Letter to the Editor for May 1, 2009

Wolves have all the rights in Oregon

To the editor:

It’s late at night and everything is quiet. A thief slips into your house and takes several hundred dollars worth of food from your freezer. The next night it happens again.  Two nights later the thief takes all the rent money from your wallet. Finally you set up a camera to find out who is doing this. You get the pictures and call the police who tell you that “You can’t do anything about it. If you harm the thief we’ll put you in prison.” 

Who would put up with this miscarriage of justice? Who wouldn’t be outraged? This is America and we have rights!

Sounds unrealistic and idiotic until you replace “thief” with “wolf.”

The wolves that entered Baker County as illegal aliens are protected by the U.S. government. They are free to kill livestock without fear of consequences. If the rancher has enough, and kills the wolves, he is an outlaw. He faces fines and prison.  The rancher doesn’t even have the option of having police arrest the thief and having him locked up! The current plan includes capturing the wolf and only putting a radio collar on him so he can be tracked.  Wonderful!  Now they will know who the thief is, but the rancher won’t be warned that the thief is on his way.

I hope there is a plan in place if someone is injured or killed by these wolves. I’m afraid the plan is that there is no plan.

The wolves are taking from the ranchers now, but legislators don’t care, they aren’t ranchers, they aren’t affected. Will they care when it’s your little dog? Will they care when it is your child or grandchild? When will it be enough? Do we have to wait for the thief to get bold enough to become a killer before we can fight back? Will we even be able to fight back then?

Contact the Governor and legislators. Let them know their job is on the line if they ignore the problem affecting our ranching neighbors!  Enough already!     

Jim Thomas

Baker City

Be patient with Phillips perch

To the editor:

On the topic of trapping yellow perch from Phillips Reservoir: The purpose and methodology of the subject operation is understandably misconstrued by many. It is complicated, costly, dangerous and fraught with uncontrollable variables.

The presence of the perch in Phillips Reservoir is not the fault of the ODFW, the Forestry Department or the Baker County Board of Commissioners, but they are the ones who are trying to improve the situation. The perch trapping operation is an attempt to study the effectiveness of trapping on the overall perch population. The current trapping is not expected to remove the total perch population in the 10 to 20 days allotted.

Every fisherman, myself included, have their own pet ideas about how the problem should be solved but better qualified people are presently working on a solution. The ultimate solution is going to take time, money, research, trial/error, cooperation and patience. Let’s support them in every way we can.    

Moe Linzel

Baker City

We should treat wolves as outlaws

To the editor:

Dead lambs and thank you cards? Ms. Fouty, you must be proud. The wolves are here, roaming through the forests of Northeastern Oregon. Oh wait, they were not no roaming through the forest, they were getting their “free meal,” as you so cleverly put it, 350 yards from the Jacobses’ front door. Which is not located in the forest, but in the middle of an open meadow.

That “free meal” was not much of a meal. The wolves did not eat more than a few hearts and livers from baby lambs.  The wolves did as wolves do, they come in, they play, they kill, they snack, they leave. They leave the rancher wondering, fearing, losing sleep, how many more are going to die from the stress and injuries, are wolves coming back?

Don’t get me wrong — I too am grateful for the rapid response from Russ Morgan. Without his prompt response in setting up the cameras, there still would be some poor dog with a bounty on its head. Those pictures are the reason why Curt was believed.

Carter Niemeyer, thank you also for traveling here, to confirm with Russ Morgan that it was wolves and your work in tracking and attempting to collar the rogue animals. This is not a personal attack on Mr. Morgan and Mr. Niemeyer, they are just doing their job. It is the politics behind the job that are the most frustrating.

After May 4, when the Defenders of Wildlife possibly feel they may not be obligated to compensate farmers and ranchers for their loss of domestic livestock, are you going to spearhead the Defenders of Domestic Livestock Foundation?

This may sound harsh, somewhat personal. It is. The Jacobses are family friends. I grew up in Keating Valley, I worked in those lambing sheds as a kid. The natural ecosystem in Northeastern Oregon is controlled by hunting, harsh winters and animals such as bears and cougars. Wolves are NOT an important role player. They are outlaws, and in such should be treated as so. Wolves were eradicated by our forefathers for reason.       

Heidi Johnson

Baker County cattle producer