Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2016)
September 9, 2016 CapitalPress.com 9 Northwest hydropower study due in fi ve years Columbia and Snake river dams 97 mb Colu ia Chelan Seattle 90 By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI 12 R i ver Irrigators criticize process as waste of time, money 10 Coulee Dam 11 Spokane WASHINGTON Wenatchee 90 Capital Press Olympia 6 5 r Snake R i ve Yakima Astoria 82 Longview Vancouver Portland 101 5 5 Kennewick lumbia Riv e r Co The 1 Dalles 2 3 84 Umatilla 7 Pasco 4 IDAHO 9 Lewiston Walla Walla Pendleton . Pacific Ocean Richland 8 OREGON S na ke R Federal authorities have fi ve years to study changes in the operation of 14 Northwest hydropower facilities aimed at mitigating harms to threatened and endangered fi sh. Environmental groups had called for a shorter deadline but they’re optimistic the process will compel federal agencies to come up with more aggressive operational changes. Irrigators who depend on electricity from the hydropow- er dams, meanwhile, expect the fi ve-year study will amount to an expensive waste of time. “Nothing good will come out of this,” said Darryl Olsen, board representative of the Co- lumbia-Snake River Irrigators Association. Earlier this year, U.S. Dis- trict Judge Michael Simon held 84 Dams included in the recent court ruling N 20 miles 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Bonneville The Dalles John Day McNary Ice Harbor 6. Lower Monumental 7. Little Goose 8. Lower Granite 9. Dworshak 10. Albeni Falls 11. Grand Coulee 12. Chief Joseph 13. Libby (Mont.)* 14. Hungry Horse (Mont.)* *Not shown Sources: U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers that the federal government’s plans for operating the facilities violated the Endangered Species Act so agencies must come up with new “reasonable and pru- dent alternatives” to protect fi sh in about two years. Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Those plans must also be subjected to an “environmen- tal impact statement,” which environmental groups argued should be completed in three years. Simon has instead sided with the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers and U.S. Bureau of Rec- lamation and given the agencies more time, until 2021, to fi nish the EIS. While there is an “urgent need” to correct problems with the hydropower system, rush- ing the EIS process “to meet an arbitrary court deadline may be counterproductive,” Simon ruled. The EIS process is critical because the federal agencies will be required to examine several options for altering hy- dropower operations, such as removing four dams on the Snake Rver, said Todd True, an attorney for the Earthjustice law fi rm, which represents environ- mental groups. Changes in the energy grid and river shipping will infl u- ence the government’s analysis, as will improved information about climate change and dam removal, said True. “There is a whole other con- text the government is going to be operating under this time,” he said. The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association isn’t so enthusiastic. The hydropower system has undergone EIS analysis several times in the past and it’s unlikely that federal agencies will arrive at a different result this time, said Olsen, CSRIA’s board rep- resentative. “It will be another big pro- cess and I really don’t expect their conclusions to be much different,” he said. Irrigators fear that increased costs for operating the dams will drive up electricity rates, which would make pumping water more expensive. Worries about the system’s impact on fi sh also discourages state governments from issuing new water rights, according to irrigators. The fi ve years spent on the new EIS will likely cost $20 million to $30 million, Olsen said. “It’s a consultant’s dream.” Federal authorities probably won’t remove the dams, so the ultimate outcome will likely be increased spending on environ- mental mitigation projects by the Bonneville Power Adminis- tration, which operates the sys- tem, he said. “The real point is to extract more money out of Bonneville Power Administration,” Olsen said. “There is no objective other than money.” NAWG polls wheat growers on farm bill needs Armyworms invade grass seed fi elds By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press The National Association of Wheat Growers is asking mem- ber farmers what they need from the next farm bill. The results of the survey will help NAWG develop its priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill, which Congress will begin working on next year. The survey asks, “which pro- grams they’re using, which pro- grams they’re not using, which ones they think might need to be tweaked,” said Chandler Goule, NAWG CEO. The survey will continue un- til nearly the end of the year. Goule anticipates that crop insurance will remain a top priority. He hopes to hear from growers about their experienc- es with the Price Loss Coverage and Agricultural Risk Coverage programs. “Crop insur- ance is clearly Chandler going to have a Goule big target on it because there’s a signifi cant amount of mon- ey there, but it’s also the most important risk management tool for all the commodity pro- grams,” he said. “We will all have to band together to make sure we maintain that program in its current status and ful- ly fund it so it can be effective across the country.” The Conservation Reserve Program has reduced acreage each year during the current Farm Bill. Goule says NAWG will consider seeking more CRP acres and streamlining the Con- servation Stewardship Program process. He also expects more wheat farmers to participate in deliber- ations on the next farm bill. “Unfortunately, producers are much more involved and hands-on when we are having diffi cult times in the agricultural sector,” he said. “Right now, all commodities are low and a lot of our producers are struggling as they look for that capital and credit for next year, selling their products, especially wheat, at below the cost of production.” As of Aug. 30, hard red winter wheat ranged from $4.42 to $4.63 per bushel at Portland. Dark northern spring wheat ranged from $5.41 to $5.64 per bushel. By MITCH LIES For the Capital Press The Oregon State Uni- versity Extension Service has issued a pest alert regarding the presence of true (common) ar- myworms in Willamette Valley grass seed crops. The service wrote that large numbers of the pest have been spotted in tall fescue and or- chardgrass seed fi elds in the past two weeks in both the south and north Willamette Valley. The pest, Mythimna uni- puncta, also has been seen on sudan grass planted as a cov- er crop between nursery stock rows. “Extensive damage may result if the population is not treated,” the alert states. “Large numbers of larvae feed so vo- raciously that mass migrations of larvae can occur within a fi eld and to adjacent fi elds very quickly.” Armyworm outbreaks occur suddenly, the alert states, and in large numbers. In the alert, ex- tension personnel Amy Dreves, Nicole Anderson and Clare Sullivan compared the pest to the new winter cutworm, which erupted in grass seed fi elds last summer. According to an extension publication issued in February, cutworm damage is less uni- form than armyworm damage, but both pests move en masse, potentially infl icting widespread damage to new growth in late summer and early fall. The armyworm, like the cutworm, also infl icts damage sporadically. The last time an armyworm outbreak occurred in the Willamette Valley was 2004- 2006, according to the alert. In that outbreak, the pest also was found in Southwest Oregon near Myrtle Point, and damaged grass pasture and corn in that area, according to Dreves. In grass seed crops, the pest damages new growth by feed- ing on leaves and stems, leaving notched leaves and jagged leaf edges, according to the alert. Ar- myworms, like cutworms, can cause extension defoliation of plants over broad areas. The alert advises growers to scout for the pest in and around crowns where birds are feeding and to dig around in the thatch of a plant and at its base. The pest feeds at night and curls into a C shape in the day in areas where it can avoid daylight. 37-4/#4N