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March 3, 2017 CapitalPress.com 7 Oregon Ranchers oppose cuts to wolf Natural resource groups skeptical compensation, predator control of state science panel proposal By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Budget proposals for Oregon Department of Agriculture curtail predator programs Capital Press By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Ranchers who suffer live- stock losses from predators stand to lose state support under both budget scenarios currently proposed for the Oregon Department of Agri- culture. Funding aimed at predator control and compensation for livestock depredation would be cut under recommenda- tions from Gov. Kate Brown as well as the co-chairs of the Joint Ways and Means Com- mittee, Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, and Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene. The proposed cuts drew objections from the live- stock industry during a Feb. 22 hearing on ODA’s budget before a panel of Joint Ways and Means Committee mem- bers focused on natural re- sources. As the wolf population has grown in Oregon, live- stock losses have been a continuing source of frustra- tion for ranchers, said Mike Durgan of the Baker County Wolf Compensation Adviso- ry Committee. Even when wolves don’t kill cattle, they cause health problems that are considered indirect losses and aren’t ODFW Two adult wolves from the Walla Walla Pack were caught on re- mote trail camera Jan. 16, 2016 in northern Umatilla County, Ore. State legislators are considering reductions in funding for predator control and reimbursing ranchers for livestock losses. compensated with state dol- lars, Durgan said. Until wildlife officials find a better way to manage the predators, the livestock industry should receive state assistance, he said. “I want to make it clear I’m not advo- cating killing wolves today.” Oregon counties have steadfastly contributed mon- ey to their partnership with ODA and USDA’s Wildlife Services division to pay for predator control, even as they’ve fallen short of funds for public safety and other vital services, said Craig Pope, a Polk County commissioner. “We will have no one else to call if we let this partner- ship fail,” Pope said. “Coun- ties cannot make up the dif- ference of this funding hole.” The Oregon Hunters As- sociation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation testified in favor or restoring the state’s full contribution to the predator control pro- gram, which they say is nec- essary to maintain a balance between predators and deer and elk. Under the governor’s rec- ommended 2017-2019 bud- get, the ODA would eliminate $460,000 in state funding for the USDA’s Wildlife Ser- vices division, which kills problematic predators. An ODA program that compensates ranchers for wolf depredation would be funded at $211,000 under the governor’s proposal, compared to $233,000 in the 2015-2017 biennium. The co-chairs of the Joint Ways and Means Committee, meanwhile, have proposed a “budget framework” for the upcoming biennium that would decrease funding for the wolf compensation pro- gram “and/or reduce funding for predator control.” SALEM — A bill before Oregon lawmakers has raised a philosophical question: Is it possible to achieve an unbi- ased scientific opinion? Or more precisely, is a politically appointed scientif- ic panel capable of reaching such an impartial truth? Legislators recently pon- dered this problem while deliberating on Senate Bill 198, which would create an Independent Science Review Board to ponder some of the thornier controversies facing state regulators. Oregon’s farmers and ranchers are no strangers to science-related disputes over wolves, pesticides and ge- netically engineered crops, among others. Natural resource groups, while commending SB 198’s noble aim, are nonetheless skeptical of how the review process would play out in re- ality. State agencies that make “high impact” decisions af- fecting natural resource in- dustries are already overseen by boards and commissions, said Mike Freese, vice pres- ident of Associated Oregon Industries, who testified at a Feb. 22 hearing before the Senate Environment and Nat- ural Resources Committee. “Simply having the same debate in front of a new board doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” said Freese, who tes- tified on behalf of AOI and other groups, including the Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Forest Industries Council and Oregon Capitol. Oregon Dairy Farmers Asso- ciation. Under SB 198, the Inde- pendent Scientific Review Board would be appointed by the governor, just like the commissions overseeing state agencies. The governor would also hire an administrator for an Oregon State Universi- ty “secretariat” to assist the board with its work. The current version of the legislation doesn’t adequately ensure the Independent Sci- ence Review Board would be free of political influence, Freese said. As a result, the new panel would become another venue for advocacy groups to seek a stamp of approval for their policy positions in “age-old debates,” he said. Natural resource indus- tries are concerned about per- ceived biases not only in the panel’s conclusions, but also in the type of questions that it decides to pursue, Freese said. Sen. Alan Olsen, R-Canby, said he hopes the Independent Science Review Board would provide clear, transparent in- formation to help lawmakers make decisions involving multiple agencies or scientific disciplines. Lawmakers would ideally present scientific questions for the panel a year before the pertinent legislation is intro- duced, he said. It’s currently difficult for legislators to decide whose experts to listen to, said Sen. Herman Baertschiger, R-Grants Pass. “We’ve got peer reviewed science on both sides.” Sen. Arnie Roblan, D- Coos Bay, said he’s “seen be- lief trump science repeatedly” in the legislature and noted that advocates often bring in their own scientists to dis- count opposing views. “It puts the panel right in the middle of the most con- tentious issues we have in the state,” Roblan said. The current language of SB 198 has raised some con- cerns among task force mem- bers who recommended the Independent Science Review Board’s creation. While the task force gen- erally supports the bill, the administrator overseeing the panel’s “secretariat” would be more insulated from political influence if appointed directly by panel members, rather than the governor, said Dan Edge, associate dean of OSU’s Col- lege of Agricultural Science. The task force is also trou- bled by the possibility that SB 198 would allow the Indepen- dent Science Review Board to be funded with grants and donations, said Edge. It’d be preferable for the panel’s money to come from the state general fund, to avoid the perception that large donors can steer the review process, he said. “We’re very concerned we might end up in a ‘pay to play’ situation,” Edge said. Oregon’s rival universities form research pact on tall wooden buildings By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Cross Oregon State Bea- vers and University of Oregon Ducks, pull in a Scotsman from Canada and you get, well, tall buildings made out of wood. The forestry and engi- neering colleges at OSU are teaming with UO’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts to form the nation’s first research program focused on structural wood products and their use in modest high-rise buildings. Oregon State announced the collaboration this week and said its Center for Advanced Wood Products Manufacturing and Design has been renamed the TallWood Design Insti- tute. It’s intended to become a national research, education, teaching and outreach hub. Iain Macdonald, a native of Scotland who has headed a similar project at the Universi- ty of British Columbia the past 10 years, was hired as the insti- tute’s acting director. Over time, the initiative could have significant eco- nomic impact in rural Oregon, much of which was hard hit by the near shutdown of the state’s timber industry over the past 30 years. Finding new uses for wood in construction could lead to more mill investment and employment, industry ob- servers believe. Nationally, tall wood build- ing construction has attracted considerable attention. Experts say wood is a more environ- mentally sustainable material than steel and concrete, in part because it sequesters carbon. Macdonald, the new di- rector, said the institute has a two-prong objective. It could revitalize the timber industry by creating new opportunities to use “mass timbers,” panels and beams made through ad- vanced engineering techniques. That could create manufactur- ing jobs in Oregon, he said. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by using wood in construction is another benefit, he said. Combining OSU’s engi- neering and forestry colleges with the UO’s experience in sustainable architecture is a great move, Macdonald said. “You have people with expertise all along the value chain,” he said. “In my experi- ence, that’s how problems get solved.” Oregon has something of a jump start on wood buildings. In September 2015, a 12-story project in Portland’s upscale Pearl District was awarded a $3 million prize in a USDA design competition intended to encourage the use of timber products in tall construction. That same month, a South- ern Oregon mill, D.R. John- son, became the first American company certified by the Amer- ican Plywood Association and American National Standards Institute to make cross-lami- nated timber panels, or CLT. The certification means the panels can be used in building construction. WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! 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