OREGON: WILLAMETTE VALLEY AG EXPO SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015 VOLUME 88, NUMBER 46 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 So wet, yet so far from drought recovery Water watchers cheer cloudbursts, but it’s still early By DON JENKINS Capital Press The precipitation pelt- ing the West, punctuated by snowstorms in the mountains, has raised reservoirs, given snowpacks an early start and eased drought conditions in places, but water supply of- fi cials looking ahead to the 2016 growing season have F F A been largely unimpressed. A storm marching through Washington on Wednesday morning was expected to drop up to 10 inches of rain in the Olympic Mountains and 10 inches of snow in the Cas- cades before dusting Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. Southern Idaho and Northern California al- ready have had signifi cant snowstorms. Turn to WATER, Page 12 Caitlin Row/Tahoe Daily Tribune via AP A pedestrian walks in the snow along Ski Run Boulevard Nov. 10 in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Water experts say recent storms haven’t changed the drought picture in the West. CHANGING LIVES ONE BLUE JACKET E mily Kraxberger didn’t grow up on a farm. Her family had 2 acres in Canby, Ore., near Portland, where they had a small vegetable gar- den. But as a teenager in high school, Kraxberger was drawn to agri- Kraxberger culture classes such as fl oral science and landscaping. Through those classes, she was introduced to FFA. It changed her life. “In my sophomore year, I had an instructor who told me I should come to a leader- ship camp,” she said. “That’s how I became involved. Then I got some chickens, and on our small piece of property I raised chickens.” Kraxberger stayed in- volved after high school, in- terning in FFA’s state offi ce while earning an agricultural sciences degree at Oregon State University and going to work there full-time after graduation. AT A TIME STORY AND PHOTOS By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press FFA members from Northern California await a series of competitions Oct. 15 at Shasta College in Redding, Calif. FFA membership nationwide has reached record levels. FFA members take a test of their veterinary knowledge during a com- petition Oct. 15 at Shasta College in Redding, Calif. Many students say FFA’s competitions help prepare them for college. Turn to FFA, Page 12 “ The organization had done so much for me when I was in high school. I really attribute all of my success to FFA.” – Emily Kraxberger, FFA’s associate director of programs Oregon takes wolves off endangered species list West side wolves still under federal protection By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press SALEM — After nearly 11 hours of emotional tes- timony, back and forth dis- cussion and two timeouts for legal advice from a state attorney, the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-2 Mon- day to take gray wolves off the state endangered species list. In making the decision, commission members agreed with an ODFW staff apprais- al that the state’s wolves have expanded in number and range to the point that they no longer need protection under the state Endangered Species Act. Oregon’s wolves remain covered under the federal ESA in the western two-thirds of the state, and ODFW offi - cials say the state wolf man- agement plan remains in ef- fect and will protect wolves from illegal hunting. The decision doesn’t close the book on Oregon’s work to manage wolves. Some commission members made it clear they preferred to del- ist wolves only in the eastern third of the state, where most of Oregon’s 82 confi rmed wolves live, but were prevent- ed from doing so by language in the state law. Meanwhile, conservation groups are expected to fi le a lawsuit over the commission’s decision. “I think that’s very like- ly,” said Amaroq Weiss of the Center for Biological Diversi- ty. “I think they’re in violation of the law. They didn’t pay at- tention to the science.” Turn to WOLVES, Page 12 The wolf OR-7 is seen in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southwest Oregon. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Monday to remove wolves from the state’s endangered species list. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife