HeppnerGazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Hansell announces candidacy
for Senate District 29
Bill Hansell, cur
rent Umatilla County Com
missioner, will run for State
Senate District 29.
Hansell was bom
and raised in Athena, where
his family has farmed for
four generations. He and his
wife, Margaret, raised their
six children in the area and
are currently active in the
community.
Senate District 29
now includes the counties
o f Morrow, Union, Wal
lowa, Gilliam, Sherman and
a portion of Wasco County.
The primary election is set
for May 15.
Hansell will be run
ning to replace long-time
Senator David Nelson, who
is not seeking re-election
and is an early supporter of
Hansell’s.
“I am proud to be
an early supporter of Bill
Hansell for State Senate, enthusiastically supporting
and encouraged him to run. him in his campaign.”
C u rren tly , H an
Bill is an experienced and
dedicated leader who un sell’s finance team is being
derstands Eastern Oregon chaired by Senator Nelson,
and I know he will continue Hermiston leaders Roger
to build on the work that 1 Bounds and TJ Hansell, and
Pendleton lawyer
have accomplished
Steve Corey.
in the State Senate,”
Also join
said Nelson.
ing
in
early
support
Hansell an
o
f
H
ansell’s
bid
nounces his cam
for
State
Senate
paign with strong
are more than 25
local support and
county and city of
support of the State Bill Hansell
ficials—represent
Senate Republican
ing all counties fully within
Caucus leader.
Senate Republican Senate D istrict 29— and
Leader Ted Ferrioli said, “I both state representatives
am looking forward to hav from the area, Bob Jensen
ing Bill in the Oregon State and Greg Smith. Hansell
Legislature. He is a strong says he expects additional
fighter for conservative val supporters to be added to
ues and, with over 30 years the coalition in the coming
of local government experi weeks as the word of his
ence, he will be an invalu candidacy spreads.
able part of the team. I am
Commission on transportation
meets
The N orth East
Area Commission on Trans
portation (NEACT) will
hold its next meeting on
Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. to noon
at the Oregon Department
of Transportation (ODOT)
Region 5 headquarters at
3012 Island Avenue in La
Grande.
The NEACT, com
prised o f transportation
stakeholders from Morrow,
Umatilla, Union, Wallowa
and Baker counties, and
the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reser
vation, helps identify and
prioritize transportation-
related projects in the five-
county area. The meeting
location is accessible to
persons with disabilities,
per the Americans with Dis
abilities Act. The general
public is invited to attend.
On the agenda are:
general updates on Oregon
Transportation Commission
and current ODOT projects;
Byways Committee, Tran
sit, League of Oregon Cit-
ies/Association of Oregon
C ounties updates; local
program update; NEACT
county/city roundtable;
bike/pedestrian steering
committee update; Jobs and
Transportation Act (JTA)
projects status and Con-
nectOregon IV update; and
speed study presentation
Time has been set
aside for public comments
regarding project proposals
and other transportation
related topics. To schedule
time on the agenda at future
NEACT meetings, contact
Lisa Hill at 541-963-3179.
An Area Commis
sion on Transportation is an
advisory body chartered by
the Oregon Transportation
Commission to help address
all aspects of transportation.
More information about
ACTs is available at the
ODOT Web Site at http://
www.responsetrack. net.
Meeting informa
tion can be made available
in alternate format upon
request for persons with
disabilities, such as sign
language interpreter, etc. To
request alternate formats, or
for more information about
this meeting, call Lisa Hill
at 541-963-3179 or email
at Lisa.A.Hill@odot.state,
or.us. Please request al
ternate formats at least 48
hours prior to meeting.
CIG pre-proposal deadline
January 31
Reprintedfrom Or that help farmers and ranch in NRCS policy, technical
egon Wheat Newsletter
ers run sustainable and manuals, guides and refer
Agriculture Secre
tary Tom Vilsack reminds
applicants that January 31,
is the last day to submit
project pre-proposals for
fiscal year 2012 Conser
vation Innovation Grants
(CIG) from the U.S. De
partment o f Agriculture’s
Natural Resources Conser
vation Service (NRCS).
Pre-proposals sup
port large-scale demonstra
tion projects that test and
prove original approaches
to conserving A m erica’s
private lands.
“These conserva
tion grants continue to gen
erate exciting new ideas
profitable operations and
address high-priority natu
ral resource concerns,” said
Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack. “We are proud to
encourage the advancement
of innovative conservation
methods that will benefit
producers, the public and
the economy for years to
come.”
This y e a r’s CIG
projects focus on nutri
ent management, energy
conservation, soil health,
wildlife and CIG projects
assessment.
Results of success
ful projects will be included
ences.
CIG funds will be
awarded through a com
petitive grants process. At
least 50 percent of the total
cost of CIG projects must
come from non-federal
matching funds, including
cash and in-kind contribu
tions provided by the grant
recipient.
To apply electron
ically, visit http://w w w .
grants.gov/ or contact a
local NRCS office. To view
the complete announcement
o f program funding, visit
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
technical/cig/.
Wednesday, January25,2012
-F IV E
Report hunt results by
deadline to win special tag
Penalty for not reporting will begin in 2013
H unters need to
report the results of most
big game and turkey hunts
by Jan. 31, 2012. Hunters
should complete a report
for each and every deer,
elk, bear, cougar, pronghorn
and turkey tag purchased,
even if they didn’t fill their
tag or go hunting. The par
ticipation and harvest rate
information is critical for
setting tags and seasons.
Report online or by
phone at 1-866-947-6339.
To complete the report,
hunters need the following
information:
-H u n te r/A n g le r
ID# (ODFW ID#), which
is printed on all licenses
and tags
-Number o f days
hunted
-If they mentored a
youth during the hunt
-Wildlife manage
ment unit where hunted
-Num ber o f ant
ler points on the side of
their animal with the most
points
So far, only about
37% of 2011 tags have been
reported.
The Jan. 31 report
ing deadline is for hunts
that ended between April
1 and Dec. 31, 2011. April
15, 2012 is the deadline
for reporting hunts ending
between Jan.l and March
31,2012.
Hunters that meet
the appropriate Jan. 31 or
April 15 deadlines will be
entered into a contest to
win one o f three special
big game tags. Winners
choose the tag (deer, elk or
pronghorn) and may take
an either-sex animal during
an extended season and in
an expanded hunt area that
allows them to hunt nearly
statewide.
Reporting hunt re
sults has been mandatory
since 2008 and is meant to
eventually replace phone
harvest survey calls that
determined hunter partici
pation and harvest rates.
Oregon was one of the last
Western states to adopt
mandatory hunt reporting.
Reporting rates were low
in other states until penalty
fees were introduced.
Since 2008, report
ing rates have been too
low and ODFW has con
tinued to call a percentage
of hunters by phone to get
the needed data. To bring
hunter reporting rates up,
ODFW will begin charging
a penalty fee to hunters who
don’t report on time. The
fee will be set by the Fish
and Wildlife Commission
in October 2012, during the
2013 big game regulation
setting process. ODFW’s
proposal to the commission
is to charge a fee o f up to
$25 to hunters who fail to
report on deer and elk tags,
as these tags have some o f
the lowest reporting rates.
The fee will take effect for
unreported 2013 tags, with
hunters facing the penalty
when they purchase their
2014 hunting license. Year
2014 licenses go on sale
Dec. 1,2013.
“We were hoping
a penalty fee would not be
necessary but despite all
our efforts to get the word
put, reporting rates are still
too low to phase out phone
surveys,” said Tom Thorn
ton, ODFW game program
manager. “It only takes a
few minutes to report, and
the information is critical to
setting big game seasons.”
“We do thank all
the hunters that have re
ported on time,” Thornton
added.
Since reporting be
came mandatory in 2008,
ODFW has gotten the word
out through press releases,
on the front page o f the
regulations, postcards to
hunters, advertising online,
in the regulations and by
offering the chance to win
a special big game tag.
Hunter reporting rates av
eraged 58 percent in 2010,
37 percent in 2009 and less
than 15 percent in 2008.
Chance to win Sports Pac
Apply early for controlled hunt
Apply fora fall big
game controlled hunt by
January 31 and you will
be entered into a draw
ing to win one of 50 2013
Sports Pacs, each a $ 164.75
value.
,i
For the third year,
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife (ODFW) is
awarding a total o f 100
Sports Pacs am ong the
pool of hunters who apply
for and are issued a fall big
game controlled hunt ap
plication before April 15.
While residents receive a
Sports Pac, non-residents
selected in the drawing
will win a hunting license
(a $140.50 value).
The purpose of the
drawings is to encourage
hunters to apply for con
trolled hunts early, well
before the May 15 deadline.
The sooner hunters apply,
the better their chances of
winning one o f the three
drawings:
50 Sports Pacs (or
non-resident hunting li
censes) will be awarded
among the pool of hunters
who apply between Dec. 1,
2011 and Jan. 31.
30 Sports Pacs (or
non-resident hunting li
censes) will be awarded
among the pool of hunters
who apply by March 15.
20 Sports Pacs (or
non-resident hunting li
censes) will be awarded
among the pool of hunters
who apply by April 15.
A Sports Pac in
cludes a combination an-
gling/hunting/shellfish li
cense, a combined angling
harvest tag, a validation for
upland bird and waterfowl
hunting, plus a general or
controlled deer, general or
controlled elk, general cou
gar, general or controlled
bear and spring turkey tag.
The drawings will
take place Feb. 1, March
16 and April 19; winners
will be notified by mail.
Hunters unsuccessful in the
first or second drawing will
be re-entered into future
drawings. Only one entry
per hunter is allowed, so
hunters who apply for sev
eral controlled hunts will
still only be entered once.
Controlled spring bear hunt
applicants are not eligible
for the drawing.
H unters can ap
ply for controlled hunts
online, at a license sales
agent, at ODFW offices
that sell licenses, or by mail
or fax order using the fax
or mail order application
(also found on page 17 of
the 2012 Oregon Big Game
Regulations).
Mail order/fax ap
plicants should allow 7-10
days for their applications
to be processed and issued.
Remember, to be eligible for
the drawing, the controlled
hunt application must be
issued, not just received,
by the drawing deadlines.
Controlled hunt applica
tions can be processed and
issued immediately online,
at license sales agents or
ODFW offices.
The deadline to ap
ply for a controlled hunt is
May 15 each year. In 2011,
79,481 out of 380,639 total
applications, or almost 21
percent, were processed by
April 15, 2011. That com
pares to 21 percent in 2011
and 16 percent in 2010.
“Most controlled
hunt applications are re
ceived during the last few
days,” said Deanna Erick
son, ODFW license sales
services manager. “How
ever, these drawings have
increased the number o f
early applicants.”
In the past, the high
volume of sales activity in
the last few days prior to the
deadline led to long lines
and slowed or crashed the
system.
The vendor that
manages the license sales
system is purchasing the
Sports Pac and non-resident
hunting licenses for the
winners.
Some of Oregon’s
big game hunts are limited
entry, including almost all
rifle hunting o f deer and
elk east o f the Cascades
and pronghorn antelope,
bighorn sheep, and Rocky
Mountain goat hunts. These
hunts require a controlled
hunt application.
Firewood permit reminder
Vinyl Lettering for windows
Magnetic Door Signs
Heppner Gazette-Times 541-676-9228
Send news stories to:
editor@rapidserve.net
With the lack o f
snowfall this winter, many
areas of the forest are still
accessible for firewood
gathering. Many folks are
taking advantage o f the
weather and are out cutting
firewood.
It is a new year,
which means it time to
purchase a new Personal
Use Firewood Permit for
2012. Permits purchased
before January 1,2012 have
expired and are no longer
valid. A 2012 permit may
be purchased in person at
Malheur National Forest
offices in John Day, Prairie
City and Bums. A minimum
o f four cords ($20) per
transaction is required; each
cord thereafter is $5. Begin
ning this year, the Malheur
National Forest has raised
the maximum number of
cords per household from
10 to 16.
Firewood cutters
are reminded that the cut
ting o f Tamarack is not
allowed from November 1
through April 30.
Your perm it and
related documents must be
with you at all times while
cutting or transporting fire
wood. A new load tag must
be validated by completely
removing the month and
day that you are removing
the firewood. The validated
tag must be attached to the
back o f the load prior to
moving the vehicle from the
cutting area, and tags must
be clearly visible. One tag
is required for every Vi cord
of firewood, or any portion
thereof. Load tags may not
be re-used. Load tickets
may not be sold, traded or
used to remove fuel-wood
under another permit.
If you fail to prop
erly tag your load or vali
date your load ticket(s), you
are in violation of the terms
and conditions of your per
mit and you may be subject
to fines, penalties or further
prosecution.
For further infor
mation, visit www.fs.usda.
gov/malheur or phone 541-
5 7 5 -3 0 0 0 .
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