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WATER SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016 VOLUME 89, NUMBER 6 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Task force recommended for recurring drought By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press WOLVES Washington advisory group softens rhetoric to face hard questions By DON JENKINS Wolf Advisory Group membership Capital Press W ashington state wildlife managers have commit- ted nearly $1 million in the past year to tame the passions humans have about wolves. The investment refl ects the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s position that when it comes to wolves, humans are the biggest challenge. Most of the money has been spent on a “third-party neutral,” Francine Madden, whose conciliatory counseling services are costing the state up to $8,000 a day. For nearly a year, Madden has led meet- ings of WDFW’s Wolf Advisory Group, a pan- el without policy-set- ting authority that will make wolf policy rec- ommendations to state managers. The group ranchers, Donny Martorello, represents hunters, conservation- Washington ists and animal-rights Department of activists. Besides hiring Fish and Wild- life’s point man Madden, WDFW in the past year nearly doubled on wolf policy. the WAG’s membership from nine to 17. The department’s managers are betting that this group can set aside the acrimony of the past and reach a consensus on how wolves should be managed in Washington. That was always WDFW’s hope, but meetings of the old WAG were “destruc- tive,” said Donny Martorello, WDFW’s point man on wolf recovery. Members dug in their heels and weren’t moving toward a consensus, he said. Turn to WOLVES, Page 12 Following are the members of the Washington Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife Wolf Advisory Group and their affi liations: • Bob Aegeter: Sierra Club • Shawn Cantrell: Defend- ers of Wildlife Don Jenkins/Capital Press Francine Madden’s conciliatory counseling services cost the state up to $8,000 a day to work with the Wolf Advisory Group. She was brought in after the state’s fi rst advisory group was unable to work together. As wolf wars in the West continue and lawsuits fl y, the new WAG meetings are swaddled in phrases such as “path to peace,” “capacity building” and “confl ict transformation.” • Tim Coleman: Kettle Range Conservation Group • Don Dashiell: Stevens County commissioner • Tom Davis: Washington Farm Bureau • Dave Duncan: Washingto- nians for Wildlife Conser- vation • Tom Erskine: Hiker and photographer • Jack Field: Washington State Cattlemen’s Association • Diane Gallegos: Wolf Haven International • Janey Howe: Science teacher and part-time range rider • Molly Linville: Indepen- dent cattle rancher • Nick Martinez: Washing- ton State Sheep Producers • Dan McKinley: Mule Deer Foundation • Dan Paul: Humane Society of the United States • Mark Pidgeon: Hunters Heritage Council Stock image WDFW’s policy is that it won’t consider lethal removal of wolves until at least four cows or sheep have been killed and the rancher has exhausted other ways to protect his animals. • Lisa Stone: Hunter • Paula Swedeen: Conser- vation Northwest SALEM — Despite gener- ous amounts of snow and rain this winter, Eastern Oregon is expected to continue experi- encing drought in 2016 based on low soil moisture levels. In light of this prediction from the National Weather Service, the state’s water reg- ulators want to set up a “Task Force on Drought Emergency Response” to fi nd tools for alle- viating drought impacts. The idea recently won ap- proval from Oregon lawmak- ers on the House Committee on Rural Communities, Land Use and Water, which unanimously referred a bill to create the task force to the Joint Ways & Means Committee with a “do pass” rec- ommendation on Feb. 3. Reservoir levels in Oregon and across much of the West are below average, which means it’s too early to “declare victory” over the drought that affl icted farmers in 2015, said Tom Byler, director of the Or- egon Water Resources Depart- ment. “We’re still not where we want to be, despite the good year we’ve been having so far,” he said, noting that the long- term weather forecast for spring anticipates above normal tem- peratures and below average precipitation in the Northwest. The task force proposed in House Bill 4113 would con- sist of 11-15 members, with the governor appointing up to 11 members and leaders in the House and Senate appointing four members, said Racquel Rancier, senior policy coordi- nator for OWRD. Members would examine short-term tools for dealing with drought, such as emergen- cy groundwater usage and tem- porary transfer of water rights, as well as longer-term solu- tions, such as water storage, she said. The task force would also improve information sharing among the diverse stakehold- ers, Rancier said. The Oregon Farm Bureau is neutral on H.B. 4113 and would like to see resources dedicated to understanding the fi nancial impact of drought across the state, said Mary Anne Nash, public policy counsel for the organization. April Snell, executive direct of the Oregon Water Resources Congress, said the task force is a step in the right direction but she agreed that Oregon State University or the Oregon De- partment of Agriculture should be funded to better quantify drought effects. Weatherman: Warmer, wetter spring and summer ahead By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press SPOKANE — Pacifi c Northwest farmers will see warmer and wetter weather in the months ahead, meteorolo- gist Art Douglas predicts. Temperatures in February and March will run slightly above normal in the re- gion, Douglas said, which means winter- kill in wheat will not be a problem. Douglas, a fi xture at the Spokane Ag Expo and Pacifi c Northwest Farm Forum for decades, offered his annual forecast on Feb. 2. He is a professor emeritus at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. Spring rains will primarily occur in the Southwestern U.S., but moisture will also be slightly above normal in Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington and in the Idaho panhandle. The Pacifi c North- west will be “very warm” in May, but still have moisture, he said. Turn to WEATHER, Page 12 Creighton University’s Art Douglas delivers his weather forecast and presentation on global climate trends Feb. 2 during the Spokane Ag Expo and Pacifi c North- west Farm Forum. Matthew Weaver/Capital Press 6-4/#5
