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12 CapitalPress.com November 13, 2015 ‘El Nino. I think that’s our biggest concern’ WATER from Page 1 The National Weather Service forecasts the moist and cool Pacifi c barrage will continue next week. The U.S. Climate Prediction Center foresees weather wetter and colder than usual in the West through Nov. 24. The change in the weather came after the hottest Octo- ber ever in Washington and the second-hottest Octobers on record in Oregon, Idaho and California, according to the National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration. Irrigation mangers, hy- drologists and climatologists welcomed the rain and snow after months of drought-deep- ening weather. But they mostly shrugged off the early season storms as only mildly encouraging. “Any amount of above-av- erage precipitation is certainly going to help with recovery,” said Melissa Webb, a hydrol- ogist with the Natural Re- sources Conservation Service in Oregon. “But it doesn’t have any particularly large signifi cance as far as how the season ends up.” Water storage remains be- low normal, by far in some places. There’s a lot of catch- ing up to do, and El Nino isn’t expected to help most of the West. Southern and Central California can anticipate a wet winter, according to the Climate Prediction Center. But chances for above-nor- mal precipitation in Northern California, Western Oregon and Western Washington are no better than even, and it’s likely those regions, including the Cascades, will have warm winters, keeping snowpacks low. Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington and Idaho are ex- pected to be both warm and dry. “El Nino. I think that’s our biggest concern,” said hydrol- ogist David Hoekema of the Idaho Department of Water Resources. “At this point, the precipitation we’re getting is not of much signifi cance.” Idaho’s reservoirs were 83 percent of normal levels as of Nov. 1, according to NRCS. Compared to other states, Idaho enters the winter in a better position. Oregon’s reservoirs, for example, were only 44 percent of normal levels beginning the month. But Idaho still needs an above-average snowpack to ensure an adequate summer supply of water throughout the state, Hoekema said. An early November storm dumped 10 to 30 inches of snow across the Idaho-Nevada border region. The storm in- fl ated snowpack percentages. The Owyee Basin snowpack, for example, was 584 percent of normal as of Wednesday. “We just got a good dump in the mountains, but (snowpack percentages are) going to de- crease,” said Ron Abramov- ich, an NRCS water supply specialist in Boise. An early, moisture-laden storm in California dropped several inches of snow in the Sierra Nevada. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that after four years of drought in California, the precipitation “was just a start to moisten the soils.” Shasta Lake, the center- piece of the federal Central Valley Project, was 30 percent full Tuesday, about half the normal level. Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s main reservoir, was 28 percent full, 46 percent of the normal level, according to the California De- partment of Water Resources. Shasta and Oroville started to decline in mid-April and ha- ven’t bottomed out yet, water resources spokesman Doug Carlson said. Storms passed through Northern California this week, dousing Redding, Sacramento and other cities. “It’s going to take a good amount of mois- ture to seep into the soil, so at fi rst it’s just going to get ab- sorbed into the very dry soil,” said Sheri Harral, a U.S. Bu- reau of Reclamation spokes- woman at Shasta Dam. “It will defi nitely take some heavy rains before we’ll start seeing it turning around, and it starts back up. For right now, we’ll take every little inch and drop we can get.” Shasta Lake is actually 23.4 inches higher than it was last year because more water was held back to provide cold wa- ter at key moments for chinook salmon, Harral said. Recent snow on Oregon’s Mount Hood, which had been bare since summer, caused a stir in Portland, but most of the talk was about skiing and snowboarding. Farmers are taking a wait-and-see ap- proach. “I’d call it a little prema- ture,” said John Buckley, East Fork Irrigation District man- ager. The Hood River district depends on runoff from Mount Hood to water about 9,500 acres and serve 936 customers, mostly orchardists. FFA’s membership nationwide is at an all-time high FFA from Page 1 FFA membership nationwide Today, she is the Oregon FFA’s associate director of programs, handling career de- velopment, membership and awards and helping out at the state fair. “I felt the need to give back,” she said. “The organi- zation had done so much for me when I was in high school. I really attribute all of my success to FFA. … I really be- lieve in everything FFA does for students.” As a student who was drawn to FFA by its practical hands-on activities, Kraxberg- er is a testament to the growth of the 87-year-old national or- ganization formerly known as Future Farmers of America. Record membership FFA’s membership nation- wide is at an all-time high, with 629,367 participants in the 2014-15 academic year com- pared to 490,017 a decade ago, according to Kristy Meyer, the spokeswoman at the national FFA headquarters in Indianap- olis. Participation in FFA has been trending upward through- out the West, too. In California, there were 79,526 members in 2014-15, up from 64,201 a de- cade earlier. Washington state’s FFA ranks have increased from 5,802 in 2011-12 to 8,024 last year. Membership has also been increasing in Oregon and Idaho. Started for high school stu- dents who wanted to be produc- tion farmers, FFA has broad- ened its focus in recent decades to encourage students who aspire to become teachers, vet- erinarians, scientists and other professionals who interact with agricultural industries. In addition to hands-on farming, FFA members learn “soft skills” such as public speaking, marketing and inter- viewing for jobs, Kraxberger said. “There’s something for everyone in FFA,” she said. “Something really cool that’s been happening is that for peo- ple in the city who don’t have access to farms, maybe they’re doing a science project related to agriculture. … If it relates to the environment or natural resources, it’s very much FFA.” Students and teachers say this emphasis on building ca- reer skills is a big reason for the FFA’s burgeoning popularity. The growth of agriculture ed- ucation in schools, the contin- 629,267: Up 28.4% from 2004-05 (Thousands of members) 490 2004-05 523.3 540.4 495 500.8 507.8 506.2 ’06-07 ’08-09 Source: National FFA Organization Tim Hearden/Capital Press Marshell Strubel (left) and Anthony Anderson (right), both students at West Valley High School near Cottonwood, Calif., take part in a timed saw contest at an FFA meet Oct. 15 at Shasta College in Redding, Calif. FFA’s membership nationwide is at a record high. ued involvement of alumni and youngsters’ desire to avert a future global food shortage are also factors, they say. “I think FFA is just an amaz- ing program that sets kids up for success,” said Ally Rose McDonald, a senior at Durham, Calif., High School and the California FFA’s Superior Re- gion secretary. “It truly opens doors. It gives you an opportu- nity to see what kind of agricul- tural fi elds you’d like to pursue. “I think FFA gives you the tools to be confi dent and suc- cessful in talking to other peo- ple,” she said. “Those are tools that are going to be necessary throughout your life.” Bucking the trend FFA’s growth has come as participation in other youth programs for high school stu- dents has seen a decline. For instance, Boy Scouts of America membership fell 7 percent last year, continu- ing a decade-long decline, and the number of Girl Scouts and adult volunteers dropped by 6 percent, The Associated Press reported. There were about 3.4 million Boy Scouts and adult volunteers and about 2.8 mil- lion Girl Scouts and volunteers last year. Youth team sports partici- pation has also declined in the last fi ve years, according to a report by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. What makes FFA different is its affi liation with high schools, leaders say. A student might start with an agriculture-related class and become involved in FFA’s extracurricular activities. “I think we’re just ahead of the curve,” said Katy Teix- eira, an Anderson, Calif., high school adviser who was an FFA member. “It gives kids an op- portunity to travel and to learn and compete at the state, na- tional and international level.” Jack Klaiber, a freshman at Anderson, Calif., High School, is in his fi rst year of FFA. “At fi rst it was just because some of my friends were doing it,” Klaiber said of his reason for joining. “As I started to at- tend the events, I realized this is something I want to put my time into and it will be a great thing for me.” While Klaiber isn’t neces- sarily planning a career in ag- riculture, “I’d still like it to be a main part of my life,” he said. Humble beginnings Fostering farming careers was the sole purpose when 33 students from 18 states gath- ered at the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City to form Future Farm- ers of America in 1928. The group elected Leslie Apple- gate of Freehold, N.J., as its fi rst president and adopted its national emblem. The national FFA was or- ganized two years after Walter S. Newman, Virginia’s state supervisor of agriculture edu- cation, worked with other ag educators to start the Future Farmers of Virginia to address concerns that boys were los- ing interest and leaving the farm, FFA adopted its offi cial creed in 1930 and introduced its familiar blue corduroy jackets three years later. In 1965, the FFA merged with a similar organization for young African Americans called New Farmers of America, and girls gained full membership priv- ileges as voting delegates in 1969. In 1988, Future Farmers of America changed its name to the National FFA Organization to refl ect the growing diversi- ty of the agriculture industry, according to the organization’s website. “One of the reasons for (the change) was that FFA wasn’t strictly about farming, it was about agriculture as a whole,” said Meyer, the organization’s spokeswoman. “It was help- ing to encompass the idea that agriculture is something we embrace in every facet of our life.” Today, all 50 states and two U.S. territories are charter members of the national orga- nization, representing 7,757 local chapters. For each school chapter, there are three components — classroom instruction, hands-on learning outside the classroom and a leadership structure with elected offi cers, Meyer said. Ag education push In some states, FFA’s membership ranks have been helped by a push for more ag education. In Idaho, state FFA executive director Casey Zufelt credits the legislature’s agricultural education initia- tive, passed in 2014, with get- ting students involved. In June, a record number of students — more than 960 — competed in state career development events at the University of Idaho campus in Moscow. Idaho FFA boasted 4,372 members during the last school year, up from 3,965 in 2013-2014. “In our state, we’ve had a really neat energy going on with the Ag Ed Initiative,” which provides about $2 mil- lion more in annual funding for secondary ag education in Idaho, Zufelt said. “It was a grass-roots effort from teach- ers a couple of years ago who decided to take some action in improving the quality of the programs and bringing more money to the program as well. … That energy translates to the students.” In California, FFA execu- tive director Jim Aschwanden expects the state’s membership to cross the 80,000 threshold this year. One big reason for the increased interest may be that ag teachers have pushed for recognition of their classes as meeting entrance require- ments for University of Cal- ifornia and California State University campuses, he said. “About 45 percent of the classes offered in our ag pro- gram meet UC and CSU en- trance requirements one way or another,” said Aschwanden, who is also executive director of the California Agricultural Teachers Association. “Our integrated ag biology courses are viewed as the equivalent of regular biology by the UC and CSU systems, so a student can take ag and not have to worry about their access into college.” Moreover, ag mechanics classes are growing “by leaps and bounds” because teachers of other technical programs are retiring and leaving school shops empty, and ag instruc- tors are teaching welding and other facets of equipment ’10-11 557.3 579.7 ’12-13 610.2 2014-15 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press maintenance to take up the slack, Aschwanden said. “We turn out 75 (ag) teach- er candidates every year,” he said. “The rest of the career tech areas combined don’t train that many.” Teachers’ passion Additionally, students are captivated by the sheer en- thusiasm of instructors, said Abbie DeMeerleer, the Wash- ington state FFA’s executive director. “I think they appeal to stu- dents and thereby FFA mem- bership increases because those teachers really care,” she said. “They became ag teach- ers because it’s a passion for them. They want to see agri- culture succeed, and they want to see the future of our food, fi ber and natural resource pro- fession strong and well-po- sitioned. And they share that passion with their students.” McDonald, the Durham High School student, agrees. She said advisers get young- sters excited about FFA. “I think FFA is just an amazing program that sets kids up for success,” McDon- ald said. Finally, teenagers — partic- ularly ones in urban chapters — are interested in learning about food production, the or- ganization’s leaders say. “I think, too, that this gen- eration has a desire really to help society, and they know it’s really important to feed the world,” Meyer said. While FFA has expanded from production agriculture to include other career skills, the organization will “stay true to the farming aspect,” Oregon’s Kraxberger said. Meyer agrees: “I think we’re going to continue down the path we’re on and real- ly encourage students to un- derstand their key role in the world today.” Decision does not bring major changes to Oregon wolf management WOLVES from Page 1 Conservation groups believe Oregon’s wolf population is too small and too fragile to delist. They point out wolves occupy only 12 percent of their potential territory. “There’s no other species we would delist when it’s absent from almost 90 percent of its habitat,” Weiss said. Oregon’s ranchers, who had urged the ODFW commission to follow the guidelines of the wolf plan and the recommenda- tions of the department’s biolo- gists, cheered the decision. “I’m relieved,” said Todd Nash, wolf committee chairman for the Oregon Cattlemen’s As- sociation. “This sends a mes- sage to cattle producers that the ODFW Commission will stand by its commitment.” Nash said ranchers would not have supported a partial del- isting. “When we were paying the price (of livestock attacks) in Eastern Oregon, we fully be- lieved we were doing it for the whole state,” Nash said. “And we were proud to do it.” The decision does not bring major changes to the way Ore- gon manages wolves, which mi- grated to the northeast corner of the state 15 years ago following their reintroduction in Idaho and Wyoming by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Oregon’s fi rst pack was confi rmed in Wallowa County in 2008; the state now has at least nine packs, defi ned as four or more wolves traveling together. The state wolf management plan remains in force with the commission’s decision. It allows ODFW-approved “controlled take,” or killing, of wolves in cases of chronic livestock at- tacks or if wolves cause a de- cline in prey populations, chief- ly elk and deer. Ranchers, as they can now, are able to shoot wolves caught in the act of at- tacking livestock or herd dogs. None have been killed in that manner. Oregon’s wolf plan does not allow sport hunting of wolves. More than 150 people packed the ODFW hearing room and 106 signed up to testi- fy. Activists opposed to delisting wolves, many of them wearing matching orange T-shirts, made up a majority of the audience. A sprinkling of men in cowboy hats — Eastern Oregon cattle ranchers who have borne the stress and cost of wolf attacks on livestock — clustered on one side of the hearing room. The testimony echoed the arguments that have been made since Oregon’s wolf population reached the number of breeding pairs that trigger consideration of delisting under the manage- ment plan. Conservation groups and their allied argue that the state’s biological status report on wolves was fl awed and should have been peer-reviewed by other scientists. ODFW staff belatedly circulated the report to biologists they knew, but con- servationists said that was insuf- fi cient. “If this commission chooses to delist it will make a very sad and powerful statement about who and what it serves,” said Jonathan Jelen, development director for the conservation group Oregon Wild. Livestock producers, how- ever, argued they’d followed the wolf plan in good faith and ex- pected the ODFW Commission to do the same. “Oregon ranchers honored their obligation to follow the plan,” said Jerome Rosa, ex- ecutive director of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association. “This is one of the reasons wolves multiplied in our state.” Paul Henson, state supervi- sor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offi ce in Portland, was invited by the commission to testify. Henson said he’s “very confi dent” wolves will continue to recover, calling it “one of the easier scientifi c questions” he’s considered.