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FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2017 VOLUME 90, NUMBER 31 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 THE POT FARMER NEXT DOOR Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Casey Kulla inspects marijuana plants growing at his farm near McMinnville, Ore. As Oregon’s mari- juana industry has grown, it’s raised questions about the “right to farm” and other land use issues. Oregon’s marijuana industry raises land use tensions Oregon marijuana license applications by county (As of July 27) By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press U pon starting a marijuana operation on their farm near McMin- nville, Ore., last year, Casey and Katie Kulla encountered no objections from neighbors. The Kullas attribute the lack of controversy to their 10-year history of growing organic vegetables without running into confl icts with surrounding conventional farmers. “We’re not perceived as outsiders, which I think is a big problem right now,” said Katie Kulla. Elsewhere in Oregon, fl edgling marijuana operations have met with alarm in rural communities, even prompting lawsuits in state and federal courts. For example, a couple in Clackamas County have accused marijua- na-growing neighbors of violating the federal Racketeer Infl uenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The Kullas believe they’ve avoided such reactions because nearby farm- ers trust their marijuana operation won’t bring loud music or raucous visi- tors, which are common grievances. “Nothing for our neighbors has changed,” said Casey Kulla. Nearly three years since Oregon voters legalized recreational marijua- na, 685 producers have been licensed by the state to grow the crop and more than 800 have applications pending. Whether this development is Marijuana plants grow in a high tunnel at a farm near McMinn- ville, Ore. Since Oregon voters legalized the psychoactive crop in 2014, 685 marijuana produc- ers have been licensed to grow the crop and more than 800 have applications pending. Turn to POT, Page 12 Number of applications * 1-49 50-99 100-199 200-399 400+ Source: Oregon Liquor Control Commission Total statewide: 2,788 * Top 10 counties by number of applications * Rank/county Applications 1. Multnomah 2. Jackson 3. Lane 4. Clackamas 5. Josephine 496 395 369 290 254 (Cont.) Applications 6. Washington 7. Deschutes 8. Marion 9. Yamhill 10. Polk 188 114 109 79 73 *Includes lab, processor, producer, retailer, wholesaler and researcher occupations. Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group Rancher asks ODFW to kill wolves after latest attack By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press A rancher in northeast Oregon’s Wallowa County requested the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to use lethal control against the Harl Butte wolfpack, which has attacked calves six times in the past year. An ODFW spokeswoman said the department received the request July 28 and will make a decision in the coming days; no decision had been made as of Aug. 2. Meanwhile, the environmental group Oregon Wild called on Gov. Kate Brown to pro- vide “transparency and accountabil- ity” as ODFW considers the request. “This cannot become a pattern. Wolves belong here. We must fi nd a way to coexist that does not involve wiping out an entire wolf pack every few years,” Oregon Wild Executive Director Sean Stevens said in a pre- pared statement. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Asso- ciation wolf chair, Wallowa Coun- ty rancher and commissioner Todd Nash, declined to comment. The lethal control request came after ODFW confi rmed a calf found dead July 26 had been killed by wolves. The calf was estimated to have weighed 400 to 500 pounds but was mostly consumed by the time the car- cass was discovered. Only the skele- ton and hide were left. An ODFW in- vestigator estimated the calf was killed July 20-22. Data from a GPS tracking collar showed a wolf designated OR-50 was within 200 yards of the carcass four times from July 21 to 25. Bite marks on the carcass and fresh wolf tracks in the area contributed to the confi rma- tion. ODFW confi rmed six attacks on calves by the Harl Butte pack between July 15, 2016 and July 22, 2017. In addition to the calf found dead most recently, another calf was found alive July 21 with multiple bite marks, in- cluding one wound that was 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. That attack was estimated to have occurred about a week earlier. Both occurred on pub- lic land grazing allotments. The Harl Butte pack also was blamed for killing a calf on private pasture in April. The pack, newly des- ignated this year, is thought to be made up of wolves inhabiting ODFW’s Im- naha and Snake River wildlife man- agement units. ODFW’s annual wolf report said the pack is made up of 10 wolves, although more may have been born this spring. Turn to WOLVES, Page 12 Potential increase in ICE presence raises concerns in Idaho By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press A pending contract between Je- rome County in south-central Idaho and Immigration Customs Enforce- ment allowing ICE to lease bed space at the county’s new jail is fueling trep- idation in the local dairy community. Bob Naerebout, executive direc- tor of the Idaho Dairymen’s Associ- ation, said dairymen are concerned that “more presence by ICE in the lo- cal community is going to intimidate their workers,” who think ICE “will be looking for them, raids in the corn- fi eld.” Naerebout said there’s cause for concern considering the trend in in- creased ICE enforcement since Presi- dent Donald Trump took offi ce. The dairy industry doesn’t qualify for the H2-A program, or any other visa program for foreign workers, and a signifi cant percentage of the Hispan- ic community that came to the area to work in agriculture arrived without le- gal work status, he said. He quotes statistics by the De- partment of Homeland Security that show a 37.6 percent increase in ICE enforcement and removal operations from the end of January through the end of April compared to a year ear- lier. And The Atlantic magazine re- ported non-criminal arrests during that period were up 150 percent, he said. “You can see there is reason for fear,” he said. In a letter to county commissioners in opposition to the contract, he said, “The fear of families being broken up and friends being removed from the community they grew up in and love is real.” With talk of the ICE contract, some Turn to ICE, Page 12 Our Rebin Program can turn your old trailer into a new trailer! We will remove all working mechanical parts, and replace the bin with a new Stainless Steel STC Bin on your existing running gear. All parts deemed reusable are reinstalled on the new bin. All of this at the fraction of the cost of a new trailer! WWW.STCTRAILERS.COM 494 W. 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