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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 2017)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 VOLUME 90, NUMBER 38 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM A GROWING $2.00 Jose Orosco and David Flores move ladders to pick d’Anjou pears Sept. 11 in McCoy Orchard near Cash- mere, Wash. PROBLEM Washington growers asked for 43 percent more foreign guestworkers to work crops this year, indicative of a continuing shortage of domestic labor By DAN WHEAT Capital Press U Photos by Dan Wheat/Capital Press Anna Lemus picks d’Anjou pears at McCoy Orchard near Cashmere, Wash., on Sept. 11. The picker short- age appears less acute in the Wenatchee Valley this fall, but most growers say they need more pickers. .S. farmers are increasingly relying on foreign guestworkers to tend and harvest their crops as the number of domestic farmworkers continues to shrink. In Washington state, farmers, or- chardists and others who raise labor-intensive crops this year asked for 18,796 guestworkers — 43 per- cent more than last year and the most ever. The growing number of H-2A-visa foreign guest- workers is evidence of what growers describe as an alarming shortage of workers to handle tree fruit, berries, vegetables, hops, wine grapes and any crops that require lots of workers. “People not using H-2A think they can just raise wages and get more workers. In the past, that worked. It no longer does. There’s just not the workers out there,” said Dan Fazio, executive director of the Olympia-based farm labor association WAFLA. The association recruits the vast majority of H-2A workers hired in the state, mostly for tree fruit growers. Turn to LABOR, Page 12 H-2A visas issued for Northwest, California 28,548: Up 198% from 2012 (Workers certified by U.S. Dept. of Labor) 23,366 Oregon Idaho 17,386 California Washington 12,161 Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor 9,576 Dan Wheat and Alan Kenaga/ Capital Press State 2012 ’13 ’14 ’15 2016 Washington California Idaho Oregon 4,443 2,862 1,980 291 6,349 4,199 1,539 74 9,064 6,043 2,080 199 11,844 8,591 2,356 575 13,689 11,106 2,994 759 Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument s future remains cloudy Leaked report from Trump administration is ambiguous about details By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The future of Oregon’s Cas- cade-Siskiyou National Monument remains cloudy despite the details revealed in a recent leaked report from the Trump administration. The memorandum to President Donald Trump from Interior Secre- tary Ryan Zinke includes recommen- dations for 10 national monuments, including the Cascade-Siskiyou, which was nearly doubled in size by the Obama administration early this year. Originally, the monument consist- ed of 53,000 acres, with private prop- erty purchases incrementally adding 13,000 acres over the years. In 2017, the monument expanded onto nearly 48,000 acres of public land. While Zinke says the monu- ment’s boundary “should be re- vised” to remove so-called “O&C Lands” that are dedicated to timber production and “to reduce impacts on private lands,” the report doesn’t state exactly how many acres should be cut, or where. Critics and supporters of the ex- pansion agree it’s unclear what ac- tion Trump may take on the recom- mendations, given the disputes over management of 0&C Lands. The federal government initially granted those 2.4 million acres to a railroad connecting Oregon and California, but then repossessed the property in 1937 when grant condi- tions were breached. The Oregon & California Revest- ed Lands Act required that the prop- erty be permanently managed for a “sustained yield” of timber harvest. For this reason, critics of the expan- sion say O&C Lands can’t be includ- ed in the monument, where commer- cial logging is prohibited. Turn to MONUMENT, Page 12 Drought spreads across three-quarters of Washington, half of Oregon By DON JENKINS Capital Press Drought conditions are spread- ing rapidly across Washington and Oregon, federal offi cials reported Sept. 14, though cooler and wetter weather is expected to settle over the Northwest during the last half of September. A moderate drought prevails over 77 percent of Washington, ac- cording to the U.S. Drought Moni- 1426 Front St. Fort Benton, MT 59442 406-622-3803 www.fbrealty.com tor, while the northern 43 percent of Oregon has fallen into a moderate drought. “This is a snapshot of what’s happening,” Washington State As- sistant Climatologist Karin Bumba- co said. “If the forecast of precip- itation does happen, I imagine the drought monitor won’t get worse, but it will take some time to pull out of the precipitation defi cit.” Drought conditions have ap- peared at the end of a hot and dry summer in the Pacifi c Northwest. Two weeks ago, less than 2 percent of Washington was in a drought, while no part of Oregon was in a drought. The southern half of Ore- gon remains untouched by drought. Portions of Central Washington also are not in drought. “That area is above-normal (precipitation) as opposed to the rest of the state,” Bumbaco said. Turn to DROUGHT, Page 12 MONTANA FARM 9,200 ACRES: located in central MT, N of Lewistown. Includes 7,150 acres of dry cropland, two homes & two sets of farm buildings with feedlot set-up. Local cropping practices include Winter & Spring Wheat, Barley and Pulse Crops. Irrigation rights & development are possible. There’s Elk, Deer, Antelope & bird Hunting & fishing in this area. Farm is priced at $1,825 per acre. Call Mark Pyrak, Broker 406-788-9280 or go to www.fbrealty.com Don Jenkins/Capital Press Corn grows in dry ground in southwest Washington. A moderate drought now covers 77 percent of the state, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported Sept. 14. TWO BLAINE COUNTY FARMS/RANCHES • 1,360 ACRES (+/-) TOTAL • WEST & EAST OF HARLEM , MT THE EAST UNIT- APPROX. 860 ACRES 3 MILES EAST OF HARLEM: Includes approx. 93 acres pivot sprinkler, 160 acres gated-pipe flood irrigation, 213 acres flood irrigated (147-acre pivot sprinkler possible), and 394 acres pasture. $1,170,000. THE WEST UNIT (HOMEPLACE) - APPROX. 499 ACRES 7 MILES WEST OF HARLEM: Includes approx. 250 acres under pivot – 2 sprinklers, 130 ac. flood irrigation, 115 acres grass/pasture along the Milk River, with home & shop & barn/corrals. $1,080,000. For details, call Fort Benton Realty LLP/ Mark Pyrak,Broker 406-788-9280 or Shane Ophus, Broker 406-788-6662 38-1/102