County officials will hold a Wildland Fire Recovery town hall on Wednesday, Sept. 18, for ranchers and producers seeking relief for long-term losses they incurred from a pair of catastrophic wildfires over the summer.
The public meeting is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Malheur County Education Service District building at 363 A. St. W in Vale.
Representatives from local, state and federal agencies that, among others, include the Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and the Oregon Farm Bureau will share how they could help ranchers and producers recover from losses from both the Cow Valley and Durkee wildfires. The blazes burned about 400,000 acres of public and private range critical to feeding thousands of cows.
Staffers from the offices of U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley will be on hand as well, according to Lt. Rich Harriman, Malheur County Emergency Management director. His office is hosting the meeting.
Harriman said having staff from Wyden and Merkley’s offices could help inform legislative efforts in providing relief.
The destructive Cow Valley Fire scorched over 200 square miles.
Officials haven’t determined when cattle can be returned to that land and the costs of restoration.
Meantime, Harriman said some ranchers are looking at a price tag of nearly $250,000 to replace fencing destroyed by the fires.
Gauging the amount of fencing to be replaced in the rangeland could take a long time. Ranchers run cattle over private and public rangeland owned by the BLM or, in some instances, the state.
Harriman estimated that roughly 15 ranchers in Malheur County have been impacted by the fires.
Harriman said many ranchers aren’t seeking help and want to manage the rehabilitation themselves. During the meeting each representative will describe what their office does and how they might be able to help, Harriman said.
“I’m hoping we have more time for questions and answers, than we do presentations,” he said.
For more information, call 541-473-5120.
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