October 9, 2015 CapitalPress.com CPoW drops out of wolf advisory group, wants it abolished By DAN WHEAT Capital Press ELLENSBURG, Wash. — The Cattle Producers of Wash- ington has withdrawn from the state’s wolf advisory group, calling it “inept and pointless” and saying it has prevented any action by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in dealing with wolves that kill livestock. The department should abolish the advisory group — known by the acronym WAG — courageously take on wolf management that’s fair to communities impacted by wolves and should not “stand idle as livestock operations that are vital to rural commu- nities perish under inadequate public policy,” said Monte McPeak, CPoW president, in a letter dated Sept. 10 that was sent to the Fish and Wildlife Commission and department director Jim Unsworth. “WAG has consistently prevented any real action by WDFW, creating dire circum- stances for the ranch families and communities that have been negatively impacted” by wolves, McPeak wrote. Con- tinuing to participate in WAG would work in opposition to CPoW’s mission of sustain- ing, improving and protecting the state’s cattle industry, he wrote. WAG meetings often con- sist of theoretical discussions while ignoring data and wolf management tools in other states, he said in the letter. WDFW uses WAG to delay action as it waits for “some kind of unattainable consensus from WAG,” and WAG refus- es to seriously discuss lethal removal, he wrote. A majority of WAG mem- bers always want one more depredation before removing wolves and CPoW has no de- sire to work with a facilitator who closes WAG meetings to the public, creating “a secret and obscure environment to discuss an issue of high public importance,” McPeak wrote. WDFW spent $76,000 to remove the Wedge wolf pack in 2012 but is spending $850,000 on the WAG facil- itator for two years, the letter says. In two days of WAG meet- ings in Ellensburg, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, there was no direct public mention of CPoW’s withdrawal. WAG facilitator, Francine Madden, said she al- luded to it but not by name. “I want us to be respectful of that (CPoW’s) decision but remain open to engagement,” she said later. “If there is any way we can be supportive of their community, then I would do that. The door is open to re-engagement at any time and in any form.” She said the $850,000 for WZR\HDUVJRHVWRKHUQRQSUR¿W organization, Human-Wild- OLIH &RQÀLFW &ROODERUDWLRQ LQ Washington, D.C., and not di- rectly to her. She said she had seen CPoW’s letter but had no comment on it. Donny Martorello, WDFW wolf policy coordinator, said it’s unfortunate CPoW dropped out, that he valued the organization as a stakeholder and appreciates its reasons. “We’re not delaying any management action based on WAG,” Martorello said. “WAG is looking for cohesion on controversial parts of our protocol but that doesn’t pause any management of wolves.” Jack Field, executive vice president of Washington Cat- tlemen’s Association who is on WAG and has expressed frus- tration with its slowness, said he respects CPoW’s decision but that his board decided to stay at the table. “I’m glad we did because yesterday afternoon (Oct. 1), ZH ¿QDOO\ ³TXLW ZULWLQJ FRQ- ceptual thoughts on butcher paper and went line-by-line through a checklist of non-le- thal actions. That was huge. If we come into the next meeting with the same focus we will do a lot of good things,” Field said. 5 Hemp grower encouraged by cross-pollination experiment Cross-pollination with marijuana poses controversy for new crop By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press For Oregon hemp grower Jerry Norton, the recent har- vest season has been success- ful in more than one way. Apart from producing a healthy stand of the crop in a 0DULRQ &RXQW\ ¿HOG 1RUWRQ is pleased with an experiment on cross-pollination between hemp and its psychoactive rel- ative: marijuana. The potential for cross-pol- lination between hemp and marijuana was a major point of contention between grow- ers of the two crops in 2015, ZKLFKPDUNHGWKH¿UVWWLPHLQ decades that hemp was legally grown in the state. “There’s a phobia with the cross-pollination,” Norton said. Marijuana growers fear hemp pollen because they want to avoid the formation of seeds in their crop, which de- creases the quality and volume RISV\FKRDFWLYHÀRZHUV As part of his experiment, Norton grew numerous hemp plants in a greenhouse that also contained several marijuana plants. In Oregon, recreational use of the psychoactive crop became legal this year and its medical cultivation has been legal since the late 1990s. Despite their close proxim- ity to male hemp plants, Nor- ton’s female marijuana plants developed a minimal number of seeds. “We’ve been successful with them not cross-pollinat- ing,” said Norton. The dearth of seeds found in the marijuana makes him optimistic that hemp and mar- LMXDQDJURZHUVZLOO¿QGDZD\ to coexist in Oregon, similar- ly to specialty seed producers who use a mapping system to avoid cross-pollination. “We want it to be like to- 0DWHXV]3HUNRZVNL&DSLWDO3UHVV +HPSLVKDUYHVWHGIURPD¿HOGLQ0DULRQ&RXQW\2UHJRQ7KHFURSDWWUDFWHGVFUXWLQ\IURPODZPDN HUVWKLV\HDUGXHWRLWVSRWHQWLDOIRUFURVVSROOLQDWLRQZLWKPDULMXDQDVLQFHVHHGVGHJUDGHWKHTXDOLW\ DQGYROXPHRIWKHSV\FKRDFWLYHÀRZHUV matoes or any other commod- ity,” he said. Pollen from marijuana and hemp has been known to trav- el more than 7 miles, and the plants can be pollinated by KRQH\EHHV WKDW À\ DERXW miles from their hives, accord- ing to legislative testimony submitted by Russ Karow, an Oregon State University crop and soil science professor. However, some crops that can technically cross-polli- nate — such as goatgrass and wheat — will actually produce few seeds, said Carol Mallo- ry-Smith, an OSU weed scien- WLVWZKRKDVVWXGLHGJHQHÀRZ While Mallory-Smith has not studied hemp and mari- MXDQDVSHFL¿FDOO\VKHVDLGLW¶V possible that genetic variations DQG GLIIHUHQFHV LQ ÀRZHULQJ times may be responsible for the low seed numbers seen by Norton. “There are a lot of biolog- ical and physical reasons that plants may not hybridize and produce seed,” she said. Figuring out which vari- eties of marijuana and hemp are unlikely to cross-pollinate will require more research to be useful for growers, said Norton. “We don’t know which can coexist with other ones,” he said. The issue generated con- troversy during Oregon’s 2015 legislative session, with a bill that would restrict hemp production passing the House but failing in the Senate. Hemp production in Ore- gon has turned out much dif- ferently this year than what legislators envisioned when they legalized the crop in 2009, said Lindsay Eng, di- rector of market access and FHUWL¿FDWLRQ SURJUDPV IRU the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The crop was le- galized several years ago but ODA only began issuing per- PLWV WKLV \HDU DIWHU ¿QDOL]LQJ production rules. While lawmakers expect- ed the crop to be grown on DQ LQGXVWULDO VFDOH IRU ¿EHU and seed, Oregon growers are more inclined to produce it on a small scale for cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound that’s thought to have medical uses. The law requires hemp JURZHUV WR SURGXFH ¿HOGV RI the crop that are 2.5 acres, but it does not set a mandat- ed seeding rate, Eng said. “It GRHVQ¶W VSHDN VSHFL¿FDOO\ WR density, so you could conceiv- DEO\ VSUHDG ¿YH SODQWV RYHU 2.5 acres.” The ODA is revising its hemp rules and the legislature may revisit the hemp statute in 2016, she said. Growers have focused on CBD because it’s more eco- nomically viable than compet- ing with large hemp farmers in Canada, Eastern Europe and China, Eng said. “On those industrial-type commodities, you tend to see pretty big acre- age.” Norton said he’s growing hemp for CBD but he also expects that the crop stems to be processed and sold as live- stock bedding. The stalks can also be chopped up and mixed with lime to make “hemp- crete,” a type of lightweight insulation. “I think it’s going to be the next thing in building materi- als,” he said. Dan Wheat/Capital Press )UDQFLQH0DGGHQFRQÀLFWUHVROXWLRQFRQVXOWDQWDQGVWDWH5HS 6KHOO\6KRUW5&ROYLOOHWDONDW:DVKLQJWRQZROIDGYLVRU\JURXS PHHWLQJLQ(OOHQVEXUJ6HSW Wolf panel discusses ‘wolf-friendly beef’ By DAN WHEAT The state Department of Fish and Wildlife killed the pack’s ELLENSBURG, Wash. — breeding female but dropped The state’s wolf advisory group plans to kill three more wolves continued discussing how to in the pack after Dave Dashiell help one of its rancher members removed the sheep. WDFW also who lost more than 300 sheep to compensated Dashiell for 30 to wolves last year. VKHHSLWFRQ¿UPHGDVNLOOHG The group also talked, during by wolves. a Sept. 30 meeting at Central Hancock Timber Resource Washington University, about Group offered Dave Dashiell a “wolf-friendly beef” label for land unsuitable for grazing but meat from cattle raised follow- didn’t want his sheep back on ing wolf protection measures. the land it leased to Dashiell In its Sept. 3 meeting in where the slaughter occurred be- Tumwater, the group reached cause it was a “public relations a tentative agreement to help nightmare for Hancock,” Don rancher member, Dave Dashiell Dashiell told Capital Press prior of Hunter, who estimates he lost to the meeting. more than 300 sheep in July During the meeting, the 2014 to the Huckleberry wolf group discussed trying to help pack in northeastern Washing- 'DYH 'DVKLHOO ¿QG VXLWDEOH ton. grazing land, hazing methods on Dashiell was not at the Sept. wolves and what should be on a 30 meeting in Ellensburg, but checklist of actions prior to kill- his brother, Stevens County ing wolves. Commissioner Don Dashiell, Paula Swedeen, carnivore was. He also is a rancher. Don policy lead in Olympia for Con- Dashiell said the sheep were servation Northwest, suggested worth about $200 apiece, more helping ranchers by having a than $60,000 total. label for “wolf-friendly beef” 8QDEOHWR¿QGVXLWDEOHJUD]- from cattle raised with WDFW ing land this year, Dave Dashiell wolf protection measures. Dan PRYHG KLV ÀRFN WR D SDVWXUH Paul, state director of The Hu- north of Pasco where he’s spent mane Society of the United $10,000 per month on hay. Don States, said as with cage-free Dashiell called it an emergency eggs, some consumers would short-term option that will put be willing to pay more for beef his brother out of business in the raised with wolf protection mea- sures. long term. Capital Press 41-2/#4N