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January 13, 2017 CapitalPress.com 5 Supreme Court refuses to hear wetland case Cold nips at Washington cherry buds By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The U.S. Supreme Court will not review a farmer’s lawsuit challenging the US- DA’s designation of a wetland on his property in South Da- kota. Farmer Arlen Foster had asked the nation’s highest court to reconsider a ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that USDA was allowed to declare a wetland on the property based on plants growing 33 miles away. The Supreme Court’s re- fusal to hear the case is a dis- appointment for the Pacifi c Legal Foundation, a nonprofi t law fi rm that represented Fos- ter and believes USDA has too much leeway in declaring wetlands. Though the Foster lawsuit has ended, the Pacifi c Le- gal Foundation is optimistic that “nonsensical” wetland rules will soon pose less of a burden for landowners, said James Burling, the group’s di- rector of litigation. “I’m hoping the Trump ad- ministration will be taking a bottom-to-top look at wetland regulation,” he said. Properties can be dis- qualifi ed from federal crop insurance and other agency programs if they are farmed despite being designated by USDA as wetlands, meaning they have wetland soils, hy- drology and plants. In the Foster case, a one- acre parcel was determined to have wetland hydrology and soils, but it lacked wetland plants due to conversion from its natural state. The USDA compared the property to a similar site 33 miles away to determine that it contained wetland plants and thus qualifi ed as a wet- land. The Fosters argued that this method unfairly denied them due process because USDA decided on the site without public input roughly a decade earlier, but a federal judge and the 8th Circuit held that the agency reasonably in- terpreted its regulations. Pacifi c Legal Foundation wanted the Supreme Court to limit the deference with which federal courts treat agency interpretations of their own rules, said Burling. When federal agen- cies interpret laws to create their regulations, the pro- cess is at least subject to no- tice-and-comment procedures that provide feedback, he said. If those regulations can be freely interpreted without any checks, though, it creates the risk that agencies will write regulations ambiguously to maximize their fl exibility, Burling said. Frigid weather may help farmers battle destructive bugs By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Spotted wing drosophila Your frozen fi ngertips may not appreciate it, but the ex- tended cold snap gripping the Pacifi c Northwest through the fi rst week of January may actually do some good. Oregon pest specialists say it could reduce the pop- ulation or at least delay the onslaught of spotted wing drosophila, or SWD, the fruit fl y that can cause devastating damage to raspberries, black- berries, blueberries and other small fruit crops. “We’re very optimistic that it will defi nitely im- pact SWD and kill off a fair amount,” said Tom Peerbolt, founder and senior consultant with Peerbolt Crop Manage- ment. “From that viewpoint it’s a very good event. We’re killing a bunch of them off and that’s good.” Peerbolt said SWD almost exclusively over-winter as adult fl ies, making them sus- ceptible to cold. While they can take refuge, an extend- ed run of cold temperatures can knock down their num- bers, he said. The fl ies can go through a dozen breed- ing cycles per year, and the cold may stall the population buildups that lead to heavy damage, Peerbolt said. Even gaining a week or 10 days would help mid-season har- vests, he said. Peerbolt said SWD love caneberries, and growers are planting fewer late-season varieties in an attempt to avoid some damage. SWD populations build over the summer, so the earlier farm- ers can harvest, the better. Jim Labonte, an entomol- ogist with the Oregon De- partment of Agriculture, said planting earlier berry variet- ies is a “really good strategy” in the fi ght against spotted wing drosophila. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Toward the end of the year, the popu- lation gets to be tremendous. I think that would help.” Otherwise, Labonte said he’s not sure the recent cold Oregon weather will have much effect on SWD or an- other major pest, the brown marmorated stink bug, which damage hazelnuts and feed on a wide variety of other crops. Both of them live in re- gions of the U.S. that are far colder than the Willamette Valley, he said. “I’m uncer- tain of the threshold of severe cold that’s suffi cient to really knock them down,” he said. “Even if it does, both of these things can reproduce very effi ciently,” he said. “They may have a slow start in spring, but by mid-season there will be plenty of them around.” He said stink bugs pro- duce far fewer generations of offspring per season than SWD, but are “remarkably tough creatures” and very good at sheltering themselves from the cold. Spotted wing drosophi- la are native to Asia but ar- rived on the West Coast about 2008. They are unusual fruit fl ies in that they attack ripe • A type of “vinegar fly”, its ability to feed and lay eggs on ripening fruit makes it a significant threat to Pacific Northwest growers. • Adult spotted wing drosophilas are small with red eyes and pale yellowish-brown bodies. Spotted wings • Males have a dark spot on the tips of their wings. They also have two dark bands on their front legs. • Females lack the distinctive dark spot on their wings. Look for a large, serrated ovipositor protruding from the abdomen. Ovipositor Female Actual size Male • For more information 2-3 mm on monitoring, preventative, cultural and chemical controls, go to: spottedwing.org Sources: Oregon State University Extension Service or ripening berries and fruit; most fl ies are attracted to over-ripe or rotting produce. The female SWD has a ser- rated-edged ovipositor that it uses to cut through the berry surface and lay eggs inside. The developing larvae feed on the fruit from the inside, turning it into a gooey mess Alan Kenaga/Capital Press that cannot be used commer- cially. Common pesticides work against them, but require additional sprayings and cost to growers. In addition, prolonged pesticide use may lead to the flies developing resistance to it, Peerbolt said. By DAN WHEAT Capital Press Growers used heaters and wind machines in early morn- ing hours in some Central Washington orchards the fi rst week of January to ward off po- tential bud damage from freez- ing temperatures. Concern appeared limited to Rainier and Rainier-type cherry varieties and soft fruits including apricots and peach- es. Winter coldness developed gradually enough over the past couple of months to give most fruit trees and wine grapes good hardiness, growers said. Single-digit lows were re- corded throughout the region several mornings accompanied by daytime highs in the teens and 20s. It was minus 12 in Toppen- ish the morning of Jan. 5, mi- nus 10 in Wapato, minus 11 in Tonasket, minus 6 at Brewster Flats, minus 2 in Wenatchee, minus 3 in Ephrata, minus 4 in Ellensburg and minus 5 in Pas- co, according to the National Weather Service and Washing- ton State University AgWeath- erNet. Most readings were above zero that morning with 2 in Yakima and 5 in Chelan be- ing typical. Carlos Soto, supervisor at CRO Orchard south of Wenatchee, owned by Zirkle Fruit in Selah, said heaters and wind machines were used to try to protect cherry buds some of which were damaged in a mid-December freeze. B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers in Yakima, said no growers have told him that any signifi cant portion of their crops are in danger. A lot of fi eldmen say trees have lots of buds so they may not be so worried about freezes, he said. Most varieties are safe to minus 8 to minus 12, he said. Harold Schell, director of fi eld services at Chelan Fruit Cooperative in Chelan, said bud samples tested in freeze chambers have shown buds of all types of tree fruit from Wenatchee north, generally in good shape. Pears are most hardy with apples a close second and cher- ries and soft fruit most suscepti- ble, Schell said. Young trees are Dan Wheat/Capital Press Young apple trees near Pangborn Memorial Airport in East Wenatchee, Wash., Jan. 4, where the temperature was zero the next morning. Wind machines like this one were used elsewhere to try to warm cherry buds. Horse Lake Mountain, aka Twin Peaks, in background. also more vulnerable, he said. Mike Omeg, a cherry grow- er in The Dalles, Ore., said his coldest temperature was 1 degree which is manageable because of good hardiness. He said he’s not aware of any growers there using heaters or wind machines. He said he’s holding off pruning until it’s above 20 degrees for worker comfort and effi ciency. Tim Smith, WSU tree fruit specialist emeritus in Wenatchee, said trees had a good, gradual acclamation to cold this season and should be OK. 2-1/#4x 2-1\#0N4
