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12 CapitalPress.com April 21, 2017 Oregon Wolves kill a calf in Oregon’s Wallowa County By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Stock image Wolves killed and ate most of a 150-pound calf in Oregon’s Wal- lowa County April 7. Wolves killed and ate most of a 150-pound calf April 7 in Northeast Oregon’s Wallowa County, according to Ore- gon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A livestock owner noti- fied ODFW after finding the calf’s remains and a dead cow nearby. Wolf tracks, the size and location of bite and scrape marks and tracking collar data showed wolves were responsible, according to an ODFW report. Most of the tissue and the hindquar- ters of the calf were missing. The cow was unmarked ex- cept for a severe eye injury; its death wasn’t attributed to wolves. Tracking collar data showed a wolf designated OR-50 was at the kill site at 6 a.m. on April 7. The wolf is part of the newly designated Harl Butte Pack. The attack happened on private land near the Imnaha River. ODFW recently issued Oregon wetland exemption moves forward Bill would allow hay exporter to replace burned-down barns Capital Press 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 fire. A bill addressing his situation is headed to the House floor. you, but prepare to deal with wetlands for another year,” he said. For example, lawmak- ers should consider the cre- ation of authoritative maps for identifying wetlands and whether fill-removal enforce- ment should remain com- plaint-driven, as it is now, Clem said. Another bill that was con- sidered by the House Agricul- ture Committee, House Bill 2786, proposed a more exten- sive solution by exempting properties from fill-removal law unless they’re included in the State Wetland Inven- tory. The Oregon Farm Bu- reau and the Oregonians in Action property rights group supported HB 2786, arguing that landowners need a re- liable method to determine if they’re subject to wetland rules, other than waiting for a complaint to DSL. However, opponents of the bill claimed the State Wetland Inventory set the definition for “wetland” too narrowly, since it doesn’t in- clude many wetlands. Clem said that HB 2786 would die this legislative ses- sion but he planned to con- vene a workgroup on the wet- land issue in February 2018. Two committee members who were first elected to the House last year — Rep. Da- vid Brock Smith, R-Port Or- ford, and Rep. Karin Power, D-Milwaukie — volunteered to work toward a longer-term solution on the wetland ques- tion. Clem attributed their re- quests to “freshman enthusi- asm.” “Wow, you are a glutton for punishment,” he said. Celebrate June Dairy Month in Capital Press’ 33 RD Annual Dairy Industry SPECIAL SECTION June 2 ND , 2017 Our annual Dairy Special Section spotlights dairy operations and operators in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. It features an in depth look at the situations and successes - needs and concerns of this dynamic industry. To reach our print and online readers, contact your sales representative or call 1-800-882-6789. Ad space reservation is by Friday, May 5 th . PO Box 2048 • Salem, OR 97308 (503) 364-4798 (800) 882-6789 Fax: (503) 364-2692 or (503) 370-4383 www.capitalpress.com ROP-14-4-2/#13 16-1/#8 samples taken from captured wolves showed a high expo- sure rate to severe infections. Also, at least seven wolves were killed in 2016: four of them were shot by ODFW for repeated livestock attacks, one was shot while caught in the act of attacking livestock, and two were killed in cir- cumstances under investiga- tion by Oregon State Police. Meanwhile, the ODFW Commisson is reviewing the state’s wolf management plan this year. The first hearing is April 21 in Klamath Falls. Bill exempting some rural Oregon counties from land use goals survives key test By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI SALEM — While bringing a hay exporter one step closer to rebuilding his burned-down barns, Oregon lawmakers are preparing for a broader dis- cussion about wetland regu- lations. After fire destroyed his two barns last year, state reg- ulators informed hay exporter Jesse Bounds that rebuilding the structures violated Oregon fill-removal law because his 12-acre property near Junc- tion City was a wetland. The parcel wasn’t identi- fied as a wetland on federal, state or county maps, but the Department of State Land nonetheless determined the project required a wetland fill-removal permit due to soil characteristics and other features. Under state law, the fact that Bounds had received county approval for rebuild- ing the barn was irrelevant. The House Agriculture Committee has now approved a bill that would change Ore- gon fill-removal law to rec- tify the situation for Bounds and farmers who find them- selves in a similar dilemma. On April 13, the commit- tee unanimously sent House Bill 2785 to the House floor with a “do pass” recommen- dation. Under HB 2785, fill-re- moval requirements would not apply when replacing a dwelling or agricultur- al building on farmland, as long as the structure receives county approval, existed be- fore 2017 and would be on the same parcel. Committee Chairman Bri- an Clem, D-Salem, said the bill is “just a tiny starting place” for dealing with con- flicts that may arise from Or- egon’s wetland rules. Wetlands are “treasured in this state” but it’s been too long since lawmakers looked at how they’re defined and the process for resolving fill-removal disputes, Clem said. “Sorry to spring this on its annual wolf report, which showed what biologists said was weak population growth in 2016. The report showed Oregon had a confirmed min- imum of 112 wolves at the end of 2016, only two more than the previous year. ODFW officials say bad winter weather made it hard to count wolves this past year, and believe there are more than the survey shows. Other factors for the low population gain may include the disease parvovirus, which could have taken a toll on pups; blood SALEM — An bill ex- empting slow-growing coun- ties from Oregon’s land use goals is staying alive this legislative session, though it’s probably headed for re- visions. Local governments would be exempt from statewide goals intended to preserve farmland and contain growth under Senate Bill 432, as long as they have 50,000 or fewer residents and haven’t expanded since the last fed- eral census. The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Com- mittee has unanimously re- ferred SB 432 to the Senate Rules Committee without recommendation. The action allows the bill to survive an April 18 legis- lative deadline that doesn’t apply to the Senate Rules Committee. Lawmakers need time to change SB 432 to ensure it doesn’t have a negative im- pact on the sage grouse in Eastern Oregon, said Sen. Mike Dembrow, D-Portland. “This bill needs work,” Dembrow said. The greater sage grouse was a candidate or federal protection under the Endan- gered Species Act, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice decided that listing the bird as threatened was un- warranted. The agency’s decision was based in part on Oregon land use regulations as well as voluntary conservation ef- forts by ranchers. Landowners would be able to build new homes while preserving historic ones under House Bill 3012, which was unanimously ap- proved by the House Agri- culture Committee. New homes would be al- lowed on parcels of at least two acres in rural residen- tial zones if the landowners convert historic houses built between 1850 and 1945 to “accessory dwelling units.” However, another broader proposal related to “acces- sory dwelling units” in rural areas has died this legislative session. House Bill 1024 would permit such dwellings to be built on the same parcels as existing homes in rural resi- dential zones, regardless of their historic status, allowing some new development that would otherwise be restrict- ed under Oregon’s land use laws. The bill is not ready to move forward this year but will probably be the sub- ject of a work group, said Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Cor- vallis, chair of the Sen- ate Committee on Human Services. With roughly 700,000 acres of land potentially af- fected by SB 1024, oppo- nents worried the bill could create conflicts with farm- land, rural roads and wildfire prevention. “It was just too broad a brush,” said Mary Kyle Mc- Curdy, deputy director of the 1,000 Friends of Oregon conservation group. McCurdy said she appre- ciated efforts by supporters of SB 1024 to develop “side- boards” limiting the bill’s scope, despite the lack of an ultimate compromise. Malheur County economic development bill goes to Ways and Means panel By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — A bill to issue $10 million in lottery bonds to fund economic and work- force development projects in Malheur County passed out of committee Monday. It heads next to Ways and Means, the Oregon Legisla- ture’s bicameral budget-writ- ing committee, where it will face more vetting. The legislation would cre- ate a specific fund and adviso- ry board. Seven voting mem- bers appointed by the governor would make grants and loans intended to spur economic de- velopment. An eighth nonvot- ing member would be director of the Oregon Business De- velopment Department, which would administer the funds and provide staff for the board. Since it was introduced as legislation in February, the area of the proposed region has been expanded to “better reflect” the communities in the Treasure Valley, said Speak- er of the House Tina Kotek, D-Portland, a sponsor of the bill along with State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario. The proposal will face competition for limited state bond funds. While the voting members of the board would make de- cisions about how the money is awarded, if passed, the bill would place another economic development program under the administrative umbrella of the Oregon Business Develop- ment Department. In a recent audit, the Ore- gon Secretary of State’s Office found the department didn’t report on some outcomes of economic development incen- tives and loan programs, and could be better at reporting information to the public and lawmakers about awards to specific businesses. The prevailing argument in favor of the legislation seems to be that southeastern Oregon faces a competitive disadvan- tage vis-a-vis Idaho, which has fewer regulations such as land use restrictions and a lower minimum wage. Under an amendment to the bill, the board could iden- tify policies that place the region at a competitive disad- vantage; the bill would allow the board to request a waiver from the appropriate commis- sion, board or agency on the specific issue, which would in turn be evaluated during a public hearing. Paul Skeen, of Nyssa, the president of the Malheur County Onion Growers As- sociation, said the measure would allow the area’s onion growers to be more competi- tive.