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April 3, 2015 CapitalPress.com 17 Wolf control board money helped decrease depredations By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — Wolf depreda- tions in Idaho declined signifi- cantly last year and the money provided by a new wolf dep- redation control board was a major factor, according to several sources. Idaho Wildlife Services, a USDA agency that solves conflicts between animals and humans, received $225,000 from the board during the last five months of 2014 for lethal wolf control efforts. The board, which was cre- ated by the Idaho Legislature last year to fund lethal wolf control efforts, has contract- ed with IWS for $236,000 more for the first six months of 2015. IWS had lost almost $700,000 in funding, most of it federal, since 2009 and that impacted the agency’s ability to control problem wolves, said IWS State Director Todd Grimm. The money provided by the control board has allowed IWS to respond more ag- gressively to wolf attacks on livestock and fly its helicop- ter more often and that was a major factor in wolf depreda- tions decreasing significantly in 2014, Grimm said. “We were able to re- spond aggressively after the first depredation and ... that stopped the secondary and tertiary depredations from occurring in many cases,” he said. “We were able to get the offending animals quicker....” According to Grimm, cat- tle losses in Idaho from wolf attacks declined 40 percent and sheep losses declined by 67 percent in 2014. The money provided by the board enabled the agency to kill 22 wolves last year and 20 so far this year. Brad Compton, wildlife assistant bureau chief for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said the money from the board as well as hunting and trapping seasons were both important factors in de- creasing wolf depredations. IWS “having that money to quickly respond to live- stock depredations ... definite- ly contributed to depredations being down,” he said. The legislature allocat- ed another $400,000 to the board this year. The board can use the money as it sees fit for lethal control of prob- lem wolves but has so far only chosen to provide funding to IWS. However, the five-member wolf board told the Capital Press in a statement that it will keep its options open. “While 2014 was a bit of an outlier in terms of less wolf activity statewide, long-term trends indicate that wolf ac- tivity can prick up significant- ly from one year to the next,” the statement said. “We have and will continue to consider every viable option within the scope of our authority to make efficient and effective use of depredation control dollars in Idaho for fiscal year 2016.” Idaho Wool Growers As- sociation Executive Director Stan Boyd said the 2014 dep- redation total was down to the 2008 level and he believes that was a direct result of the money provided by the board to IWS. He said the board’s cre- ation sent a message that Ida- ho is not going to allow prob- lem wolves to go unchecked. “People who love wolves will still be able to hear them howl,” he said. “But where they’re doing damage to ei- ther wildlife populations or livestock, we’re going to manage that.” Fake beaver dam bill divides environmentalists Structures are meant to improve stream conditions By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press John O’Connell/Capital Press Niter, Idaho, grower Mark Mathews plants barley on March 31. Barley acres in Idaho will be up by 4 percent this year, according to a new USDA projection. Report shows increased Idaho barley, wheat acres By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press NITER, Idaho — USDA expects Ida- ho farmers will plant more wheat and barley this season, following a disastrous 2014 harvest affected by widespread late-season sprout damage. Farmers in Idaho, which has been the top barley production state in recent years, told USDA in a March 31 plant- ing intentions report that they’ll plant 580,000 acres of barley this season, up by 20,000 acres, or 4 percent, from last season. Farmers throughout the U.S. plan to increase their planted barley acreage by 10 percent to 3.258 million acres, accord- ing to the report. Idaho’s wheat acreage is expected to increase by 4 percent to 1.327 million acres, compared with a 3 percent nation- wide drop in acreage to 55.367 million acres. Industry sources say barley contract prices were high relative to many other commodities, and contracting was ag- gressive as malting companies sought to build their reserves following last season, when supplies ran short due to sprout-damaged kernels. USDA shows Idaho’s fall wheat acreage was down by 3 percent, likely due to the problems at harvest, but growers plan to increase their spring wheat acreage by 17 percent, to 560,000 acres. Idaho Wheat Commission Executive Director Blaine Jacobson said the acre- age outlook published by USDA’s Na- tional Agricultural Statistics Service is in line with Idaho’s five-year wheat acreage average, but he’s guarded in his optimism about the numbers. “We think NASS may have over-esti- mated the spring wheat acres in Eastern Idaho and under-estimated the barley contracts,” Jacobson said, noting wheat prices were weak when planting deci- sions were being made and barley users were seeking to rebuild stocks. Based on reports from growers and seed dealers, Jacobson believes a 17 per- cent spring wheat planting increase is likely north of Salmon River, but acreage will probably be flat in Treasure Valley, flat to down 10 percent in Magic Valley and down as much as 15 percent in East- ern Idaho. Scott Brown, an Idaho barley commis- sioner who farms in Soda Springs, plans to increase his barley acreage by about 10 percent this season, though he’ll plant New WSU variety performs well under stress, breeder says Breeder targets intermediate rainfall zones EPA, Ecology seek to clean up Freeman grain handling site Chemical was legal pesticide when it was used By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Washington State Univer- sity’s newest soft white winter wheat variety performs well under stress, its breeder says. WSU recently announced soft white wheat variety Jas- per, aimed for 12-inch to 18- inch rainfall zones. Jasper maintains its yield under significant drought or heat stress, coming in at the top of several regional trials in 2014, WSU winter wheat breeder Arron Carter said. The variety has good re- sistance to stripe rust in the adult plant stage, but not in the seedling stage. Growers may have to apply a fungicide early during a bad stripe rust year, Carter said. It also has no snow mold resistance. It hasn’t been confirmed of- ficially, but Jasper also main- tained a high yield potential in areas where cephalosporium all malt barley rather than his usual feed barley acreage due to the current discrep- ancy between malt and feed prices. “Contract prices are steady to down 10 percent, which is pretty good consid- ering other commodities are going down significantly more than that,” Brown said. “And it’s a good option for grow- ers in a down market to have that price locked in at harvest time.” Niter farmer Mark Mathews was busy planting barley on March 31. He said barley prices were stronger, around $6.40 per bushel, when he locked in his con- tracts. Dan Christensen, who also raises grain in Niter, was surprised that there wasn’t greater demand for barley acres among malting companies. But he not- ed “you’ve got to plant something,” and barley isn’t a bad option relative to other commodities. According to USDA, Idaho farmers will plant the same amount of corn as last year, at 320,000 acres, but 1 percent fewer sugar beet acres, at 170,000 acres. Aberdeen farmer Doug Ruff said current sugar prices are profitable. However, some growers in Owyhee County may have to plant fewer beets due to water limitations. SALEM — A bill meant to encourage the construction of artificial beaver dams in Ore- gon’s Malheur Lake drainage basin to improve stream condi- tions has divided environmental groups. House Bill 3217 would cre- ate a pilot project in the area streamlining the permitting pro- cess for these structures, which are intended to restore stream functions to the benefit of the environment and landowners. The Oregon Natural Desert Association is supporting the legislation but several other en- vironmental groups came out against it during a March 31 hearing before the House Com- mittee on Rural Communities, Land Use and Water. Currently, landowners who hope to build artificial beaver dams must undergo a difficult permitting process, said Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem. While they may benefit from better forage conditions, the ex- pense and bureacratic hurdles prevent many landowners from pursuing such projects, he said. “Not every rancher is going to be willing to spend that kind of money.” Under HB 3217, regulators could provide a “general au- thorization” for artificial beaver dams in that basin so that land- owners would not have to obtain a separate removal-fill permit for each structure. The dams would also be exempt from fish passage requirements in some circumstances. The goal is to slow down “flashy” streams that are often dry and ultimately create habitat for the reintroduction of actual beavers, said Martha Pagel, a Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Washington State University win- ter wheat breeder Arron Carter addresses industry members during a field day in July 2014 on the university’s Spillman Farm. stripe was occurring in 2014. It shows resistance to straw- breaker foot rot, or eyespot, in markers and greenhouse test- ing but demonstrated a sus- ceptibility in field tests. Jasper went through WSU’s breeding program for roughly 10 years. The variety still performs well outside its target area, Carter said. “It’s one of those lines that can do well in a lot of areas,” he said. representative of Silvies Valley Ranch near Burns, Ore., which uses the structures. “It promotes voluntary stream restoration by private landowners,” she said. “It is not an end run around permitting.” Many streams that now cut deep gullies through the land- scape historically meandered through marshy meadows, said Gordon Grant, a hydrologist with the U.S. Forest Service. That hydrology was changed when beaver populations were reduced through trapping and a combination of other factors, Grant said. Beavers will not re-occupy such streams until they’re re- stored and contain the right food sources, he said. Artificial beaver dams can help reconnect streams to their historic flood plains, allowing them to store water, said Alan Hickenbottom, a board member of ONDA. The structures help slow the runoff of melting snow and in- crease groundwater recharge, he said. WaterWatch of Oregon recognizes the bill’s good in- tentions but is opposed to it as drafted, said Brian Posewitz, attorney for the group. It’s unclear why the stream restoration goals can’t be ac- complished under the existing regulatory structure, he said. The exemption to fish pas- sage requirements is “danger- ous,” Posewitz said. Artificial dams do not pre- cisely mimic their natural coun- terparts, which permit fish to mi- grate, said Tom Wolf, executive director of the Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited. “They’re not solid structures, they have holes in them,” he said. Clem said the bill is intended to serve as a pilot program for streams that are currently dry much of the year but may some- day contain fish if conditions are restored. FREEMAN, Wash. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington De- partment of Ecology want to add a grain handling facility in Freeman, Wash., to a list of na- tional clean-up priorities. The agencies say the chem- icals carbon tetrachloride and chloroform were found in soil at the facility and in ground- water collected from nearby wells, including one that is the water supply for the Freeman School District campus. A water treatment system is keeping the school district’s water supply safe for drinking, according to EPA. The well serves the district’s primary, middle and high school. The agencies want to list the facility under the federal Superfund program to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Listing the facility would allow for a more com- prehensive investigation, said Ken Marcy, who conducts site assessments for the EPA. “How widespread is the soil contamination, are there Matthew Weaver/Capital Press The Environmental Protection Agency and Washington Department of Ecology say chemicals formerly used at the Freeman, Wash., grain handling facility, pictured March 30, have gotten into the groundwater. They are considering plans to clean up the area. other sources, how widespread is the water contamination?” Marcy said. “The response could vary widely depending on what they find.” Marcy said the circum- stances are common across the United States. “It was a legal chemical when it was used,” said Ken Blakeman, general manager for CHS Primeland, owner of the facility, which is built on land owned by the Union Pa- cific Railroad. CHS Primeland leases the land from the rail- road. “The way the EPA goes about it tends to scare people into thinking there is some on- going contamination, which is absolutely not the case.” Francisco Castillo, direc- tor of corporate relations and media for the railroad, said the company is evaluating its next steps, after receiving a letter from Ecology last month noti- fying it that it is potentially a liable party. None of the EPA’s informa- tion identifies the source of the pollution, Blakeman said. “This could have happened in the 1950s — we have no idea,” he said. “We also don’t know that it’s actually just at our site. It could be from fire extinguishers, solvents, neigh- boring properties. It could have come from the school’s own bus garage by improper disposing of solvents.” Carbon tetrachloride was historically used as a fumigant in the grain handling facility, Marcy said. The chemical was outlawed in 1986, he said. “My guess is this is from a historical application of a legal pesticide, but we found it in an area far away from the facility, (suggesting) that the area was contaminated not just from normal application, but from maybe spills or improper stor- age,” Marcy said. Further investigation may reveal other sources, Marcy said. Business at the facility has not been impacted, Blakeman said. “It’s a seasonally used grain elevator,” he said. “Grain comes in, grain goes out. It’s no different from any elevator anywhere that you’d go by.” It hasn’t yet been ad- dressed whether it would fall to the grain company or to the railroad to address cleanup, Blakeman said. The company is working with all authorities, Blakeman said. “We have an open door to them,” he said. Brook Beeler, communica- tion manager with Ecology in Spokane, said the department will move forward with clean- up.