“The USDA is planning to close the Grant County Farm Service Agency office. This closure will negatively impact the farms, ranches, and other agricultural activities in Grant County. If the office closes, those interested in accessing the services offered by the Farm Service Agency will have to travel to Baker City (a minimum 45 minute drive). Obviously, keeping this office open would greatly benefit those who have utilized and will still need to utilize the services offered.

“If you are interested in helping keep this office open, I would suggest you submit a comment and rationale for such retention of these services in Grant County to the State Executive Director of the Farm Services Agency.

“Here is his contact information:

Lynn E. Voigt
State Executive Director
Farm Service Agency-Oregon
7620 SW Mohawk St.
Tualatin, OR 97062
Lynn.Voigt@or.usda.gov

“The final day for submitting comments is Thursday, February 9th, 2012. I strongly encourage your participation and comment.”

On December 28, 2011, OSP Senior Trooper Kris Davis responded to a report of a headless carcass, determined to be a bighorn sheep ram, on Conner Creek Road approximately a quarter mile from the Snake River Road. This location is between the towns of Huntington and Richland along Brownlee Reservoir in the Lookout Mountain Wildlife Management Unit. Based on statements and condition of the carcass, Davis believes the ram was killed on approximately December 22, 2011. The ram’s head was removed and the remains left to waste.

Bighorn sheep hunting is lawful in the Lookout Mountain Unit with the proper tag; however, the season for bighorn sheep closed in that area on September 25. Only two bighorn sheep tags are issued in this unit each year.

The reward increase was made possible through contributions from:

* Oregon Hunters Association (OHA) TIP reward
* OHA Ochoco Chapter
* OHA Josephine Chapter
* OHA Bend Chapter
* OHA Redmond Chapter
* OHA Baker Chapter
* OHA Union County Chapter
* Oregon Foundation for North American Wild Sheep
* The Humane Society of the United States

Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to call the Turn-in-Poacher TIP line at 1-800-452-7888, or Senior Trooper Davis at (541) 805-4757.

The purpose of the Baker RMP revision is to provide broad-scale guidance for the management of public lands and resources administered by the BLM’s Baker Field Office. When completed, the RMP will guide the BLM in the implementation of all its subsequent management actions and site-specific activities in the Decision Area. Copies of the Draft RMP/EIS are available at the BLM Baker Field Office and Vale District Office. The document is also available online at: http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale/plans/bakerrmp/contact.php

To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS by February 23, 2012. You may submit comments related to the Draft RMP/EIS by any of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale/plans/bakerrmp/contact.php

Email: BLM_OR_BK_RMP@blm.gov

Fax: 541-523-1965

Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Baker Field Office, P.O. Box 947, Baker City, OR 97814

Public meetings to share information and respond to questions about the Draft RMP/EIS are scheduled for:

Durkee: Jan. 10 – 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Community Hall
Old school house just off old Hwy 30

Enterprise: Jan. 11 – 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Community Connection
702 NW 1st St.

Pendleton: Jan. 17 – 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Convention Center
1601 Westgate

Baker: Jan. 18 – 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
BLM Baker Field Office
3285 11th Street

La Grande: Jan. 19 – 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Library
2006 4th Street

About the BLM: The BLM manages more land – more than 245 million acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface 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 such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

Christmas tree permits are available at:

The Gold Post in Sumpter

York’s Park Grocery in Baker City

O&M Gas & Grocery in Elgin

Wallowa Food City in Wallowa

Dollar Stretcher in Enterprise

The Sports Corral in Joseph

Halfway Market in Halfway

Hitching Post Grocery in Richland

Brogan Quick Stop in Brogan

Drapers Outdoor Store in Ontario

Vending machines with maps and Christmas tree permits are available 24 hours at Forest Service offices in Baker City (3285 Eleventh Street) and Halfway (38470 Pine Town Lane). Permits are also available at the Forest Service district offices in La Grande, Joseph and Clarkston, WA.

The Forest Service Christmas Tree program is designed for families, businesses, and institutions wishing to cut their own Christmas tree for decorating.

“Keep your family and your own safety in mind as you head to the forest,” said Kerry Sherman, Resource Specialist for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. “Carry a Forest map, snacks, water, and dress warm.”

More information about Christmas tree cutting permits and road conditions can be obtained by calling local Forest Service offices or on the web at www.fs.usda.gov/wallowa-whitman/
.

“Dear District 60 post office patron:

I have been attending some of the rural post office closure meetings. At the Hereford Post Office Closure meeting, those in attendance were informed by the Pendleton Postmaster that he believed the most effective way to support keeping a local post office open was to send a letter to the Postal Service listing the reasons why closure would damage your community. Letters objecting to closure, to be included in the decision record, should be sent to:

United States Postal Service
Attn: Stephanie Wood
P.O. Box 4829
Portland, OR 97208

Your letter should be sent as soon as possible since the 60-day comment period will run sometime in mid-November. Thus, if you want to improve your post office’s chance of remaining open, the sooner you send your letter, the better.

Your letter should include a list of the problems you believe you are going to see as a result of not having a post office in your area. Your list could include such things as a lack of a place within a reasonable distance from your home to purchase postal materials (stamps, etc), lack of a place to post packages, lack of a safe place to have a post office box, or lack of a predictable way of sending or receiving certified/registered mail. You should include any other concerns that you have regarding the closure of the post office.

If you want to help keep your post office open, you need to send a letter.

Very truly yours,

Representative Cliff Bentz”

Bentz is scheduled to appear on “Let’s Talk” on 1450/1490 AM on Friday, October 21, at 7AM to discuss this issue, his legislative committee appointments, and the upcoming 2012 legislative session.

The film explores Aldo Leopold’s life in the early part of the twentieth century and the many ways his land ethic idea continues to be applied all over the world today.

“Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time” is a production of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the US Forest Service, and the Center for Humans and Nature. The film shares highlights from Leopold’s life and extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation in the twentieth century and still inspires people today.

Although probably best known as the author of the conservation classic, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold is also renowned for his work as an educator, philosopher, forester, ecologist, and wilderness advocate.

The film is being shown in community screening venues like this one throughout 2011. It will then be released on public television in early 2012.

“Aldo Leopold’s legacy lives on today in the work of people and organizations across the nation and around the world,” said Aldo Leopold Foundation Executive Director Buddy Huffaker. “What is exciting about Green Fire is that it is more than just a documentary about Aldo Leopold; it also explores the influence his ideas have had in shaping the conservation movement as we know it today by highlighting some really inspiring people and organizations doing great work to connect people and the natural world in ways that even Leopold might not have imagined.”

“Green Fire” illustrates Leopold’s continuing influence by exploring current projects that connect people and land at the local level. Viewers will meet urban children in Chicago learning about local foods and ecological restoration. They’ll learn about ranchers in Arizona and New Mexico who maintain healthy landscapes by working on their own properties and with their neighbors, in cooperative community conservation efforts. They’ll meet wildlife biologists who are bringing back threatened and endangered species, from cranes to Mexican wolves, to the landscapes where they once thrived. “Green Fire” portrays how Leopold’s vision of a community that cares about both people and land—his call for a land ethic—ties all of these modern conservation stories together and offers inspiration and insight for the future.

“The making of Green Fire has been a process of discovery,” says Curt Meine, the film’s on-screen guide. Meine’s doctoral dissertation was a biography of Aldo Leopold, published as Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (University of Wisconsin Press, 1988). To give the film its modern perspective of Leopold’s influence in the conservation movement today, Meine was charged with conducting hundreds of interviews with people practicing conservation all over the country. “Meeting all those people has really yielded new connections between Leopold and nearly every facet of the environmental movement, including ocean conservation, urban gardening, and climate change—issues that Leopold never directly considered in his lifetime but has nonetheless affected as his ideas are carried on by others,” said Meine.

The Aldo Leopold Foundation is distributing the film to community screeners, and is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization based in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The foundation’s mission is to inspire an ethical relationship between people and land through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Leopold regarded a land ethic as a product of social evolution. “Nothing so important as an ethic is ever ‘written,’” he explained. “It evolves ‘in the minds of a thinking community.’”

Learn more about the Aldo Leopold Foundation and “Green Fire” at www.aldoleopold.org.

-Ontario: Nov. 1, Ontario Grange (3890 Hwy 201) at 7:00 pm

-Burns: Nov. 2, Harney County Chamber of Commerce (484 North Broadway) at 7:00 pm

-Bend: Nov. 3, Riverhouse Convention Center (3075 North Business 97) at 7:00 pm

The purchase would add approximately 1,075 acres to the Riverside Wildlife Area, which is 15 miles south of Juntura, Ore.

The proposed acquisition is a mix of aquatic, wetland, riparian and sagebrush steppe habitat. Wildlife species found on the property include mule deer, bighorn sheep, sage grouse, dove, chukar, pheasant, multiple waterfowl species, redband trout, smallmouth bass, brown bullhead, channel catfish, and yellow perch.

The purchase would open the property to hunting, fishing, trapping and wildlife viewing opportunities—including access to 2.5 miles of the South Fork of the Malheur River and increased access to nearby BLM ground.

Funding for the proposed purchase would come from mitigation funds related to construction of the Ruby Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that runs from Opal, Wyo. to Malin, Ore. The mitigation funds are earmarked for land acquisition, to partially offset wildlife habitat loss associated with the pipeline construction.

The Riverside Wildlife Area was initially established in 1976 with the purpose of maintaining and enhancing wildlife habitat while providing public hunting and access to the Malheur River. It is currently 3,798 acres.

Public comments will be taken at all the meetings. Comments can also be emailed to odfw.comments@state.or.us or mailed to ODFW, PO Box 8, Hines, OR 97738.

The Department plans to take a recommendation regarding the acquisition to the Fish and Wildlife Commission for a final decision at their Dec. 2, 2011 meeting in Portland.

Press release from ODFW

With this in mind the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has developed a new outdoor safety webpage. “Visitor safety is our first priority in recreation on the Wallowa-Whitman,” said Forest Supervisor Monica Schwalbach. “Education is central to safety,” continued Schwalbach, “The more you know about the environment you visit, the more prepared you will be for changing weather conditions, wildlife and the risks associated with various recreational activities.”

The new outdoor safety page is available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/Wallowa-Whitman/OutdoorSafety or by visiting the Wallowa-Whitman homepage and clicking on the Outdoor Safety link on the right hand side. Each link on the outdoor safety page brings up a PDF file that lists the risks and mitigation strategies for a particular hazard. Safety topics currently include general outdoor safety, water, weather and wildlife.

It is the hope of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest that all visitors will take advantage of this webpage and will enjoy a safe and memorable adventure to their national forests.

Prescribed fire managers coordinate daily with the National Weather Service, the Oregon State Smoke Forecast Center, and adjacent National Forests to determine the optimum time and place to implement each burn. Each burn project has specific resource and prescribed fire objectives and constraints which guide fire managers in determining whether to proceed with a burn. Objectives of the burns include hazardous fuel reduction, slash removal, big game and other wildlife habitat improvement, and forest ecosystem restoration. Forest Service employees and cooperators will do the burning.

“Firefighter and public safety is our top priority as we implement these burns” says Steve Hawkins, Fuels Program Manager. “Smoke management is also a priority as we do not wish to impact our neighbor communities.”

However, nearby residents and forest visitors should expect temporary smoke in the vicinity of any prescribed fire activity and drivers should pay extra attention while traveling through or adjacent to burn areas.

The locations of the proposed prescribed burns are listed below and additional details are available on the fire and aviation page of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest website; www.fs.usda.gov/goto/Fire-Aviation or at any forest office. Actual acres within a project area may vary depending on fuel conditions, smoke dispersal, and weather conditions and not all proposed burns may be completed this fall since typical weather conditions provide for limited burn windows. For more information concerning the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest prescribed burning program, contact Bret Ruby at 541-523-1415 or Steve Hawkins at 541-523-1262.

Burnt-Powder Fire Zone – 541-523-4476 – Whitman Ranger District, includes Baker, Halfway and Unity areas. The BPFZ plans to conduct prescribed burning on 5000 acres this fall which may include:

• Foothills (200 acres) Baker City Watershed, 4 miles west of Baker City
• Jack and California (600 acres) Whitney Valley
• Deer and BEMA (200 acres) Sumpter Valley
• Woodtick (100 acres) north of Unity Reservoir
• Dry Creek, East Pine, and Barnard (750 acres) Pine Valley near Halfway
• Mile 9 (250 acres) South Fork of Burnt River near Unity
• Stices (325 acres) 10 miles south of Baker City
• Goose (500 acres) 6 miles northwest of Sparta

Wallowa Fire Zone – 541-426-4978 – Wallowa Valley Ranger District, Hells Canyon NRA and Eagle Cap Ranger District. The WFZ plans to conduct prescribed burning on 3500 acres this fall which may include:

• Minam (3,600 acres) west of the Little Minam River
• Spooner (1500 acres) Harl Butte area
• Hotel (510 acres) 20 miles north of Wallowa
• Simmons (115 acres) 20 miles north of Enterprise
• Green McCoy (195 acres) Minam River
• Baldwin (340 acres) 15 miles north of Enterprise
• Arroz (365 acres) 24 miles northeast of Enterprise in the Summit Ridge area

Grande Ronde Fire Zone – 541-963-7186 – La Grande Ranger District. The GRFZ plans to conduct prescribed burning on 1500 acres this fall which may include:

• Moss Potter (125 acres) southeast of Cove
• Horsefly (1000 acres) 5 miles southwest of La Grande
• Dark Meadow (650 acres) 15 miles west of La Grande
• Bald Angel ( 550 acres) 7 miles southeast of Medical Springs
• Medical Springs (150 acres)12 miles southeast of Union
• Blue Fly (300 acres) 20 miles southwest of La Grande

In most areas, prescribed burning is the last of a series of treatments for vegetation and fuel reduction projects analyzed under the National Environmental Policy Act. Public input, cooperation with local and governmental cooperators is part of the process prior to every burn. Burning often follows harvest or other thinning activities that remove some trees while retaining the largest, healthiest trees of the most fire-resistant species, such as Ponderosa pine and western larch. Smaller trees (ladder fuels) are removed so stands will be less susceptible to crown fires. Prescribed burning completes the treatment by consuming much of the surface fuel accumulation.

Prescribed burning is done to reduce dead and down fuels, selectively thin understory trees in dense forested stands, stimulate fire resistant plant species, enhance forage and browse, reduce the risk of large stand-replacement fires, and restore fire under controlled conditions as a disturbance factor in these landscapes. Prescribed burns can range from tens to thousands of acres in size.

Fire history studies have shown that fire was a dominant natural process in the Blue Mountains, maintaining a more open and park-like condition throughout the low- to mid-elevation forests. Low-intensity surface fires burned throughout these drier forests and grasslands perpetuating open, park-like stands of fire tolerant tree species such as Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and larch.

Hazardous fuel reduction is not without impacts. Smoke associated with prescribed burning is a major component and the hardest to forecast in the implementation planning process. Prescribed fire managers work closely with the Oregon State Smoke Forecast Center in accordance with the Oregon Smoke Management Plan to determine when, where, and how much is burned on a daily basis. Smoke dispersion models looking at volume of smoke, direction of spread and mixing heights are determined prior to each burn, smoke which may prove a significant impact to a sensitive area or community is rescheduled until the time of a more favorable forecast.

Burning is part of the series of fuel reduction treatments intended to decrease the damage done by wildfires, including reducing the amount of smoke that typically impacts communities during the fire season. The intent is to keep smoke out of populated areas. Burning under controlled conditions reduces surface and ladder fuels setting the stage to limit future high intensity unplanned fires and smoke which they would produce. Many areas are burned on 10 to 15 year rotation to limit fuels accumulations and enhance forage and browse important to wildlife.

Wallowa-Whitman forest managers have conducted prescribed burning operations for fuel reduction for over 20 years. The Forest completes between 5,000 and 10,000 acres of prescribed burning each year.

On September 27, 2011 at about 12:02 p.m. an unmarked OSP Dodge Durgano driven by Detective David Aydelotte, who is a 13-year OSP veteran, was traveling west on Campbell Street when it collided with a bicycle at the 7th Street intersection. Evidence indicates 17-year old Tyler Arthur was riding his bicycle north on 7th Street when it entered the Campbell Street intersection and the collision occurred. The intersection is controlled by stop signs on 7th Street. Campbell Street does not have a stop sign.

Tyler Arthur was transported by ambulance to St. Alphonsus Hospital in Baker City and later flown to a Boise-area hospital. He is currently listed in critical condition.

Detective Aydelotte was not injured.

Further details will be released at a later time when appropriate as the investigation continues. OSP is assisting the Baker City Police Department with this investigation.