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WEDNESDAY August 19,2015
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OUTDOORSD1
bendbulletin.corn TODAY’ S READERBOARD
Groups
Homeownership Mll-
eager
lennials are putting it off and renting for longer — but it' s not always by choice.A3
to join
gas tax
C>.c
talks
Bullfighting Arash of injured fighters — andthe sport's brutality — are athreat to its existence in Spain.A6
By Tyler Leeds The Bulletin
A committee charged
College athletes De-
with devising possible solutions to the city of Bend's
spite an unfavorable decision on uni onizing,advocatesvow to continue the fight.C1
road maintenance woes
is poised to include two key groups after earlier appearing to lose steam, though the Bend Chamber of Commerce isn't yet part
ImmigratiOn Hard-line stances mayhurt GOPin the general election.A5
of the picture.
The City Council has discussed proposing a 5- or 10-cent-per-gallon gas tax to voters in order to pay for a growing backlog of road repairs worth $80 million. Before going ahead with a
And a Wed exclusive› Inthe Democratic Republic of Congo, a refuge is a fragile one for gorilla orphans. benttbulletin.cern/extras
tax,Bend 2030, a nonprofit
focused on managing growth, urged the city to form a community adviso-
EDITOR'5CHOICE
Culture clash over guns in the backcountry By Jack Mealy New York Times News Service
SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — As a lover of ancient rock art, Steve Acer-
son usually roams Utah's backcountry searching for images of hunters and rams carved on boulders
Photos by Jarod Opperman l The Bulletin
Drew Peterson, a wilderness ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, hikes Green Lakes Trail on Friday. Peterson fulfills a variety of
however, was a council
roles, including maintaining the trail and making sure visitors follow the rules.
vote on Aug. 5 to place a gas tax on the March
By Dylan J. Darling
ballot. This move, the chamber and Bend 2030
The Bulletin
argued, seemed to limit
GREEN LAKES TRAILHEAD — When
what the committee could
anything.
case: On a busy summer day, a wilderness ranger
SeeTalks /A4
may stop to talk with as
m any as 300 people,like a recent day patrolling the popular Green Lakes
Trail off the Cascade Lakes Highway.
Additional combat
"It can take up to six
hours to hike up the trail," Peterson said. The trail runs about 4'/2 miles from
trailhead to Green Lakes. Describing what a wilderness ranger is and what exactly he does quickly becomes complex. Peter-
vide over guns has gone
son, 32, who now primarily patrols wilderness in the
into the woods. As grow-
Ochoco National Forest but
ing numbers of hikers and backpackers flood national
occasionally helps in the Deschutes National Forest,
America's cultural di-
didn't expressly rule out
But that is not always the
one morning, on a hillside speckled with those prehistoric petroglyphs, he was also finding signs of a younger civilization: Shotgun shells. Bullets. Shredded juniper trees. Exploded cans of spray paint. "It's all been shot," he
discuss, though Mayor Jim Clinton argued the vote was intended to give guidance as to what the council would likely support and
Drew Peterson tells people he works as a U.S. Forest Service wilderness ranger, they may assume his job is defined by solitude.
and canyon walls. But
said. "It's just destroying everything."
jobs likely By Lolita C. Baldor
PLUS:
The Associated Press
said the work combines
about a dozen jobs, including customer service,
clashing with recreational target shooters, out for the
trail maintenance and rule
By Dylan J. Darling The Bulletin
that broadly allow shooting and ascarcity ofenforce-
enforcement. Peterson's job is to make sure people are doing the right thing. The current form of the program, in which wilderness rangers go to wilderness areas around the
ment officers have turned
Deschutes National Forest,
many national forests and millions of Western acres
started in 2010, said Jason Fisher, who supervises the
run by the Bureau of Land
five rangers in the national
Management into free-fire zones. People complain about finding shot-up couches and cars deep in forests, or of being pinned down by gunfire where a hiking or biking trail crosses a makeshift target range. Over the Fourth of July
forest. Though the title may bring up notions of
mountainside s. Hiking groups and conservationists say policies
adventure and exploration,
often the work focuses on educating people about
Patrolling the backcoun-
to allow women to serve in most front-line combat
jobs, including special operations forces,senior officials said. Based on early talks, officials say the Army, Navy and Air Force likely will not seek exceptions that close any jobs to women. Marine Corps leaders, they say, have expressed concerns about allowing
Drew Peterson often hears
the same question from people he meets. Is he going fishing'? The answer: No. What other people on the trail often mistake as
a compact fishing pole sticking from his pack is actually the antenna to his
radio. The communication unit — from which he does
women to serve in infantry
jobs and yet may seek an
check-ins at the start, mid-
what they should and
should not be doing.
on the list of gear Peterson
"It's not what a lot of
women have now passed the Army's grueling Ranger test, and even tougher and more dangerous jobs could lie ahead. The military services are poised
try in Central Oregon,
dle and end of each day in the field — is just one piece
people expect," he said. SeeRanger/A5
WASHINGTON — Two
What’s inside a ranger’s pack?
forests and backcountry
into trees, targets and
for women
Drew Peterson, a wilderness ranger, stops to talk to Taylor Spike and his son, Paxton Spike, along Green Lakes Trail while out making contact with hikers.
trails searching for solitude, they are increasingly weekend to plug rounds
ry group to look at funding transportation more broadly, something the City Council agreed to do. What caused trouble,
and other wilderness rangers carry with them. SeePack/A5
Drew Peterson, a wilderness ranger, carries a firefighting tool known as a "combi." Its handle is shorter than a shovel and the spade-shaped blade can fold up out of the way. It can be used to dig a drainage line on a trail and pull apart fire rings at a campsite. But he’s found other uses. "I’ ve actually cooked quesadillas with it," he said.
exception.
The services are wrapping up reviews and must make their recommenda-
tions to Defense Secretary Ash Carter this fall. SeeCombat/A4
weekend in Pike National Forest in Colorado, a
60-year-old camper preparing to make s'mores with his grandchildren was killed when a stray bullet arced into his
campsite. SeeGuns/A4
TODAY'S WEATHER Mostly sunny High 91, Low53 Page B6
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