18 CapitalPress.com
October 28, 2016
Groups argue proposal would rescind water rights
California plan calls
for increased river
fl ows to benefi t fi sh
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
SACRAMENTO — A
state proposal to send more
water down the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers to ben-
efi t fi sh would harm farms and
ranches and could lead to law-
suits, farm groups argue.
The State Water Resourc-
es Control Board is taking
comments through Dec. 16
on a plan to require up to 75
percent of what would be the
rivers’ natural fl ows to reach
the Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta.
About 48 percent of the
rivers’ outfl ow is now diverted
for agriculture and cities, ac-
cording to a scientifi c report by
California’s top water panel.
But the plan could lead to
“signifi cant lawsuits” because
it would essentially rescind
water rights, said Joel Nelsen,
president of California Citrus
Mutual.
“It sets a terrible prece-
dent,” Nelsen said. “It cancels
out all pre-1914 water rights
by fi at and it establishes new
water rights, and I don’t think
you can do that. ... Once you
start taking water rights, then
you’ve got a dictatorship.
“I would argue that was
never envisioned when that
board was set up,” he said.
Paul Wenger, president of
the California Farm Bureau
Federation, said in a statement
that dedicating more river
fl ows to fi sh amounts to “a
one-two punch” aimed at rural
residents and businesses.
He said the Sacramento
River plan, announced Oct.
19, would dedicate more Delta
outfl ow to fi sh during the win-
ter and spring — when the wa-
ter could be fi lling reservoirs
for both human and environ-
mental uses later in the year.
By limiting water that could
be stored in reservoirs, the plan
would reduce surface-water
supplies for much of Califor-
nia, Wenger said.
“The state board’s river
fl ow plans threaten to sentence
rural California to perpetual
drought, in the name of fi shery
fl ows that may very well prove
ineffective,” he said.
Water board offi cials argue
that greater quantities of Del-
ta outfl ow are needed in the
winter and spring to support
species and habitat, noting that
the number of juvenile salm-
on migrating out of the Delta
in spring increases with in-
creased fl ow.
Over the coming months,
board members will study the
potential impacts from letting
as little as 35 percent to as
much as 75 percent of the riv-
ers’ unimpeded fl ows go to the
Pacifi c Ocean.
The board is also consid-
ering setting limits on reverse
fl ows in the Old and Middle
rivers at the southern end of
the Delta, which are caused
by the state and federal proj-
ect pumps and trap fi sh, offi -
cials contend. The plan also
The Delta has a host of envi-
ronmental problems, includ-
ing saltwater intrusion.
Protections for fi sh have
already led to drastic reduc-
tions in pumping south of
the Delta. Growers without
senior water rights received
no federal water in 2014 and
2015 because of the drought,
and farms on the west side
of the San Joaquin Valley re-
ceived only 5 percent of their
requested allocations this
year.
The water board will hold
a public workshop on the
proposal on Dec. 7, and there
will be several additional op-
portunities to comment as the
proposal moves forward. For
information on the plan and
how to comment, visit www.
waterboards.ca.gov.
includes salinity objectives in
the southern Delta.
But Wenger countered that
previous decisions to fl ush
more water through the Del-
ta have not resulted in greater
fi sh populations.
“If more water equaled
more fi sh, we should be see-
ing results, but we’re not,”
he said. “We will continue to
insist that water supplies ded-
icated to fi sh be subject to the
same metrics and effi ciency
standards as those that farm-
ers and homeowners must
meet.”
Scientists have spent years
studying how to improve wa-
ter quality in the Delta, which
provides irrigation water for
nearly 4 million acres of farm-
land to the south and water for
millions of urban residents.
Agriculture’s voices must be heard
on Columbia River, group warns
Henry Etcheverry, an Eastern Idaho sheepherder who is president
of the Western Range Association, would like to see changes in
the H2-A labor program.
Sheep industry criticizes
H-2A rule changes
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
INKOM, Idaho — Federal
reforms a year ago haven’t en-
ticed more domestic workers
to take sheep industry jobs, say
leaders of an organization that
hires foreign labor for Western
sheep ranchers.
Instead, offi cials of the Twin
Falls, Idaho-based Western
Range Association believe the
November 2015 rule changes
to the H-2A temporary agricul-
tural worker visa program have
become needlessly complicat-
ed and delayed the approvals of
badly needed workers.
Henry Etcheverry, an East-
ern Idaho Basque sheep ranch-
er who started a three-year term
as the association’s president
in June, said his organization’s
more than 200 sheep operations
have collectively hired only
two domestic workers since the
changes were enacted.
One worker was fi red for
being intoxicated on the job.
The other never showed up for
work.
Sheep ranchers are required
to advertise job openings be-
fore fi lling them with foreign
H-2A workers, but Etcheverry
fi nds the few locals who ex-
press interest are typically out
for a “camping trip.”
“It’s just a pipe dream,”
Etcheverry said. “This gov-
ernment thinks there should
be availability of (jobs) for
domestic people, but domestic
people don’t want to herd sheep
— at least not for any period of
time.”
H-2A visas fi ll a critical la-
bor need for U.S. agriculture.
But Etcheverry said the appli-
cation process is so complicat-
ed that most operations rely on
outside help, such as the asso-
ciation.
Etcheverry intends to visit
with federal offi cials about the
need for reforms during a No-
vember sheep producers’ con-
vention in Sun Valley, Idaho.
H-2A workers are allowed
to work at a U.S. sheep ranch
for up to three years, with their
status renewed annually.
According to a government
fact sheet, the program chang-
es improve administrative effi -
ciencies and “promote greater
consistency in the review of
H-2A applications, provide
workers employed in the U.S.
with improved health benefi ts
and protections and provide
greater clarity for employers
with respect to compliance of
program requirements.”
Sheep ranchers, however,
say the federal government
couldn’t keep pace with H-2A
applications under the revised
rules and failed to process re-
newals in time, forcing many
operations to send workers
home and then bear the ex-
pense of re-processing them
and bringing them back.
Castleford, Idaho, rancher
Mike Guerry had to return 30
workers to Peru and Chile from
January through March.
He noted the new rules
roughly double minimum wag-
es for sheep workers over the
next three years, though sheep
prices are down.
Other changes require op-
erators to give each employee
a cell phone and prohibit com-
pensating workers who would
rather use their own phones,
restrict workers from cutting
wood and restrict lodging and
dining facilities from within
500 yards of a corral, though
watching sheep is a key role of
a sheepherder.
Guerry said operators may
even be fi ned for failing to pub-
licize benefi ts offered in excess
of minimum requirements.
Tremonton, Utah, rancher
Lane Jensen, the association’s
interim executive director, said
another change specifi es herd-
ers can’t deliver supplies to one
another.
Jensen said the association
is lobbying to restore the status
of members who were short
of workers and kept them past
deadlines when the government
failed to renew their H-2A vi-
sas.
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Chelan
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Seattle
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Coulee Dam
11
Spokane
WASHINGTON
Wenatchee
90
Olympia
6
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Snake R i ve
Yakima
Astoria
82
Richland
Longview
Pacific
Ocean
Vancouver
Portland
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Kennewick
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Dalles 2
3
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John O’Connell/Capital Press
The Pacifi c Northwest
Waterways Association is en-
couraging farmers, ranchers,
shippers and others involved in
agriculture to share the impor-
tance of the Columbia-Snake
River system during a public
comment period.
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Bureau of Recla-
mation and Bonneville Power
Administration are preparing
a new environmental impact
statement on the Columbia
River system and the 14 fed-
eral projects in the Columbia
Basin. The public comment
period ends Jan. 17.
The EIS is in response to
U.S. District Judge Michael
Simon’s ruling in May. He
found the federal government
failed to use the best available
science to consider salmon re-
covery, including the possibil-
ity of breaching one or more
dams on the Lower Snake
River. He told the agencies to
create an updated plan for the
river system within fi ve years.
The agencies are determin-
ing what to study as part of a
scoping process, said Kristin
Meira, executive director of
the PNWA.
“We’re looking forward
to a very robust study of the
entire river system,” she said.
Many opinions exist on the
future of the system, she said.
“There’s also a lot of mis-
information out there about
barging, fi sh numbers and the
Columbia and
Snake river dams
OREGON
S na
ke
R
Capital Press
R i ver
By MATTHEW WEAVER
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
Online
For a list of the meetings got
to http://www.crso.info/
true impacts of the dams on
the river,” she said.
Farmers who ship grain
and others who rely on the
river system should ask the
federal agencies to consider
all possible impacts to the re-
gion’s economy as they con-
sider changes, Meira said.
“It’s really important that
these agencies hear from all
users so they understand how
extensive the impacts of the
river are,” she said. “It really
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
is absolutely critical to our
Northwest economy, so ev-
erybody needs to lend their
voices and say, ‘This river
matters to me. Don’t forget to
study my part of the river as
you think about any changes
in the future.’”
Those who favor removal
of the dams on the river sys-
tem are also likely to partici-
pate, Meira warned.
“This is a great opportuni-
ty to have the facts be docu-
mented and make sure we’re
all aware of what’s happening
on the river as we think about
how it should be operated,”
she said. “For the benefi t of
our fi sh, but also making sure
we have the ability to move
cargo, generate power and
have irrigation here in the
Northwest.”
The agencies will have
public meetings around the
region and two web seminars.
Meira encourages ag industry
members to attend.
“They’re not only a chance
to come in and provide your
voice, they’re also great in-
formation sessions,” she said.
“Maybe you know about
one part of the river, but you
don’t know about all the dif-
ferent things happening on
the river.”
OSU offi cials mull future of ag facility
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
POWELL BUTTE, Ore.
— Oregon State Universi-
ty officials are mulling their
options for the future of a re-
search farm that’s been put to
little use since 2010, due to
the discovery of a previous-
ly unknown species of potato
cyst nematode.
OSU’s 80-acre Central Or-
egon Agricultural Research
Center in Powell Butte once
fi lled a crucial role in the Tri-
state Potato Breeding Pro-
gram — expanding experi-
mental potato seed developed
collaboratively by OSU, Uni-
versity of Idaho and Wash-
ington State University.
Forage researchers also
used the facility.
But in recent years, the
sole project in Powell Butte
has been evaluating the po-
tential for a newly discov-
Courtesy of Inga Zasada
Six-month-old potato plants grow in Powell Butte, Ore., exposed to
varying rates of Globodera ellingtonae nematodes. The trials have
shown the previously uncharacterized nematode doesn’t seem to
hurt potato yields.
ered PCN species, Globodera
ellingtonae, to damage com-
mercial potato crops.
Though G. ellingtonae re-
produces rapidly on spuds,
the trials, which concluded in
2015, produced no evidence
that the pest affects tuber
quality or yield.
Researchers also said they
found no visual symptoms
of nematode damage among
the potato plants in infested
fi elds.
“We’ve never seen much
decrease in yield unless we
go to extreme high numbers,”
said Russ Ingham, an OSU
professor of botany and plant
pathology.
Inga Zasada, a research
plant
pathologist
with
USDA’s Agricultural Re-
search Service in Corvallis,
Ore., explained the nematode
was found in two isolated lo-
cations in Teton County, Ida-
ho, and at the OSU facility in
2008.
The discoveries were
the result of extensive soil
sampling done throughout
U.S. potato country fol-
lowing the 2006 discov-
ery of a highly destructive
pest, pale cyst nematode,
in a small area of Eastern
Idaho.
The new species closely
resembles nematode sam-
ples found in South America,
Zasada said.
Idaho farm commodity reps join governor on trade mission to China
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — Representatives of
Idaho’s milk, potato, wheat and hay
industries will join Gov. Butch Otter
on a trade mission to China Oct. 28-
Nov. 5.
Several agribusinesses will also
be represented during the visit to the
world’s most populous country. Ida-
ho’s last trade mission to China was
in 2012.
China is Idaho’s third-largest ex-
port market for agricultural products,
and the nation’s 300 million middle
class citizens are driving demand for
food products that Idaho’s farming
industry specializes in, Otter told
Capital Press in an email.
“Those consumers are ... provid-
ing a lot of opportunity for our Idaho
exporters,” said Otter, a rancher and
farmer. “That’s why our dairy indus-
try, wheat growers, alfalfa farmers,
animal feed producers and potato
processors are joining me on this
trade mission.”
Dairy is Idaho’s No. 1 farm com-
modity in terms of cash receipts and
industry representatives will join the
trip to China, including Idaho Milk
Products, which is based in Jerome
and produces milk protein concen-
trate and cream and already sells
product in China through a broker.
“We’re just trying to expand that
market and we’ll be trying to fi nd ad-
ditional places where we (might) be
able to sell,” said marketing manager
Ron Hayes.
The strong U.S. dollar makes it
diffi cult to sell dairy products in-
ternationally right now, he said, but
“we look at (China) as a large poten-
tial growth opportunity.”
China, with a population of 1.4
billion, has the world’s second larg-
est economy, which grew at an an-
nual 6.7 percent rate in the second
quarter, said Laura Johnson, who
manages the Idaho State Department
of Agriculture’s market development
division.
“It’s a huge market with tremen-
dous potential,” she said.
Representatives of the Idaho Po-
tato Commission as well as Idaho
potato processors will also be on the
trade mission to China, which im-
ports processed potato products but
not fresh spuds.
U.S. potato exports to China to-
taled 127,821 metric tons from July
2015 to June 2016 and were valued
at $148 million, according to data
provided by Potatoes USA. That
makes China the No. 4 export mar-
ket for processed U.S. potatoes.
When it comes to frozen french
fries, which Idaho specializes in,
China plays leapfrog with Mexico
for the No. 2 spot.
Seth Pemsler, vice president of
the IPC’s retail and international di-
visions, said he will focus on the pro-
cessed side during the mission but
the industry is also trying to position
itself should China ever allow fresh
potato imports.