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4 CapitalPress.com September 29, 2017 Northwest drought retreats; seasonal Changes planned weather outlook turns colder, wetter for Oregon ag water Odds now favor quality oversight La Nina winter Funding shifts from projects to planning, additional monitoring By DON JENKINS Capital Press Oregon and Washington’s flash droughts are receding, and La Nina is shaping up in the Pacific Ocean, causing long-range forecasts for the Northwest to turn wetter and cooler, federal climatologists reported Thursday. Some 64 percent of Wash- ington is in a drought, down from 78 percent the week before, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Oregon’s drought retreated to 28 percent of the state, down from 43 per- cent. An abrupt change in weath- er patterns stemmed droughts that had been spreading over both states in Septem- ber. For example, Spokane, which remains in a “moderate drought,” went a record-set- ting 80 days without rain. The streak ended Sept. 17, with nearly an inch of rain falling over three days. Looking ahead, the Nation- al Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Pre- diction Center issued a new seasonal forecast that puts the chances of a La Nina taking shape between November and January at 62 percent, up from 26 percent a month ago. La Nina, a cooling of sea-surface temperatures, tilts the odds toward wetter and colder winters in the northern U.S., and drier and warmer winters in the southern U.S. The odds still favor a warm- By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Don Jenkins/Capital Press Guillermina Hernandez removes loose vines from a cranberry bog harvested Sept. 19 on the Long Beach Peninsula in southwest Washington. The U.S. Drought Monitor on Sept. 21 reported rain had washed away the region’s moderate drought. er than usual fall and early winter in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Northern California, but not as strongly as a month ago, according to the Climate Prediction Center. A large reservoir of unusu- ally cold water on the equator off the coast of South America contributed to the reassess- ment that La Nina conditions likely will emerge. Washington received more snow than usual last winter during a weak La Nina, build- ing up a snowpack that helped farmers get through a summer notable for record heat and dry spells, but not water shortages. Here is a state-by-state look at drought conditions and the October through December forecast: • Oregon: The northern half of Eastern Oregon remains in a “moderate drought.” Storms washed the drought away from northwest Oregon. Odds favor slightly above-average pre- cipitation for the next three months, except in the south- west corner of the state, where precipitation is expected to be normal. Washington: Rain rolled back drought conditions in southwest Washington and part of the Olympic Peninsu- la. Precipitation is forecast to be above-average, except in northwest Washington, where chances are equal for above- or below-average rainfall. • Idaho: Drought conditions were unchanged, with 23 per- cent of the state in moderate or severe drought. Odds favor above-average precipitation throughout Idaho. • California: Drought con- ditions also were unchanged in California, where 8 percent of Southern California is still in moderate drought. Northern California has equal chances for above- or below-average precipitation. Smackout wolfpack nears peaceful milestone Details on lethal removal revealed By DON JENKINS Capital Press LEGAL CHERRY AVENUE STORAGE legal-38-2-1/102 2680 Cherry Ave. NE Salem, OR 97301 (503) 399-7454 AUCTION SAT., OCT. 7 TH • 10 A.M. • Unit AS-19 - Chris Garza • Unit AS-94 - William Patrick Floyd II • Unit 8 - Lisa Pendleton • Unit 45 - Eric Proctor • Unit 146 - Bernabe Romero • Unit 179 - John Codner • Unit 194 - Steve Esses • Unit 222 - Ranae Stroud Cherry Avenue Storage reserves the right to refuse any and all bids Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife investigator examines a wolf-inflicted wound on a calf July 22 on private land in Stevens County. WDFW killed two wolves in the Smackout pack to stop attacks on livestock. for killing wolves, but called for initially taking one or two, rather than several. The de- partment cited research that suggests quicker intervention deters packs, saving cows and wolves in the long run. Under the policy, WDFW also killed one of two known wolves in the Sherman pack in August. The Smackout pack has attacked at least five cattle in northeast Washington dating back to last year. The cattle belonged to three different producers. The department says it may kill more wolves if the pack attacks again. But after the end of this month, three attacks from September 2016 won’t figure in the depart- ment’s decision. The pack will still have two depreda- tions from July on its record. The threshold for lethal re- moval is four depredations in 10 months. Martorello said the pack 39-1/106 has remained in its territory, 350 square miles northeast of Colville in Stevens County. The pack’s territory includes one state and six federal graz- ing allotments, and several private pastures. Cows are expected to stay on grazing allotments until mid-October. “It looks like the Smack- out pack is doing what the Smackout pack does, but to date it has changed behavior and is not depredating on live- stock,” Martorello said. The department’s lethal-re- moval report included previ- ously undisclosed details. Wildlife managers trapped wolves around the pack’s ren- dezvous site, where hunting adults stash pups in mid-sum- mer. The department captured wolves within 1 mile of where the pack attacked cattle, hop- ing to influence survivors to stay away from livestock. WDFW euthanized a 30-pound female pup on July 21 and a 70-pound female adult on July 30. The adult was not the pack’s breeding female, Martorello said. The department prelimi- narily estimated that the le- thal-removal operation cost less than $7,000, a fraction of past six-figure operations that featured helicopters. Mar- torello said the department determined trapping could be effective because the wolves were coming and going from the rendezvous site. He said the department could use helicopters in the future. “When the (WDFW) director authorizes lethal re- moval, we’ll use the approach that gives us the highest chance of achieving the goal,” he said. During the 10-day opera- tion, WDFW employees put in collectively 317 hours to pre- vent more conflicts between cattle and wolves, according to the report. The department and ranchers used range rid- ers, lights and ribbons to deter attacks. The pack had grown large in the spring, 13 to 15 wolves, and large packs are more like- ly to attack livestock, accord- ing to the report. Besides the two wolves killed by WDFW, one adult wolf that was at- tacking cattle was killed June 30 by a range rider. Members needed for Agricultural Heritage Commission EO Media Group The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board is ac- cepting applications to serve on the newly formed Oregon Agricultural Her- itage Commission, estab- lished by the Legislature to provide incentives for farmers to voluntarily adopt practices that preserve both natural resources and agri- culture. The 12-member board will oversee the program and make funding and pol- icy recommendations to OWEB. Applications are due Oct. 25. Members are needed to represent a range of inter- ests, including: • Four members recom- mended by the state Board of Agriculture who are ac- tively engaged in farming LEGAL LEGAL LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 98 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 9/5/17. The sale will be held at 10:00am by PARKING ENFORCEMENT SERVICES 1768 13TH ST SE SALEM, OR 2009 Mercedes GL550 VIN = 4JGBF86EX9A524462 PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 98 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 10/9/17. The sale will be held at 10:00am by PARKING ENFORCEMENT SERVICES 1768 13TH ST SE SALEM, OR 2015 Toyota Corolla VIN = 2T1BURHE6FC338616 Amount due on lien $2,946.00 Reputed owner(s) GEORGE KANG WELLS FARGO DEALER SVCS Amount due on lien $2,989.00 Reputed owner(s) MEGHAN DEHORITY CAPITAL ONE AUTO FIN PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 10/3/2017. The sale will be held at 10:00am by MAIN A.B./LOVEGROVE COLLISION 1230 HOYT ST SE SALEM, OR 2001 VW GTI CP VIN = WVWDC21J01W162799 Amount due on lien $3305.00 Reputed owner(s) Alexandria Demers 39-1/102 If the Smackout wolfpack doesn’t assail another cow or calf before Sept. 30, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will stop holding some of its past at- tacks against it. The pack’s last docu- mented depredation was two months ago, and it’s been nearly that long since wild- life managers trapped and euthanized a pup and adult female. The department hopes the lapse of time indicates the large pack has learned to stay away from cattle. “To date, we’ve seen the desired outcome,” WDFW wolf policy coordinator Don- ny Martorello said. “We think our actions contributed to that.” WDFW set the end date of its post-culling evaluation pe- riod in a report released Sept. 21 on its methods and motives for killing two wolves in July. The department was follow- ing a new lethal-control poli- cy that lowered the threshold Oregon’s farm regulators aim to increase the impact of their agricultural water qual- ity program by shifting how grant money is allocated, among other changes. Ensuring that farmers comply with water quality standards is within the pur- view of the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture, which traditionally focused its atten- tion on waterways subject to complaints. In recent years, ODA has moved beyond the com- plaint-driven process to deter- mine for itself which streams and rivers should be scruti- nized for water quality prob- lems. Based on aerial photos and other data, the agency each year selects several “strate- gic implementation areas,” or SIAs, where waterways are examined more closely. During the 2015-2017 bi- ennium, roughly $1 million from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board was spent on compliance projects in the SIAs, such as plant- ing vegetation near denuded streams or moving manure piles away from waterways. Under the agency’s new “coordinated streamside man- agement partnership,” this funding will be dedicated to planning rather than on-the- ground work. In the 2017-2019 bienni- um, another $1.2 million in OWEB money will be avail- able, but now the funds will be directed toward technical assistance for local soil and water conservation districts and watershed councils. The change is expected to help smaller districts and councils — some of which only have a single employ- ee — with tasks such as grant-writing and paying for engineering plans, said John Byers, manager of ODA’s agricultural water quality pro- gram. Aside from rectifying spe- cific problems so landowners comply with water quality standards, the program will also identify additional mea- 39-1/102 sures to “uplift” water quality, Byers said. Paying for the projects themselves will require sep- arate OWEB grants, he said. “We feel they’re going to be as competitive or more competi- tive because of that uplift.” Once it annually chooses six “strategic implementation areas,” ODA will consult with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife about the best methods for improving water quality. “Let’s make sure we’re looking at this from a coor- dinated perspective,” said Byers. Historically, efforts to im- prove agricultural water qual- ity were akin to “random acts of conservation,” said Lisa Hanson, ODA’s deputy direc- tor. Now, ODA will provide local groups with informa- tion from DEQ and ODFW up front, helping them to un- derstand where projects will be most effective for fish and environmental health, Hanson said. “If we work with these 10 landowners, we can have a big impact,” said Meta Lofts- gaarden, OWEB’s executive director. The agency will also be monitoring aspects of water quality, such as sedimenta- tion and temperature, to see whether its efforts are proving effective. Monitoring has already occurred in some Oregon wa- terways, but systematically analyzing SIAs will provide state agencies will a more expansive perspective, said Loftsgaarden. “We’re able to get a very different story for agriculture than we’ve had in the past,” she said. “It tells a broader, more statewide story.” Rather than focus on indi- vidual landowners, the mon- itoring component will en- compass the larger waterway. “The monitoring is go- ing to be at the watershed scale and it’s going to be in- stream,” she said. While ODA ultimately has the authority to issue civil penalties to landowners, so far it hasn’t been necessary under the SIA approach, Byers said. Landowners have been responsive to warning letters informing them that water quality problems need to be fixed, he said. legal-38-2-1/102 or ranching. • One member recom- mended by the director of the Oregon State University Extension Service. • Two members recom- mended by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission with expertise on fish and wildlife habitat. • One member recom- mended by the Board of Ag- riculture with expertise in agricultural water quality. • One member recom- mended by the Land Con- servation and Development Commission with expertise in conservation easements and land transfers. • One member selected by OWEB representing nat- ural resource interests. • One member selected by OWEB representing trib- al interests. • One non-voting mem- ber, who is also a member of OWEB. Terms will initially vary in length in order to stagger membership, after which commissioners will serve four-year terms. Commis- sioners cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. For more information or to obtain an application, contact Nellie McAdams at 503-986-0061 or email nel- lie.mcadams@oregon.gov.
