August 28, 2015
CapitalPress.com
9
Oregon
Judge says ‘no’ to motorized vehicles
for juniper removal in wilderness
Nearly 80,000 acres declared off-limits
for helping sage grouse recovery
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A federal judge has ruled
that it’s unlawful to use mo-
torized vehicles to remove ju-
niper from nearly 80,000 acres
in the vicinity of Oregon’s
Steens Mountain.
The U.S. Bureau of Land
Management is cutting juniper
from roughly 336,000 acres
in the Steens Mountain Co-
operative Management Area
because the trees are crowding
out native vegetation.
Juniper removal is import-
ant to ranchers because it’s
expected to prevent further
population declines of the sage
grouse, a candidate for Endan-
gered Species Act protection.
If the bird is listed as threat-
ened or endangered, ranchers
fear further restrictions on cat-
tle grazing in its habitat.
U.S. District Judge Garr
King has now ruled that us-
ing motorized vehicles with-
in “wilderness study areas”
is prohibited by a federal law
that governs management of
the Steens Mountain area.
The BLM argued that
there’s an exception to the ve-
hicle ban for “administrative
purposes” — including juni-
per removal — but King sided
with the Oregon Natural Des-
ert Association, which filed a
lawsuit against the practice.
The judge said that BLM was
interpreting the “administrative
purposes” language too broadly.
“The BLM’s interpretation
places no limit on what falls
in the category of ‘administra-
tive,’” he said. “BLM — as the
agency charged with imple-
menting Congress’ enactments
— could call any activity ‘ad-
ministrative’ since its job is to
‘administer’ the laws.”
Supporters of juniper re-
moval worry that the ruling
will complicate activities
within the 79,600 acres des-
ignated as “wilderness study
areas” inside the project’s
boundaries.
John O’Keefe, presi-
dent-elect of the Oregon Cat-
tlemen’s Association, said the
task of removing juniper from
enormous swaths of land is
difficult enough without oner-
ous restrictions on equipment.
“We’ve got to use the most
efficient means we can. These
laws can be problematic from
time to time,” he said.
It’s unfortunate ONDA
wants to limit such tools, as
juniper removal is beneficial
to the ecosystem that the group
wants protected, O’Keefe said.
“To do this effectively, we
have to do this fairly large-
scale,” he said.
Dan Morse, ONDA’s con-
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press file
A mature juniper tree lies where it was cut. A federal judge has
ruled that motorized vehicles cannot be used to aid in juniper
removal if it takes place within a wilderness area.
servation director, said the
group’s lawsuit was intended to
enforce the intentions of Con-
gress when it banned motorized
vehicles in wilderness study
areas.
The vehicle prohibition is
meant to preserve the values
of solitude and dispersed rec-
reation, as well as prevent soil
disturbances, he said.
Juniper treatments can
continue with people on the
ground, rather than heavy
machinery and all-terrain ve-
hicles, Morse said. “We don’t
oppose the project’s basic
purpose.”
Grass seed, wine grape growers discuss herbicide drift answers Oregon’s
By MITCH LIES
For the Capital Press
AMITY, Ore. — Grass seed
farmer Denny Wilfong was en-
thused to learn that the Oregon
Seed Council and the Oregon
Winegrowers Association were
organizing a tour to address is-
sues of herbicide drift between
grass seed fields and vineyards.
So much so, in fact, that Wil-
fong volunteered to host the
first stop on the Aug. 19 tour.
“What it boils down to, is
the Willamette Valley is bless-
ed with weather that allows us
to produce the best grass seed,
wine grapes and blueberries
in the world,” Wilfong said.
“We’re really fortunate. So we
just have to figure out a way to
make it all work together and
make it all fit.”
On the tour, chemical deal-
ers, licensed pesticide applica-
tors, grass seed and wine grape
growers addressed a gathering
of legislators, state agency of-
ficials, county commissioners,
extension agents, timber own-
ers and others.
Wilfong, of Wilfong Farms
in Dallas, Ore., said he takes
several steps to avoid damag-
ing wine grapes when spraying
broadleaf herbicides. Among
them, he, at times, sprays at
less than optimum timing to
avoid applying compounds
during bud break in grapes,
Mitch Lies/For the Capital Press
Wine grape grower Bill Sweat, in a vineyard outside Amity, Ore., on Aug. 19, addresses participants
during a farm tour that was arranged to help wine grape and grass seed growers co-exist.
uses nonvolatile formulations
of herbicides and adds an-
ti-drift agents to tankmixes.
Katie Fast, a neighbor of
Wilfong, said she and her hus-
band, Kirk, alert neighbor-
ing wine grape grower Dave
Coelho when they are going to
spray, and tell him what com-
pounds they plan to apply.
“Working with our neigh-
bors cooperatively is very im-
portant to us,” Fast said. “It is
time that we are taking out of
our day, and it takes effort, but I
think it is important.”
Coehlo told participants he
appreciates hearing from the
Fasts, particularly during bud
break.
Wine grapes are susceptible
to herbicide injury at several
points during a growing sea-
son, said Alex Cabrera of the
OVS subsidiary Results Part-
ners, but never more so than
during bud break.
Injury at that point not only
affects the current year’s grape
crop, but also the next year’s
crop and possibly subsequent
years’ crops, he said.
“That early-season is very
delicate,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera’s presentation at the
second stop on the tour was fol-
lowed by a presentation from
Bill Hubbell, general manager
of Wilco-Winfield. Hubbell
showed growers examples of
application technology avail-
able to reduce herbicide drift,
including interlock nozzles.
“You still have wind issues
to deal with,” Hubbell said,
“but you can get a lot more con-
trol of your application.”
Bob Eccles of Wilbur-Ellis
Co. told participants the opti-
mal conditions for spraying are
when wind is blowing away
from sensitive areas at a speed
of between 4 and 10 mph. At
less than 4 mph, the chances
of volatilization are increased,
and drift issues come into play
when applying pesticides at
wind speeds in excess of 10
mph, he said.
Eccles also advised growers
to read pesticide labels.
“There is a lot of new in-
formation on those labels,” he
said, including information
on how droplet size can affect
spray quality, and other tidbits
growers can use to their ad-
vantage.”
Oregon Department of Ag-
riculture Director Katy Coba,
who participated in the tour,
said she was pleased to see
the wine grape and grass seed
growers working to resolve
what at times has been a con-
tentious issue.
“I think that both sides are
to be commended to be will-
ing to talk to each other about
their concerns and take the
next step to do this tour,” she
said.
“Our whole focus is co-ex-
istence,” she said. “The best
people to solve these issues
are the people that are out on
the ground.”
Mount Emily
wolves strike
once more
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
For the second time in Au-
gust and third time since June,
Oregon’s Mount Emily wolf
pack is blamed for killing a
sheep in the northeast corner of
the state.
A herder on Aug. 15 found
a partially consumed sheep in
a timbered area of Nine Mile
Ridge, in Umatilla County. The
site was near a bedding ground
on public land.
Wildlife biologists examined
the carcass. The sheep’s stom-
ach and thoracic cavity had been
eaten, as had muscle and tissue
from the neck, ribs, shoulders
and front legs. Bite mark size
and placement were consistent
with a wolf attack, according a
report by Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife.
GPS data from a collared
wolf showed at least one
pack member was in the area
when the attack most likely
occurred. Previous ODFW
investigations showed pack
members killed sheep Aug. 4
and June 22.
Family nursery specializes in water gardens
By GAIL OBERST
For the Capital Press
INDEPENDENCE, Ore.
— The Matteo family’s Inde-
pendence Nursery and Water
Gardens specializes in plants
and fish that suit water fea-
tures, but it didn’t start out
that way.
Marylou started the busi-
ness in 1987 with Ash Creek
in her backyard. Her husband,
the late Joe Matteo, joined the
business a few years later. In
2003, their son, Ed, a retired
Navy Seabee, joined the busi-
ness with his wife, April.
The Matteos started the
nursery without specific spe-
cialties, but as demand and
their own interests grew,
they quickly gravitated to
water plants and related ac-
cessories. Inside the business
building are aquariums full
of pond-loving fish and the
accessories needed to main-
tain water features, plants
and fish. Outside, the nursery
displays hundreds of plants
that grow in water on the
edges of ponds.
The Matteos’ small nurs-
ery on the border between
Monmouth and Indepen-
dence is a mecca for the ar-
ea’s water-feature lovers.
While there is a variety of
shrubs and trees at Indepen-
dence Nursery, most of these
serve to provide shade and
shelter for the water ponds.
For example, there are
about 25 varieties of maples
for sale, and more than 70 va-
rieties of shade-loving hosta,
some of which the Matteos
have propagated since they
opened.
“Mom loved the hosta,”
said Ed, pulling out the varie-
gated “Independence” hosta,
a variety the nursery has car-
ried since 2006.
There are 25 varieties of
water lilies for sale in col-
ors pink, white, yellow, red
and even some that change
colors during the course
of the day. Plantain lilies,
water hyacinth, rushes, cat-
tails, dwarf water bamboo,
reeds, wapato, and more are
available in the nursery’s six
greenhouses. Demonstration
ponds are scattered through-
out the nursery, some filled
with gambusia or mosqui-
tofish, the perfect pet for
the Oregon water feature,
Ed said. The fish don’t have
to be fed, and they tolerate
extreme temperatures, from
hot to cold.
More Online
Read the full story with
water garden tips at:
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Slug researcher will speak at meetings
By MITCH LIES
For the Capital Press
In 2009, Pennsylvania State
University entomologist John
Tooker said he “naively waded
into the slug world” after slug
problems were the topic of 50
percent of his extension calls
that year.
Today Tooker is one of the
few U.S. researchers actively
engaged in slug research.
Tooker will be a featured
speaker at the Oregon State Uni-
versity seed crop and cereal pro-
duction meetings in September.
Tooker also will speak at a
seminar on the OSU campus,
scheduled from 3 to 4 p.m. on
Sept. 9 in room 4000 of the
Agriculture and Life Sciences
Building.
Sujayo Rao, field crop en-
tomologist at Oregon State
University, said that while
Mid-Atlantic cropping patterns
are different from Oregon’s,
she believes Tooker can pro-
vide Oregon growers valuable
insight on a problem that has
beset them in recent years.
An industry study recently
calculated the economic impact
of slugs on Oregon grass seed
crops at just under $100 million
annually, or about 20 percent of
the crops’ farm gate value.
“Clearly slugs are a big is-
sue, and John Tooker is one of
the few researchers nationwide
who is doing research on slugs,”
Rao said. “This seemed like a
good opportunity to bring him
to Oregon.”
In a Penn State Universi-
ty Department of Entomology
research report, Tooker noted
that a 2010 survey of Mid-At-
lantic corn and soybean grow-
ers, showed that 82 percent of
respondents identified slugs as
their most challenging pest.
The report also included
findings that cover crops, in-
cluding cereal rye and clo-
vers, helped limit slug dam-
age by providing alternative
feed sources for slugs. And
it included information that
minimal tillage — even light
discing in the spring — helped
reduce slug pressure.
Research in Oregon also has
shown that tillage — even bien-
nial tillage — provided signifi-
cant benefits in slug control over
continuous no till.
“Dr. Tooker’s visit pro-
vides an opportunity for us to
learn about his slug manage-
ment successes and challenges,
while enlightening him about
our challenges,” Rao said. “His
awareness about our situation
has potential for benefiting us
at many levels.”
In addition to Tooker’s pre-
sentations, OSU Extension plant
pathologist specialist Cindy Oc-
amb will provide presentations
on the impacts of barley yellow
dwarf virus in perennial ryegrass
and tall fescue. OSU Extension
weeds specialist Andy Hult-
ing will look at Italian ryegrass,
roughstalk bluegrass and annu-
al bluegrass in wheat and seed
crops. And OSU Extension cere-
als specialist Mike Flowers will
provide a look at winter wheat
varieties, grain protein, and dis-
eases growers faced in 2015.
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