10 CapitalPress.com
May 12, 2017
Oregon
Appeals court rules there are Revived bull trout lawsuit seeks grazing prohibition
limits to ESA protections
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Area in
detail
Capital Press
Whitebark pine
faces threats from
disease, insects, fi re
suppression
ORE.
decided the agency wasn’t re-
quired to “provide a detailed,
individualized explanation
for each species” whose list-
ing precluded protection for
whitebark pine.
“We decline to impose
such a burdensome require-
ment, which would divert
scarce agency resources to
writing justifi cations rather
than studying the pertinent
sciences, species, and ecosys-
tems,” the ruling said.
Even so, the 9th Circuit
judges said that “vigorous
advocacy for this imperiled
species is laudable” and that
they can appreciate the plain-
tiffs’ “frustration with the
slow-moving ESA process.”
“Despite its best efforts,
FWS’s ability to protect spe-
cies through the ESA is limit-
ed by practical realities,” the
ruling said.
Whitebark pine are being
killed by a disease, white pine
blister rust, as well as an in-
sect, the mountain pine bee-
tle, according to the Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Meanwhile, other species
of trees have crowded out
whitebark pine due to fi re sup-
pression efforts over the past
century, the agency said.
MALHEUR
NATIONAL
FOREST
Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The bull trout is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered
Species Act.
trouble in these two water-
sheds,” said Mac Lacy, attor-
ney for ONDA. “We are at an
important point here. Immedi-
ate action is needed to stave off
that damage.”
Trampling by cattle erodes
soil along streams, harming
bull trout egg nests, as well as
widening river channels and
reducing vegetation, which
raises water temperatures to the
detriment of fi sh, the plaintiffs
claim.
Bull trout were listed as a
threatened species nearly two
decades ago, resulting in pro-
tections for their in-stream hab-
itats across the Northwest.
“On-the-ground conditions
are relevant to the Forest Ser-
vice’s decision-making, or they
should be,” Lacy said.
However, only about 50 bull
trout inhabit each of the two
rivers in question, which shows
the Forest Service’s approach
isn’t working, he said.
“The populations them-
selves are dropping precipi-
tously,” Lacy said.
The bull trout’s fortunes
have continued to decline even
though the agency reports that
MALHEUR
R.
A stand of whitebark pine grows
near Crater Lake in Oregon.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals has ruled that federal
offi cials lawfully decided that
Endangered Species Act
protection for the tree was
“warranted but precluded” by
other priorities.
26
GRANT
ur
Richard Sniezko/U.S. Forest Service
BAKER
e
Mal h
Whitebark pine was law-
fully denied Endangered Spe-
cies Act protection despite
facing the danger of extinc-
tion, according to a federal
appeals court.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service properly concluded
that ESA protection for the
tree was “warranted but pre-
cluded” by proposed listings
for other species, the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals has
ruled.
The Wildwest Institute
and the Alliance for the Wild
Rockies fi led a lawsuit argu-
ing the decision was arbitrary
and capricious because the
agency had considered white-
bark pine a high priority for
listing.
The 9th Circuit has reject-
ed this argument, ruling that
the Fish and Wildlife Service
was allowed to consider oth-
er factors beyond the “listing
priority number,” or LPN, of
a species in reaching the con-
clusion that ESA protection
was “warranted but preclud-
ed.”
The language of the ESA
makes clear the LPN “ranking
system is just one tool used
to identify priorities for list-
ing,” the 9th Circuit said, up-
holding an earlier decision by
Chief Judge Dana Christensen
of the U.S. District Court of
Montana.
“Congress and FWS en-
shrined fl exibility into the
system so that the responsible
agency could make the most
effi cient and effective use of
its resources,” according to
the 9th Circuit’s opinion.
The appellate court also
Unity
Prairie
City
N.F.
Capital Press
26
ur River
M a l he
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
PORTLAND — A long-
standing dispute over cattle
impacts on bull trout has been
roused from dormancy, with
two environmental groups
seeking an order prohibiting
grazing along two Eastern Or-
egon rivers.
The Oregon Natural Desert
Association and the Center for
Biological Diversity initially
fi led a complaint challenging
federal grazing authorizations
along the Malheur and North
Fork Malheur rivers in 2003.
That lawsuit was combined
with two later grazing cases
that were eventually closed, but
the environmental groups were
unable to settle the original liti-
gation with the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice and the affected ranchers.
During oral arguments on
May 5, the plaintiffs asked U.S.
Magistrate Judge Paul Papak to
declare that grazing authoriza-
tions in seven allotments of the
Malheur National Forest violat-
ed the National Forest Manage-
ment Act and the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act.
“The bull trout is in serious
Bull trout
habitat
HARNEY
Juntura
N
20
10 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
conditions are improving, he
said.
The Forest Service bases
this conclusion on proxy mea-
surements, such as stubble
height and stream bank alter-
ation, Lacy said.
Meanwhile, the areas con-
tinue to fall short of the actual
“riparian management objec-
tives” that are integral for fi sh
recovery, he said.
Aviation fi eld day introduces sixth-graders to ag-related careers
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
ONTARIO, Ore. — Every
sixth-grader in Malheur Coun-
ty was introduced to the local-
ly available ag-related careers
involving aviation during a
May 4 fi eld day at the Ontario
Municipal Airport.
About 400 students got a
chance to learn about aviation,
speak with pilots who fl y heli-
copters and airplanes to spray
farm fi elds, and experience
fl ying using virtual reality
goggles.
They also learned about
some of the locally available
jobs centered around aviation,
including crop duster pilots
and associated engineering
jobs.
“We really want to get the
kids thinking about the careers
available locally, including ca-
reers in agriculture, and keep
them in our community,” said
event organizer Barbara Bro-
dy, Oregon State University’s
local 4-H coordinator.
She said 4-H did a com-
munity needs assessment fi ve
years ago and found that many
kids did not know what careers
are available in the area, which
is heavily agricultural.
Brody began working with
Frazier Aviation to expose kids
to some of the jobs available
locally and has recently part-
nered with Treasure Valley
Community College, one of
the few colleges in the nation
where people can obtain an ag
applicator license.
Part of the fi eld day in-
volved teaching the students
about agriculture, which drives
the local economy.
“A lot of these kids are not
aware of what our local farm-
ers do so it was a great way to
expose them to the ag indus-
try,” Brody said.
In this area, farming and
aviation go hand-in-hand, said
Tommy Frazier, owner of Fra-
zier Aviation.
Three ag applicators are
based at the airport, a lot of
area ranchers utilize helicop-
ters in their operations and
employees of many of the re-
gion’s biggest farm companies
regularly fl y in and out of the
area, he said.
Careers in aviation and
associated industries, such as
drones, are going to expand in
the near future, Frazier said,
and TVCC’s aviation program
will allow local residents to
participate in those careers.
“There are going to be
some excellent opportunities
here locally,” he said. “And
those kids are not going to
have to go out of state to do
that. They can do it right here.”
Aviation has always been a
career that many people want
to be in but are not sure how
to go about getting into, said
Paul McAlvain, president of
Pauly’s Helicopter Services.
McAlvain spent the fi eld
day showing kids his heli-
copter and explaining how
the boom attached to it is
used to apply chemicals to
farm fi elds.
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