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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016 VOLUME 89, NUMBER 7 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Bureau of Land Management photos From Left: Carrizo Plain National Monument in California. The South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho. The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument in California. Lawmakers in Idaho and other states say they plan to let Utah “test the waters in court and to move forward with a similar lawsuit if their neighbor prevails. LEADING THE CHARGE Utah plans court battle to loosen Uncle Sam’s grip on public land Federal land by state Land area by percent of state 0-10% 11-30% Mont. Idaho Nev. Calif. Utah Ariz. 31-50% 51-80% > 80% N.H. Wyo. D.C. Colo. N.M. Alaska Hawaii Source: Congressional Research Service Alan Kenaga/ Fla. Capital Press S By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press ALT LAKE CITY — Utah Rep. Ken Ivory is on the front line of an approaching legal battle to wres- tle millions of acres of land from federal control, and legislators in other Western states are intently watching his progress. The Utah Republican says Western econo- mies have long been held hostage by the fed- eral government — roughly 47 percent of the land in the 11 Western states and 61 percent of Alaska are under federal control, compared with 4 percent in the other states. Sixty-fi ve percent of Utah is federal land. Utah state Rep. Ken Ivory. Turn to LAND, Page 11 John O’Connell/Capital Press INSIDE • Federal land acquisitions get budget boost Page 3 • Time line of federal lands Page 10 The Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area is 428,156 acres of public land offering diverse scenic and recreational experiences. Courtesy of BLM Organic seed usage grows Trend strongest among smallest farmers By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Organic farmers are gen- erally using more organically grown seed, though the trend is most apparent among the smallest growers, according to a recent survey. Organic farmers were asked about their seed usage as part of the upcoming report about the “state of organic seed” in 2016, which is being written by the Organic Seed Alliance nonprof- it group. Growers reported planting about 69 percent of their vege- table acreage with organic seed, up from 55 percent fi ve years earlier. Acreage planted with organ- ic seed also shot up from about 49 percent to 66.5 percent for cover crops and 72 percent to 77 percent for fi eld crops. Forage acreage planted with organic seed declined slightly, from 61 percent to 59 percent. While the Organic Seed Alliance is heartened by this trajectory, it’s least pro- nounced among the largest farmers who have the poten- tial to make a signifi cant im- pact on organic seed usage, said Jared Zystro, the group’s assistant director for research and education. “Smaller farms tended to use much more organic seed,” Zystro said during the alli- ance’s recent conference in Corvallis, Ore. Among farms with fewer than 10 acres, for example, 75 percent of the vegetable acreage was planted with or- ganic seed, compared to about 20 percent of the acreage for farms with more than 480 acres, the survey found. A lack of desired varieties was the main reason farmers cited as their reason for not using more organic seed, fol- lowed by insuffi cient quanti- ties, a dearth of desirable traits and high prices, the survey said. Turn to SEED, Page 11 Oregon lawmakers rethink biotech pre-emption Bill would allow local governments to regulate biotech crops By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Capital Press fi le GMO Roundup Ready alfalfa is shown in this photo. Local government authority over genetically engineered crops is being reconsidered by Oregon lawmakers roughly three years after they prohibited most city and county seed restrictions. SALEM — Local govern- ment authority over genetical- ly engineered crops is being reconsidered by Oregon law- makers roughly three years after they prohibited most city and county seed restrictions. Critics of biotechnology claim that lawmakers hav- en’t enacted meaningful pol- icies for genetic engineering since adopting a 2013 law pre-empting local govern- ments from setting their own seed rules. The pre-emption bill was included in a broader legis- lative package that included public employee retirement system reforms that the Ore- gon Supreme Court later in- validated. Proponents of House Bill 4122, which would repeal statewide pre-emption spe- cifi cally for genetically engi- neered crops, claim local gov- ernments should be permitted to prevent cross-pollination between organic, convention- al and biotech cultivars. “In an ideal world, farm- ers will work together, but in reality, people are stub- born and do as they please,” said Jared Watters, a Jackson County farmer, during a Feb. 9 hearing before the House Committee on Consumer Pro- tection and Government Ef- fectiveness. Turn to BIOTECH, Page 11 7-4/#5
