#harney county

[eopederson2]

High desert landscape with rock cairn, Harney County, Oregon, 2020.

[eopederson]

Denio Cemetery, Harney County, 2024.

Although the hamlet of Denio is in Nevada, its cemetery is just across the state line in Oregon.

All Souls Day

[360nw]

Big Open Spaces - Harney County, Oregon - July 2015

"I like to be in big open spaces with high skies." Bruce Grobbelaar

[burnsoregonphotoblog]

Watering Hole Near Burns Oregon 1910

[jadeseadragon]

White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)

"flood-irrigated ranchlands in the Silvies River Floodplain in Harney County, near Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, support large numbers of bird species, most notably waterfowl and other waterbirds during the spring and fall migration periods." [source]

I recently saw a small flock of these ibises feeding in an irrigated field a few miles from my home. Until then I wasn't even aware that Oregon had a native ibis species.

[mulhollanddriver]

Talia Hope by Brendon Burton

[burnsoregonphotoblog]

I grew up just a few blocks away from a crossing where this train passed. It always headed out early in the morning before the sun came up to Seneca for log loads that they would bring back to Hines, Oregon where the Hines Lumber Mill would turn them into pine lumber and then ship it back out via Union Pacific. When this photo was taken I was seven and had already been a long time train fan.

When I was still a toddler I would hear the train whistle in the wee hours of the morning and I would wake up my dad to get him to take me to the crossing and see the log train. He was older and slept in a union suit. Those full body underwear things that had button flaps at the back. Some people call them long john’s. He would load me up in the VW bug we had at the time and drive me down to watch the train amble by. Mom finally got tired of it and said that we couldn’t drive down but I still remember my dad standing in front of our place with me on his shoulders on cold frosty mornings watching this train pull empty log cars north through town.

Here’s an obscure fallen flag. It’s an Oregon & Northwestern Baldwin AS616 switching some log cars in Burns, OR, in 1974, 10 years before the railroad shut down.

[rabbitcruiser]

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint, OR (No. 6)

The Crooked River is a tributary, 125 miles (201 km) long, of the Deschutes River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river begins at the confluence of the South Fork Crooked River and Beaver Creek in southeastern Crook County. Of the two tributaries, the South Fork Crooked River is the larger and is sometimes considered part of the Crooked River proper. A variant name of the South Fork Crooked River is simply "Crooked River". The Deschutes River flows north into the Columbia River.

The South Fork Crooked River originates in an area called Misery Flat, along the Deschutes County, Lake County and Harney County boundaries, north of Glass Buttes. The South Fork's tributaries drain Hampton Buttes to the west and Mackey Butte to the east. The South Fork Crooked River flows north for 76 miles (122 km), collecting tributaries including Buck Creek and Twelvemile Creek before joining Beaver Creek to form the Crooked River proper near Paulina in Crook County.

Source: Wikipedia

[weather-pnw]

Weather: Pacific Northwest

Report generated at 2024-11-30 20:00:07.637150-08:00 using satellite imagery and alert data provided by the National Weather Service.

Air Stagnation Advisory

WA:

Benton County Lowlands

Cascade Foothills of Marion and Linn Counties

Central Chelan County

Central Oregon Coast Range Lowlands

Clackamas County Cascade Foothills

Cowlitz County Lowlands

East Central Willamette Valley

East Clark County Lowlands

East Portland Metro

Inner Portland Metro

Inner Vancouver Metro

Kittitas Valley

Lane County Cascade Foothills

Lane County Lowlands

Linn County Lowlands

Lower Columbia River

North Clark County Lowlands

North Oregon Coast Range Lowlands

Okanogan Valley

Outer Southeast Portland Metro

South Washington Cascade Foothills

Tualatin Valley

Waterville Plateau

Wenatchee Area

West Central Willamette Valley

West Hills and Chehalem Mountains

Western Chelan County

Willapa and Wahkiakum Lowlands

Yakima Valley

OR:

Baker County

Benton County Lowlands

Boise Mountains

Camas Prairie

Cascade Foothills of Marion and Linn Counties

Central Douglas County

Central Oregon Coast Range Lowlands

Central and Eastern Lake County

Clackamas County Cascade Foothills

Cowlitz County Lowlands

East Central Willamette Valley

East Clark County Lowlands

East Portland Metro

Eastern Curry County and Josephine County

Harney County

Inner Portland Metro

Inner Vancouver Metro

Jackson County

Klamath Basin

Lane County Cascade Foothills

Lane County Lowlands

Linn County Lowlands

Lower Columbia River

Lower Treasure Valley

Malheur County

North Clark County Lowlands

North Oregon Coast Range Lowlands

Northern and Eastern Klamath County and Western Lake County

Oregon Lower Treasure Valley

Outer Southeast Portland Metro

South Washington Cascade Foothills

Tualatin Valley

Upper Treasure Valley

Upper Weiser River

West Central Mountains

West Central Willamette Valley

West Hills and Chehalem Mountains

Western Magic Valley

Willapa and Wahkiakum Lowlands

ID:

Baker County

Boise Mountains

Camas Prairie

Harney County

Lower Treasure Valley

Malheur County

Oregon Lower Treasure Valley

Upper Treasure Valley

Upper Weiser River

West Central Mountains

Western Magic Valley

Frost Advisory

OR:

South Central Oregon Coast

Freeze Warning

OR:

South Central Oregon Coast

Beach Hazards Statement

OR:

Curry County Coast

South Central Oregon Coast

CA:

Coastal Del Norte

Mendocino Coast

Northern Humboldt Coast

Southwestern Humboldt

Freezing Fog Advisory

CA:

Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area

Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties

Northern Washoe County

Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake

NV:

Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area

Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties

Northern Washoe County

Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake

Special Weather Statement

NV:

Humboldt County

[natures-moments]

Blue Mountains, Eastern Edge of Walla Walla, Washington, USA

The Blue Mountains cover ten counties across two states; they are Union, Umatilla, Grant, Baker, Wallowa and Harney counties in Oregon, and Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties in Washington.

[eopederson2]

Weathered wooden ranch buildings, near Fields, Harney County, 2024.

[eopederson]

High desert with juniper tree, Harney County, Oregon, 2024.

[360nw]

Poison Creek North of Burns Oregon - Harney County - September 2019

[burnsoregonphotoblog]

Where There's Water There Will Be Cattle In The Vast Sage Deserts Of Eastern Oregon. Near Frenchglen.

Photo by Charles Conkling.

Additional posts featuring Charles Conkling's photography can be found at the following link.

[beardedmrbean]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A voter-approved Oregon gun control law violates the state constitution, a judge ruled Tuesday, continuing to block it from taking effect and casting fresh doubt over the future of the embattled measure.

The law, one of the toughest in the nation, was among the first gun restrictions to be passed after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year changed the guidance judges are expected to follow when considering Second Amendment cases.

The decision was handed down by Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Raschio, the presiding judge in Harney County in rural southeast Oregon.

The law requires people to undergo a criminal background check and complete a gun safety training course in order to obtain a permit to buy a firearm. It also bans high-capacity magazines.

Measure 114 has been tied up in state and federal court since it was narrowly approved by voters last November.

The state trial stemmed from a lawsuit filed by gunowners claiming the law violated the right to bear arms under the Oregon Constitution.

The defendants include such Oregon officials as Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and State Police Superintendent Casey Codding. They can appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals and the case could ultimately go to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Rosenblum plans to appeal the ruling, her office said in an emailed statement.

“The Harney County judge’s ruling is wrong,” the statement said. “Worse, it needlessly puts Oregonians’ lives at risk. The state will file an appeal and we believe we will prevail.”

One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Tyler Smith, welcomed the ruling.

“We hope the Attorney General’s office will realize that the ill-conceived and unconstitutional ballot measure should not be defended,” he said in an email.

The decision is likely “the first opening salvo of multiple rounds of litigation,” said Norman Williams, constitutional law professor at Willamette University.

During an appeals process, it’s likely that the injunction freezing the law would remain in place. Raschio was the judge who initially blocked it from taking effect in December.

The different lawsuits over the measure have sparked confusion over whether it can be implemented.

In a separate federal case over the Oregon measure, a judge in July ruled it was lawful under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

But because Raschio found it to be invalid under the Oregon Constitution during the state trial, the law remains on hold. This is because state courts can strike down a state law that violates the state constitution, even if it’s permissible under the federal constitution.

“The U.S. Constitution sets a floor, not a ceiling, for rights, so state constitutions can be more rights-protective than the federal constitution,” Williams said.

Because of this, Oregon officials would have to win in both state and federal court for the law to take effect, he said.

During the state trial, the plaintiffs and the defense clashed over whether the permit-to-purchase provision would hamper people from exercising their right to bear arms. They also sparred over whether large-capacity magazines are used for self-defense and whether they’re protected under the Oregon Constitution.

The plaintiffs argued that firearms capable of firing multiple rounds were present in Oregon in the 1850s and known to those who ratified the state constitution, which took effect in 1859. The defense, meanwhile, said modern semiautomatic firearms were “technologically distinct from the revolvers and multi-barrel pistols that were available in the 1850s.”

In his opinion, Raschio disputed the defense’s claim that banning large-capacity magazines would help make mass shootings less deadly. He recognized that mass shootings “have a significant impact on the psyche of America when they happen,” but said they “rank very low in frequency.”

“The court finds that 10-round magazine bans are no panacea to prevent a mass shooter,” he wrote.

“People tend to believe these events are prolific and happening all the time with massive levels of death and injury,” he added. “The court finds this belief, though sensationalized by the media, is not validated by the evidence.”

The Oregon measure was passed after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 created new standards for judges weighing gun laws. That decision fueled a national upheaval in the legal landscape for U.S. firearm law.

The ruling tossed aside a balancing test that judges had long used to decide whether to uphold gun laws. It directed them to only consider whether a law is consistent with the country’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation,” rather than take into account public interests such as promoting public safety.

Since then, there has been confusion about which laws can survive. Courts have overturned laws designed to keep weapons away from domestic abusers and felony defendants. The Supreme Court heard a case on one such law this month and is expected to issue a ruling by early summer.

In her separate federal ruling over the Oregon law, U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut appeared to take into account the Supreme Court’s new directive to consider the history of gun regulations.

She found large-capacity magazines “are not commonly used for self-defense, and are therefore not protected by the Second Amendment.” Even if they were protected, she wrote, the law’s restrictions are consistent with the country’s “history and tradition of regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons and firearms to protect public safety.”

She also found the permit-to-purchase provision to be constitutional, noting the Second Amendment “allows governments to ensure that only law-abiding, responsible citizens keep and bear arms.”

The plaintiffs in the federal case, which include the Oregon Firearms Federation, have appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case could potentially go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nine other states have permit-to-purchase laws similar to the Oregon measure, including New York, Hawaii, Maryland and Massachusetts, according to data compiled by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Apart from Oregon, 11 states including California, along with Washington, D.C., limit large-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds, according to the Giffords Center. California’s ban on higher-capacity magazines remains in effect while the state fights a lower court’s ruling from September that the law is unconstitutional.

[dekob2]

from chapter «ON THE FRONTIER»

«My mother’s family moved and bought and farmed and failed and moved on, from Missouri to Wyoming to Colorado to Oregon to California and back. We followed yang; we found yin. I am grateful. My heritage is the wild oats the Spanish sowed on the hills of California, the cheatgrass the ranchers left in the counties of Harney and Malheur. Those are the crops my people planted, and I have reaped. There is my straw-spun gold.» From “The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination” by Ursula K. Le Guin