Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2017)
10 CapitalPress.com November 10, 2017 Oregon Third gray wolf killed KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — Another gray wolf has been found dead in Ore- gon, marking the third such death of a federally protected wolf in the past year, state and federal wildlife officials said. The wolf was found dead Oct. 29 in Klamath County on state forest land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information on the killing, au- thorities said Monday. The wolf was known to bi- ologists as OR-25 and was be- lieved to have killed a calf at a private ranch near Prospect earlier this year, according to state wildlife officials. OR-33, a collared male, was found shot dead April 23 about 20 miles northwest of Klamath Falls in Fre- mont-Winema National For- est. OR-28, a collared female, was found dead Oct. 6, 2016, in Fremont-Winema National Forest near Summer Lake. All three investigations re- main open, and authorities do not think the latest wolf died of natural causes, said Oregon De- partment of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Brent Lawrence. New hop cultivar emerges from public-private partnership Arrangement between Indie Hops and OSU was initially controversial By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife OR-25, a yearling male in the Imnaha Pack, after being radio-col- lared on May 20, 2014. The wolf was found dead Oct. 29 in Klamath County, Ore. Killing gray wolves in the western two-thirds of Oregon is a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act and of Oregon state game laws. The offense is punishable by up to a $100,000 fine, a year in jail or both. The maxi- mum state penalty is a fine of $6,250 and a year in jail. Wolves in Oregon hunt deer, elk, bighorn sheep and goats. But they also can target livestock and are loathed by many livestock owners. State wildlife officials say 141 livestock or domestic animals have been killed by wolves in Oregon since they began returning to the state in the late 1990s. In 2016, wildlife officials estimated a minimum of 112 wolves lived in Oregon in 11 packs that included eight breeding pairs. Last week, an elk hunter shot and killed a gray wolf in eastern Oregon after he said the wolf charged at him while he was hunting alone and he mistook it for a coyote. Food storage facility fined EO Media Group The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has fined a Hermiston company $29,534 for operating a fruit and vegetable storage facility without the necessary water pollution control permit. Carter & Wyatt Holdings LLC was issued the fine in September, and has requested a meeting with DEQ to possibly appeal the violation. The business, at 78227 Highway 207, takes fruit and vegetable byproducts and sells them to markets such as ani- mal feed for dairies and feed- lots across the country. Luke Dynes, who owns the plant, said it keeps around 1.6 million tons of food out of landfills ev- ery year. DEQ, however, claims the facility needs to have a water pollution control permit since the material is high in nitrogen and may pose a risk to ground- water quality — especially within the Lower Umatilla Ba- sin Groundwater Management Area. In addition to the fine, DEQ ordered the plant to stop receiv- ing vegetables and dispose of all materials from the site within 30 days. Carson Bowler, a Portland attorney representing Carter & Wyatt Holdings, said they are in discussions with DEQ on a res- olution, but did not offer details. The incident that led to the citation occurred May 26, when a tanker truck discharged vegetable slurry about 3 feet deep into an unlined pit in the ground at the facility, according to DEQ. The same day, DEQ reported there were liquids pooled and flowing across the ground at the facility. Bowler described what hap- pened May 26 as a “one-time event” and an “anomaly.” Dynes, who is a member of Carter & Wyatt Holdings, said the plant opened in 2013, pro- viding value-added products while also helping to protect the environment. As a Hermiston native and local business own- er, he said the company strives to be responsible and involved in the community. “This is our home,” he said. “This is where we sup- port everybody.” A public-private partner- ship between the Indie Hops company and Oregon State University has yielded its first new hop cultivar after roughly seven years of re- search. The variety, dubbed “Strata,” combines the sought-after citrus aroma with the “dank” smell often associated with cannabis, said Jim Solberg, CEO of In- die Hops. “We’re pretty confident the hop will catch on and be a strong new variety,” he said. Breeder Shaun Townsend collected the seed that would become Strata in the winter of 2010, when Indie Hops began contracting with OSU to develop new cultivars for craft brewers. A field of female Perle hops had been open-polli- nated by multiple male vari- eties from a nearby research yard, producing seed that germinated into roughly 10,000 plants with a wide range of characteristics. At the time, the relation- ship between OSU and In- die Hops was controversial in Oregon’s hop farming community because a pub- lic facility would be used to develop controlled private varieties that aren’t widely available to growers. Farmers had built trellis- es and other infrastructure at OSU that would no longer be used for public research, said Michelle Palacios, ad- ministrator of the Oregon Hop Commission. “There was a lot of heart- burn over that,” she said. Since then, though, Or- egon hop farmers have mended their relationship with OSU, which continues to cooperate with the indus- try on plant pathology and fermentation science, Pala- cios said. “I think the industry has accepted it as it is,” she said of OSU’s public-pri- vate partnership with Indie Hops. Disputes over public-pri- vate partnerships aren’t unique to the hop industry, said Ann George, executive director of the Hop Growers of America. The “strings attached” to private money granted to public universities is a com- mon point of debate, she Indie Hops The new Strata hop variety was developed through a partner- ship between Indie Hops and Oregon State University. “Most growers will agree they’re growing double the number of varieties than they used to.” Ann George Hop Growers of America executive firector said. “There’s always going to be that difficulty, when you have public research institutions that are not en- tirely funded publicly.” Strata was one of rough- ly 10,000 seedlings that were exposed to mildews and other diseases in an OSU greenhouse, with the aim of weeding out plants susceptible to pathogens. Those that survived were planted out to an experi- mental yard at OSU where they weren’t treated with fungicides and generally were not fussed over, as they would be at a commer- cial farm. The goal was to iden- tify naturally disease-re- sistant plants that would thrive without much en- couragement, said Solberg. “They’re pretty hard on the plants at the experimental yard.” As the plants were be- ing evaluated for their ag- ronomic traits, their cones were analyzed for chemistry and brewing potential on a small scale. Hops that showed prom- ise in the field and at the brewery were then moved to an advanced nursery trial in which their vegetative- ly propagated descendants were grown in about 30 dif- ferent locations. Strata was seen as hav- ing potential to stand out in the market, leading to fur- ther study in a commercial pilot where it was planted to five acres at several farms. Strata’s vigorous growth, strong root system and de- cent early yields convinced Indie Hops to plant it com- mercially on three farms totaling 95 acres this year, with the first commercial crop to be harvested in 2018. The cultivar had to be unique enough to warrant a commercial release at a time when growers have more varieties to chose from than a decade ago, said Solberg. Strata also came of age during a tough hop market, he said. “It’s definitely a market that’s oversupplied with hops.” The new variety is now one of 84 on the official Hop Growers of America list of cultivars, said Ann George, the group’s execu- tive director. The list isn’t comprehensive, since some likely future varieties have yet to be added to it while some older varieties have fallen out of favor, she said. More hop cultivars are now available to growers, but farms are also cultivat- ing a greater diversity of them, George said. A typical grower now produces 12 or more varieties, up from the traditional six to eight. “Most growers will agree they’re growing double the number of varieties than they used to,” she said. WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! BAGS: • Seed Bags • Fertilizer Bags • Feed Bags • Potato Bags • Printed Bags • Plain Bags • Bulk Bags • Totes • Woven Polypropylene • Bopp • Polyethylene • Pocket Bags • Roll Stock & More! 45-3/100 By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press HAY PRESS SUPPORT: • Hay Sleeves • Strap • Totes • Printed or Plain • Stretch Film (ALL GAUGES) WAREHOUSE PACKAGING: • Stretch Film • Pallet Sheets • Pallet Covers LOCATIONS: Albany, Oregon (MAIN OFFICE) Ellensburg, Washington CONTACT INFORMATION: Phone: 855-928-3856 Fax: 541-497-6262 info@westernpackaging.com ....................................................... CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY! w w w. w e s t e r n p a c k a g i n g. c o m 45-3/100
