May 26, 2017
CapitalPress.com
Critics claim liability bill would banish GMOs from Oregon
5
11
Burlington
20
538
La Conner
it River
Mt. Vernon
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
534
Island
Swinomish
Reservation
Camano
Island
Proposal would
hold biotech patent
holders liable for
unwanted presence
5
N
2 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Puget Sound
tribe’s
proposal
alarms
farmers
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Puget Sound tribe that
led What’s Upstream proposes
to broaden its jurisdiction in
the fertile Skagit Valley, alarm-
ing farmers wary of the tribe’s
goals.
The Swinomish Indian tribe
announced Wednesday that
its members have approved
amending the tribe’s consti-
tution to erase references to
reservation boundaries set in
1873. The tribe proposes that
its jurisdiction extend beyond
its 7,000-acre reservation to the
“tribe’s usual and accustomed
fi shing grounds and stations
and all open and unclaimed
lands.”
The Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs approved the wording
of the constitutional change,
which still must be approved by
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Skagit County commissioners,
who say the tribe is apparently
trying to extend political con-
trol over much of the county,
have pledged to challenge the
tribe all the way to the U.S. Su-
preme Court, if necessary.
Farmers say they’re con-
cerned that the tribe wants to
curtail agriculture in a valley
where the federal government
has already breached dikes to
turn farmland into fi sh habitat.
“A lot of it is the uncertainty.
The tribe won’t say what its in-
tentions are. What is the goal?”
said dairy farmer Jason Vander
Kooy, director of Skagit Family
Farmers.
The newly launched group
stems from Save Family Farm-
ing, which formed last year to
answer claims by What’s Up-
stream. The media campaign,
organized by the tribe and fund-
ed by the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, accused farm-
ers of polluting Puget Sound
and advocated stricter limits on
farming near water. The cam-
paign angered some federal
lawmakers, but was cleared of
illegal lobbying by the EPA’s
inspector general.
Efforts to reach tribal offi -
cials were unsuccessful. The
tribe has accused county of-
fi cials of over-reacting in the
past, saying the tribe must
follow federal laws. The BIA
told county commissioners in
a recent letter that changing the
tribe’s constitution will not ex-
pand the reservation.
In an explanation posted
on its website, the tribe said
redefi ning its jurisdiction will
position it to take advantage of
congressional actions or court
rulings. “By describing our
jurisdiction broadly, the Tribe
will ensure that its Constitution
is a ‘living, fl exible’ document
that is able to change as federal
law changes,” according to the
statement.
“It seems like the tribe’s
goal is to be in control of more
land and water. If that happens,
it’s going to affect agriculture,”
Skagit County Farm Bureau
President Bill Schmidt said.
“It’s hard to realize sometimes
that it’s incremental. ... I think
it’s a step progression, and the
fi rst step is to acquire more land
and authority.”
County commissioners sent
a letter to Zinke last week urg-
ing him to deny the tribe’s re-
quest and stating the county’s
relationship with the tribe has
been marked by “constant lit-
igation and pernicious confl ict
over land use, agriculture, wa-
ter rights, taxation and many
other issues.”
Capital Press
SALEM — A bill impos-
ing new fi nancial liability on
biotech patent holders in Or-
egon would effectively banish
genetically engineered crops
from the state, opponents
claim.
Under House Bill 2739,
biotech patent holders would
be liable for triple the eco-
nomic damages caused by the
unwanted presence of geneti-
cally modifi ed organisms, or
GMOs.
The bill is now before
the House Rules Commit-
tee, which is considering an
amendment clarifying when
landowners can fi le lawsuits
over GMOs on their property
and the defenses available to
patent holders, among other
provisions.
Sean Ellis/Capital Press File
Malheur County farmer Jerry Erstrom points out a genetically en-
gineered creeping bentgrass plant June 14, 2016, on an irrigation
ditch bank near Ontario, Ore. The grass, which was genetically
modifi ed by Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. to resist the Roundup weed
killer, escaped from fi eld trials in 2003 and has taken root in
Malheur and Jefferson counties in Oregon and part of Canyon
County in Idaho. Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill imposing
legal liability on biotech patent holders for unwanted presence of
genetically engineered crops.
The amendment would
also ensure that patent hold-
ers cannot transfer liability to
farmers who cultivate GMOs,
though they could transfer lia-
bility to seed companies.
“It’s putting the onus on
the producers and people who
sell these crops rather that
grow them,” said Amy van
Saun, an attorney with the
Center for Food Safety, a non-
profi t that supports HB 2739.
By making patent holders
liable for unwanted GMO
presence — either through
cross-pollination or seed
dispersal — the bill reduc-
es potential confl icts among
farmers, said Elise Higley,
executive director of the Our
Family Farms Coalition,
which supports HB 2739.
“We don’t believe the GE
farmer should be held respon-
sible when they follow all the
rules,” Higley said during a
May 23 legislative hearing.
Biotech crops have “trac-
er genes” to identify patent
holders, eliminating confu-
sion about the source of an
unwanted GMO, she said.
“There’s no arguing about it.
It’s just black-and-white sci-
ence.”
Critics of HB 2739 believe
the underlying goal of the
proposal is to stop production
of GMOs in Oregon.
For developers of genet-
ically engineered crops, the
risk of lawsuits would likely
outweigh the benefi ts of li-
censing biotech traits to grow-
ers in the state, opponents say.
“If this bill passes, those
seed companies may stop sell-
ing to Oregon completely,”
said Shelly Boshart-Davis,
whose family plants geneti-
cally engineered alfalfa be-
tween rows of hazelnut trees.
Likewise, Oregon State
University breeders would
be reluctant to use new gene
editing techniques due to the
fi nancial risks of licensing the
resulting crop varieties, said
Dan Arp, dean of OSU’s Col-
lege of Agricultural Sciences.
“As the patent holder, we
would be liable for the judg-
ment,” Arp said.
The bill was subject to
sharp questioning by several
Republican lawmakers, but
the committee’s chairwoman,
Jennifer Williamson, D-Port-
land, ended the hearing with-
out any remarks about HB
2739’s future, such as a pos-
sible work session.
In April, the House Judi-
ciary Committee moved the
bill without recommendation
to the House Rules Commit-
tee, where it’s not subject to
the same legislative deadlines
as in other committees.
EO Media Group assumes management of Northwest Ag Show
EO Media Group, the par-
ent company of the Capital
Press, has assumed manage-
ment of the Northwest Agri-
cultural Show from Amy and
Mike Patrick.
The Patricks, and Amy’s
parents, Jim and Shirley
Heater, have guided the
show for 48 years.
“It is with great confi-
dence that Mike and I tran-
sition the event to EO Me-
dia Group,” Amy Patrick
said. “I believe they have a
broad range of resources that
can bolster and improve the
show, taking it to its 50th an-
niversary and beyond.”
Joe Beach, editor and
publisher of the Capital
Press, praised the family’s
management of the show.
“The Heater family built
the Northwest Ag Show into
an Oregon institution. In no
small measure the family is
the show,” he said. “As a
family business ourselves,
we have a particular appre-
ciation for the responsibility
we have to maintain what
they have created. We are
happy that the Patricks and
the Heaters are working with
us on the 2018 show to en-
sure a smooth transition.”
Amy Patrick has agreed
to help EO Media Group
through the transition period
to maintain continuity. Jim
Heater, show founder and
longtime manager, will con-
tinue to work with the show
and provide the move-in/
move-out services for exhib-
itors.
The 49th annual North-
west Agricultural Show will
Courtesy of the Northwest Ag Show
Visitors check out the latest in agricultural equipment and implements at the Northwest Ag Show at the Portland Expo Center. EO Media
Group, the parent company of the Capital Press, has assumed management of the Northwest Agricultural Show from Amy and Mike
Patrick.
take place Jan. 30 through
Feb. 1, 2018, at the Portland
Expo Center.
Beach said the Capital
Press has had close ties with
both the show and its exhib-
itors for years, so when the
show became available it
seemed like a natural fit.
“We’re new to the show
business,” Beach said, “but
we bring a fair amount of
promotional and manage-
ment expertise to the ven-
ture, and have some excit-
ing ideas about how we can
build on the show’s past suc-
cesses.”
Patrick reflected on her
long association with the
show.
“It has been my pleasure
to work with so many great
exhibitors during my time
as manager of the Northwest
Agricultural Show,” she
said. “The show holds a spe-
cial place in my heart after
growing up with the event
and learning the ropes from
my parents. As I move on to
other career ventures, I will
continue to be supportive
and interested in the event;
the exhibitors truly became
like an extended family to
me.”
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