January 20, 2017
CapitalPress.com
9
Washington
County official wants Trump to stop grizzly restoration
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
SEDRO
WOOLLEY,
Wash. — The National Park
Service and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service have issued
draft plans to restore 200
grizzly bears to the North
Cascades, drawing immediate
opposition from an Okanogan
County commissioner.
The two federal agencies
issued draft plans and envi-
ronmental impact statements
on Jan. 12 and invited public
comments at meetings in eight
communities next month.
Okanogan and Chelan
counties have opposed such
efforts in the past. Jim De-
Tro, Okanogan County com-
missioner, said most people
in Eastern Washington are
opposed, given how the En-
dangered Species Act has ru-
ined the timber industry and
destroyed custom, culture and
economic stability.
He said he hopes the federal
effort is stopped by President
Researchers
weigh
solutions for
acidic soil
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Some Eastern Washington
farmers are considering which
options are most affordable
to combat increasingly acidic
soils.
Soil pH levels are likely to
continue to slowly drop unless
something is done to reverse
it, said Tim Paulitz, research
plant pathologist for the USDA
Agricultural Research Service
in Pullman, Wash.
Lower pH levels lead to a
reduction in yield, particularly
in legume crops, because some
nutrients become less avail-
able.
Acidic soil is particularly
a problem in Spokane Coun-
ty near Rockford, Wash., and
along the Idaho border. Acid-
ity levels are dropping in other
areas as well, although not as
steeply, Paulitz said.
Researchers are consid-
ering the use of calcium car-
bonate, or agricultural lime,
to reduce the problem, but the
economics of the solution ar-
en’t yet clear.
“How much lime do you
really need to add to push the
pH enough, and is that going
to be so costly that you’re not
going to be able to afford it?”
Paulitz asked.
Many farmers don’t have
close, cheap sources of lime,
Paulitz said.
Some finely ground sources
of lime quickly shift pH levels,
but won’t be long-lived, while
larger-particle sources take
longer.
“It’s not something that’s
instantaneous,” Paulitz said.
“It takes a while for that reac-
tion to happen.”
In the meantime, some
wheat varieties developed in
the Midwest and being used in
WSU’s spring wheat breeding
program are tolerant of alu-
minum, another problem in
the soil when pH levels drop.
Growing those varieties may
be a stop-gap option, Paulitz
said.
“The buffering capacity of
the soil is being overwhelmed
over years of ammonia-based
fertilizers,” Paulitz said. “You
could be increasing certain
diseases. Other diseases, you
may decrease. The pH really
has an effect on the plant and
pathogens, and they all inter-
act.”
Farmers who direct-seed
apply ammonia-based fertil-
izers in a narrow band in the
upper soil instead of mixing it
in during conventional tillage,
which has reduced pH levels in
top layers.
Direct-seeding
farming
systems allow growers to plant
seed and fertilize in one or two
passes directly into the residue
and root structure of the previ-
ous year’s crop.
Specialized
equipment
opens a narrow seed row in the
soil, and plants grow through
that seed row.
Associated Press File
Federal officials have come up with four options for bringing grizzly bears back to the north Cascades
of Washington state. An Okanogan County commissioner opposes the plan.
Donald Trump when he takes
office Jan. 20.
“I would say we will sup-
port reintroduction in Eastern
Washington if every tributary
that flows into Puget Sound and
the Pacific Ocean has two con-
firmed mating pair of grizzly
first,” DeTro said.
That would be like the state
ramming its wolf recovery plan
down the throat of Eastern
Washington, he said.
The agencies said they are
“pleased” to announce the
plans.
“Restoring grizzly bears to
the North Cascades Ecosystem
would enhance the probability
of longterm survival and con-
servation of grizzly bears in the
contiguous United States there-
by contributing to overall griz-
zly bear recovery and greater
biodiversity of the ecosystem,”
the agencies said in a newslet-
ter.
Conservation
Northwest
and the National Parks Con-
servation Association were
“thrilled” two years ago when
the same agencies announced
a round of public meetings to
help them decide whether to
consider restoration.
Okanogan County com-
missioners have reminded the
agencies of a state law passed
more than a decade ago pre-
venting state funds from being
used for grizzly bear recovery.
The draft alternatives in-
clude a no-action plan and
three action plans of varying
speed but each seeking to re-
store a reproducing population
of approximately 200 grizzlies
through capture of bears in
British Columbia or Montana
and their release in the North
Cascades. Plans include habitat
and access management and
public education and outreach.
The last known sighting of
grizzlies in the North Cascades
was in 1996 but there are six
populations of them in North
America, the agencies said.
Grizzlies were listed as a
threatened species in the con-
tiguous U.S. in 1975. They
were listed as endangered in
Washington in 1980.
The North Cascades Ecosys-
tem encompasses 9,800 square
miles in the U.S. and 3,800 in
British Columbia. The U.S.
portion includes North Cas-
cades National Park, Ross Lake
National Recreation Area, Lake
Chelan National Recreation
Area, Okanogan-Wenatchee
National Forest and Mt. Bak-
er-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The public comment meet-
ings are from 6 to 8 p.m.: Feb.
13, Cle Elum, Putnam Cen-
tennial Center; Feb. 14, Cash-
mere Riverside Center; Feb.
15, Winthrop Red Barn; Feb.
16, Omak, Okanogan County
Fairgrounds annex; Feb. 21,
Bellingham Technical College;
Feb. 22, Darrington Communi-
ty Center; Feb. 23, Sultan High
School; Feb. 24, Renton Com-
munity Center.
Other means of comment
can be given at: http://park-
planning.nps.gov/grizzlydeis.
Comments may be submitted
through March 14.
Water fight will spawn lawsuits, lawmakers warned
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — The Senate
Agriculture and Water com-
mittee was cautioned Thursday
that reclaiming control of water
policy from the Washington
Supreme Court will probably
lead to a court fight.
The warning, made by a
tribal attorney and a state De-
partment of Ecology official,
was rebuffed by Sen. Jim Hon-
eyford, R-Sunnyside.
“If we’re afraid of being in
lawsuits, then we might as well
close our doors, sine die and go
home, because we’re not going
to accomplish anything,” he
said.
The committee held the first
of what likely will be many
hearings this session on how
to respond to high court rul-
ings that have blocked Ecology
from taking water from rivers
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Washington lawmakers are discussing a controversial state Su-
preme Court decision on rural water wells.
and streams for new uses, even
in cases the department says
won’t harm fish.
The so-called Hirst decision
last year threatens to stop the
drilling of new wells for rural
homes. The Foster decision in
2015 bars Ecology from offset-
ting water withdrawals by im-
proving fish habitat.
The rulings leave intact ag-
riculture water rights, but alarm
farm groups concerned about
the futures of farm families and
rural communities.
Both rulings placed a high
priority on minimum stream
flows that Ecology has set in
26 of the state’s 62 watersheds.
The court has held the flows
are protected water rights.
If Ecology can’t tap rivers
to offset new water uses, at-
tention will turn to agriculture,
said Bill Clarke, representing
a coalition of water users in
Pierce County.
“In this state, anytime we
have a, quote, ‘successful
mitigation’ what that means
is we’re taking irrigated farm-
land and losing it,” he said.
Tribes and environmental
groups support the Supreme
Court rulings.
Mukleshoot Indian Tribe
attorney Ann Tweedy warned
lawmakers not to weaken
stream-flow protections.
“It would force tribes and
others who are concerned
about instream flow resources
to utilize federal protections,
like the (Endangered Species
Act) and potentially adjudica-
tion of tribal rights as well,”
she said.
One piece of legislation
introduced by Honeyford,
Senate Bill 5003, would ef-
fectively nullify Foster. The
bill would allow Ecology to
consider the economic benefits
of withdrawing from rivers for
development. Ecology would
be required to have a habitat
plan to keep the withdrawals
from harming fish.
“This is an attempt to give
the Department of Ecology
some tools to better manage
our water supply,” Honeyford
said.
Sen. John McCoy, D-Tu-
lalip, said he was so disturbed
after reading the bill the eve-
ning before that he had trouble
sleeping.
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