WASHINGTON: STUDY TO FOCUS ON WOLVES’ EFFECT ON PREDATORS, PREY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017
VOLUME 90, NUMBER 8
Page 10
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
A different kind of
FARMER
Cultivating knowledge about ag and
history produces a bumper crop of fun
“The problem in
America is that
we’re teaching
our kids how to be
collectors, and that
doesn’t work. You
always have to be a
producer.”
Jeff Smith, Twin Oaks Farms
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
E
AGLE, Idaho — Jeff Smith’s Twin Oaks Farms are about so
much more than just making money.
It’s also about benefi ting wildlife, youth development, edu-
cating the public about agriculture and, often, sheer fun.
Smith grows crops such as pumpkins, sweet corn, clover
hay, corn for silage, sunfl owers and Idaho’s famous potatoes. He also rais-
es livestock on his 200 acres.
But this is not your average farm.
For Smith, providing habitat for wildlife comes fi rst, followed by teach-
ing Treasure Valley residents about agriculture.
It’s also about youth development — and setting world records.
Making a living and having a blast in the process are all part of life on the
Eagle, Idaho, farm.
‘D-Day’ on the farm
One unlikely event takes place each summer on the farm. Every June, to com-
memorate the D-Day landing during World War II, Smith uses a large mound
of earth on his farm to re-enact the day American and allied troops invaded Ger-
man-occupied France.
The re-enactment involves hundreds of paint ball guns. Anyone 50 and over is a
“German” and stationed at the top of the hill while any participant under 50 is an “Amer-
ican” and has to try to take the hill.
Turn to SMITH, Page 12
Area in
detail
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VALLEY
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Sean Ellis/Capital Press
WASHINGTON
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84
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ABOVE: Farmer Jeff Smith stands on a large mound
of earth that is used each June to re-enact the D-Day
invasion of German-occupied France. He uses that
event and others to get people on his 200-acre farm
and teach them about agriculture.
RIGHT: Competitors in the Tater Dash Mud Run at
Twin Oaks Farms in Eagle, Idaho, dig into a world
record serving of french fries in 2014. The record
involved 1,003 pounds of french fries made from
1,256 pounds of raw potatoes cooked in 110 gallons
of cooking oil. Submitted photo
78
Capital Press graphic
Bills propose to dispel Oregon wetland uncertainties
Lawmakers consider
exemptions to state
fill-removal laws
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Jesse Bounds runs a straw-compressing facility in
Junction City, Ore., that state regulators claim was
rebuilt on a wetland after a fi re.
SALEM — Oregon landowners don’t
have a simple, reliable method to find out
whether their property is considered a wet-
land.
That’s potentially a big problem if a
structure is built on a parcel that state au-
thorities later determine is a wetland, thus
“We need to have something more than the State
Wetland Inventory to consider.”
Peggy Lynch, The League of Women Voters of Oregon natural resouces coordinator.
making the landowner liable for costly mit-
igation measures.
Jesse Bounds, a hay exporter near Junc-
tion City, Ore., learned that lesson the hard
way.
Upon trying to rebuild two barns that had
burned down last summer, Bounds was told
by Oregon’s Department of State Lands the
construction was unlawful because he hadn’t
obtained a fi ll-removal permit. The permit is
required when disturbing wetlands.
Bounds was shocked by the notifi cation,
since his 12-acre parcel wasn’t identifi ed as
a wetland under the State Wetland Inventory
and he’d obtained all necessary building per-
mits without a hitch.
Oregon lawmakers are now contemplat-
ing two bills that would resolve the problem.
Turn to WETLAND, Page 12
‘Drought to deluge’ weather pattern breaking
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
PORTLAND — The coming
growing season is likely to be cooler
than the past two years as the Pacifi c
Northwest returns to something closer
to normal after a “drought to deluge”
ride that included much warmer than
usual temperatures followed by an ex-
This year is shaping up as cooler and a return to
normal, but a revived El Nino pattern later in the year
could lead to another warm winter.
tended cold snap and pounding winter
snow storms.
Gregory Jones, a Southern Oregon
University professor and research cli-
matologist, delivered that assessment
in a talk at the Oregon Wine Sympo-
sium, the state’s annual gathering of
wine grape growers, vintners and re-
lated businesses.
Jones specializes in viticulture
climatology and is deeply respected
within the industry. Tom Danowski,
executive director of the Oregon Wine
Board, introduced Jones by saying
he’s “as close as we get in Oregon to a
national treasure.”
Jones said 2016 began with a mild
winter, a dry and warm spring and
Turn to WEATHER, Page 12
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