Tribe asserts right to hunt bighorns

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla will revive one of their ancestors’ ancient traditions this year.

For the first time in more than half a century, tribal members will hunt bighorn sheep and mountains goats in northeastern Oregon, under a right the tribes reserved in a treaty they signed with the U.S. government 151 years ago.

The tribe plans to issue tags in a lottery for tribal members to kill two bighorns and one mountain goat in Baker County, which is unique among Oregon’s 36 counties in that it harbors herds of mountain goats and both subspecies of bighorn sheep native to the Rocky Mountains and California.

In recent years, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have taken a similar course in hunting bighorn sheep and antelope in Eastern Oregon.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said the tribe is working with the state to make sure no over-hunting occurs.

Three goat and three sheep tags already have been issued to non-Indian hunters for that region, where odds of drawing a goat permit are about 1 in 1,250.

Associated Press

CONSERVATION

Congress boosts conservation easements

Landowners will soon be able to claim larger tax deductions for placing conservation easements on their property, under a provision included in the pension overhaul bill that President Bush signed last month.

The new law will allow farmers and ranchers who derive more than half of their income from agriculture to deduct 100 percent of their adjusted gross income from federal income taxes for up to 15 years after their land is placed in a conservation easement.

Other landowners can deduct up to 50 percent of their income for 15 years.

Previously, landowners could only claim deductions of up to 30 percent of their incomes for up to five years.

The bill also increases the federal income tax deductions of individuals operating as a C-Corporations from 10 percent to 50 percent. Many family farms and ranches operate as C-Corporations for tax purposes.

“The package of conservation tax incentives helps level the playing field so traditional farm and ranch families of more limited means can conserve their property,” said Jay Erickson of the Montana Land Reliance.

The total tax deduction can’t be more than what the gift was worth and the law only applies to easements donated in 2006 and 2007.

Under a conservation easement, property owners agree to give up future development rights but are still allowed to own and work the land.

Associated Press

COLVILLE NATIONAL FOREST

Fire thwarts Salmo volunteers

Forest fires in the Shedroof Divide area forced volunteers to cancel this weekend’s trail work party in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness.

Depending on fire conditions, Conservation Northwest, Backcountry Horsemen and Spokane Mountaineers may be looking for more volunteers for a work party next weekend.

Contact: Derrick Knowles, (509) 747-1663 or e-mail derrick@conservation nw.org.

Rich Landers

FISHERIES

Hood Canal stews

Oxygen levels in Hood Canal near Bremerton have been plummeting this year, raising concerns about the potential for a massive fish kill.

In 2004, oxygen levels in the channel between the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas reached a record low, but no wide swaths of fish suffocated. In 2002 and 2003, there was more oxygen in the water but fish died by the thousands.

“That’s the dynamic we’re trying to understand,” said Jan Newton, a University of Washington oceanographer leading an intensive, multimillion-dollar research effort into the cause of the low-oxygen problem.

Other researchers also are keeping watch on Hood Canal, and few are finding encouraging signs.

Greg Bargmann of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife noted that rockfish populations at the southern end of the canal were struggling before the 2003 fish kill. Recent surveys have shown that rockfish have failed to rebound and may be declining further.

Growth of eelgrass, which is important to juvenile salmon, has declined for four consecutive years, said Pete Dowty of the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Some inactive geoduck beds in Hood Canal also have shown a troubling decline in density, according to state shellfish biologists.

Associated Press