The Bureau of Land Management has approved a plan this month to acquire about 4,000 acres of private land in Sherman County. The land is located on the west side of the John Day River, approximately 14 miles east of Wasco. The area is generally referred to as McDonald’s Ferry and is on the west side of McDonald’s Crossing, which was used in the 1800’s as part of the Oregon National Historic Trail. The BLM says the lands would be managed to provide the public with a wide range of recreational opportunities, including boating access, camping, and hiking, and maintain and restore healthy rangelands and wildlife habitat, including the restoration of critical habitat for the Mid-Columbia Summer Steelhead. The BLM will acquire the lands from the Western Rivers Conservancy based on the parcels’ appraised fair market value with financial support from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The BLM still must complete the necessary realty transactions before obtaining the title to the land and will announce when public access is available.
Author: mbailey
HR County Schedules Hearing On Forest Carbon Project
The Hood River County Commission has scheduled a hearing on a proposal to enter into a forest carbon project with the Climate Trust. Under the proposal, the County would commit some of its forestlands to not be harvested for 40 years, and receive revenue through carbon credits sold by the Climate Trust. County Forester Doug Thiesies gave the Commission an estimate of $23.9 million through the program in seven to 10 years. Thiesies says revenue generated would be used for forestland acquisition. He also noted while this deal would commit County leadership to 40 years of sustainable, even flow harvest, that is what they already do now. County Commissioners scheduled the public hearing for their regularly scheduled monthly meeting on May 15 at 6 p.m.
Hearing Planned For Pump Storage EIS
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold a public hearing in early May on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Goldendale Energy Storage Project. Rye Development and project owner Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners say the $2 billion Goldendale Energy Storage Project will create 3,000 green jobs over a three-year construction period. It would also contribute $14 million annually in tax revenue to Klickitat County. The public hearing will take place on May 3 at the Goldendale Grange Hall in two sessions: from 10 a.m. to noon and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. FERC will also be taking written comments at its website through June 6.
Brun Named Next Door Volunteer Of The Year
In honor of National Volunteer Month, The Next Door named Becky Brun as its 2022 Volunteer of the Year. Brun has contributed her time to multiple programs of The Next Door, sharing ideas, connections, and resources with the organization and its program participants. Brun has been a part of its Promoting Prosperity program, and also volunteers as a mentor to local area youth through The Next Door’s Gorge Youth Mentoring program. The Next Door is the area’s largest human services nonprofit organization, and has 40 programs that serve children, families, teens, and more throughout the Gorge. The Next Door and Gorge Youth Mentoring rely on volunteers to carry out their efforts.
April 18 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Putnam 5, Hood River Valley 4: The Kingsmen scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning without the benefit of a hit to grab the first game of a three-game series.
Columbia 1, Castle Rock 0
Sherman 4, Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 3, 10 innings
Irrigon 8, Dufur 6
Goldendale splits with Toppenish, winning the opener 13-1 and falling in game two 7-2.
Softball
Centennial 7, Hood River Valley 2: Peyton Davis struck out 11 while delivering three doubles to lead Centennial to the win.
The Dalles 14, Goldendale 0: Kaleyah Crichton-Tunai and Maddie Brock drove in three runs each for the Riverhawks.
Columbia 21, Castle Rock 1
Toppenish sweeps Goldendale 39-38 and 15-4…in the first game Toppenish scored 12 runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Timberwolves put up 14 in the fifth, and then Toppenish scored 12 more in the bottom of the sixth to lead 33-30. Goldendale then took the lead with an eight run top of the seventh, only to see Toppenish win it with six in the bottom half of the inning.
Boys Soccer
Toledo 3, Stevenson 2
Port of HR Delays Wire Rope Replacement On Bridge
Planned replacement of the wire ropes that operate the liftspan of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge has been delayed due to supply chain issues. Port of Hood River Executive Director Kevin Greenwood says project contractor Hamilton Construction could not get the materials pulled together in time to get the work done as planned, which would have included a full weekend closure of the bridge. Greenwood says they will now look to have the work take place in late October. Greenwood did say the work will be scheduled in a way that will not impact fruit harvest.
Cherry Fest Carnival Wristbands On Sale
The countdown to Northwest Cherry Festival weekend in The Dalles is underway. The festival starts Friday afternoon in downtown The Dalles, and one of the attractions is the Rainier Amusements Carnival on First Street. The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says discount carnival wristbands are on sale now until Friday at noon. Farquharson noted that last year, the discount wristbands were sold out by the day before the Cherry Festival. The carnival wristbands can also be purchased in advance for $25 at the Chamber office on 404 West 2nd, or online at northwestcherryfestival.com. Once the carnival opens on Friday afternoon, wristbands cost $35.
Newhouse Put Three Area Projects In Appropriations Requests
Washington Fourth District Congressman Dan Newhouse announced he has submitted three Mid-Columbia related projects in his Community Project Funding requests to the House Appropriations Committee. One of those is for replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge, which he notes is near the end of its serviceable life and is vital to the region’s economy, transportation network, and public safety. A second is for improvements at the Goldendale Municipal Airport, including extension of the runway from 40 to 60 feet. And a request was made for $5 million to help with the pinniped predation program on the Columbia River to prevent predation of spring Chinook salmon by sea lions.
Potential Record Trout Caught And Released
A potential record bull trout was caught and released on Lake Billy Chinook on April 8. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says Ryan Mejaski amd his fishing companion Joe Wilhite reported to the agency they caught a bull trout that was 33.5 inches in length with a 26-inch girth, but maxed out the scale they had on hand at 25 pounds, and Mejaski suspects it was probably closer to 30 pounds. After taking photos of the fish, Mejaski and Wilhite released it and watched it swim away. Mejaski says he is a bit disappointed they didn’t keep it for an official record, but added releasing it was the right thing to do at the time, and they never really thought about keeping it. The current state record bull trout was caught in 1989 from Lake Billy Chinook and weighed 23 lbs., 2 ounces. The world record from Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho in 1949 tipped the scales at 32 lbs. Mejaski said they continued fishing that day and caught a second massive bull trout only slightly smaller than the one they had released.
D-21 Kindergarten Pre-Registration Scheduled For May
North Wasco County School District 21 says it will hold pre-registration for kindergarten on the first week of May. Children must be 5 years old by September 1 to enroll in kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year. Parents and guardians with incoming kindergartners should contact their neighborhood school from May 1st through May 5th to get started. Kindergarten orientation will be offered at each school site later in May or early June. For pre-registration, parents should bring a birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of residency. If you are unsure of which school to enroll your child, call a D-21 school or administrative office to find out where to go.