Archived News Stories

Winter 2010

Falconers sentenced for taking chicks from nest

A few Storm Petrels ago, you may remember that I reported the beginning of a story—about a Port Orford birdwatcher and KAS member who, through a spotting scope in her kitchen, watched a man rappel into the cliff-side nest of a peregrine falcon. When the man climbed back up the cliff, only one of three chicks remained. She and other neighbors called the police, and the men were questioned, but the chicks were nowhere to be found. Since then, local, state, and federal agencies carried out a careful investigation, and in December, three men were convicted of stealing the falcon chicks. Two were sentenced, and the third man’s case will go to trial this spring.

At the sentencing, District Attorney Everett Dial introduced the case along with assistant Bob Webber. Dial explained that all the defendants had state permits and could have legally taken the birds, but instead they stashed the chicks, lied to police, fled the area, and denied wrongdoing. Mr. Dial showed images taken by local photographer Lois Miller that showed three falcon chicks before the theft and only one after. Cindy Bockstadter of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the defendants had been given a privilege to take birds, but then they lied, deceived investigators, and hid evidence. Still no one knows what happened to the chicks.

The first defendant, Burt Loessberg, a businessman from the Eugene area and an avid falconer, had a record of two previous violations of the Migratory Bird Act. Loessberg said he did not realize that he was on private property and didn’t think that notifying ODFW was a requirement. He said that he “freaked out” when the police and neighbors showed up, stuffed the chicks in a bag, tossed it in the bushes, and told local police that he was just monitoring the nest. He returned to the site soon afterwards to retrieve the chicks.

Mr. Skankey, a scientist for a well-known Oregon clothing company in the Portland area and also an avid falconer, depicted himself as a person who just went along for the ride. He explained that he’d been invited to help by rappelling down the cliff to the nest but believed that permits and permissions were taken care of by the others. After climbing back up the cliff and finding the police and neighbors waiting, he went along with the lie but soon realized his wrongdoing. He pleaded guilty early on and assisted the state and federal agents with the investigation.

Mr. Loessberg was convicted of felony first-degree theft and violation of wildlife law as a misdemeanor and was given a sentence of 10 days in the county jail, a lengthy probation, 250 hours of community service, revocation of his falconry license, plus fines totaling $8,600. Mr. Skankey was convicted of first-degree theft as a misdemeanor and criminal trespass. He was sentenced to a 36-week probation, fines of $2,500, 400 hours of community service, and revocation of his falconry license. Both men had additional charges dropped as part of a plea bargain agreement made in late November.

Martin Nugent of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) said that this case has been watched by wildlife management agencies around the nation. Most wildlife crimes are prosecuted only at the misdemeanor level, but in this case, District Attorney Dial had sufficient evidence to pursue felony charges. Efforts of local law-enforcement officers and citizens, plus the attention the DA’s assistant, Bob Webber, made the convictions possible.

As recently as 1980, the state of Oregon had only one peregrine falcon nest; DDT had decimated the species. Owing to conservation efforts over the past 30 years, peregrines have rebounded. There were 156 nests in 2009. With recovery has come the demand for sport “take” by falconers. Last year was the first year of the sport-take program with 7 permits offered by lottery.

As a result of this case and all the concern it generated, the ODFW has worked together with Portland Audubon and the Oregon Falconers Association to develop a new set of rules. Next year, falconers will no longer be allowed to take chicks from nests. Instead, they will be encouraged instead to accept “bridge birds”—chicks taken for safety reasons by a licensed wildlife professional from nests built in urban settings. Some permit-holding falconers may still opt to take wild birds, but only in the post-fledgling stage. This is regarded as an important reform.

Destination Resorts: Coming Soon

On Dec. 3, the Curry County Planning Commission considered a draft Destination Resort (DR) ordinance, a DR map, plus amendments to the County Comprehensive Plan. KAS submitted comments with the aim of making certain that wildlife and state parks will not be negatively impacted by future DR developments. As noted in the last Petrel, several of the approximately 17 sites on the map are right next door to our national wildlife refuge and state parks, including Cape Blanco and Boardman.

The need for a DR ordinance now is driven by an imminent proposal to build a golf resort at Crook Ranch, just south of Crook Point and Pistol River. Oregon land use planning law requires that our county have a map of eligible DR sites and then an ordinance to provide oversight for their development before such any such proposal can be considered.

In my opinion, the state’s DR law is an odd duck. It is basically an exception to all other tenets of sensible land use planning. Oregon pioneered land use planning with the idea of urban growth boundaries to keep development in our towns-- to prevent sprawl, to make our communities more vibrant, and to save farm and forestlands. A DR can be a relatively large development out in the middle of a rural area. In eastern Oregon, many of them have morphed into remote suburban enclaves--exactly what land use planning has aimed to prevent. In Curry County we can at least be grateful that Chief Planner David Pratt has created a draft ordinance that reins in surrounding development that can occur in conjunction with small resorts.

The state’s DR law, which falls under Goal 8, the state’s “recreation” goal, also requires that developers spend millions on “developed” recreational opportunities. So in a place where we already have outstanding trails and natural scenery, the state requires facilities like golf courses or equestrian complexes. This part of the law is intended to weed out fly-by-night operations that could not succeed in creating a true “destination” quality resort.

In early January, at the continuation of the Planning Commission’s first hearing, KAS made comments on a 2d draft of the ordinance. Many supporters of the Crook Point Golf Resort showed up and testified in favor of that resort in particular, though the hearing was about the county ordinance in general. Their comments gave a flavor of what is to come. Most spoke about how beneficial they think the resort will be to the local economy (one woman said it would bring “free money”), and several people talked about how good the golf course would be for the county’s children because they could learn to golf and learn the values associated with golf (honesty, integrity, and competitiveness). One man, a schoolteacher, went so far as to claim that the real “endangered species” these days are children because some people are more concerned about algae than kids. (I gather that was in reference to earlier testimony that botanists had identified an astounding 100 different species of “seaweeds” in the nearshore marine zone at Crook Point.) In the golf-resort supporters’ comments, concern for children and the future came up again and again. It was quite interesting because those of us who advocate for wildlife, of course, also seek to protect what is valuable for children now and in future generations.

The Planning Commission will finish deliberations on the new DR ordinance at its Jan. 28 meeting, and then the ordinance will head to the County Board of Commissioners for final approval.

The most important thing to realize is that the new DR ordinance is coming, and specific proposals will soon follow, even though many of us wonder how on earth new golf resorts could succeed in the current economic climate.

Please read KAS testimony to the Curry County Planning Commission if you want to learn more.

Wild & Scenic Chetco Gold Mining Threat

In the past several months, there have been several new developments in the Washington man’s proposal to mine for gold on 24 miles of the Wild & Scenic Chetco River. In the last Petrel, I reported that, with California’s ban on suction dredge mining, the miner, Mr. Rutan, had invited California mining clubs to “Come Mine the Chetco.” He plans to lease out his lower claims (from Steel Bridge to Nook Bar). If miners obtained a state permit—available like a fishing license online--they could use suction dredges with 4-inch nozzles and each move up to 25 cubic yards of gravels per year. The Forest Service ruled that the dredges could operate every half-mile for the next 10 years.

In response to this and other similar gold mining threats on rivers in southwest Oregon, our congressman Peter DeFazio joined Senators Wyden and Merkley in writing a letter to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior requesting that they reinstate a Clinton-era ban on mineral entry for the entire Siskiyou Mountain area. In their letter, they made special note of threats to the Chetco and indicated that Mr. DeFazio planned to reintroduce legislation to upgrade Wild and Scenic designations to better protect the river. The Obama Administration has not yet provided a response, and it remains to be seen what the Secretaries will do with the request of our delegation.

In the meantime, Mr. Rutan has submitted new plans to use larger 8” dredges to mine his lower Chetco River claims. (Before, he proposed only to use the larger dredges on a claim up high in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.) The Forest Service is currently considering the new plans. Because 8-inch dredges are far more damaging to streams than 4-inch dredges and will pose a threat to juvenile fish and to water quality, we hope that the agency will require an environmental impact statement, though that decision has yet to be made.

Mr. Rutan has also been promoting development of his remote inholding high in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness on the Little Chetco (a Chetco tributary) as a recreational mining resort but with a strident approach that no Curry County building or sanitation codes apply to his land.

In aiming to cope with this imminent threat to our Wild & Scenic Chetco River, I met with Forest Service District Ranger Alan Vandiver, who has assured me that he will carefully monitor any suction dredging that will happen in the Chetco this coming summer. (The mining can only take place during the instream-work season, from July 15 to Sept. 30.) Together with a group of other concerned local citizens, I also went to talk with our Curry County Commissioners about the issue. The BOC was very concerned both about Mr. Rutan’s development and also his plans for suction dredge mining in the Wild & Scenic reach of the river.

Still the best precautionary solution that I can see would be for Congress to upgrade protections for the Wild & Scenic Chetco River, as soon as possible. (Even if the mineral withdrawal is reinstated, it would be temporary at best.) This would prevent another stress on our already-stressed Chetco and prevent future conflicts. Rep. DeFazio introduced legislation to do this in 2008, but he did not reintroduce the legislation last year. Here’s where you can help.

Please contact Congressman DeFazio and first THANK HIM for requesting the mineral withdrawal for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area. Then let him know that you strongly support his bill to upgrade protection for the Wild & Scenic Chetco. While you are at it, please contact our Senators about this issue too. In the large scheme of things, the Chetco is a little river, and so it’s hard to catch our lawmakers’ attention. But, of course, in south Curry County, the Chetco is incredibly important for its fish and clean water —so that’s why your help is needed to make a louder squeak. If even ten percent of KAS members would make a call, send an email, or write a short letter on behalf of the Chetco, it would help make a difference—so please take a few moments to help out with this important effort. (Even if you’ve done it before, please do it again.)

Congressman Peter DeFazio/ 2134 Rayburn House Office Bldg/Wash., DC 20515
202-225-6416/ www.defazio.house.gov

Senator Ron Wyden/ 223 Dirksen Senate Office Building/
Wash., DC 20510
202-224-5244/ www.wyden.senate.gov

Senator Jeff Merkley/107 Russell Senate Office Bldg./Wash., D.C. 20510
202-224- 3753/ www.merkley.senate.gov

To submit an email comment, you can go directly to our Congressman and Senators’ websites.

Rogue River Gravel Appeals

Last year, Tidewater made two proposals to expand gravel extraction operations in the Rogue River estuary: one an expansion of current operations at Wedderburn, and the other, a new extraction area near the Old Mill site. In years prior, we had argued against expansion of operations given emerging science that reveals impacts to salmon rearing in estuaries. The previous Curry Board of Commissioners (BOC) had denied the permits, and so the Tidewater came back again this year. This time around, the Planning Commission recommended against the permits, but Tidewater appealed, and the current BOC gave the go ahead. KAS joined Oregon Shores and the Curry Sportfishers Association in appealing the BOC’s decisions up to the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). A decision on both appeals is expected in the coming weeks.

Port Orford Dark Sky Ordinance

In December, the Port Orford City Council voted to send the city’s proposed Dark Sky ordinance back to the Planning Commission (PC) for additional work. In early January, the Port Orford PC made minor revisions, and the ordinance came before the City Council again at its Feb. 4 meeting. Changes were made, and now the City Council is expected to vote at its Feb. 18 meeting. The ordinance will require that light fixtures in Port Orford point down or be shielded to prevent upward spilling glare. The ordinance builds on work spearheaded over the past 14 year by KAS Vice President Al Geiser and Coos Curry Electric Coop. Together, they have installed over one hundred “sky-caps” in Port Orford to shield lights. There are many good reasons to adopt a dark sky ordinance. As Al has explained, it will conserve energy, prevent glaring light trespass onto neighbors’ properties, and keep Port Orford’s night sky overhead starry and beautiful. If Port Orford passes its Dark Sky ordinance, it will join several other cities in Oregon, including Sisters, Juniper, and Sandy.

LAST UPDATED FEBRUARY 10, 2010