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ORCHARDS, NUTS & VINES SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE Capit al P A g ress The Wes t’s Wee kly April Or c h N u t s a r d s, Vine & s 0000 000-O NV17 -4764 8-Agro K - Pa ge 1 - Comp osite FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018 13, 20 18 Capital Press A g The West’s VOLUME 91, NUMBER 15 Weekly WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Don Jenkins/Capital Press Elk grazing on private property east of Sedro-Woolley in Skagit County, Wash., along Highway 20. Valley of frustration Roosevelt elk Of the 22 elk subspecies recognized globally, four are found in North America — the Roosevelt elk being the largest. Elk that inhabit areas west of the Pacific Crest are typically Roosevelt elk or a mixed lineage of Roosevelt/Rocky Mountain elk. Trinomial name: Cervus elaphus roosevelti Height: 3-5 feet at the shoulder Weight: 600-1,100 pounds Average life span: 12-20 years Diet: Grazers during spring and summer, eating meadow grasses, sedges and flowering plants. In fall, they increasingly become browsers eating sprouts and branches of shrubs and trees. Habitat: Productive grasslands, meadows, and clear-cuts, with closed-canopy forest nearby for cover. Elk herd grows into a nuisance, disrupting farming in NW Washington Social structure: Elk are social animals, living in herds most of the year. During the fall rut, dominant bulls will gather and defend breeding harems of 4 to 24 cows. Known for: A superb sense of smell, excellent hearing, and a top running speed of 35 mph. By DON JENKINS Range: Native to North America and eastern Asia. Capital Press S EDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — In the Skagit River Valley rippling through a tiny portion of northwest Washington, farmers and ranchers say they are overrun by elk, the consequence of a continuing effort by wildlife managers to enlarge the North Cascades herd. Efforts to increase the number of elk in northwest Washington go back more than a century. In 1912, Skagit County brought in 46 elk from Yellowstone National Park to increase the herd. Poachers took the elk, according to state Department of Fish and Wildlife records. In the late 1940s, the state released 22 elk from King and Yakima counties. They became the foundation of today’s herd. The most recent importation of elk came between 2003 and 2005, when 98 elk from the Mount St. Helens area in southern Washington were rounded up by the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Indi- an tribes. The animals were herded by helicopter through livestock chutes, loaded on horse trailers and driven north to Skagit County. Sources: Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife; National Park Service Alan Kenaga/ Capital Press Turn to ELK, Page 12 Oregon grants rancher’s request to kill wolves By KATY NESBITT For the Capital Press HALFWAY — Oregon Department of Fish and Wild- life has killed one of a pack of eight wolves preying on live- stock in Baker County. The action was taken under a permit granted to a Baker Coun- ty cattle rancher whose livestock has been repeatedly attacked on private grazing ground. According to an ODFW press release, the agency pro- vided a kill permit to allow the taking of two wolves. Under the terms of this per- mit, the producer can kill up to two wolves on the private property he leases where the depredations occurred, when his livestock is present on the property. The permit expires on May 4. ODFW staff members were also authorized to kill the wolves. On Tuesday, ODFW staff — who were already in the area hazing wolves — shot and killed one uncollared yearling female from the Pine Creek pack on private land where the previous depreda- tions had occurred. The rancher had request- ed that the state kill all eight wolves in the Pine Creek Anti-competition worries persist about Bayer-Monsanto merger Deal cleared by U.S. government requires sell-off of seed assets By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife This May 25, 2014 photo shows OR-26, a 100-pound adult male, after he was fitted with a GPS tracking collar outside La Grande. The state has granted a Baker County rancher’s request to kill wolves involved in livestock attacks. pack, but the state is using what it calls incremental take Turn to WOLVES, Page 12 Selling off assets has ap- parently cleared the way for agribusiness giants Bayer and Monsanto to merge, but the deal still raises anti-com- petitive concerns in agricul- ture. When Bayer agreed to buy Monsanto in a $66 bil- lion transaction a year and a half ago, the combination faced scrutiny from antitrust authorities around the globe. With the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice reportedly agreeing to sign off on the deal recently, the merger has crossed a major do- mestic hurdle shortly after winning approval from Eu- Attention Exhibitors 15-4/HOU Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Concerns about the anti-competitive effects of the Bayer-Mon- santo merger persist despite recent regulatory clearance for the deal. ropean regulators. Permission for the deal was apparently secured be- cause the new colossus will shed several seed lines to BASF as well as a deci- sion-making data platform for farmers. Buying those seed assets will increase the prominence of chemical company BASF without necessarily easing competition-suppressing Sion Up Now effects in the seed indus- try, said Peter Carstensen, a professor specializing in ag- ricultural antitrust law at the University of Wisconsin. Now that BASF has a bigger in-house seed busi- ness, it’s less likely to part- ner with smaller and mid- size seed firms to offer Turn to MERGER, Page 12 FOR THE 2019 Northwest Ag Show 50,000 impressions ON CapitalPress.com — a $150 value.* & RECEIVE Call 800-882-6789 or email events@eomediagroup.com for details *Restrictions Apply