Cougar in Malheur County in 2006.

Question:

St Charles are you listening?

— Eileen Harrington, Bend

As someone who believes it’s time for Bend to realize that it’s a big city now, I was excited to hear that our City Council was looking for members of the public to serve on a new Compensation Review Committee that will hopefully put an end to undercompensated representation. I found the resolution online and started calculating my chances of serving.

The resolution calls for a new committee of seven to nine people. Hmm, sounds good so far. Then it states that up to three members should be former mayors or council members. Not a good development but there’s still maybe six slots available. Bend has an overabundance of smart, experienced citizens who could do the job, but still worth my shot.

The council then suggests that members could be drawn from other city committees and lists five possibilities. Next up are representatives of interested organizations, like the chamber or Latino associations. Then they want a member with financial experience. They started with seven to nine openings and have already characterized over 10 slots, none that fits me. I’m not a math major, but my chances are nearing those of winning the lottery.

Not to worry, the council is seeking someone from underrepresented communities and another from the community at large. With tongue firmly in cheek, I’d suggest that those categories are one and the same. Bend’s elected officials work hard and deserve higher compensation. If the council agrees, they need to convince the public, not a list of stakeholders.

— Jerry Slominski, Bend

The numbers here were taken from the Oregon Department Fish and Wildlife sites on the internet. As such, I am sure they are approximate. In 1994, the voters in Oregon passed a law that stated cougars and bears could not be hunted with the use of dogs. Lately, we see people trying to figure out why deer numbers are down and how to protect them.

Yes, human expanding into their habitat has had a large effect, so has people trying to tell game management people how to do their jobs. The people in larger cities have no clue about game management but still think they know better.

So here are rough numbers from ODFW as to before the vote and today.

• 1993 cougar population was about 3,000
• 2022 cougar population is about 6,600
• Cougars kill about 3.6 deer per month on average.
• At 1993 cougar population of 3,000 it means cougars killed about 11,000 deer per month in Oregon.
• At 2022 cougar population of 6,600 it means cougars kill about 24,000 deer per month in Oregon.

As there are more cougars east of the Cascades, this means the effect on deer population is far greater here.

These numbers do not take into account the increased populations of bears and the introduction of wolves in Oregon. They also have an effect on deer populations in Oregon.

Yes habitat expansion, increased car hits and loss of migration routes have not helped. But city folks that have no clue have also added to the problem.

The above is only looking at deer population changes. The same numbers can also be used for decline of elk populations.

— David Roth, Bend

Do you have a point you’d like to make or an issue you feel strongly about? Submit a letter to the editor.