January 22, 2016
CapitalPress.com
7
Calf’s death impacts wolf plan discussions
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
one thought they would,” he
said.
The CCA would like to
see more radio collaring of
wolves so ranchers could be
warned that a pack is nearby
and so authorities can know if
a pack was in the area when
they receive depredation re-
ports, Wilbur said.
Announced Dec. 2, the
draft wolf plan includes sec-
tions on wolves’ interactions
with livestock, horses and
other wildlife. A protocol for
livestock producers suggests
they take certain measures to
prevent depredation, such as
removing diseased carcass-
es that could attract wolves,
fencing off livestock, install-
ing motion-sensor lights and
using range riders to guard
herds.
Fish and Wildlife spokes-
man Jordan Traverso said the
rapid arrival of wolves actu-
ally delayed completion of
the draft plan, because much
of it had been written to say
“when wolves re-establish”
and now the animals are al-
ready here.
SACRAMENTO — For
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suspected wolf depredation
on a calf in Siskiyou County
in late fall casts a long shad-
ow over the state’s efforts to
0DWWKHZ:HDYHU&DSLWDO3UHVV develop a wolf management
)UHG/LQGVD\RI:DUGHQ:DVKFKDWVZLWK6WHYH&RWWRPRI'LOORQ plan.
Ranchers say they were
Mont., at last year’s Washington-Oregon Potato Conference in
gathering cattle on the morn-
Kennewick, Wash.
Courtesy Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
ing of Nov. 10 when they A gray wolf roams in southeastern Siskiyou County in Northern
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ing on a dead calf in a mead- and two adults in the area and dubbed them the Shasta Pack.
ow and drove the wolves off, 7KH\DUHQRZZULWLQJDSODQIRUPDQDJLQJZROYHV
according to a state report is-
tections in 2014 over vocal plan in collaboration with the
sued Dec. 18.
The Department of Fish objections from the California stakeholder working group,
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DQG:LOGOLIHFODVVL¿HGWKHLQ- Cattlemen’s Association and everyone ... including the De-
said.
partment of Fish and Wildlife
Lathim expects farmers to cident as a “probable” depre- other farm groups.
Kirk Wilbur, the CCA’s di- felt we’d be a little ways off
be looking for ways to recov- dation, although “the absence
er after a relatively tough year of the majority of the carcass rector of government relations before wolves became estab-
... precludes determination of and a member of a working lished in California,” Wilbur
due to the hot, dry weather.
“2014 was a pretty hot a cause of death,” investiga- group of affected parties that said.
“Here it’s been less than a
put the proposal together, said
summer, we thought that was tors stated in the report.
The incident comes as Fish the suspected depredation year (since wolves were estab-
an anomaly and 2015 turned
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
out to be even hotter,” he said. and Wildlife is taking com- shows that wolves are arriv- lished) and we’ve already got
“I think everybody is trying to ments through Feb. 15 on a ing much faster than people a pack of wolves established
in California, and subsequent
The Washington-Oregon ¿JXUHRXWZKDWWKH\FDQGRLI draft plan for managing gray expected.
“When we set out to come to that, depredations have be-
Potato Conference will be we have another year like that. wolves, which were granted
Jan. 26-28 at the Three Riv- We hope we don’t have anoth- state endangered-species pro- up with a wolf management gun much sooner than every-
ers Convention Center and er year like 2015, but odds are,
Toyota Center in Kennewick, at some point, we will.”
Growers are also concerned
Wash.
The conference boasts 172 DERXW WKHLU DELOLW\ WR ¿JKW
Alder and Maple
exhibitors, up from 133 last pests, Lathim said. A promi-
year, the biggest number since nent nematode control is be-
Saw Logs, Standing Timber
the Washington and Oregon coming limited or unavailable,
industries combined for the and alternate chemicals are not
conference in 2010, said Ryan as effective.
www.cascadehardwood.com
Holterhoff, director of market-
ing and industry affairs with
the Washington State Potato
Commission.
“It really shows that people
want to be a part of this, come
out and get together as an in-
dustry, see what’s going on and
make those connections,” Hol-
terhoff said.
This year, most of the big
equipment will be outside to
allow more room, said Dale
Lathim, chairman of the con-
ference trade show.
“The equipment for potato
farming today is getting bigger
and bigger, and it just takes up
so much room,” Lathim said.
“We removed the equipment,
went with bigger spaces for
some of the more prominent
companies and we were able
to squeeze in at least 40 new
companies to be on display.
We think that’s going to add
some additional faces and
products and different ideas to
the trade show.”
The conference already had
a large waiting list of exhibi-
tors, but when they heard about
the increased space, it generat-
ed more interest, Lathim said,
so the new waiting list is back
up to more than 50 companies.
“There’s a lot of demand
for the show, but unfortunately
in Eastern Washington or Or-
egon, there’s just not a lot of
available conference space, so
we’re limited,” he said. “We’re
doing everything we can to
allow as many companies as
possible to have exposure to
growers and for the growers
to see what they have to offer.”
Keynote speaker David
Sax, author of the book “The
Tastemakers,” will speak
about changing food trends.
³:LWK SRWDWRHV GH¿QLWHO\
being a consumer-driven prod-
uct, it will be helpful to get
his perspective as a food writ-
er and someone who studies
these trends, to see what’s out
there next and how potatoes
Potato conference will boast
record number of exhibitors
Heat, nematodes
are topics of
concern at
upcoming meeting
ROP-1-5-2/#24
BUYING 6” and UP
Judge approves
Evergreen sale
to Jackson
Family Wines
MCMINNVILLE,
Ore.
(AP) — A federal bankruptcy
judge has approved the sale of
two buildings on the former
Evergreen International Avia-
tion campus in McMinnville
to Jackson Family Wines.
The California wine giant
has been adding property in
the Willamette Valley, and
the company noted in a state-
ment that the Evergreen site
is convenient to its vineyards.
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term plan includes the devel-
opment of a wine production
facility.
Jackson Family Wines
submitted the high bid of
$4.6 million in October. The
Yamhill Valley News-Regis-
ter reports that approval was
delayed because of a dispute
about road and utility ease-
ments.
4-7/#4N