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