ews Will wolves be delisted'? What to do if you encounter a wolf LA GRA N D E — Seven years after w olves crossed the Snake River fr om Idaho into Oregon, the population of the apex predator has grown to the point that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will ask its policy makers Oct. 9 to consider the removal of wolves from the state's endangered species protection. The meeting of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in Florence will serve as a public hearing. The Commission is expected to make a decision on the matter in a meeting Nov. 9 in Salem. Reaching this point of delisting has been the focus of wolf management since it began in Oregon, according to Russ Morgan, head of the ODFW wolf management program in La Grande. "It's a hot button topic, but it's been the most important thing. The main focus of the wolf plan is to get to the point to be delisted," Morgan said. Earlier this year, Oregon met its wolf management plan goal of maintaining four breeding packs for three consecutive years.Last year,ODFW counted 10 packs that included nine breeding pairs with all but one pack in northeastern Oregon. For the most part, delisting in and of itself won't change things dramatically because wolves are mostly still protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. Assuming the delisting — the second phase of the wolf plan — is approved, management measures kick in, including some additional protective actions that could be allowed for livestock producers. ODFW already has assumed that the state delisting has been lifted and is implementing the management provision in the eastern third of the state (lands east of highway 395) where there is no current federal ESA listing for gray wolves. Meanwhile, hunters have already hit the woods going after deer and elk with bow and arrow with the rifle season coming up soon. There are more oppo r t u n i t ies than ever to see and hear wolves, which is something Morgan hopes people wil l e mbrace as something few others wil l ever have the chance to experience. The chance of an attack by a wolf on a human is so far off target that Morgan pretty much d i sm isses reports when someone calls expressing such terror. "I talk to hundreds of hunters. Half of the calls are 'I found a track or I heard a howl' and I say that's really neat. Others have varying concerns from a safety standpoint w h ic h i s a n o n-starter for me because there have been very few instances of interaction. M ost h u n t ers aren'tconcerned, even though they may
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Head Start students like Samual Wel/s, green shirt, Awna'ee Najera, pink shirt, Duane Wel/s, blue sweat-shirt, and Sophia Ferman, white shirt, above, runs the gauntlet, slapping the hands of adult men who turned out for Aaron Noisey's 100 Man Celebration at Cay-Uma-Wa Head Start building on Sept. 18. Participants ranged fromjanitors to elected leaders for the first-dayof-school event. Head Start began the day with 30 students. As the CUJ was going to press, Aaron Worden had been named Cay-Uma-Wa Head Start program manager.
2015 General Election Calendar Impor tantDates for October per CTUIR Election Code October28 2015- A bsentee BallotsM ailedto • Qualified Voters who previously returned a notarizedAbsentee Ballot Request Form I'Permanent Absentee Voter) • Qualified Voters whose mailing address is outside 97801 whose signatures are on file • Qualified Voters who submit a written request for an Absentee Ballot signed by voter (not notarized), shallreceive only for this specific General Election. If you have any questions you may contact The Election Commission, see the Notice of General Election for contact information.
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October 2015
Confederated Umatilla Journal