How a B&B permit became a fight about wolves

A more comprehensive look at controversy in Wallowa County as anti-wolf activists attack a successful local business embracing ecotourism.

About 50 people gathered for an unusual land-use hearing in Wallowa County. A proposal to open a bed and breakfast on farm land has ignited a broader debate over wolves and the changing culture in northeast Oregon.

It’s been awhile since I’ve attended a real knock-down, drag-out land-use hearing.

But this week in Wallowa County, as the rural northeast Oregon community debated whether a proposed bed and breakfast will be compatible with surrounding ranches, I was reminded of my days covering the liquefied natural gas controversy for The Daily Astorian.

Everyone from little old ladies to big, leathery men pulled out their type-written speeches, hand-scrawled notes, and folders full of old newspaper clippings. Hours passed. People got emotional. One woman broke down and cried. Several speakers drew applause.

Elected officials doused the crowd with a reality check in legalese. One commissioner read the dictionary definition of “compatible” in an attempt to shed some light on the matter.

The scene reminded me of how much land-use conflicts can expose about a community. They reveal tight social bonds and deep insecurities.

As he wrapped up Tuesday’s hearing on a conditional use permit for Barking Mad Farm Bed and Breakfast, longtime Wallowa County Commissioner Mike Hayward recognized the hard truth: Land-use laws alone won’t tell Wallowa County whether a bed and breakfast that welcomes wolf tourists is compatible with a valley full of ranchers – many of whom want to see the neighboring Imnaha wolves wiped out.

“We have very specific criteria. That’s the good news,” Hayward said as he postponed the board’s decision until Dec. 19. “But the bad news is those criteria are pretty subjective. Is this use going to be detrimental to agriculture or not? That’s somewhat in the eyes of the beholder. That’s what we have to ponder, and to me that’s the crux of the question. That’s what it comes down to.”

 The view from the road near the Hunters proposed bed and breakfast.

Diana and James Hunter want to expand their existing bed and breakfast onto a tract of land they own in an exclusive farm use zone. The property was split up and sold for non-farm homes under House Bill 3326. But it’s still surrounded by ranches. And the Hunters’ B&B needs a conditional use permit from the county to be a home-based business.

The Hunters and their supporters say their business is within all the land-use parameters and will have economic benefits for the area. The county has approved other B&B’s on similar property, and they say the business wouldn’t impact the surrounding ranches.

“We have been advised that there is no legal basis for denying this application,” James Hunter told the Wallowa County Commission.

But there are emotional and cultural reasons opponents don’t want the B&B to happen.

The bed and breakfast is proposed in an active ranching area. And for one thing, opponents say, building a home in the area is different from starting a non-farm business there.

“I don’t think a bed and breakfast is particularly compatible with ranching and grazing,”said nearby property owner Nancy Nobles. “People from non-rural areas don’t know how to respect people who are moving cattle. They could make it more difficult for people trying to herd cattle on roads.”

There’s also “the wolf issue,” which some at the hearing tried to skirt and others tackled head-on.

Last year, the Hunters hosted a group of wolf tourists with the advocate group Oregon Wild on the property. Oregon Wild has become the nemesis of Wallowa County ranchers who want Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to kill two wolves – or more – from the nearby Imnaha pack.

The group sued over the state’s latest wolf kill order, which is still hung up in court. Meanwhile, the Imnaha wolves continue to prey on cows in Wallowa Valley.

The wolves, reintroduced into Yellowstone in 1996, have been moving into to northeast Oregon from Idaho over the past few years. Prior to the reintroduction, the Northwest hadn’t seen wolves since the last ones were killed in the 1940s. They’re now protected in Oregon as a state endangered species, so there are tight restrictions on killing them.

Ramona Philips, a rancher with property near the proposed bed and breakfast, said she sees the Hunters’ trying to make money off the same wolves that are costing ranchers money.

Connie Dunham, another neighboring rancher, cited a letter Diana Hunter sent to state legislators in opposition to a change to Oregon’s Wolf Management Plan that would have allowed ranchers more flexibility to shoot wolves threatening their livestock.

“This really puts Diana Hunter on the side of those who do not have the best interest of ranchers at heart, and it’s a big indicator that her bed and breakfast activities and her support of tourism will not contribute to peaceful coexistence with surrounding ranchers,” Dunham said. “Although being a wolf proponent is not a criteria for begin denied a permit, the permit process to allow non-farming pursuits in exclusive farm use does highly consider the impact this permit will have on the surrounding properties.”

Diana Hunter said the permitting process has left her feeling bullied.

“We have friends that were too intimidated to come out and support us,” she said. “We are here for the terrain, and we’re here because we love it, and we are not going to be intimidated to move away.”

She said she’s not going to “screen” the guests at her business to suit the neighbors preferences, either.

“We don’t necessarily represent the views of our guests,” she said. “We have a right to have anybody out to our property that we wish. We may agree with them or not. That’s nobody’s business but ours. We hope the county will do the right and legal thing. This is about what we do – it’s not about our beliefs and politics.”

Shortly after leaving Wallowa County, I got an e-mail from Cory Carman of Carman Ranch, who wanted to make sure I knew that there are ranchers in the county – like herself – who aren’t fighting about wolves and the Hunters’ B&B.

“If you attended the hearing for Barking Mad, you likely got the distinct impression that all ranchers hate wolves, and that they hate wolves so much now that they hate people who like wolves,” she wrote. “For several years now, we’ve watched a group of very strong, passionate ranchers organize around the wolf issue. Those are the people you saw (at the hearing), and those people are only a small fraction of the ranchers in Wallowa County.”

After spending a mere two days in the county, all I can do is wonder if she’s right.