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12 CapitalPress.com January 13, 2017 Oregon has law mandating fi sh passage past manmade obstructions Idaho irrigators have filed to intervene in a case involving Oregon’s demands that Idaho Power Co. take steps to allow endangered steelhead and salmon passage above the Hells Canyon Complex of dams as a condition of relicensing of the project. 82 HELLS CANYON NAT’L REC. AREA Joseph 350 Wallowa Lake WALLOWA- WHITMAN NAT’L FOR. Ore . Eagle Cap 9,595 ft. EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS WALLOWA-WHITMAN NATIONAL FOREST Halfway Po w der 86 River Richland Ida ORE. PAYETTE NATIONAL FOREST Oxbow Dam Brownlee Dam e. Or ho Reservoir Area in detail Hells Canyon Dam Ida ho Enterprise Riv er public comment periods that end Feb. 13. Oregon’s draft would require Idaho Power to implement technology to enable salmon and steelhead to pass above and below the complex. Marilyn Fonseca, hydro- power program coordinator with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, explained her state has pro- posed a phased-in reintro- duction plan spanning about two decades. Initially fish would be introduced in Or- egon’s Snake River tributar- ies upstream of the complex, starting with Pine Creek. Ultimately, Idaho Power officials said the company would capture fish in special collection areas, trucking adult steelhead and salmon upstream of the complex and juvenile fish downstream. Fonseca said Oregon has a state law mandating fish Fish passage dispute Sn a ke FISH from Page 1 71 N 10 miles Alan Kenaga/Capital Press passage past any manmade water obstruction, but the state’s legal argument hinges its own water quality stan- dards, drafted in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act, requiring that Oregon waterways maintain robust fish populations. In a letter to Oregon leaders, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter opposed reintroduc- tion of endangered species in his state without the Leg- islature’s consent, citing problems with federally re- introduced wolves. “While I appreciate Or- egon’s willingness to limit these reintroductions to Or- egon tributaries, the agree- ment would result in rein- troduced fish entering Idaho waters,” Otter wrote. Idaho Power spokes- man Brad Bowlin said the company has filed a peti- tion asking FERC to step in and resolve the dispute between the states. Bowlin said the company believes the federal government has authority under the Federal Power Act and the Suprem- acy Clause of the U.S. Con- stitution. “Idaho Power’s posi- tion is not to support or op- pose fish passage,” Bowlin said. “Our position is that resolving this issue of pas- sage is a federal question, especially given that we have two states whose po- sitions are diametrically opposed.” Bowlin said Idaho Pow- er owns and finances four hatcheries and releases millions of fish below the dams. Both the IWUA and Idaho Irrigation Pumpers Associa- tion have filed to intervene in the case before FERC. Lynn Tominaga, executive director for the pumpers, said his members are pri- marily concerned about in- creased power rates to run their wells if Idaho Power has to bear such a large new expense. Semanko explained his members are concerned the agreement could create water shortages, as more Zippy Duvall: It’s been a long week but a good week AFB from Page 1 Which is good, because much of the other news com- ing out of the convention workshops and presentations wasn’t of the slap-happy na- ture. ‘There is some discretion where you could interpret the testing protocols’ WHEAT from Page 1 ‘Golden Age’ over The Farm Bureau’s direc- tor of market intelligence, John Newton, fl atly told dele- gates, “The Golden Age of ag income is over.” Net farm income is pro- jected to decline for the third consecutive year, and export- ers’ biggest markets — China, Canada, Mexico and Japan — aren’t expanding. Newton said producers need to look at markets that are projected to grow, such as Africa. The world population is projected to hit 9 billion by 2050, and that provides opportunities for American’s farmers, Newton said. “We are the breadbasket of the world, everybody knows that,” he said. Newton was part of a three-person AFBF economic team presentation. Economist Veronica Nigh said producers should borrow the Uber ride-share compa- ny’s slogan and “Get your side hustle on” to develop other revenue streams. She suggested farmers open their property to hunt- ing and outfi tting operations, develop a private fi shing lake, offer motor home and boat storage rentals, operate a CSA or look for export options. Producers can fi nd export help from various trade as- sociations, Nigh said. “You don’t have to come up with that brochure in Mandarin all by yourself,” she said. Economist Katelyn Mc- water could be demanded downstream for salmon, and cost them hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in new regu- latory requirements. FERC staff members have agreed reintroduction “could be warranted but is premature at this time.” They note degradation due to agricultural and municipal uses have made water quali- ty upstream of the complex inadequate for steelhead and salmon. FERC has also ref- erenced the lack of a written plan to guide reintroduction and fears mortality during migration could outweigh the benefits. Fonseca said her de- partment and its Idaho counterpart are working with partners, including Idaho Power, to address water-quality concerns in- cluding dissolved oxygen levels, high water temperature and excessive phosphorus loads. Eric Mortenson/Capital Press American Farm Bureau Federation economist Katelyn McCullock speaks to members during the organization’s annual convention in Phoenix. She said farmers can cope with stagnant prices by becoming more effi cient, principally through genetics and technology. Cullock said farmers can cope with stagnant prices by becoming more effi cient, principally through genetics and technology. On the latter, automatic feeders and robots can reduce labor. “I’ve never met a farmer that said they want to manage more peo- ple,” she said. Political divide The nation’s political divide came under the mi- croscope during a panel dis- cussion Jan. 9, when a pair of political strategists said Donald Trump’s surprising win presents a baffl ing puzzle about how he will govern. “I think people all over the country are saying what we thought was politically impossible is now possible,” said Stan Barnes, president of the Copper State consult- ing group in Arizona. “This unconventional thing that’s happened, whatever it is, has changed American politics. “Everything we used to use to gauge normalcy has just evaporated,” Barnes said. Barnes said Hollywood celebrities and the pop culture elite will attack Trump, por- tray him as a buffoon and a racist and “never let him up,” but their impact on Congress may be limited. He said “nation-states like California” are prepared to “torpedo” anything Trump does and said it’s signifi cant that California hired Obama’s former attorney general, Eric Holder, to frustrate Trump in the court system. “What will our Democrat friends do when it’s time to vote with a president they ROP-1-2-2/#14 really don’t like?” Barnes asked. “It puts them in a knot that has some entertainment value.” New political system William “Billy” Moore, a partner in Vianovo, a Wash- ington, D.C., strategic ad- visory fi rm, said Trump has blown up the political system. “We’ve gone from a one- hump camel to one with two humps that don’t touch, polit- ically,” he said. Moore said Trump’s cabi- net is made up of eight power centers with no one in charge but him. He predicted rival cabinet members will snipe at each other and signifi - cant turnover and turmoil is likely. The two men spoke be- fore allegations surfaced that Russian agents or operatives may have compromising information about Trump and sought to infl uence or even collaborated with his campaign. Trump angrily called the allegations “fake news” and a “political witch hunt.” Barnes said Trump could quickly run into trouble if he provokes a trade war or seeks to deport illegal immi- grants and their children who were born in the U.S. He said “smarter people in the White House” will prevail and head off major political unrest. Moore said Trump isn’t really a Republican — he’s more of an Independent — and will shift alliances as needed. “The stage is set for a fairly partisan fi rst six weeks, then shift to more bipartisan for the next couple months, then par- tisan again as they pass a 2018 budget,” he said. Despite the uncertainties facing ag, convention dele- gates came through the week unifi ed, said Duvall, the AFBF president. “It’s been a long week but a good week,” he said. of fl our and water, some farm- ers received less for their crop. Weather contributes to alpha amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch and thins the mix- ture. But suspicion also has fall- en on more-controllable factors, such as whether some wheat varieties are more prone to the enzyme and whether testing protocols are consistent. Tests from the same sam- ples have yielded different re- sults, said Rep. Joe Schmick, a Republican from Whitman County, the nation’s top-wheat producing county. “The biggest thing I’ve seen, looking at it, is the inconsisten- cy. If that can be addressed, I think that would go a long way in helping the situation,” he told Sandison. Sandison said WSDA asked the USDA Federal Grain In- spection Service to audit every state grain-testing laboratory and machine. “Basically, we passed with fl ying colors. There were not problems with our testing,” Sandison said. In an interview with the Capital Press Tuesday, Wash- ington Grain Commission CEO Glen Squires said he was confi - dent WSDA has made sure fl uc- tuating numbers aren’t caused by inconsistent testing methods. He also praised WSDA’s efforts to keep low starch num- bers from becoming a reoccur- ring problem. “I think they’re doing a lot. I appreciate the director’s active involvement,” Squires said. “He recognized the signifi cance of the issue.” Sandison described WSDA’s response as a four-pronged ap- proach. • Develop consistent federal and regional testing procedures. The Hagberg-Perten test in- cludes steps — such as grinding wheat, adding water and shak- ing a test tube — that can affect results. “There is some discre- tion where you could interpret the testing protocols,” Sandison said. “We want to get the Fed- eral Grain Inspection Service to tighten those up, so there isn’t variability with respect to how someone interprets the testing protocol.” • Work with research insti- tutions, particularly Washing- ton State University, to identify whether some wheat varieties are prone to alpha-amylase. “If that’s the case, we need to stop using certain breeds that have that susceptibility,” Sandison said. • Improve on the Hag- berg-Perten test. “We’re look- ing long term at a replacement test,” Sandison said. “I think the USDA agrees with us that needs to be done. It’s going to take awhile. The basic research has to be done to develop the test.” • Develop portable-testers to use at grain elevators. “So we don’t have the problem where a good load goes in and then a load with a low falling number gets dumped on top of it,” Sandison said. “If we get a hand-held analyzer, we can do that segregation.”
