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March 16, 2018 CapitalPress.com 3 Oregon governor declares drought in Klamath County Snowpack lingers at just 45 percent of normal in basin By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday signed a drought declaration for Klamath Coun- ty, directing the state Depart- ment of Agriculture and Water Resources Department to co- ordinate assistance for water users including farmers and ranchers. “We know 2018 is shap- ing up to be a very difficult year for the Klamath Basin, and we’re closely monitor- ing drought conditions here and statewide,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “I am committed to doing every- thing possible to make state resources available to provide immediate relief and assis- tance to water users through- out Klamath County.” Snowpack is just 45 percent of normal so far this winter in the Klamath Basin, according to the USDA Natural Resourc- es Conservation Service. The U.S. Drought Monitor lists most of south-central Oregon in “moderate drought,” and conditions are likely expected to worsen heading into sum- mer. Klamath County commis- sioners declared a drought emergency on Feb. 20 due to low snowpack, low precipi- tation, low stream flows and higher-than-normal tempera- tures. Between threats to ag- riculture, livestock, natural resources and recreation, offi- cials predict conditions could result in economic losses ex- ceeding $557 million and im- pacting 4,500 jobs. The Oregon Drought Read- iness Council then met and rec- ommended the governor sign a state drought declaration to assist the county. Oregon county approves scaled-back rural housing zone By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Area in detail an Douglas Co. approves rezone of 22,500 acres of farmland and forestland. Pacific Oce Oregon’s Douglas County has approved a scaled-back plan to allow more rural hous- ing on land currently zoned for farm and forest uses. The change to the coun- ty’s comprehensive land use plan would allow 20-acre home sites to be carved out from 22,500 acres in mixed farm-forest zones, down from the originally proposed 35,000 acres. It’s unlikely the full 22,500 acres will ever be developed due to limitations on water availability, appropriate septic tank sites and landowner con- sent to sell or divide property, said Keith Cubic, the county’s planning director. The most likely scenario would be 25 percent utiliza- tion of the available acreage, creating 375 new housing par- cels, said Cubic. Even so, Cubic acknowl- edges the county’s experiment with the “rural open space” designation is a test case for Oregon. The county has tried to re- solve concerns raised by Or- egon’s Department of Land Conservation and Develop- ment, which administers the statewide land use planning system, he said. “I don’t know if we got there,” Cubic said. “We’ll find that out.” Douglas County will soon formally submit the “rural open space” plan amendment to DLCD for review, then wait until April 21 before re- zoning any properties under the new designation. If the agency or another party objects to the change before Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals, proposed zone changes will be put on hold until the challenge is re- solved. A remand from LUBA re- quiring modifications to the “rural open space” designa- tion could provide a helpful interpretation of the law and make the plan amendment more successful, Cubic said. In comments submitted on the proposal last year, DLCD worried the county had too narrowly defined agricultural land and set an excessively high productivity standard for livestock and forest land to be protected under the plan. It’s unclear whether the plan considered the environ- mental and wildlife benefits of lower-productivity soils, the agency said. According to DLCD, the county “loosely” concluded that development in rural ar- eas would be economically positive, creating a “discrep- ancy” with studies that found 101 LANE 5 Coos Bay 138 COOS Roseburg 42 62 JACKSON JOSEPHINE 199 Medford N 20 miles Capital Press graphic that added service costs may outweigh any benefits. The plan refers to accom- modating demand for rural housing, which isn’t required under statewide planning goals and may be in “direct conflict” with some of them, the agency said. Due to these and other concerns, DLCD said the pro- posal “is not consistent with state statutes and rules.” Cubic, of Douglas Coun- ty, said the revised plan used additional data overlays to ex- clude higher-quality farm and forestland from acreage avail- able for 20-acre parcels. Eligible “rural open space” parcels must be within two miles of existing cities and unincorporated rural commu- nities. However, three towns were disqualified due to the high proportion of surround- ing farm and forest zones, in- adequate road access, habitat concerns and other issues, he said. The plan change is also expected to increase housing availability within existing “urban growth boundaries” due to people moving from cities to the rural parcels, Cubic said. “It does provide some rural housing opportu- nities.” While the county can ap- prove larger zone changes, most re-designations will oc- cur after requests from indi- vidual landowners, he said. The county didn’t shift all available 22,500 acres into the “rural open space” desig- nation to avoid raising expec- tations in the event the plan is challenged, he said. Aside from DLCD, the conservation group 1,000 Friends of Oregon has also been apprehensive about as- pects of Douglas County’s proposal. Greg Holmes, the group’s food systems program direc- tor, said he doesn’t yet have the basis to comment on the plan because he hasn’t seen the final adopted version. the Interior, also attended Gov. Brown’s meeting with Klamath officials and committed federal assistance to the basin. “As we brace for another record-breaking drought year, collaboration with our federal partners will also be critical as we work toward locally sup- Probe cleared farm in worker’s death By DON JENKINS Capital Press A self-described anti-cap- italist organization has re- vived discredited claims that a Whatcom County, Wash., berry farm caused a Mexican worker’s death last summer. The group is seeking to rally opposition to hiring foreign farmworkers and support for a consumer boycott. Community to Commu- nity Development, based in Bellingham, emailed an “ac- tion alert” Saturday asking supporters to not purchase berries with the Naturipe la- bel. The organization also said it will campaign to stop farms in northwest Washing- ton from employing more for- eign nationals on H-2A visas. The organization restated accusations it made last sum- mer that Sarbanand Farms, owned by California brothers Baldev and Kable Munger, denied Honesto Silva Ibarra of Mexico medical treatment and caused his death. The state Department of Labor and Industries investigated those claims and concluded the farm was not at fault. “For any organization to suggest otherwise is simply false and would seem to be nothing more than a desperate attempt to mislead the pub- lic,” the farm said in a state- ment. Efforts to reach Commu- nity to Community Executive Director Rosalinda Guillen were unsuccessful. Immedi- ately after Ibarra’s death at a Seattle hospital, Guillen in media interviews accused the farm of overworking Ibarra in the heat and smoke from wildfires. Gerald Baron, director of Save Family Farming, an advocacy group with no con- nection to Sarbanand Farms, called the continuing accusa- tion a “vicious lie.” “It’s absolutely not true, Don Jenkins/Capital Press A man holds a sign for Community to Community during an event Feb. 5 in the Capitol Rotunda in Olympia, Wash. The Bellingham, Wash., organization has revived unsubstantiated claims that a farmworker was worked to death and to boycott the farm’s berries. A state investigation cleared the farm in the worker’s death. and she knows it’s not true,” Baron said. Munger Bros. is the larg- est grower of blueberries in North America and one of four berry companies in North and South America that form Naturipe, according to Natu- ripe’s website. Munger said last summer that a farm supervisor called for an ambulance right after learning Ibarra, 28, was sick. Ibarra died four days lat- er on Aug. 6 at Harborview Medical Center. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Ibarra died of natural causes unrelated to his work, according to L&I. A nephew working at the farm said Ibarra was diabetic, ac- cording to the company. L&I investigators, re- sponding at least in part to accusations posted on Facebook, exonerated the farm in Ibarra’s death. A spokesman for the agency said workers were provided water, shade and heat-ill- ness training. The investi- gation did find that work- ers missed one rest break and were served one meal late in late July. The com- pany was fined a total of $149,800 by the state and Whatcom County. The de- partment has not released a copy of its investigation. Community to Commu- nity’s action alert urged sup- porters to contact L&I Direc- tor Joel Sacks and demand he reopen the investigation into Ibarra death’s. Department spokesman Tim Church said Wednesday that the agency met its obligation to complete the probe within six months and did not have authority to reopen it. “We stand by the conclu- sion that we found no viola- tions of safety rules,” he said. Community to Commu- nity has been in previous disputes with Western Wash- ington farms. The organiza- tion was active in boycotting Driscoll’s berries and organiz- ing a union to represent work- ers at Sakuma Brothers Farms in Skagit County. “We are reaching out to you now to again ask you to use your powers as active consumers and activists to right another great wrong,” the action alert stated. According to Community to Community’s website, its goal is to “end settler colo- nialism, capitalism, and pa- triarchy in their external and internalized forms.” The organization told sup- porters in Saturday’s email that it was “launching a cam- Wash. Idaho • Snow water equivalent* 58.6% 107.9% 88.5% 41.6% • Percent area in drought 76.1% 11.7% 44.3% 91.5% 40-60% below 33-40% below 33-40% below 60-70% below 33-40% above 33-40% above 33-40% above 40-50% above Normal/ Below normal Normal/ Above normal Normal/ Above normal Below normal • Avg. temperature, 6-10 day outlook (Percent chance deviation from normal) *Aggregate average percent of median as of March 6. Medians calculated for the period from 1981-2010. 11-3/106 Calif. Ore. Item/description (Monthly deviation from normal) 2561 Pringle Rd. SE Salem, OR paign to block the expansion of the H-2A guest worker pro- gram” in Whatcom and Skagit counties. The group did not specify what it would do be- yond asking consumers to not buy Naturipe products and to contact Sacks and other state leaders. “We will be in touch again soon as we expect this to be a big fight!” the action alert stated. Baron said Community to Community is hurting work- ers who earn more by coming to the U.S. “Everyone needs to know the harm caused by those who cynically claim to be working on behalf of these workers,” he said. About 70 foreign workers with H-2A visas walked off the job in protest after Ibarra was taken away for treatment. The farm fired the workers. Columbia Legal Services has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle al- leging Sarbanand Farms un- derfed and overworked em- ployees, and illegally fired the ones who walked out. The lawsuit does not blame the farm for Ibarra’s death, though the suit does allege that Ibarra’s hospitalization heightened concern over working conditions. Weekly fieldwork report • Soil moisture anomaly 503-588-8313 working to provide more infor- mation in the coming weeks. “We would like nothing more than to be able to provide our Klamath Project contrac- tors with an allocation for the year as soon as possible, and I assure you we are all working hard to get there,” Nettleton said in a statement released by the bureau. “We have been working hard with stakeholders and partner agencies to find a path forward this year despite the dire hydrological condi- tions.” The Klamath Irrigation Dis- trict includes 33,000 acres, with farmers and ranchers growing a variety of crops such as alfalfa hay, potatoes, garlic, onion and mint. Irrigation season usually starts April 15, Cheyne said, but he is not certain exactly how the drought will affect this year’s timing. “We’re hoping for a mir- acle March, but we’re in a pretty deep hole right now,” he said. Berry boycott organizers restate unsupported claim against grower (Percent chance deviation from normal) 15-5/16 x 10 x 2 18-3/4 x 14-3/8 x 3 Call for Pricing and Availability A drought declaration gives the state Water Resources De- partment a few additional tools at its disposal, such as issuing temporary emergency water use permits and temporary wa- ter exchanges. Alan Mikkelsen, deputy commissioner of recla- mation for the Department of • Precipitation, 6-10 day outlook NURSERY TRAYS 877-233-5548 Ask about Free Delivery! Capital Press File Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed a drought declaration for Klamath County. Snowpack remains at just 45 percent of normal so far this winter in the Klamath Basin, according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. ported, long-term solutions,” Brown said. Scott Cheyne, assistant manager of the Klamath Irri- gation District, said the decla- ration is a step in the right di- rection. “Now it’s important for the federal government to follow along the lines and declare a drought that may open up some relief for the farmers here through federal programs,” Cheyne said. The district received ear- ly irrigation information on March 9 from the Bureau of Reclamation, which empha- sized that low snowpack and dry conditions have resulted in low water inflows to Up- per Klamath Lake. The NRCS projects inflow to be about 54 percent of average between March and September. While an irrigation schedule has not yet been set, Jeff Net- tleton, manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Ba- sin Area Office, said they are Sources: USDA, NRCS; NOAA, www.ca.gov/; www.drought.gov/