Wanna hear a funny joke? Get ready to laugh and laugh over this one. It’s like a story of Lizzie Borden complaining that she is an orphan. Or OJ Simpson wondering why his marriage didn’t last. Or Mark Zuckerberg whining that he has no privacy anymore.It made me literally laugh out loud when I saw it.
ODFW, USFWS request wildlife habitat proposals
ODFW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are seeking proposals to restore or protect habitat for northwestern pond turtle, northern red-legged frog, foothill yellow-legged frog and/or American beaver and other native wildlife in Douglas County’s Umpqua River Basin.
You may remember that ODFW has fought tooth and nail with the more reasonable minds out there when they reinstated beaver trapping on public lands. Former USFS Hydrologist has been working tirelessly to get them to change their minds or at least count the votes honestly. Of course beaver habitat saves red-legged frogs and yellow-legged frogs and green-legged frogs AND pond turtle habitat. Of course it does. You know it does. But they wanted to give the – I’m guessing – 12 fur trappers in Umpqua the right to steal resources from everyone, so they stopped defending the habitat makers and said “Go Get-’em boys” And now they’re just wracking their brains to figure out, what can possibly take their place?
How about a dozen fur trappers? Can they make frog habitat and save turtles? I mean they must be pretty darn important because you eliminated a keystone species to take mollify them?
Approximately $100,000 in restoration funding is still available through the Yoncalla Creek Spill Restoration Fund during the fall award period. Restoration funds are from a settlement for injuries to natural resources resulting from the 1993 diesel spill near Yoncalla.
Preference is given to projects within the area most impacted by the spill (Yoncalla and Elk creeks and the upper main Umpqua River). Projects can be on private or public land and must enhance or protect existing habitat, restore former or degraded habitat, or create new habitat in suitable areas for priority species. Restoration actions can also include administrative measures such as fee title land purchase, conservation easement, water right purchase and permanent instream water right transfer, or other formal conservation agreement.
How about you use the 100000 to build a shooting range and tell the fur trappers they have to go there instead? And outlaw trapping on federal lands so that beavers can do what they do best. That oughttta help.
Review the Request for Proposals for additional information regarding eligible projects and application requirements. Proposals will be accepted through Dec. 1. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions in February 2022.
Of course the problem is that good people with good ideas will have to swallow their outrage entirely and avoid any trace of sarcasm when theyobsequiuly step forward and politely hold out their hand docilly begging for crumbs. Of course no plan involving beavers will be successful because they have made arrangements for them to be killed already.
Then they can wag their gnarled fish and wildlife fingers and say, see? Saving beavers never works anyway.
