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CapitalPress.com
August 11, 2017
Thinning project may move ahead
Court rejects
arguments from
Alliance for the
Wild Rockies
Area in
detail
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KANIKSU
NAT’L FOR.
eille
P e n d Or
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By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
PEND
OREILLE
Capital Press
OREILLE N.W.R.
An environmental group
has failed to convince a fed-
eral appeals court that an in-
junction is warranted against
a 12,800-acre thinning proj-
ect in Washington’s Colville
National Forest.
The Alliance for the Wild
Rockies hasn’t proved that
halting the A to Z Project is
justifi ed based on alleged
violations of federal forest
management and environ-
395
A to Z
Project
area
COLVILLE
NAT’L FOR.
STEVENS
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211
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2
231
Capital Press graphic
mental laws, according to
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals.
The plaintiff has “not
demonstrated serious ques-
tions, much less a likelihood
of success” in accusing the
U.S. Forest Service of botch-
ing its environmental anal-
ysis of the project, the 9th
Circuit said.
The A to Z Project is in-
tended to harvest commercial
timber while changing the
“trajectory” of the area from
the “unhealthy path it is cur-
rently on to one that moves it
toward a healthy and resilient
forest,” according to the For-
est Service’s analysis.
With the reduction in tree
density, the forest will be less
susceptible to wildfi res and
insect infestations, the agen-
cy said.
Rehabilitation of ero-
sion-prone roads will also
reduce sediment runoff into
streams.
However, the Alliance for
the Wild Rockies claimed
the Forest Service inade-
quately analyzed the impacts
of logging on the fi sher and
the pine marten, which are
fur-bearing mammals in the
weasel family. The fi sher is
also a candidate for Endan-
gered Species Act protec-
tions.
The agency determined
that more than 2,000 acres of
older trees and “core areas”
for the pine marten will be
excluded from logging, so
it contends that the project
won’t interfere with the spe-
cies’ viability.
This conclusion was ex-
tended to the fi sher, which
has habitat preferences simi-
lar to the pine marten.
The plaintiff argued the
Forest Service incorrectly
considered the pine marten’s
habitat as a proxy for the spe-
cies instead of monitoring its
actual population.
Similarly,
the
group
claimed that pine marten hab-
itat shouldn’t serve as a proxy
for the fi sher population.
The 9th Circuit rejected
both arguments, fi nding that
the Forest Service was per-
mitted to use such proxies in
its analysis of the project.
The appellate court also
ruled that road maintenance
and reconstruction will pre-
vent the project from causing
sediment runoff at a rate that
will harm fi sh.
Sediment runoff from
grazing is also expected to
decrease because vegetation
is being allowed to regrow in
overgrazed and riparian areas,
the 9th Circuit said.
Idaho water resources agency takes on
enforcement of rights on Lower Portneuf
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
POCATELLO, Idaho —
Before July 27, administering
water rights for the Lower
Portneuf River was an infor-
mal process, involving gentle-
men’s agreements and neigh-
borly handshakes.
But now, Idaho Depart-
ment of Water Resources offi -
cials say management of Wa-
ter District 29-D will be more
typical and structured.
In the midst of a banner
water year marked by plenty
of water in most watersheds,
the Idaho Department of Wa-
ter Resources has instructed
the district’s watermaster,
Randy Smith, to notify users
of the fi rst water call curtail-
ments in the Lower Portneuf’s
history.
The water district was
formed in 2011, but adminis-
tration of water rights hadn’t
been feasible until now, based
on the completion of the
Snake River Basin Adjudica-
tion about three years ago, ex-
plained IDWR Water Compli-
ance Bureau Chief Tim Luke.
“Now the adjudication is
over and we have a unifying
decree signed by the district
court,” so it’s time to do it,
Luke said.
Smith, a retired phone
company worker who irri-
gates a couple of small alfalfa
fi elds in Pocatello, initially
notifi ed irrigators with rights
junior to 1903 to curtail their
water use. Curtailment notic-
es were broadened Aug. 6 to
cover irrigators with rights ju-
nior to 1900.
The district includes 313
water rights junior to 1900,
most of which are used to ir-
rigate 10- to 15-acre pastures,
lawns or small alfalfa fi elds.
In 2016, senior irrigators
with the Surface Water Co-
alition reached a settlement
with groundwater users
whose wells were reducing
Snake River spring fl ows.
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Randy Smith, watermaster of the Lower Portneuf River water district, stands along the banks of the Portneuf River at the pump he uses to
irrigate alfalfa behind his Pocatello, Idaho, home. Smith has been asked to notify members of his district that they must curtail their water
use for the fi rst time, based on the Surface Water Coalition’s water call.
The state is now looking at
upstream surface users who
have been diverting out of
priority.
In normal water years,
Luke said 1,900 Portneuf sur-
face rights would be curtailed
a month or two earlier than
this season. He noted many
water rights on the system’s
tributary streams are “self
regulating” in dry years, as
they dry up before the water
rights expire.
“This is something new
going forward,” Luke said.
“It’s not going to be easy
starting off.”
Smith anticipates many of
his users will simply ignore
the order, believing it’s illog-
ical to dry their land to deliver
a pittance of water to users
more than 100 miles away —
especially during a year when
it’s not needed.
He understands state law
gives priority to senior users,
but vows his district’s mem-
bers will push for statutory
reforms to avoid waste. He
doesn’t plan to seek re-elec-
tion as watermaster.
“The way it’s always been
in this district is, OK, I may
have an older priority date
and you may be junior, but
you take a little bit and I’ve
got enough to get me by,”
Smith said. “It’s always been
a neighborly thing, and now
it’s just a law thing.”
Luke said the department
is also laying the groundwork
to eventually start actively
administering Water District
29-H, which will affect south-
east Idaho irrigators who
draw from Marsh Creek.
In addition to enforcing the
coalition’s call, Luke said Ida-
ho Department of Water Re-
sources plans to address some
out-of-priority diversions af-
fecting senior users within the
same district.
Luke said it could take
a year or two for the Marsh
Creek district to become ac-
tive.
Courtesy of T&R Farms
Ron Reimann
Water
rights
advocate
dies in
collision
Ron Reimann had
‘overpowering
sense of justice’
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Eastern Washington farm-
er Ron Reimann believed in
protecting growers’ water
rights, people who knew him
say.
Reimann, 74, died July
30 when his side-by-side off-
road vehicle was struck by a
2001 Chrysler van on a road
near Kahlotus, Wash., accord-
ing to the Franklin County
Sheriff’s Offi ce.
Reimann was one of 12
original board members for
the Columbia-Snake River
Irrigators Association and
a leader of the Washington
State Potato Commission. He
was also a commissioner for
the Port of Pasco.
Reimann served as presi-
dent of the irrigators associa-
tion for the last eight years.
“Irrigated
agriculture
throughout Washington state
is in much better shape as a re-
sult of his work,” said Darryll
Olsen, board representative of
the irrigators association.
The association blocked
efforts to reduce water rights
for growers on the state and
federal level, Olsen said.
“He had such an overpow-
ering sense of justice and fair-
ness,” Olsen said. “He acted
that way towards people, but
he expected people to be pro-
tected as well.”
Reimann served as chair-
man for the potato commis-
sion from 1994 to 1996 and
remained active in the group,
commission executive direc-
tor Chris Voigt said.
And though Reimann was
a great leader for the commis-
sion, Voigt believes his legacy
will be water.
“He took great pride in
making food on his farm and
understood the value of irri-
gation for our country’s food
security,” Voigt said.
The collision is still under
investigation, according to the
sheriff’s offi ce.
Reimann is survived by
his wife, Rella, son, Reid, and
granddaughter Anastasia. Ser-
vices were Aug. 8.
New canola association gains certifi cation
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
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32-1/#5
The Pacifi c Northwest
Canola Association has re-
ceived its certifi cate of incor-
poration from Washington state
as a multi-state nonprofi t orga-
nization.
The association will include
farmers in Idaho, Oregon,
Washington and Montana, said
Karen Sowers, Washington
State University Extension out-
reach specialist for oilseeds.
“It’s the fi rst big step,” Sow-
ers said.
The association is formaliz-
ing its bylaws.
Under current draft bylaws,
the association will offer four
levels of membership, ranging
from $500 per year to $5,000
per year, with a voting seat on
the board of directors at the
$5,000 per year level.
Sowers is taking nomina-
tions of producer members
for the board of directors. The
nominees will be placed on a
ballot. The association is seek-
ing nominations of at least two
growers from each state.
Sowers has an email contact
list of 300 canola growers in the
E.J. Harris/EO Media Group File
The Pacifi c Northwest Canola Association is a step closer to
reality.
four states.
Sowers said the association
also welcomes farmers in their
fi rst year of growing canola or
who are thinking about trying
it.
“I guess there’s not an ‘ide-
al’ candidate, just a passion for
growing canola and knowing it
makes sense in a rotation wher-
ever you may be in the Pacifi c
Northwest,” she said.
Canola is priced about 19
cents per pound for GMO
canola to 20.5 cents per pound
for non-GMO canola.
Spring canola harvest began
the week of Aug. 7. Sowers
expects average yields. Early
yields look good, but the sum-
mer heat is “pretty wicked,” she
said.
Most of the winter canola
harvest is done, Sowers said.
She expects average to above
average yields, due to extended
snow cover and spring mois-
ture.
Sowers hopes to ramp up
the search for an executive di-
rector in the fall. She said the
association wants someone
with a passion for and under-
standing of the region’s canola
industry.
Draft bylaws currently state
the association will meet twice
a year. Sowers hopes the asso-
ciation will be offi cial by the
end of the year.