In late June, 2015, we experienced a wild fire on the North Fork of the John Day River very near to our home in Wrightman Canyon. We had a ringside seat of the event from the first hour the dry lightning storm hammered our region of Grant County, Oregon. This is a testimonial about the nature of this fire, and consequently about our disapproval of some people who (for political gain) have used the hellacious Canyon Creek Complex fire as a wedge to turn local residents against the US Forest Service.

Fire on the North Fork – K. S. Steele

Rattlesnake season has arrived, and we now watch for the lead subspecies of the Western Rattlesnake – aka, Northern Pacific Rattlesnake.

This subspecies, Crotalus oreganus oreganus, occurs in our canyon in northwest Grant County. Its range is very broad – from British Columbia to parts of Northern California, west of the Sierra Nevada divide. It is the only subspecies of the Western Rattlesnake in our area.

The other common Western Rattlesnake of Oregon is the Great Basin Rattlesnake.

Although some internet sites fail to recognize its location throughout areas of southeast Oregon, Terry has extensive experience with this subspecies in Harney and Malheur Counties. Where it overlaps with the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake he has photographed intergraded snakes with very mixed patterns and colors.

Unlike the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, the Great Basin Rattlesnake does not have white rings at the base of its tail.

The days are warming, and more importantly, the nights are remaining above freezing. May brings the rattlesnakes and non-venomous species out of hibernation and they all become an active part of our diverse community of life. They hunt their prey throughout our garden, orchard and the spring fed riparian regions of our property.

The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is a venomous pit viper. Its appearance can vary widely in size and markings. We will show here two early arrivals on our property this May. The first is a juvenile, not much more than 15-18 inches in length.

Note that it has only one complete yellowish segment on the rattle. The number of segments on a rattle are not  a measure of age. A rattle is added each time the snake sheds its skin to accommodate its growth. That may happen every few weeks for a very young snake and several times a year for adult snakes. Sometimes rattles are broken off, too, so counting them is not a reliable way to determine the age of a snake.

The juvenile was docile. The adult was on the fight and even striking at Terry’s snake hook. As always, snakes that are not safe to leave in our garden or near our home are safely released in unoccupied areas of our property.

The wildlife we cherish at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge were threatened by radical Constitutionalists who wish to dissolve all public lands. Sympathizers closer to home are revving up the fight for the hearts and souls of Grant County citizens.

The Bundy group failed to break apart the refuge, but the danger is not past. The day their leaders were arrested, they were in route to Grant County to plant their ideas in fertile ground. A community meeting proceeded without them, and I listened to their testimonies throughout the evening.

This  community group, filled with conviction, spoke of love, of freedom, of coming together, of fears about losing their rights.  They don’t seem to believe or to understand that those who oppose their agenda hold those same values. So why the great divide?

Well, for one thing, they are vested in demonizing all federal authority and anyone who doesn’t believe in their ideology. Meanwhile, in describing the occupation of the refuge, speakers described all the love there, what a wonderful place of freedom and peace they experienced there. Did they ever connect that, with a threat of violence, they stole that treasured place from others who make the pilgrimage  there year after year to experience the same serenity?  They displaced some wonderful, caring, hardworking staff and thousands of visitors who seek the peace of the refuge. They, in fact, made tyranny their own method of controlling others – just as they accuse the federal government to be tyrannous.

They don’t have to describe how Malheur Refuge can invoke feelings of fellowship and serenity. People who belong their already know its power.  Occupiers stole it from us. The armed occupiers held onto their Utopian encampment at the cost of the rightful occupiers whose productive lives had been dismissed. I did not hear one word of care or concern about God’s creation at Malheur – the wildlife dependent on caretakers of the refuge and that enrich the lives of thousands of people throughout the seasons.

The John Day community meeting speakers were self-righteous. They were not able to respect those who disagreed with them. They mock those who do not think like them. I’ve never before heard a room full of people who were so focused on blaming the government for their angst about how things are going in their world. As a group, they had zero positivism.  No wonder they used the word “oppression” so often. I heard no imagination. I heard no creativity, I heard no inspiration. There was no light. There was endless foreboding.

Healthy attitudes give traction to people, allowing them to move ahead, resolve differences, succeed in solving problems. January 26, 2016 was an evening of extreme negativity and sad, sick mindsets. How do you reach out to such people rooted in such darkness?

As lovers of wildlife and of our community, we felt a duty to attend meetings.  And we will continue to support those in our community who bring messages of positive action for safe, productive lives.