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Outdoors Briefs for August 2, 2008
From Staff Reports
Saturday, August 2, 2008 12:15 PM PDT
Elk Foundation needs volunteers
The South Coast Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is looking to recruit a volunteer work crew to do some work on U.S. Forest Service land just outside of Reedsport.
The project will be on Sept. 6. The site is located about 10 miles east of the top of Gardiner Hill.
The crew will need to bring its own weed eaters and cut a 5-acre field of tall grass and blackberries down to a height of 4 inches.
This will help provide a better food source for elk.
Everyone will meet in the parking lot next to the Dairy Queen in Reedsport at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6, and follow a Forest Service rig to the site.
For more information or to sign up, call Kirby at 269-9431.
ODFW seeks comment on possible marine reserves
As state officials are considering the possibility of establishing new marine reserves along Oregon’s coastline, they would like to hear from Oregonians about possible locations for the reserves.
The marine reserves would be established to aid in the research and management of ocean habitats, and marine plants and animals. They would be located up to three nautical miles from shore, within Oregon’s Territorial Sea boundaries.
An executive order from Governor Ted Kulongoski requires that proposed sites minimize negative effects on coastal communities, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a press release this week.
The state would like residents to recommend up to nine potential sites. Oregonians have through Sept. 30 to submit their recommendations to ODFW.
More information about submitting a proposal is available by logging on to www.oregonmarinereserves.net or calling Jeff Feldner, Oregon Sea Grant Extension, at (541) 574-6537 ext. 33, or Cristen Don, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Program, at (541) 867-4741.
Wolf pack found in Oregon
It’s official: There are wild wolves living and reproducing in Oregon once again.
Fish and Wildlife personnel reported last week they had confirmed the existence of a wolf pack, with pups, in Oregon for the first time since the animals were extirpated from the state in the mid-1940s.
The pack was discovered in a forested area of northern Union County via a howling survey conducted by wildlife biologists. The scientists determined that they heard the howling of adults and pups simultaneously. The exact number of wolves present isn’t yet known, but at least two adults and two pups were heard.
Experts have long predicted that wolves from the expanding Idaho population would continue to cross the Snake River and enter Oregon, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a press release last week.
State and federal biologists will continue to monitor the area to determine the level of wolf activity. They may also try to capture and radio-collar the wolves for monitoring.
ODFW: Long winter means problem bears
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel said a long winter and poor berry crop are leading to more problem bears this summer.
ODFW reported six bears had to be killed in the Florence and Yachats areas in July, bringing the year’s total to 12 in the Florence/Yachats region. And an additional two bears were taken down around Reedsport over the last two months, ODFW said.
“I suspect it has something to do with the extended winter we had here,” said Charleston ODFW District Wildlife Biologist Stuart Love. “And I suspect it’s poor berry production as well.”
Love said bears usually come out of the slow winter months hungry for salmonberries, which aren’t very plentiful this year. He hopes blackberries later in the season will alleviate the issues of bears getting into garbage and pet and livestock food.
In the meantime, Love said the best thing anyone can do is to try and make sure bears aren’t attracted to their property by keeping garbage and compost contained, and making sure pet and livestock food isn’t available to bears.
Failing that, he recommended problem bears be reported early on before the situation becomes serious. To report bears north of Reedsport, people can call the Newport office at (541) 867-4741. From Reedsport to Langlois, contact the Charleston office at 888-5515. South of Langlois, call Gold Beach at (541) 247-7605. |
