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10 CapitalPress.com October 14, 2016 Oregon Certiication raises stakes in forest lawsuit Lead plaintif attorney predicts zero opt-outs from litigation; counties, districts looking for $1.4 billion in damages By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press It’s unlikely any county will opt out of the recently certiied $1.4 billion class action lawsuit over Oregon’s forest management practic- es, according to the attorney leading the case. The decision by Linn County Circuit Judge Daniel Murphy to certify the lawsuit as a class action means that 15 counties and roughly 130 tax- ing districts automatically be- come plaintiffs in the case un- less they ask to be excluded. John DiLorenzo, attorney for lead plaintiff Linn County, said that he’d be surprised if any of the potential plaintiffs opt out, given their inancial constraints. “Why would any of the districts want to turn down money?” he said. “I am pre- dicting there will be zero opt- outs.” Linn County iled the law- suit earlier this year, arguing that Oregon was obligated to maximize timber harvests from 650,000 acres of forest- Capital Press File A Linn County, Ore., judge has certiied class action status in a lawsuit challenging the State of Oregon’s management of state forestland. The certiication allows 15 Oregon counties and roughly 130 taxing districts to pursue the case jointly, alleging they are owed $1.5 billion in damages. land that counties turned over to state ownership in the early 20th century. Since 1998, however, the state government has empha- sized environmental protec- tion and recreational opportu- nities in managing the forests for their “greatest permanent value,” according to the law- suit. Last month, the case crossed a signiicant hurdle when Murphy refused a re- quest by Oregon’s attorneys to dismiss the lawsuit. The class certiication doesn’t come as a surprise because the judge said he was inclined to grant the request in the previous decision, but it nonetheless raises the stakes for Oregon — particularly given the prospect of trying the case before a Linn County jury. Even if some of the coun- ties or tax districts don’t op- pose the state government’s forest management philoso- phy, it’s not probable they feel strongly enough to miss out on a portion of the potential $1.4 billion in damages, said DiLorenzo. Likewise, it’s unlikely that the counties or taxing districts will opt out to pursue a similar lawsuit on their own, he said. Oregon’s attorneys have until May 2017 to ile “dis- positive motions” to get the case thrown out based on matters of law, but it’s unclear what arguments they could make since the lawsuit is “going to be very fact-specif- ic,” DiLorenzo said. Capital Press was unable to contact attorneys for the State of Oregon before press time. Elementary students learn about Oregon agriculture EO Media Group BOARDMAN, Ore. — A total of 245 fourth-graders from ive Morrow County ele- mentary schools learned about agriculture Oct. 5 during an event presented by the nonproit Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Founda- tion and hosted by the SAGE Center in Board- man. Dozens of community members volun- teered to lead students around each of 13 sta- tions, featuring everything from fruits and veg- etables to equipment safety. Students were able to grind wheat using a bicycle wheat grinder, and to press apples into cider. Presenters included the Oregon State Uni- versity Extension Service, FFA members and farmers. The event was sponsored by Madison Ranches, Umatilla Electric Cooperative, Bank of Eastern Oregon, Boardman Foods, Jill and Contributed photo Farmer Karl Smith shares a beehive with stu- dents as presenter and beekeeper Jan Lohman looks on. notforsale Tim Parker, Sunrise Cafe and Milky Way. More information about Oregon Agricul- ture in the Classroom Foundation is available at oregonaitc.org. Pendleton poses challenges for growing grapevines By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group ROP-42-4-4/#4 PENDLETON, Ore. — Like a lot of farmland sur- rounding Pendleton, Duff Ranches is dominated by dry- land wheat ields that stretch over the vast, rolling country- side. About 10 years ago, Jim Duff decided to try some- thing different at the family farm. His son’s father-in-law is the founder and general man- ager of Eola Hills Winery near Salem, and Duff igured he could grow a few acres of winegrapes to sell to Eola Hills and, perhaps, establish a new blend. Duff planted four varieties of grapes, including Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. He spent two years completing viticul- ture classes at Walla Walla Community College to learn about different plants and how to control diseases. Despite his preparation, the experiment didn’t end well. “We knew it was going to be a gamble,” Duff said. “The vines grew really well, but never (produced) any fruit.” After ive years and $60,000 spent, Duff decid- ed to give up on grapevines. The biggest problem, he said, was untimely spring frost — whenever the vines started to grow buds, a hard frost would come along and wipe out the grapes. “Its very humbling,” Duff said. “You work so hard try- ing to get something to grow. In one night, it’s over.” A successful vineyard re- quires the right combination of climate and environmental factors, collectively referred to as “terroir.” Walla Walla has it. Milton-Freewater has it. Echo has it. Pendleton, it seems, is right on the edge. Kevin Pogue, professor of geology at Whitman College in Walla Walla and an expert on winegrape production, said he has done site evalua- tions for two or three groups of people around Pendleton to determine the potential for growing vineyards. With just 12-17 inches of annual rainfall, Pogue said, anyone growing winegrapes in the area would irst need access to irrigation water. He also advises farmers to plant vineyards on top of hills, as opposed to valleys where cold air can become trapped. “On either end of the growing season, you have a frost risk,” Pogue said. “It would kill your fruit for that year.” Every vineyard in the Co- lumbia Basin is subject to frost and freezes, Pogue said. But the challenge of accumu- lating enough warm days for the grapes to ripen is even steeper in Pendleton. 42-1#14
