10 CapitalPress.com
October 21, 2016
Oregon
By CRAIG REED
For the Capital Press
UMPQUA, Ore. — Elin Mill-
er was a seven-year member of
FFA as a young adult. She said
those FFA experiences were
strong inluences on her future,
providing her the skills that led
to a successful business career
with major corporations and
government agencies.
For the past 20 years, Mill-
er has been giving back to that
program that helped set her fu-
ture.
The National FFA Organi-
zation will recognize Miller’s
volunteer efforts by presenting
her with the VIP Citation at the
89th National FFA Convention
and Expo in Indianapolis, Ind.
The honor was to be awarded to
Miller on Friday. It recognizes
“individuals who have provided
exceptional support of school-
based agricultural education
and FFA.”
Miller was a four-year mem-
ber of FFA at Westwood High
School in Mesa, Ariz., and then
a three-year member while at-
tending the University of Arizo-
na in Tucson.
“FFA changed my life per-
sonally,” said Miller, who with
her husband, Bill, owns and
works a hazelnut orchard in the
Umpqua area. “I would not have
had the career opportunities if
not for the leadership skills and
the technical aspects of agricul-
ture that FFA taught me.
“I learned as much in high
school through FFA competing
in contests as I did in advance
classes at the university,” she
added.
Miller’s career included
working for Shell Oil in its
agriculture division, for Dow
Chemical in its public affairs
global division and for Dow
AgroSciences. She was also ex-
ecutive director of Western Ag-
ricultural Chemicals Association
and was a presidential appointee
to the Environmental Protection
Agency for Region 10, which in-
cludes Oregon, Idaho, Washing-
ton and Alaska.
She serves on
several company
boards, both local-
ly and nationally.
Her past 20
years with FFA
Elin
have included be-
Miller
ing a member of
the National FFA
Foundation board for the last
seven years. She chaired the
board for one year.
Miller helped establish the
Individual Giving Council that
is part of the national foundation.
“That council has put more
emphasis on reaching back to
FFA alumni and to other support-
ers and sponsors for contribu-
tions,” Miller explained. “Most
of the contributions to FFA had
come from corporations, small
and large, like 85 percent. Now
we’re starting to move in the di-
rection of seeking contributions
from individuals.”
At the end of this year, Miller
will be stepping down from the
national board.
“I’m very surprised,” she said
of being recognized with the VIP
Citation honor. “It’s a bit of a
capstone and a culmination of
having reconnected with FFA
over the last 20 years. I’ve put
a lot of effort back into the or-
ganization.”
Miller, however, plans to
continue to support FFA by
helping the Oregon FFA Foun-
dation with its fundraising.
The National FFA Organi-
zation has about 630,000 mem-
bers.
A news release from the
national ofice credited Miller
with going “the extra mile” for
FFA.
“Outstanding dedicated peo-
ple like you deserve most of the
credit for changing the lives
of these young people,” Steve
Brown, National FFA advis-
er and board chairman, wrote
in a statement to Miller. “It is
an honor to publicly recognize
your outstanding support of our
youth and agricultural educa-
tion.”
Poll shows Oregonians favor
wolf deterrence, not death
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
An opinion poll commissioned by
conservation groups shows a clear
majority of Oregonians favor non-le-
thal means of deterring wolves from
attacking livestock and don’t believe
the state should allow sport hunting of
wolves.
The results come as the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife is re-
viewing its wolf management plan, a
work in progress that in 2015 saw the
ODFW Commission remove wolves
from the state’s endangered species
list. Conservation groups such as Ore-
gon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands and the
Center for Biological Diversity believe
the state acted hastily and maintain the
wolf population is too fragile for delis-
ting or allowing hunting.
The commission began the review
work earlier this month at a pub-
Courtesy of Oregon State Police
lic meeting in La Grande, Ore. Even A state trooper shows a bull elk shot dead and left to waste in Douglas County, the
though the commission wasn’t sched- second case of elk poaching in the county in October. Conservation groups opposed
uled to take action during the meeting, to hunting wolves say poachers are a far greater threat to Oregon’s elk and deer.
54 people showed up to testify. ODFW
staff will present a draft plan to the healthy deer and elk populations serve ewes and two lambs, according to the
commission in December.
as a buffer between livestock and Ore- report.
Among the poll highlights:
gon’s predators, which include 25,000
The state conducted 33 livestock
• 74 percent of respondents favor to 30,00 bears, an estimated 6,200 cou- “depredation” investigations in ive
compensating ranchers for livestock gars and wolves, which have grown counties during 2015. Nine were con-
losses, as is now done.
from 14 in 2009 to more than 100 in irmed as wolf attacks; two were listed
• 72 percent approve of killing 2015.
as probable; 13 were categorized as
wolves responsible for repeated live-
The survey also probed some mis- possible or unknown; and eight were
stock attacks.
conceptions. Presented a range of zero considered “other” incidents.
• Almost 82 percent believe poach- to more than 1,000, respondents were
The poll was commissioned by the
ers pose a greater threat to Oregon’s asked how many cattle were killed by Paciic Wolf Coalition and was con-
deer and elk populations than wolves. Oregon wolves in 2015. Among Port- ducted Sept. 20-22 by Mason-Dixon
Rural residents were strongest in that land-area residents, 29 percent thought Polling & Research Inc. of Washing-
belief, nearly 88 percent. Oregon State the number was 100 to 999.
ton, D.C.
Police this week reported two cases of
Informed in a follow-up question
The company conducted telephone
poachers shooting bull elk.
that only four cows were killed in interviews with 800 registered Oregon
• 67 percent oppose hunting wolves 2015, 67 percent of those surveyed voters who were selected at random
as a means to protect deer and elk, and said wolves do not pose an economic from voter registration iles. Respons-
72 percent oppose “trophy hunting” of threat to the cattle industry.
es were broken down by age, sex, po-
wolves.
Oregon ranchers, however, have litical party afiliation, and residence:
The issue of hunting wolves is like- always maintained that far more cat- Rural, Willamette Valley and Portland
ly to come up as the ODFW Commis- tle are killed by wolves than are con- metro area.
sion reviews the management plan. irmed by ODFW investigators. They
Mason-Dixon estimated the poll’s
Hunting groups are concerned about say grazing cattle sometimes simply margin of error at plus or minus
game population; others point out that disappear.
3.5 percentage points. The website
Oregon allows hunting of cougars, an-
The state’s annual wolf report list- FiveThirtyEight, which analyzes opin-
other predator that takes deer and elk. ed three calves killed and two others ion polls, in 2016 gave Mason-Dixon a
In 2015, a retired ODFW wildlife injured by wolves in 2015. Wolves B+ for accuracy in its political polling
biologists told the Capital Press that also killed a herd guard dog, eight work.
43-1/#6
FFA honors board member
for going ‘extra mile’
ROP-43-3-1/#4