Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 19, 2005 Gretchen Oosterhout of Eagle Point will be appointed to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. She faces opposition from the timber industry. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli New Fish and Wildlife Commission pick Eagle Point woman awaits formal nomination for spot on the seven-member state board By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune An Eagle Point systems analyst whose computer models are used to predict salmon life cycles is Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s next pick for a seat on the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. Gretchen Oosterhout will be appointed to replace Don Denman, a Jacksonville attorney who has spent the past eight years representing the First Congressional District on the seven-member commission, a Kulongoski adviser said. The commission sets fish and wildlife policies for Oregon and oversees the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The First Congressional District covers Eastern Oregon and Medford. "She’s the governor’s choice," said Jim Myron, one of Kulongoski’s natural-resources policy advisors. "She has a good knowledge of the issues and a good background." Advertisement Oosterhout said the commission blends her lifelong outdoor passion with her skills for helping decipher scientific data in complicated natural-resource questions. "This is a chance for me to be able to use those skills, use my knowledge (and) work at a level where I can help make important decisions," Oosterhout said in an interview. Oosterhout was part of a duo in 2001 who crafted the so-called "Doomsday Clock" computer model that predicted wild Snake River chinook salmon would become functionally extinct by 2017 under current Columbia River management. She also co-authored a paper that concludes tweaking fish-hatchery practices shows no long-term benefits for helping recover Oregon’s wild population of coastal coho salmon. That paper was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. It came as the ODFW is in the midst of building a conservation hatchery program of its own to study hatcheries’ use in salmon recovery. Myron said Oosterhout’s "scientific skepticism" would be "good and healthy" for the commission. Myron also said she would be a good conservation-minded replacement for Denman, who often pushed for wild salmon and steelhead protection. "He kind of carried the conservation torch during his time on the commission," Myron said. Kulongoski has not yet formally nominated Oosterhout to the Oregon Senate for confirmation. Myron said that could come by the end of September, and a Senate confirmation hearing would come in late October, he said. "We’ll see what happens between now and the end of the month," Myron said. Agriculture and timber interests are lining up to oppose Oosterhout’s appointment — not so much for who she is, but for who she is not. If she earns the seat, none of the seven commissioners would come from the timber or industry groups historically represented on the commission, said Paulette Pyle, a lobbyist for the Salem-based Oregonians for Food and Shelter, which lobbies on behalf of the timber and agriculture industries. "I’m more concerned about not having a representative of agriculture and timber. A working farmer. A working forester," Pyle said. "We will, as a natural-resource community, object to her appointment on those grounds," Pyle said. Pyle dismissed Oosterhout’s background in helping manage her family’s 1,000-acre Eagle Point hay operation while in her 20s and now living on a vineyard she runs. Oregon Trout Executive Director Joe Whitworth said Oosterhout would bring "a nice objective lens to the work of the commission" as it shuffles through the science and politics of natural-resource protection. "She’s pretty sophisticated in how she attacks problems," Whitworth said. "It’s that kind of sophisticated analysis of complex problems that we really need." Myron said he expected these reactions from various interest groups. "Some people kind of like her a lot, and some people don’t think much of her," he said. Outside the natural-resource realm, Oosterhout, 54, also does computer modeling for health-care companies. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail New Fish and Wildlife Commission pick ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Salvia Divinorum Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s