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14 CapitalPress.com November 20, 2015 Ecology asks Wash. court to reassess water ruling Decision restricts DOE’s power to rearrange rights By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA — The Wash- ington Department of Ecology has asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling that rebuked the agency for rearranging water rights based on what it considered to be an overriding public interest. DOE argues the 6-3 deci- sion last month undermines its ability to allocate scarce water to benefit the public. In this case, DOE authorized the city of Yelm in Western Washing- ton to draw more groundwater to accommodate population growth. The court scotched the plan because it would have put sur- rounding rivers and creeks at risk of occasionally falling be- low state-mandated minimum flows, a water right senior to Yelm’s new right. The Supreme Court has not decided whether to reconsider, a court official said Nov. 10. A lawyer for Thurston County landowner Sara Fos- ter, who sued to stop the water redistribution, said the court has not asked him to respond to DOE’s written argument for reconsideration. “I think the decision was well reasoned and legally sound,” attorney Patrick Williams said. Although the decision did not directly involve an agri- cultural water right, the case sets an important precedent for farmers with senior water rights, said Toni Meacham, ex- ecutive director of the Wash- ington State Agricultural Legal Foundation. DOE overreached and im- paired a senior water right, said Meacham, who is not representing any party in the case. “They went ahead and rationalized it with that con- cept of ‘overriding consider- ations of public interest,’ ” she said. DOE’s appeal for recon- sideration hinges on whether DOE can permanently redis- tribute water withdrawals in the public interest at the ex- pense of stream flows. Mini- mum stream flows are meant to protect fish, wildlife, recre- ation, scenery, navigation and livestock watering. The court’s majority ruled that such withdrawals could only be temporary, an interpre- tation that dissenting judges called “novel and unprece- dented.” The suit did not challenge DOE’s authority to temporar- ily transfer water rights in a drought emergency. The court rejected DOE’s contention that potential dam- age caused by low flows could be more than made up for with riverbank projects. DOE and Yelm main- tain that depriving the city of more water will encourage the proliferation of residential groundwater wells, spurring urban sprawl and sucking more water from streams. Foster received support from the Center for Environ- mental Law & Policy, which praised the ruling as an affir- mation of DOE’s obligation to protect in-stream flows. Some Washington farm- ers last summer faced rare drought-driven irrigation wa- ter cutbacks because of mini- mum-flow rules. In the Foster case, Mea- cham said DOE acted alone to reorder water rights. “That, to me, is a huge red flag,” she said. “If agriculture needs more water, then ask for a change of law.” Soil professor addresses tilth conference Reganold calls for ‘transformative’ changes to ag By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Kristin Meira, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, outlines opponents’ arguments for dam removal on the Snake River system to members of the Idaho, Oregon and Washington grain commissions during a tri-state commission meeting Nov. 11 in Spokane. Grain commissions plan to combat dam ‘misinformation’ Opponents claim breaching would benefit orcas By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press SPOKANE — The Pacific Northwest agencies represent- ing grain farmers will unite to take a proactive approach against what they say is mis- information about the value of dams. The Idaho Wheat Com- mission, Oregon Wheat Commission and Washington Grain Commission made the decision Nov. 11 in Spokane during a tri-state commission Online http://www.snakeriverdams.com/ meeting. Kristin Meira, executive director of the Pacific North- west Waterways Association, outlined recent efforts by groups to revive arguments in favor of removing dams on the Snake River. The outdoor clothing de- sign company Patagonia is the reason the argument recently resurfaced, Meira said. The company’s founder and CEO is in favor of dam breaching and produced a documentary, “Dam Nation,” that’s “filled with inaccuracies,” Meira said. Protest flotillas in Seat- tle, Portland and the Lower Granite Dam near Lewiston, Idaho were assisted by fund- ing from Patagonia, Meira said. The groups’ arguments in- clude the claim that removal of the dams will help save or- cas in the Puget Sound, Meira said. Orcas eat large Chinook salmon from the Colum- bia-Snake river system. “Then they make the leap to, ‘If we just breach the four Snake River dams, they’ll have a lot more Chinook to eat,” Meira said. “The prob- lem with that argument is, the reason the orca populations were decimated 40 to 50 years ago is because until the mid- 1970s, people were out there rounding up the orcas in nets and hauling them away to Sea Worlds around the country.” Orca populations have been slowly increasing since the 1970s. There are also more fish in the river system than before Bonneville Dam was con- structed in the 1930s, Meira said, citing information from the Bonneville Power Admin- istration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Snake Riv- er system averages a juvenile fish survival rate of 97 per- cent as they move through the dam. SPOKANE — Farmers need to balance four basic goals to advance sustainable agriculture, which can be a tall order, says a Washington State University soil scientist. Longtime WSU soil sci- ence professor John Reganold was the keynote speaker Nov. 14 during the Tilth Producers of Washington annual confer- ence in Spokane. As a member of a National Academy of Sciences com- mittee from 2007 to 2010, Re- ganold helped author a report in Science magazine making recommendations for sustain- able agriculture. “Now we need to increase crop production and at the same time, improve the en- vironment, financial perfor- mance and social well-being,” he said. He called for farming that would use a combination of methods and technologies to balance all four goals. “The thing about conven- tional ag, it does a great job with yield, but at the expense of the other three,” Reganold said. Reganold wants to see “transformative” practices and systems, which would go beyond incremental approach- es. That would include mixed crop and livestock production, grass-fed livestock, organic agriculture, conservation ag- riculture and perennial grains. Annual grains provide 70 percent of calories globally and make up roughly 70 per- cent of the world’s cropland, Reganold said. He said annual plants have smaller root sys- tems and are less beneficial to soil than roots of perennial crops. Perennial wheat is in the development stage, but cur- rently has lower yield than conventional wheat, he said. A commercial perennial wheat is still roughly 10 years away, Reganold said. Agriculture is slowly changing, but the biggest fac- tors keeping farmers from making the changes are mar- kets, policy and uneven dis- tribution of scientific informa- tion, Reganold said. “The farmer is sitting in the middle, and this is what is af- fecting the farmer’s decision — it’s overwhelming,” he said. Reganold acknowledged that the concept sounds “uto- pian,” noting the difficulty of being profitable, giving em- ployees a good financial plan, have a good yield, take care of the soil and be good for the environment. It would likely be harder with livestock com- pared to plants, he said. “We’re moving in that di- rection with crops and we should be moving in that di- rection with animals,” he said. Reganold ended his presen- tation showing a picture com- paring two different types of soil, one handful from conven- tional farming that he said was light, without much structure, and a handful from perennial wheatgrass with deep roots and high organic matter. Reganold wants agricultur- al systems to be like the sec- ond soil. “Those innovative systems, the common theme is, they all build the soil,” he said. Organic 101 Group touts strawberries for lowering workshop set for risk of diabetes and Alzheimer’s Twin Falls Dec. 3 By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Farmers interested in organ- ic production can find helpful information about getting into the business at an Organic 101 workshop planned Dec. 3 in Twin Falls, Idaho. The workshop will feature organic market opportunities, certification training, organic nutrient sources, and a farm- er panel discussion on tips for organic transition and certifica- tion. “We are seeing renewed in- terest in the state, especially after the opening of Amy’s Kitchen and Clif Bar (under construc- tion) in Southern Idaho,” said Jennifer Miller, healthy food and farms program director with the Northwest Center for Alter- natives to Pesticides. The workshop is presented by NCAP in partnership with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and University of Idaho to help farmers meet the demand of the growing organic sector of agriculture. Johanna Phillips, organ- ic program manager with the ISDA, which now certifies 166 Idaho farms, said there’s been a steady increase in the number of farmers wanting information on the certification process and those completing certification for the first time. The workshop sessions in- clude: • Organic certification re- quirements by ISDA. • Organic nutrient sourc- es and composting by Amber Moore and Mario de Ha- ro-Marti at the University of Idaho. • Organic market opportuni- ties panel with representatives from Seneca Foods and Kelley Bean Co. moderated by ISDA. • Assessing barriers and op- portunities in organic farming by Carlo Moreno at the Univer- sity of Idaho. • Crop insurance options for organic producers by Heber Loughmiller of Leavitt Group Crop Insurance. The workshop will provide valuable training for beginning organic farmers and anyone considering transition. Plus, the refresher can be of value to all certified farmers, Miller said. WATSONVILLE, Ca- lif. — As strawberries are set to adorn many a dessert this holiday season, a commodity group is touting their healthful qualities. The California Strawber- ry Commission is highlight- ing separate studies linking strawberry consumption to a lower risk of developing dia- betes and Alzheimer’s disease during November, which is the awareness month for both ail- ments. In one of the studies, the USDA’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University near Boston found that supplementing old- er adults’ diets with about two cups per day can improve cog- nition. In the other, Harvard Uni- versity researchers found that women who ate strawberries at least once a month had a low- er risk for developing diabetes than those who didn’t. Unveiled this year, the stud- ies were funded by the straw- berry commission as part of its ongoing nutrition research program, spokeswoman Caro- Tim Hearden/Capital Press Strawberries from Watsonville, Calif.-based Driscoll’s Straw- berry Associates are ready to be enjoyed. The California Strawberry Commission is touting a pair of studies linking strawberries to prevention of diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. lyn O’Donnell said. Such studies have an im- pact on consumers’ attitudes, asserts Chris Christian, the commission’s senior vice pres- ident. “I think it certainly could increase demand” for straw- berries as people understand their health benefits, Christian said. “We’re working to pro- mote the results so consumers and health professionals will be better educated about the benefits of strawberries in their daily diet.” The group’s promotional efforts include special recipes on its website, messages on social media and work with a couple of registered dieticians, Christian said. The commission’s research grants typically range from $75,000 to $100,000 per year, with priority given to projects that involve cost-sharing with other agencies or third par- ties. The panel plans to fund as many as three new nutri- tion projects in 2016, and the awards will be announced in January. Nutrition research is a key part of many commodi- ty groups’ mission, and many groups swear by its ability to affect consumer choices. For instance, tree nut groups tout perceived health benefits as a big reason for increased prod- uct demand in foreign markets such as China and India as well as domestically. Indeed, in a 2011 U.S. mar- ket study, the California Wal- nut Commission found that 86 percent of consumers believed walnuts are healthful and 61 percent said they were buying more than they were five years earlier. About 29 million Ameri- cans are diabetic and about 5.3 million in the United States have Alzheimer’s, according to federal statistics. The Tufts study compared mobility and cognitive test re- sults of groups of people ages 60-75 who ate or abstained from strawberries and found that the strawberry-eating group showed improvement in spatial memory and word recognition, although they did not show measurable improve- ments in mobility, according to the commission. The Harvard study tracked 37,000 nondiabetic mid- dle-aged women over a 14- year period and found that women who ate more straw- berries were less likely to develop higher levels of he- moglobin A1c, a marker for diabetes. “We found that eating even a modest amount of strawber- ries on a weekly basis was as- sociated with a decreased risk of developing diabetes,” Har- vard researcher Howard Sesso said when he presented the re- sults to the American Diabetes Association earlier this year.