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April 20, 2018 CapitalPress.com Conservation district to Hangman Creek farmers: Tell your story 9 Newhouse seeks new grizzly comment period By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press By DAN WHEAT Capital Press Walt Edelen find a solution to a problem, he said. “We’ve been successful in some cases, semi-success- ful in some cases and there have been times when Ecol- ogy has come back and said, ‘That’s not working, we want more,’” Edelen said. The district has several voluntary programs available to growers, including Farmed Smart, available to dryland farmers through the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Asso- ciation. Ecology offers a “let- ter of safe harbor” to growers who meet the criteria of the program. A similar Farmed Smart program for irrigated farms is in the works, and eventu- ally a livestock program is possible, said Ty Meyer, agri- culture manager for the con- servation district. It’s not certain that Ecol- ogy would automatically offer safe harbor for those programs, Meyer said, “but we’re building a pretty robust program that producers have to meet a high standard.” If farmers show an effort to make improvements, Ecol- ogy will likely not issue a fine or penalty, Edelen said. During the meeting, sev- eral farmers expressed their Vicki Carter frustration. Some told of working with the depart- ment to make changes and still receiving warnings, or worrying that Ecology could change its requirements. Several farmers also ques- tioned Edelen’s appearance in a video on the Spokane Riverkeeper website. The video was made by Spokane River Forum, which is not connected to Spokane River- keeper, about various uses of the river. Edelen represented the conservation district on it. In addition to Ecology and the Riverkeeper representa- tives, the video includes fly fishermen and farmers. Even if all farmers are in compliance with Ecology, the creek wouldn’t necessar- ily be as clear as Ecology and the Riverkeeper group desire, due to its natural sediment load, Edelen said. However, the creek has been clearing up earlier each year, he said. Ecology also plans to hold meetings, conservation dis- trict director Vicki Carter said. She and Edelen urged growers to calmly educate the department about their practices, share stories of successful efforts and im- prove the evaluation pro- cess. U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse is asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to reopen a pub- lic comment period on plans to reintroduce grizzly bears in the North Cascades so that “local residents who were ig- nored can be heard.” Newhouse, whose dis- trict encompasses part of the North Cascades, sent a letter to Zinke on April 12 warning of “grave impacts” to North- central Washington residents if grizzlies are brought in and imploring Zinke to “stop ig- noring the local community.” The Washington state Re- publican said his constituents were disrespectfully treated in the previous process and felt their concerns were not taken seriously. At a public forum in Okanogan County, “many residents were not allowed to express their concerns and were treated in an un- acceptable manner by the federal employees conduct- ing the session,” Newhouse wrote. Zinke’s March 23 an- nouncement of support of grizzly bear recovery in the North Cascades “flies in the face” of his stated goals of “restoring trust and being a good neighbor,” Newhouse said. “Just as my constituents have consistently expressed their steadfast opposition to this proposal, I will contin- ue to stand in opposition to Vancouver it of Ge org i 5 WASH. 5A Merritt 1 97C North Cascades Ecosystem 99 5A 5 Princeton 3 7 Chilliwack ra St FAIRFIELD, Wash. — Farmers in the Hangman Creek watershed need to share their success stories with the state Department of Ecology in the face of increased scru- tiny from the agency, Spokane Conservation District staffers say. The creek is being called the most-polluted water body in the state, district water re- sources program manager Walt Edelen said at an April 12 informational meeting. “It raises environmental hackles, gets people upset,” he said. “There has been a per- ception that maybe agriculture doesn’t really care, or they’re not really doing enough. This is what we’re dealing with.” An environmental group, Spokane Riverkeeper, sued the Environmental Protec- tion Agency in 2015, saying that control measures were not reducing pollution in the creek. Under a legal settlement reached in March, the state Department of Ecology will drive through the watershed in the spring and identify at least 10 priority problem sites on livestock or tillage operations. Ecology will first make contact in April or May with a phone call, then a letter, Edelen said. Letters will be sent to landowners. A land- owner could receive multiple contacts if several parcels are identified. A farmer can meet with both Ecology and the conser- vation district in an effort to Area in detail Grizzly bear recovery effort to proceed in North Cascades 3 1 Abbotsford a British Columbia Washington 542 NORTH CASCADES NAT’L PARK Bellingham 5 Victoria 20 Grizzly bear habitat 101 20 530 5 Lake Chelan Everett 97 Chelan 2 N 153 2 Seattle 20 miles 2 90 Tacoma 97 28 Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; National Park Service a plan that threatens the way of life in Northcentral Wash- ington,” Newhouse wrote to Zinke. Grizzlies will negatively impact ranchers, recreation- ists and rural economies and their reintroduction violates state law, he wrote. Newhouse told Capital Press that he doesn’t know why Zinke supports grizzlies in the North Cascades when so many of his other deci- sions have been on the op- posite end of the spectrum. Zinke has said he grew up in Montana where grizzlies are Wenatchee 90 Olympia Alan Kenaga/Capital Press iconic, Newhouse said. North Cascades National Park Superintendent Karen Taylor-Goodrich has said the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will make the final decision on North Cascade grizzlies at year’s end and will not need Zinke’s ap- proval. Newhouse said he be- lieves Zinke has the author- ity to give him what he’s asking for so that people can make their comments and be heard. He said he hopes agencies listen. FFA members grow produce for their school FFA members at the Lind-Ritzville Middle School in Lind, Wash., grow produce for the school lunches as part of the Farm to School class. By Taylor Enns Washington FFA State Secretary LIND, Wash. — Lind-Ritzville’s Middle School FFA Chapter has a program known as “Farm to School” where students have the opportunity to plant, manage, harvest and process all of the produce grown for their school lunches. The project started when a group of sixth-graders expressed their desire to grow produce to sell at a local farmer’s market as a fundraiser. While they are working to get to that point, right now they are focusing on setting a strong foundation for the program. This is the third year that the class has been offered and they are on track to provide quite a bit of produce through the end of this year and into the beginning of next year. Cucumbers, potatoes, radishes, cherry tomatoes, salad greens, and sugar snap peas are some of the most popular menu items to date. They currently grow the produce in a greenhouse and a garden and then process it in the newly remodeled home economics room. School kitchens generally aren’t able to process Farm to School FFA class members grow, process and serve produce at Lind-Ritzville Middle School. fresh produce, and this has been an obstacle for Mrs. Klindworth, the advisor of the program, and her students. To overcome this, they have applied for and received multiple grants that have allowed them to completely remodel the old home economics classroom into a prep room for the produce. This program allows students to not only see their food go from seed to table, but also to learn about soil quality and management, plant disorders, and how to solve them, how to manage gardens, set up irrigation, how to safely harvest, and finally, how to process each produce item. Students also have the opportunity to manage the garden through the summer as part of their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) which is a required component of FFA membership. The local health department also provides training on food safety and the students are able to obtain their Washington state food handlers permit. Overall, this is an incredible opportunity for students to get hands on experience and to begin truly understanding where their food comes from at an early age. 16-3/HOU