February 13, 2015
CapitalPress.com
15
New farm bill program benefiting farms, ranches
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
POCATELLO, Idaho — A
new federal conservation grant
included in the 2014 Farm Bill
will benefit ranchers diverting
from Idaho’s upper Blackfoot
River and Eastern Snake Plain
Aquifer groundwater irrigators.
The Regional Conservation
Partnership Program, which
replaced previous farm bill pro-
grams including the Agricultural
Water Enhancement Program,
has awarded $388 million na-
tionwide for 115 cooperative
conservation projects, with out-
side partners promising another
$800 million in matching funds.
Idaho received $430,000
through the grant, administered
by USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service, to replace
a pair of irrigation diversions
that stymie fish passage across
the main-stem Blackfoot River
through Caribou County and
$1.1 million to address declin-
ing groundwater levels in the
aquifer.
Travis Thomason, acting
Idaho NRCS state conserva-
tionist, said the grant was com-
petitive, drawing 600 proposals
with a combined $2.1 billion in
requests.
“Really that told us there’s
a lot of interest in working with
partnerships to move conserva-
tion along,” Thomason said.
The applicant for the upper
Blackfoot projects — a coa-
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Matt Woodard, right, speaks on behalf of Trout Unlimited during a
press conference on a recently awarded farm bill grant to replace
two irrigation diversions blocking fish passage in the Blackfoot
River in Idaho. Warren Colyer, left, also with TU, listens.
lition involving three mining
companies, Trout Unlimited and
the Idaho Conservation League
called the Upper Blackfoot Con-
fluence — contributed $750,000
toward replacing the old diver-
sions, owned by ranchers Keith
Hunsaker and Kent Allen.
Matt Woodard, with TU, said
a conservation team with his or-
ganization determined in a 2011
assessment “all conditions were
still on the ground for success”
in the Blackfoot watershed,
even though native Yellowstone
cutthroat trout populations have
been “hammered back.”
Keith Allred, a former can-
didate for Idaho governor who
serves as UBC’s facilitator, said
the coalition has already re-
placed ranchers’ diversions on
two upper Blackfoot tributar-
ies, opening up 25 miles of new
cutthroat spawning habitat, with
supplemental funding from oth-
er NRCS programs.
Thanks to UBC, Joan
Bunderson, managing partner
with Bear Lake Cattle Co., said
she has two new diversions that
keep fish out of her fields, don’t
clog and have a gauge to ensure
she’s diverting within her water
right, in compliance with a new
state requirement.
“It’s been a benefit to us at
the same time as it’s been a ben-
efit to wildlife,” Bunderson said.
Design work on the main-
Courtesy of Matt Woodard
Caribou County, Idaho, rancher Kent Allen’s diversion across the upper Blackfoot River is planned for
replacement with funding from a new 2014 Farm Bill program, called the Regional Conservation Part-
nership Program. Idaho received RCPP funding to replace two Blackfoot diversions and to address
declining Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels.
stem diversions should begin
this summer, with project com-
pletion expected by 2017.
The Idaho Water Resourc-
es Board secured a two-year
RCPP grant. A host of partners
— Miller-Coors, General Mills,
groundwater users’ organiza-
tions, the Wood River Land
Trust, TU, the Nature Conser-
vancy, the Idaho Department
of Water Resources, the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game
and others — have committed
to providing matching funding
and technical assistance, worth
$800,000 per year.
Nealy Miller, IDWR senior
water resource planner, said the
grant will target projects such
as building infrastructure to al-
low farmers to use groundwater
in lieu of surface water in wet
years, improving the efficiency
of flood irrigation, removing
end guns from pivots, pivot en-
hancements and water conser-
vation in the Thousand Springs
area. He said funding from the
Environmental Quality Incen-
tives Program will support grant
projects, such as providing pay-
ment for irrigators who remove
end guns.
Miller said the board will
be working with NRCS in
February to finalize a cooper-
ative agreement and will start
accepting grower sign-ups in
the spring, with projects likely
commencing during the sum-
mer.
Bird control fireworks bill moves to House floor
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Legislation that would ex-
pand the use of fireworks to
repel birds in Oregon is headed
for a vote on the House floor.
House Bill 2432, which
would broaden the use of fire-
works beyond protecting crops
and forest products, moved to
the House floor with a unani-
mous “do pass” recommenda-
tion from the House Commit-
tee on Agriculture and Natural
Resources on Feb. 3.
The bill would allow the
state fire marshal to issue per-
mits for using fireworks at golf
courses, landfills, airports, sea-
food facilities and other prop-
erties, in addition to farms and
forests.
The Office of the State Fire
Marshal stopped issuing fire-
works permits for golf courses
and landfills to scare off geese
and other birds in 2010, after
it was brought to the agency’s
attention that such uses were
limited by law to farms and for-
ests, said Anita Phillips, license
and permits manager for the
agency.
The bill would clarify the
law and allow the state agency
to again issue such permits, she
said.
The agency doesn’t ex-
pect more than 50 additional
applications as a result of the
change, Phillips said.
Representatives of the Ore-
gon Farm Bureau, the Humane
Society of the United States and
the Oregon Humane Society all
urged committee members to
support the legislation, though
they mentioned some concerns.
Animal advocates said that
fireworks must be used respon-
sibly because they can frighten
pets, while the Oregon Farm
Bureau noted there are only
two wholesale fireworks deal-
ers who can sell to farmers and
other property owners in the
state.
During the hearing, the
committee also moved House
Bill 2475, which would au-
thorize penalties of up to $100
for veterinarians who commit
minor infractions, to the floor
with a “do pass” recommen-
dation.
The fines would be the
equivalent of a “traffic ticket”
for minor violations, such as
failing to notify regulators of
an address change, that would
not reflect negatively on a vet-
erinarian’s disciplinary record,
said Lori Makinen, director of
the Oregon Veterinary Medical
Examining Board.
The committee held a hear-
ing on another bill — House
Bill 2474 — that would re-
quire the registration and reg-
ulation of veterinary facilities
to ensure they meet state stan-
dards.
Currently, state regula-
tors only have authority over
veterinarians, not facilities,
which could create problems
if substandard conditions were
found at a clinic owned by a
corporation or non-veterinari-
an, said Makinen.
However, the committee
held off on referring the bill to
the House floor pending fur-
ther discussion and possible
amendments.
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