During the regular meeting of the Harney County Court on May 16, Harney County Commissioner Mark Owens recapped a recent meeting among the county, cities of Burns and Hines, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to discuss flooding in Harney County.

Owens said 47 homes will immediately be excluded from flood mapping, and another 159 could potentially be taken out after the hydrology and hydraulics of the Silvies River is studied.

“It was a win-win for us,” he said.

There was also discussion regarding the rate at which water has flowed through the Silvies River during past flooding events.

Owens will participate in a conference call that was scheduled to continue the conversation.

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Harney County Watershed Council Coordinator Karen Moon attended the meeting to provide the 2017 annual update.

She began her report by discussing active grant projects.

The council support grant funds the day-to-day efforts of the Watershed Council and pays the coordinator’s salary and office expenses.

In conjunction with the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) groundwater study, two grants are being used to monitor more than 100 wells in the Harney Basin.

The Watershed Council submitted an Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board outreach grant to expand the reach of the High Desert Youth Range Camp and Science in the Sagebrush Steppe. Held annually in June, the High Desert Youth Range Camp teaches high school students about desert ecosystems and connects them with people who work in the field. Held in April, Science in the Sagebrush Steppe is a three-day camp that allows college students who are majoring in range science to work with experts on real-life problems.

Both camps are a partnership between the Watershed Council and Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center.

Community-Based Water Planning is another one of the Watershed Council’s major projects. Funded by OWRD, Oregon Community Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, and The Collins Foundation, Community-Based Water Planning will help Harney County citizens plan for future water needs.

The Watershed Council is also participating in the Harney Basin Wetlands Focused Investment Partnership to help the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge restore healthy habitat in Malheur Lake and private landowners continue traditional flood irrigation that benefits water birds during migration.

Moon also discussed the Harney Basin Small Grant Program, which provides up to $15,000 in funding to local landowners/managers who wish to develop a project. Projects are prioritized and reviewed by a local committee.

The Watershed Council is partnering with Kids Club of Harney County and numerous agencies to provide the Kids Club Outdoor School.

Educational efforts also include annual displays at the Harney County Fair.

For additional information regarding the Harney County Watershed Council, visit the council’s website at HCwatershedcouncil.com or stop by the office, which is now located at 242 Hwy. 20 S. in Hines.

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Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Public Affairs Specialist Tara Thissell said the court will receive a letter from the BLM regarding scoping for the next effort toward spayed wild mare behavior research. The study will focus on the spayed mares’ behavior and social interaction upon return to their herd in the wild.

“It’s not necessarily a study on how the procedure works because they know the procedure works on domestic mares,” Thissell said, adding that she hopes spaying wild mares “will be a tool that the program can use for population management.”

She concluded that the BLM is currently down to about 350 wild horses at the corrals.

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Owens reiterated that he thinks people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits should be required to search for work. He also stressed that the work-search exemption was put in place by the state, not the county.

“It was not the county that created that exemption,” Owens said. “The county is trying to make sure that the exemption will go away, and that we will require work search for all benefits.”

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In other business, the court:

• was addressed by George Heinz regarding the meeting that Harney County Restoration Collaborative held Wednesday, May 16, to discuss managed fire;

• approved the Harney County Ambulance Service Area Plan.

Emergency Medical Services Manager Jeff Sceirine said updates to the plan include adding a medical director to oversee the dispatching of medical calls and enforcing protocols for dispatching air medical to pre-hospital calls;

• learned from Harney County Commissioner Patty Dorroh that the county received a grant to develop a workforce housing road map. She explained that the funds will be used to conduct a full inventory of the county’s housing and develop a plan for moving forward;

• is seeking proposals from interested parties to develop a Broadband Strategic Plan for the county in collaboration with the cities of Burns and Hines, the Burns Paiute Tribe, and Harney County Economic Development.

Proposals will be publicly opened during the county court meeting on June 6;

• learned from Dorroh that she will be appointed to the Oregon Construction Contractors Board;

• discussed water use requests;

• received correspondence from the Malheur National Forest regarding the Bear DxPre and Lope DxPre SBA timber sales;

• received correspondence from OWRD regarding quarterly groundwater level measurements that were taken at selected wells May 13-19.

“In October, they’re supposed to start interpreting the data from a lot of these observation wells, and we’ll have a lot more information coming forth,” Owens said;

• held a rural meeting in Riley May 16;

• held a budget meeting May 17. If necessary, an additional meeting will be held May 24;

• scheduled its July county court meetings for July 5 and 18.

The next meeting of the Harney County Court will be held Wednesday, June 6, at 10 a.m. in Runnels’ office at the courthouse.