Northwest Indigenous leader named to National Parks Service advisory board
The leader of a key Northwest tribal organization will become the first Native American to serve on the National Park System Advisory Board. Aja DeCoteau is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and directs the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, a group that represents Indigenous interests related to water and fish management on the Columbia. DeCoteau was one of 15 people added as advisers to the National Park Service — and the only tribal member. The board advises department leaders and has a regulatory role in designating new historic and natural landmarks. DeCoteau has degrees in environmental studies and management, and 20 years of experience working on natural resource issues. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has required that the 15-member parks board include at least one person of Native American ancestry. Haaland is the first Indigenous person to hold a federal cabinet post. (Rob Manning/OPB)
Related: Look back at our interview with NPS Director Chuck Sams, a CTUIR member and Oregonian 🌲
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirms wolves killed a steer in Deschutes County, the first known depredation there in decades
The Metolius wolf pack has made its first confirmed livestock kill, making a meal out of a steer on a private ranch in the Lower Bridge area. The kill was the first confirmed incident of wolf depredation on livestock in Deschutes County in decades. A wolf attack occurred on May 15 or 16, said Andrew Walch, Deschutes district wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Bend. ODFW officials inspected the steer on May 17 and determined that the cause of death was wolf depredation. (Michael Kohn/Bend Bulletin)
Related: This investigation from our archives shows why researchers question state-sanctioned wolf kills 🐺
A team hiked to retrieve supplies from the shuttered Johnston Ridge Observatory after a landslide
Early Tuesday morning, a small group of outdoor adventurers ascended a foot path toward Johnston Ridge Observatory, now dark, cold and desolate, to gather supplies necessary for its summer operations. Their goal is to gather useful items so that the observatory can function at the Coldwater Science and Learning Center, a space occupied by educational nonprofit Mount St. Helens Institute. Mud, rocks and water barreled over Spirit Lake Memorial Highway near Milepost 43 earlier this month, burying the passage and damaging its 85-foot bridge. The debris is blocking visitors’ only access point to the observatory. (Lauren Ellenbecker/The Columbian)
The trial date is set for the lawsuit accusing Klamath Falls of overpolicing a Mexican restaurant
The trial date is set for a high-profile, $11.75 million lawsuit against the city of Klamath Falls and its police department brought by the former owners of El Palacio Mexican restaurant. Elizabeth and Antonio Cisneros sued in 2019, saying police subjected their business to excessive patrols, including walk-throughs of the premises, that other, non-Hispanic businesses didn’t get. The city “failed to apply its laws uniformly and has used race as a basis for making these decisions,” the lawsuit claims. In court documents, the city says it was attempting to combat criminal activity downtown. The trial is set to begin Jan. 8, 2024. (Zak Keeney/Klamath Falls Herald & News)
Union County has developed a severe shortage of mental health resources since the pandemic began
Grande Ronde Hospital’s Behavioral Health Clinic recently received 110 referrals in just one week, a number that indicates both the shortage of mental health resources in the county and an increase in the demand for mental health services since the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a number that also reflects a statewide trend. In 2022, a report prepared by Oregon Health & Science University for the Oregon Health Authority found that Oregon ranks fourth in the United States for a lack of accessibility to mental health services and providers. (Jillian Hoefer/La Grande Observer)
Related: There’s greater need for mental health care in rural Oregon, but fewer options 🏥