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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2022)
Opinion A4 Thursday, February 17, 2022 OUR VIEW States can best manage wolves or all of the gnashing of teeth and wor- ries about the impending decline of Idaho’s wolves, any predictions of their demise are greatly exaggerated. Last year, the Idaho Legislature modifi ed the law related to hunting and trapping wolves. Since it’s the state’s job to manage them, such laws were well within the purview of lawmakers. Wolf advocates said the legislators were threat- ening the state’s 1,500 wolves and any eff orts to reduce that number would mark the beginning of the end for the predators. In the year since the law was passed, not much has happened. The state’s wildlife managers keep tabs on the wolves that have taken up residence in Idaho. What they found is — drum roll, please — the wolf population is about the same as before. The wolf population peaks in the summer, after the pups are born. After that, any deaths are counted. The Idaho population’s annual low point is about 900 in the early spring, before the next batch of pups is born. State wildlife managers say that if for some reason the population began to decrease too far, they could make mid-course adjustments. That’s the sort of thing wildlife managers do. Montana’s Legislature passed similar legislation. For the vast majority of the state the new hunting and trapping rules had little impact on the overall wolf population. However, they found that some wolves from Yellowstone National Park had a tendency to drift outside the park and were killed by hunters and trappers. When wildlife managers saw this, the hunts in that area were called off . The Yellowstone wolf packs will no doubt rebuild. There is a concept that continues to be circulated about wolves: They are timid creatures that need the help of man to survive in the wild. Environmental groups use that concept to build a case for protecting wolves, and raising money. Unfortunately for them, wolves are robust, smart and reproduce rapidly. Idaho started with 35 wolves imported from Canada in the mid-1990s. Now the population peaks at 1,500 each year, even with hunting, trapping and culling wolves that attack livestock. Similarly, the wolf populations in Washington state and Oregon are healthy, yet the way they are managed has frustrated many ranchers. Idaho and Montana have shouldered the respon- sibility of managing wolves in those states. They are held accountable and able to make changes as needed to maintain the health of the wolf populations without sacrifi cing the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers. Our hope is that, some day, political leaders in the nation’s capital, Washington state and Oregon will allow wildlife managers to do the same statewide. The last thing any of those states need is for the federal government to take over all management of wolves. Idaho and Montana have demonstrated that it’s not needed, or wanted. F LETTERS • The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. We edit letters for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. We will not publish con- sumer complaints against busi- nesses, personal attacks against private individuals or comments that can incite violence. • Letters should be no longer than 350 words and must be signed and carry the author’s name, address and phone number (for verifi - cation only). We will not publish anonymous letters. • Longer community comment columns, such as Other Views, must be no more than 700 words. Writers must provide a recent headshot and a one-sentence biography. Columns must refrain from complaints against busi- nesses or personal attacks against private individuals. Submissions must carry the author’s name, address and phone number. SEND LETTERS TO: letters@lagrandeobserver.com or via mail to Editor, 911 Jeff erson Ave., La Grande, OR 97850 OTHER VIEWS Managing our irrigation good for business, good for salmon TONY MALMBERG OTHER VIEWS roughts are becoming more frequent and intense. It can feel like climate change is stalking farmers and ranchers. The good news? Irrigators can play a unique role in helping ourselves through these trying conditions. I’ve lived on ranchlands in Nebras- ka’s Sandhills, Wyoming and now the grasslands of Northeastern Oregon. My wife and I have run a direct-to- consumer, grassfed beef and lamb business for more than two decades. Our successes have come when pur- suing regenerative agriculture, which means adding more life. When biodi- versity thrives, there’s a good chance our revenue will do the same. This is increasingly urgent for other reasons as well. Salmon in parts of the region are perilously close to extinc- tion. Our livelihoods, regional pros- perity and the future of salmon are all linked. It may come as a surprise, but the irrigator vs. salmon debate is not a zero-sum game. We can coexist, prosperously. Regenerative management prac- tices — like minimizing overgrazing, scheduling irrigation and ensuring plant recovery — can increase soil organic matter (SOM) and retain water in our soil mantle. Better irrigation and grazing prac- tices during the good moisture years make us more resilient during dry years. It’s also good for salmon habitat, which benefi ts the whole region. On the fl ip side, over-irrigation, hot- season irrigation and down-cut rivers D make us more susceptible to drought. Over-irrigation suff ocates our soil through compaction. Compaction cre- ates a barrier, preventing roots from accessing deeper moisture, minerals and nutrients. By monitoring available water content, we can avoid this. Irrigation saturates the soil. If one were to make a ball of the soil and squeeze, water would ooze out, indi- cating there is more than 50% avail- able water content (AWC). As days go by, the surface dries. If we can’t form a ball, that tells us the soil is drier than 50% AWC. On our ranch, we generally don’t want to irrigate until the available water content of 50% drops to at least 8 inches. This allows the roots of grasses to follow water down and build regen- erative soils for better water retention and less exposure to drought. In hot-season irrigation, we shouldn’t lose sight of the geography we work within — and use it to our advantage. High-mountain meadows in most of the western United States are composed of cool-season plants. These plants evolved to shut down, or senesce, when temperatures reach 70 degrees. In Northeastern Oregon, this hap- pens around mid-July. Continued irri- gation may keep cool-season plants green, but they will not produce sig- nifi cant biomass. By keeping this potential irrigation water in stream during the hot season, we can keep rivers alive, grow riparian vegeta- tion and cool rivers for salmon — a win-win. By contrast, down-cut rivers are a lose-lose. They drain the produc- tive fl oodplain, dry up meadows and destroy critical salmon habitat. We should instead be slowing the fl ow of water on the uplands with SOM, sat- SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION STAFF SUBSCRIBEAND SAVE NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50 You can save up to 55% off the single-copy price with home delivery. Call 800-781-3214 to subscribe. Subscription rates: Monthly Autopay ...............................$10.75 13 weeks.................................................$37.00 26 weeks.................................................$71.00 52 weeks ..............................................$135.00 urating the fl oodplain for continued cold river recharge in the summer and keeping rivers fl owing during the hot season. The health and wealth of our region is connected to the salmon runs that defi ne our rivers and streams. The loss of salmon imperils Tribes, fi shermen, main street businesses and Northwest- erners’ very identity, from the Pacifi c coast to the Rocky Mountains. Fortunately, a solution is within reach. Last year, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, presented a plan to remove the lower Snake River dams to advance salmon recovery — and replace the services the dams provide, like irriga- tion. It’s a far-reaching and visionary proposal with investments to ensure all communities remain whole, to trans- form and strengthen our region. His proposal includes mechanisms to ensure ranchers and farmers have the water they need to do the work we’re all proud of. And with regenera- tive management, we can increase our production as we heal the landscape. We now know that our sector can actu- ally build biodiversity, increase SOM, reconnect rivers to fl oodplains, address climate change and insulate ranchers from drought. When we have regenerative soil and functional rivers, we better our own livelihoods — and the sustainable exis- tence of salmon as well. ——— Tony Malmberg has been a rancher and practitioner of holistic manage- ment for more than 30 years. He’s received numerous awards for his work including the National Environ- ment Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen’s Association. He and his wife, Andrea, ranch in Union County. 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