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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2018)
Capital Press A g ON A MISSION The West’s FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 Weekly VOLUME 91, NUMBER 3 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 U.S. agricultural trade, FY2017 200 Imports, exports by fiscal year 150 $140.5 billion: Up 8.4% from 2016 152.3 140 (Billions of dollars) Exports Imports 117 100 Farmers advocate free trade $119.1 billion: Up 5.4% from 2016 49.1 50 Ag groups line up grassroots support for foreign trade 37.3 * Estimate Source: USDA ERS 0 2000 By CAROL RYAN DUMAS ’05 ’10 ’15 2017 ’18* Top markets for U.S. agricultural exports 1 China: $22 billion EU: $11.6 billion 5 4 Japan: Capital Press leets of trucks, lines of railcars and bustling ports send U.S. agricultural products to far- flung foreign markets each day. Last year alone, those exports ex- ceeded $140 billion with a trade sur- plus of more than $21 billion. They also supported more than 1 million jobs to deliver those products around the world and generated $178.8 billion for the U.S. economy. But a growing sen- Max Baucus timent of protectionism in the U.S. is threaten- ing the future of agri- cultural exports and the health of rural commu- nities, according to a group that is mobilizing to combat those threats. Farmers for Free Trade Dick Lugar is on a mission to re- build grassroots support for trade. Launched last summer, Farmers for Free Trade is chaired by former U.S. Sens. Max Baucus, a Montana Demo- crat, and Richard Lugar, an Indiana Re- publican. Both are strong proponents of free trade who say they are concerned by the loss of the country’s long-held pro-trade consensus. “We need to rebuild consensus on agriculture trade. It must be one that incorporates the position of American Turn to TRADE, Page 12 F $11.8 billion 2 Canada: 3 Mexico: $20.4 billion 6 S. Korea: $6.9 billion $18.6 billion Source: USDA FAS Top exports (Billions of dollars) $24 billion Soybeans Corn 9.7 Tree nuts 8.1 7.1 Beef Pork 6.4 Wheat 6.2 Prepared food 6 5.9 Cotton Dairy Fresh fruit 5.3 4.7 Fast facts • Exports supported more than 1.1 million jobs — 8,000 jobs for every $1 billion exported. • Exports generated an additional $178.8 billion in economic activity. • Every $1 of exports generates an additional $1.273 in economic activity. Source: USDA FAS Photo by Mateusz Perkowski, research by Carol Ryan Dumas, illustration by Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Two more calves killed by wolves in SW Oregon Rogue pack responsible for three attacks in two weeks By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Federal wildlife officials are working to protect cattle at a southwest Oregon ranch after wolves from the near- by Rogue pack killed three calves in eight days in the same fenced pasture. The attacks are also re- newing calls from the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association to change how wolves are man- aged on the west side of the state, where the animals re- main listed as endangered. All three kills occurred at the Mill-Mar Ranch south of Prospect in Jackson Coun- ty, which lies in the middle of Rogue wolfpack territory. John Stephenson, wildlife biologist and Oregon wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the pack had visited the ranch for years without preying on live- stock. That changed Thursday, Jan. 4, when investigators con- firmed the pack was respon- sible for killing a 500-pound calf. Two more incidents were confirmed Wednesday, Jan. 10, and Thursday, Jan. 11. “It’s something we’re very concerned about,” Stephen- son said. “We can’t just trust anymore that (wolves) are going to come visit and not cause problems. Things have Area in detail 58 La Pine Ore. 138 97 31 CRATER LAKE NAT’L PARK 62 Prospect Rogue Pack range 140 Klamath Falls 66 Yreka 5 Ore. Calif. 97 N 25 miles 139 Capital Press graphic changed in that regard.” In each case, GPS-collar data from OR-54 — a member of the Rogue pack — showed the wolf was nearby when the calves were killed. Biologists collared OR-54 in October 2017 to help track and learn more about the pack. The Rogue pack was es- tablished in 2014, when the famous wandering wolf OR-7 and his mate had their first litter of pups. OR-54, an 80-pound female, is be- lieved to be directly related to OR-7. Stephenson said he believes the pack now has be- tween seven and 12 individu- al wolves, with a territory that covers parts of Jackson Coun- ty and neighboring Klamath County to the east. Rancher Ted Birdseye said he was aware wolves were present in the area when he purchased the Mill-Mar Ranch two years ago. In a re- cent interview with the Cap- ital Press, Birdseye said he was growing concerned about chronic predation. “I hope (wolves) don’t come in once a week over the next few months,” he said. “There’s nothing I can really do about it.” Gray wolves are listed as a federally endangered spe- cies west of highways 395, 78 and 95. East of the highways, wolves were removed from the state endangered species list in 2015, enabling ranchers and wildlife officials to shoot wolves in certain situations to prevent or deter repeated at- tacks on livestock. Last year, the Oregon De- partment of Fish & Wildlife authorized kill orders for members of the Harl Butte pack in Wallowa County, as well as the Meacham pack in Umatilla County. Stephenson, with the USFWS, said lethal control will not be considered for the Rogue pack. “We’re still looking to try an effective deterrent that keeps them out of the pasture,” Stephenson said. “We’re not looking at anything beyond that at this point.” Stephenson said deterrents may include some combina- tion of fladry, electric fencing and increased human pres- ence to haze wolves from the area. In fact, Stephenson had just arrived at the ranch Jan. 10 to help replace fladry when he discovered the second dead calf. After the third calf was killed, Stephenson remained at the ranch in his truck, with a spotlight and shotgun to haze wolves should they return. Turn to WOLF, Page 12 Well bill waits vote by Washington Senate House works on separate proposal By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA — A bill to reopen rural Washington to new wells was moved this week to the Senate floor, an un- precedented but tenuous bipartisan response to the Hirst court decision. Senate Bill 6091 was advanced by the three Dem- ocrats and two Republicans on the Agriculture, Wa- ter and Natural Resources Committee. “This is a necessary bill for the fish- ermen and all the people who want to live and work in rural areas,” said Mo- ses Lake Sen. Judy Warnick, the committee’s lead Repub- licans. The bill responds to the state Supreme Court’s 2016 Hirst ruling. The court’s ma- jority assumed new wells harm fish. The ruling halted or threatens to stop building in rural ar- eas. Senate Republicans have focused attention on the issue by withholding votes for the $4 billion capital budget. House Democrats are working on a separate Hirst bill. “The most newsworthy item right now is that the Hirst negotiators are working long, long hours into the morn- ing looking for a solution,” said Sen- ate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville. Turn to BILL, Page 12