November 11, 2016
CapitalPress.com
5
Trump’s victory encourages
Owyhee monument opponents
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Ore.
BAKER
26
Proposed national Ontario
conservation area
Nyssa
20
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Customers shop for produce at the Boise Farmers’ Market in
August. A Boise State University poll of 1,000 people in Idaho’s
Treasure Valley area shows strong support for agriculture.
Ow
78
Jordan
Valley
Burns
Junction
Idaho
Ore.
JORDAN
VALLEY,
Ore. — Some Eastern Ore-
gon ranchers believe Donald
Trump’s victory makes it less
likely that President Barack
Obama will declare a national
monument in Malheur Coun-
ty during his last months in
offi ce.
Ranchers in Malheur
County formed the Owyhee
Basin Stewardship Coalition
earlier this year to fi ght a pro-
posed 2.5 million-acre nation-
Capital Press File
al monument, which would
represent 40 percent of the A sign posted in Jordan Valley opposes the Owyhee Canyonlands
National Monument in Malheur County, Ore. Jordan Valley is nearly
county’s land base.
The Owyhee Canyonlands surrounded by the proposed monument.
monument is being pushed
by the Oregon Natural Desert
“I’m honestly more en- of hope,” Eiguren said. “I
Association, an environmen- couraged,” he said about don’t think the president is
tal group in Bend, and Port- Trump’s victory. “I think ... going to see this as a good
land’s Keen Footwear.
we have a lot more support thing to do. I think it would
Opponents believe sup- than we even know. It’s just be distasteful for him to do
porters will ask Obama to use a matter of getting the word it because of what the voters
his authority under the Antiq- out there about what’s hap- said.”
uities Act to create the mon- pening.”
Jordan Valley rancher
ument.
He said the thought has Mark Mackenzie said he’s
Malheur County ranch- entered his mind that a near- not 100 percent convinced
er and OBSC board member ing Trump presidency could that Obama won’t designate
Elias Eiguren said the fact that cause monument supporters the national monument in his
many polls were so wrong to increase the pressure be- waning days in offi ce but he
about the presidential election cause they see their window also believes the American
gives him hope that there are a closing.
people sent a strong message
lot more people out there than
“That thought certain- that they are not happy with
anyone previously realized ly crossed my mind but the the way the federal govern-
that support stances such as the manner in which the (victo- ment and bureaucrats are
one his group has taken.
ry) happened gives me a lot acting.
Ore.
Idaho
Area in
detail
95
By SEAN ELLIS
Ore. McDermitt
Nev.
N
95
20 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
He’s also encouraged
by Trump’s promise to roll
back some of Obama’s ex-
ecutive orders, rules and
regulations.
“Trump made it very clear
he is going to roll back those
presidential orders and proc-
lamations,” he said. “That
should be enough to deter
(Obama).”
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File
Workers load Christmas trees onto a truck at Noble Mountain Tree Farm near Salem, Ore. Farmers
are reporting a tree shortage that has driven up prices this year.
cent to 15 percent more than
last year, Schaefer said. Noble
fi rs are selling for roughly $28
while Douglas fi rs are selling
for up to $18, he said.
In terms of supply, the
shortage isn’t so severe that re-
tailers will end up with empty
tree lots, said Betty Malone,
co-owner of Sunrise Tree
Farm near Philomath, Ore.
“I think everybody will get
something, just maybe not the
species or size they want,”
Malone said.
Much of the shortage was
caused by farmers getting out
of the tree business during the
recent glut, which depressed
prices, she said.
Between 2010 and 2015,
the number of Christmas tree
growers dropped more than
30 percent, from 699 to 485,
according to Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture data.
Tree sales in Oregon plum-
meted 26 percent during that
time, from 6.4 million trees to
4.7 million trees, according to
a large chunk of the valley’s
economy when its secondary
BOISE — A Boise State impacts are included, and a lot
University poll shows that of people obviously are aware
residents of Idaho’s largest ur- of that, Cook said.
“From that perspective,
ban area consider agriculture
to be the Treasure Valley’s it’s not surprising,” he said of
most important economic sec- the results. “I think obviously
they got it right.”
tor.
When asked which should
The poll results come as
somewhat of a welcome sur- be a top priority in the Trea-
prise considering the Treasure sure Valley, increasing af-
Valley area of southwestern fordable housing or preserv-
ing farmland,
Idaho is dominat-
ed by the Boise “As a farmer, it 57.2 percent
of respondents
area, where the
makes me feel chose preserv-
majority of people
ing farmland,
are assumed by
many farmers to good that all the compared with
not have a strong long hours and 32.2 percent
who supported
understanding or
risk we take to creating more
appreciation of ag-
ffordable
riculture.
raise a crop is a housing.
But the poll
Those re-
shows otherwise.
appreciated by
sults
would
When asked
the public.”
be expected in
which sector is
other parts of
most
important
Drew Eggers,
Idaho, “but to
to the Treasure
Meridian farmer
see that in the
Valley economy,
Treasure Valley
24.8 percent said
agriculture, which ranked says a lot,” Cook said. “That
fi rst, ahead of small business was a pretty stark response.”
In Nampa, 71.1 percent
(18 percent) and hi-tech (17.2
favored preserving farmland
percent).
“I was a little bit surprised over affordable housing but
by the results,” said Corey even in Boise, which is by
Cook, dean of BSU’s School far Idaho’s largest city, 50.4
of Public Policy, which percent favored it while 39.4
conducted 1,000 phone in- percent chose affordable
terviews with Treasure Val- housing.
Treasure Valley farmers
ley residents on a variety
of subjects. “I think most were pleasantly surprised by
of us would have thought the results.
“As a farmer, it makes me
tech would have come in
feel good that all the long
fi rst.”
The poll included in- hours and risk we take to raise
terviews
with
people a crop is appreciated by the
from different parts of the public,” said Meridian farm-
er Drew Eggers. “I sure feel
valley.
Agriculture scored high- good about that.”
Nampa farmer Janie
est in Canyon County, which
includes Nampa and Cald- Burns, who is helping lead the
well and is closer to the heart effort to try to stem the rapid
of farm country. But ag also loss of ag ground in parts of
fared well in Ada County, the valley, said the results are
which includes Boise and encouraging.
“It’s so great to have mem-
Meridian, the state’s two most
bers of the public interest-
populous cities.
“Even in the city of Boise, ed in preserving farmland,”
ag was right up there,” Cook she said. “It shows there is
a lot of public interest in the
said.
Agriculture accounts for subject.”
Capital Press
Oregon farmers see Christmas tree shortage
Retailers across the U.S.
are coming to an uncomfort-
able realization as the holiday
season approaches.
The abundant supply of
Christmas trees they’ve come
to expect in recent years has
turned into a shortage.
“They didn’t realize how
quickly we had rolled over
to an undersupply,” said Bob
Schaefer, CEO of Noble
Mountain Tree Farm near Sa-
lem, Ore.
While farmers are bene-
fi ting from higher prices, the
shortage has sparked concerns
of market share loss to artifi -
cial trees.
The industry won’t be able
to quickly ramp up production
because trees typically spend
two years in the nursery be-
fore being planted in the fi eld,
Schaefer said.
The problem is aggravat-
ed by insuffi cient recent seed
crops, he said.
For Noble fi rs, the most
popular tree species, an ade-
quate supply of seedlings may
not be available until 2019,
Schaefer said.
The immediate impact is
on prices.
Trees are selling for 8 per-
Poll shows strong urban
support for Idaho agriculture
a survey by USDA National
Agricultural Statistics Ser-
vice.
Meanwhile, farmers were
planting fewer trees than they
were selling.
About 3.7 million trees
were planted in 2015, down
from 5.6 million in 2010, ac-
cording to USDA NASS.
“A lot of people got burned
in the last decade,” said Casey
Grogan, whose family owns
Silver Bells Christmas Tree
Farm near Silverton, Ore.
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