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| 7/22/2010 11:03:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article
Comment on this article | Letter: Overabundance of wolves would devastate the county
Editor:
I live in Lower Valley (below Wallowa), on the old Powers Homestead, just a short distance from where I was born 86 years ago. According to family records, the Powers family was the first white family to settle in Wallowa Valley. The year was 1872. I occupy the house built by my great grandfather; Winslow Powers, in 1887. In 1873, my grandfather. Henry Schaeffer, and grandmother, Viola Powers, were the first white couple to be married in Wallowa Valley.
Many of my ancestors along with other pioneers of Wallowa Valley, were responsible for getting rid of the wolves and grizzly bear, because they could not coexist. I remember my mother telling about a grizzly bear knocking off one side of a steer's head.
Several years ago, the government put a stop to cattle and sheep grazing on the Snake River, which resulted in an enormous amount of weeds and tall grass. This causes a serious fire hazard. Also, sheep grazing in the Wallowa High Mountains was eliminated.
Then the spotted owl venture came to life, which has stalled logging on the National Forest property. No sawmills are in Wallowa County now.
Several years ago, I was hauling logs and saw four wild turkeys on Snow Hollow Hill north of Enterprise, which was a pleasant experience. However, I never dreamed that those turkeys would become such devastating group of birds.
We like to feed our replacement heifers grain in the winter to give them a boost and to make them easy to handle. We complained to the Fish and Game Commission about our turkey problem. Their reply was just don't feed our cattle grain. There is nothing being done to stop the increase of turkeys. It is unlawful to kill a turkey unless one pays $18 for a tag in season. In the wintertime, we need to walk with caution to keep from stepping on turkey droppings, a real problem.
Now we are faced with wolves that have been forcefully deposited in Oregon and Wallowa County by radical environmentalists and "no common sense" government officials. There is absolutely no common sense logic in bringing wolves back into Oregon and Wallowa County. There is no way that people can coexist with wolves.
In event that wolves should increase in Wallowa County at the same rate that turkeys have increased, Wallowa County would be completely devastated, so the future is wolves or people. The only way to get this wolf situation under control is to kill every wolf that comes into Oregon and Wallowa County. This wolf situation is a problem for every person in Wallowa County regardless of residence or occupation. Our life depends on a serious plan of action to get rid of the wolves before the radical environmentalists and the no-common-sense government officials let the wolves get rid of us. They apparently think that wolves are more important than people are.
The Fish and Game Commission has given permission for two wolves to be killed but definitely not a collared wolf or the pair that are expected to have a litter of pups. Action that is completely worthless.
In my opinion, the U.S. Forest Service officials are just as guilty as the Game Commission officials are for trying to destroy our Wallowa County sustainable resource-based economy.
Last year in May as required, my son. Rick, and I each applied for a buck deer tag. We were both unsuccessful. Does that mean that the deer are being saved so that the wolves can balance the deer and elk population?
There is no shortage of coyotes, bear and cougars, along with hunters, to keep the game population balanced. There is definitely no need for wolves.
This wolf problem, as the old saying goes, is the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Arnold Schaeffer
Wallowa
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Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, July 26, 2010
Article comment by:
T
Arnold,
There is a lot of puplic land out there and it is as much mine as yours. We all would not be in this situation if wolves would not have been extirminated to start with. People need to have a balance with nature too and if we do it is very possible for humans to live where wolves and grizzly bears do. We are probably all guilty of taking advantage of nature and taking more than we should. Now that we have learned that playing god with nature has major draw backs maybe it is time to change and reach a balance with her not try to control her.
T
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