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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016
VOLUME 89, NUMBER 42
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
“OUR FARM IS REQUIRED TO REDUCE BY 7 PERCENT,
AND WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN EASILY SAVE 25 PERCENT.”
$2.00
STEVE SHIVELY
Farmer from
Mud Lake, Idaho
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Emails released to the Capital Press indicate
that the What’s Upstream campaign spe-
cifi cally tried to infl uence the Washington
Legislature, bolstering arguments of its critics
that the campaign should have registered as
a grass-roots lobbying organization.
A BETTER WAY TO
What’s Upstream
timed EPA-funded
campaign to sway
2016 Legislature
IRRIGATE
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Steve Shively, a Mud Lake, Idaho, farmer, inspects his low elevation sprinkler application system on his pivot. Shively said LESA has enabled him to more
than meet the requirements for groundwater users to reduce water consumption under the terms of a water call settlement.
Organizers touted ‘robust
six-month campaign’
By DON JENKINS
Idaho settlement fuels
growth of LESA, a new
method for watering
Eastern Snake
Plain Aquifer
Capital Press
MONT.
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Mud Lake
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By JOHN O’CONNELL
Rexburg
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25 miles
M
UD LAKE, Idaho — Growers on the
Eastern Snake River Plain will remem-
ber 2016 as the year a tight water sup-
ply got even tighter.
Many were forced to reduce the
amount of water they use for their
crops, enter costly leases to offset their impact on a de-
clining aquifer — or leave some of their land fallow.
But a few farmers, including Steve Shively, say they
have found a way to stretch their water supply without
sacrifi cing their crops.
The Mud Lake, Idaho, grower is a pioneer in the use
of low elevation sprinkler application, known by the
acronym LESA. It’s an irrigation method developed by
University of Idaho and Washington State University re-
searchers specifi cally for the Pacifi c Northwest.
Under the terms of a monumental 2015 water call
settlement with senior surface water coalition members,
irrigators who pump groundwater from the aquifer must
reduce their water consumption by a total of 240,000
acre-feet per year.
One acre-foot covers an acre of land with water 1
foot deep — about 325,850 gallons of water.
For them, the massive settlement translates into a
cutback in irrigation water by an average of 12 percent
for every groundwater irrigator in the region. The exact
amount varies by the farmer’s groundwater right priority
dates.
At a time of basement-level commodity prices, the
settlement was a potential double-whammy for many
farmers: Less irrigation water would mean lower yields
for crops that were bringing lower prices.
Shively, however, said switching to the LESA irriga-
tion method has simultaneously saved water and boost-
ed his farm’s yields.
Turn to LESA, Page 14
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OF THE
American
MOON
Falls
NAT’L
MON. &
Res.
PRESERVE
e R
.
Capital Press
Sn a k
WYO.
Pocatello
Snake R i v e r
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86
Twin Falls
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93
15
NEV.
Area in
detail
UTAH
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Courtesy of Howard Neibling, University of Idaho
A manifold is attached to the gooseneck of a pivot irrigation system in
preparation for a LESA demonstration in Idaho’s Treasure Valley in 2013.
What’s Upstream backed off a plan
to use Environmental Protection Agency
funds to run a ballot initiative to restrict
farming around waterways, but was al-
lowed to spend federal money on advertis-
ing to infl uence the Washington Legislature,
according to newly available EPA records.
The EPA accepted plans to air radio
ads during the 2014 legislative session and
launch a new website and related advertis-
ing campaign to coincide with the 2016 ses-
sion, according to the records, released in
response to a Freedom of Information Act
request by the Capital Press.
What’s Upstream organizers, including
the lead group, the Swinomish Indian tribe,
introduced the EPA-funded website with an
email dated Dec. 2, 2015.
The website was a makeover of an ear-
lier version of whatsupstream.com, adding
a link to facilitate a letter-writing campaign
to state lawmakers urging them to mandate
100-foot buffers between farm fi elds and
waterways.
“We are pleased to announce that we
have revamped our website and, starting
today, are relaunching a very robust, six-
month public information campaign — just
in time for the start of the 2016 legislative
session,” the email stated. “Please note that
the website includes a tool where concerned
residents can send a message to their legis-
lators urging action on this critical but ne-
glected issue.”
Besides the tribe, the letter was signed
by the Northwest Indian Fisheries Com-
mission, the Center for Environmental Law
and Policy, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance,
Spokane Riverkeepers and Western Envi-
ronmental Law Center.
The campaign stemmed from an EPA
grant awarded in 2011 to the fi sheries com-
mission and “subawarded” to the tribe for
“public outreach” on Puget Sound wa-
ter-quality issues. The Legislature took no
action to mandate buffers.
Turn to EPA, Page 14
Change is watchword as another boutique winery sells
California based Jackson Family Wines purchases fourth Oregon vineyard since 2013
Capital Press
Jackson Family Wines’ latest pur-
chase continues a trend of big corpo-
rate players entering Oregon’s wine
scene, but observers aren’t worried the
newcomers will dilute the industry.
Jackson Family, based in Santa
Rosa, Calif., and perhaps best known
for its familiar Kendall Jackson label,
is buying WillaKenzie Estate winery
in Yamhill, Ore.
The company has purchased at least
four Oregon properties since 2013,
and earlier this year spent $4.6 mil-
lion for two buildings at the bankrupt
Evergreen International Aviation cam-
pus in McMinnville. Jackson Family
Wines reportedly plans to develop a
winery on the Evergreen property.
Jackson Family is an internation-
al wine company, with operations in
Chile, France, Italy and Australia in
addition to the U.S.
In Oregon, Jackson Family has
snapped up the Zena Crown, Gran
Moraine and Penner-Ash vineyards
Turn to WINERY, Page 11
PACIFIC NORTHWEST AG INDUSTRY EXPO
NOV. 9-10, 2016
• TRAC CENTER •
PASCO, WA
PRESENTED BY:
SPONSORED BY:
washingtonagnetwork.com/pnw-agie/
42-1/#6
By ERIC MORTENSON
and wineries over the past three years.
Mike McLain, an Albany, Ore., real
estate broker who specializes in vine-
yard properties, said Jackson Fami-
ly’s Oregon investment is impressive.
Depending on location, raw Willa-
mette Valley vineyard ground sells
for $10,000 to more than $40,000 per
acre, he said. He emphasized Jackson
Family is not his client.