s e Lisa Larsen, known as The Pastry Peddler, has opened a new bakery in conjunction with Sweet Productions and The Victorian Rose in Hep pner. The Pastry Peddler, which had its opening on January 16, will provide baked goodies like turn overs, doughnuts, cinna mon rolls, muffins, Danish, cookies and more. The hours of opera tion will be the same as the V ictorian Rose: M onday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sat urday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Early Bird morn ing openings o f 6:30 a.m. on M onday, W ednesday and Friday. During the early morning openings, Lisa will offer biscuits and gravy in addition to her selection of sweets. F o rty -n in e -y e a r- old L arsen w as born in Albany, OR; their family This photo of a wolf as compared to a coyote was passed around at the Morrow County Cattleman's Association meeting last Thursday to illustrate the large size of wolves. -Contributed photo W o u ld a s sist p r o je c t m a n a g e r w ith ra d io tr a c k in g a n d c o lla rin g . Vehicle/mileage Radio collar, receivers, and related equipment GPS radio collar and related equipment A n n u a l c o s t. C o s t p e r c o lla r is $ 4 0 0 . In itia l $ 1 9 ,0 0 0 1 $ 6 ,0 0 0 p u r c h a s e o f 10 co llars. C o s t p e r c o lla r is S3,OCX). $ 1 8 ,0 0 0 E x p e c te d p u r c h a s e o f six c o lla rs. Sampling equipment and lab fee Training Office supplies and equipment Wildlife Services assistance Flight time (for capture and radio tracking) Public information officer A n n u a l c o s t f o r b lo o d te s ts , etc. $ 4 ,0 0 0 A n n u a l c o s t a n d as n e e d e d . SI, 5 0 0 C o m p u te r , p r in te r, p h o n e , etc. $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 A n n u a l c o s t. $ 1 2 5 ,0 0 0 A n n u a l c o s t f o r 1 50 h o u r s a t $ 3 7 ,5 0 0 $ 2 5 0 /h r . A n n u a l c o s t. L ikely w o u ld b e S 2 5 .0 0 0 S5 0 ,OCX) 0 .2 5 - 0 .5 0 F T E p lu s a s s o c ia te d b e n e f its , s u p p lie s a n d tra v e l. Outreach materials A n n u a l c o s ts f o r p r in tin g a n d d e s ig n . C o s ts c o u ld d e c re a s e Research C o s t w ill d e p e n d o n re s e a rc h S15.0CX) o v e r tim e. S 2 5 0 .0 0 0 to p ic s , c o o p e r a to r s a n d s ta te ro le . Lisa Larsen (center) joins mom, Marti (left), of the Victorian Rose and sister, Jodi (right), of Sweet Productions. The Pastry Peddler, will offer baked goods through Sweet Productions six days a week. - Photo by Andrea Di Salvo had a farm near Labanon, OR. She says her family m oved quite a bit when she was young, throughout Alaska and the Northwest, but she grad u ated from West Albany High School. She then continued on to Linn-Benton Com m unity College, where she studied accounting and business management. That took her on the path to becoming a full-charge bookkeeper, an occupation in which she continued for the next 30 years. L a rse n says she also moved around as an adult. She was married in Washington and lived there and in C alifornia before returning to Oregon to raise her daughter, Jenipher. Lar sen and her daughter are not strangers to Heppner. They lived here for a time and Jenipher, now 23, had the chance to attend Heppner High School, playing junior -See PASTRY PEDDLER/ PAGE FIVE Heppner’s law enforcement services meeting Jan. 24 A public meeting to discuss law enforcement services provided to the city o f Heppner by the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office will be held at Heppner City Hall on Tuesday, January 24 from 6-7 p.m. » Experts have said wolves are either already in Morrow County or are very close, and C hilders spent quite a bit o f time telling local ranchers what he and other cattlemen have learned living with wolves in Wallowa County. “ C all the sh e riff department if there is a kill. The key is to get all people (sheriff, ODFW and DFW) on site at the same time,” Childers said. “There needs to be cooperation between all three, especially if ev eryone knows each other.” Childers said all three agen cies need to agree that the kill was from a w olf before it is official. Childers said there are some things ranchers can do when confronted w ith w o lv es, and som e things they cannot do. One th in g they cannot do is harm the wolf, even if the anim al is harassing their livestock. “Landowners may scare aw ay a w o lf seen chasing or in close prox imity to livestock,” local O D FW b io lo g is t Steve Cherry told the group. He said the US Fish & Wildlife Service does “not have the legal ability to allow harass ment o f wolves that may cause bodily harm to the animal or allow landowners to use lethal control.” C h i l d e r s said ranchers should use non- lethal methods, also, such as rem o v in g bone piles around calving areas, put ting up flagging and using noise and strobe lights that activate when a collared w olf comes into the area. The device picks up the signal from a GPS-powered radio collar but not a VHS collar. “But you have to remember,” he said, “not all wolves are collared.” He said flagging is practical on a small acreage, “but you cannot flag 11,000 acres.” He said the pack in W allowa C ounty has an official roam ing range o f 640 acres. As part o f the w olf program, each county with a pack will have a commit tee set up consisting o f one commissioner, two m em bers who own or manage livestock in the county, and two members who support w o lf conservation. That group will then pick two business members from the community, and this seven- m em ber com m ittee will -See WOLVES'PAGE SIX AT MCGG GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: Usile! b ir d Ç eed ÏO% oÇÇ Usile! b i r d f e e d e r s 20% o f f Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 242 W. Llndan Way, Heppner » 676-9422 » 989-3221 |MCGGm«inofflc«j^
