May 25, 2018
CapitalPress.com
Ag could be big winner
in U.S.-China trade thaw
Foodmakers argue Washington’s
$18 million fine unconstitutional
First and Eighth
amendments
at issue,
organization says
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The packaged food and
drink industry planned to
try to persuade a Washing-
ton state appeals court this
week that exercising its First
Amendment rights required
withholding the names of the
companies that spent $11 mil-
lion to defeat a 2013 initiative
that would have required la-
bels on food with genetically
modified ingredients.
The Grocery Manufactur-
ers Association argues that
funneling the contributions
through the trade association
shielded companies from boy-
cotts and even death threats,
like the ones their members
suffered for opposing a simi-
lar GMO proposition in Cali-
fornia the year before.
“As applied to GMA, the
(disclosure law in Wash-
ington) strikes at the First
Amendment’s most important
protection: the right to advo-
cate controversial political
views,” foodmakers argue in
a brief to the Court of Appeals
in Tacoma.
Capital Press File
The Washington Court of Appeals was to hear oral arguments
May 24 on whether the Grocery Manufacturers Association broke
the law by not reporting the names of companies that spent $11
million to defeat a 2013 GMO-labeling measure.
GMA is appealing a re-
cord-breaking $18 million
fine handed down in 2016
by Thurston County Superi-
or Court Judge Anne Hirsch.
Hirsch ruled that GMA inten-
tionally broke the law by be-
latedly naming the companies
that contributed to the “No on
Initiative 522” campaign.
The penalty is by far the
largest ever levied in the U.S.
for not reporting political ac-
tivities. The next-biggest fine,
$3.8 million, was levied by
the Federal Elections Com-
mission in 2008 against the
Federal Home Loan Mort-
gage Corp.
Hirsch also awarded the
attorney general’s office more
than $1 million, bringing the
total judgment against GMA
to more than $19 million.
GMA also argues the pen-
alty is unconstitutionally ex-
cessive, violating the Eighth
Amendment. GMA claims
it believed it was complying
with Washington law and that
voters were not misled about
the source of the money.
GMA, under fire from
state regulators, named the
companies shortly before the
election. Leading contributors
included companies such as
PepsiCo, Nestle USA, Co-
ca-Cola, General Mills and
ConAgra Foods. I-522 was
defeated with 51 percent of
the vote.
Hirsch embraced the
Washington attorney gener-
al’s claim that sophisticated
GMA executives schemed to
13
Capital Press
distance brand-name com-
panies from another bruising
campaign over labeling prod-
ucts with ingredients derived
from genetically modified or-
ganisms.
Duke University professor
Michael Munger and Uni-
versity of Missouri professor
Jeffrey Milyo, a senior fellow
at the Cato Institute, filed a
brief supporting GMA’s First
Amendment argument.
“Members of associations
have a core right under the
First Amendment to engage
in political speech without
disclosing their identity in a
way that will subject them to
potential threats, retaliation
and boycotts,” wrote the pro-
fessors, both economists.
The state argues that GMA
wasn’t punished for speaking
up, but for concealing who
was funding it.
The three-judge appeals
court, convening outside its
normal venue, was to hear
oral arguments in a 30-min-
ute hearing May 24 at Rogers
High School in Puyallup.
In a similar case, the an-
ti-GMO organization Food
Democracy Now has ap-
pealed a $319,281 fine for
failing to name donors who
contributed to the “yes” on
I-522 campaign.
The appeals court will hear
oral arguments in that case
June 25 in Tacoma.
The agriculture and en-
ergy sectors stand to benefit
substantially as the U.S. and
China walk back from a po-
tential trade dispute, Idaho
Farm Bureau officials say.
“We applaud both na-
tions for choosing talks over
tariffs,” state Farm Bureau
Federation President Bryan
Searle, a farmer from Shel-
ley, said in a release.
“That was certainly a re-
lief to get some good news on
China,” said Genesee-based
farmer Joe Anderson. “That
was great news.” Previously,
he was very concerned about
the possible impacts pro-
posed tariffs could have on
U.S. agriculture.
Michael
Williamson,
manager of Williamson
Orchards and Vineyards
in Caldwell, had been con-
cerned about the impacts the
tariffs could have on the U.S.
fruit and wine industries.
“That was great news,” he
said. “Hopefully, now things
can continue as normal.”
The nations in March and
April announced hundreds of
billions of dollars in tariffs
on each other, and China’s
proposed tariffs had largely
targeted the U.S. agricultural
sector. China earlier this year
announced it would impose
tariffs of 15 to 25 percent on
a long list of U.S. farm prod-
ucts including wheat, corn,
beef, fruit and wine — prod-
ucts Idaho produces in abun-
dance, the Farm Bureau said.
But in a joint statement
issued May 19 by the White
House, the U.S. and China
announced a framework that
could reduce the $375 billion
U.S. trade deficit with China.
The statement said, “the
United States and China en-
gaged in constructive con-
sultations regarding trade in
Washington, D.C.,” on May
17-18. A consensus was
reached to take “measures
to substantially reduce the
United States’ trade deficit in
goods with China. To meet
the growing consumption
needs of the Chinese people
and the need for high-quality
economic development, Chi-
na will significantly increase
purchases of United States
goods and services.”
Both nations “agreed
on meaningful increases in
United States agriculture and
energy products. The United
States will send a team to
China to work out the de-
tails.”
The Farm Bureau also
referenced U.S. Treasury
Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s
comments to Fox News May
20 saying the nations are
stepping back from a possi-
ble trade dispute and that the
U.S. expects to see a 35 to
45 percent increase in agri-
cultural exports to China this
year alone.
Judge refuses to block Idaho salvage logging
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Oregon rancher, county intervene in grazing challenge
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Area in
detail
3
Wash.
Ore.
ORE.
o
A federal judge is allowing
an Oregon rancher and coun-
ty government to intervene as
defendants in an environmen-
talist lawsuit against grazing
in the Wallowa-Whitman Na-
tional Forest.
The complaint was filed
earlier this year by the Great-
er Hells Canyon Council en-
vironmental nonprofit, which
claimed the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice insufficiently studied
the impacts of grazing on the
Spalding’s catchfly, a threat-
ened plant.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Pa-
tricia Sullivan has ruled the
Forest Service may not ade-
quately represent the concerns
of McClaran Ranch, which
grazes cattle in the forest, or
Wallowa County, which relies
on agriculture for its tax base
and economy.
The ranch and the coun-
ty have distinct interests that
may be impaired by the law-
suit and thus are entitled to
intervene in the litigation,
Sullivan said.
According to the com-
Idah
The Idaho Barley Commis-
sion will have a new admin-
istrator for the first time in 24
years.
Kelly Olson plans to re-
tire as administrator Aug. 3.
The new administrator, Laura
Wilder, is slated to arrive June
11. They will work together
until Olson retires.
Wilder will join the Idaho
Barley Commission following
a decade as executive director
of the Idaho FFA Foundation.
Before that, she worked eight
years at the Idaho Beef Council
as special projects coordinator
and then executive director.
“It will be great to have that
time with her to learn as much
as I can from her, and to have
her introduce me to industry
representatives and growers,
said Wilder, 57.
She said Olson developed
strong programs that leave
barley growers and the com-
mission in a good position
to keep Idaho’s recently na-
tion-leading barley industry on
a growth path.
Commissioner Pat Purdy,
a grower near Picabo, Idaho,
will complete the second of
two allowed three-year terms
June 30. In recent years, com-
mission achievements have in-
cluded funding an endowment
to create the state’s first uni-
versity-level research position
dedicated to barley, and con-
tinuing to partner with univer-
sity research, he said. The Ida-
ho barley industry increased
Asia exports and now sees
more domestic use of barley as
a food source as marketing in
that segment continues.
“The commission is in a
strong position, with a strong
group of growers, a strong re-
search team and support from
industry,” Purdy said.
Olson came to the Idaho
Barley Commission as its sec-
ond administrator in 1994 after
seven years at the Idaho State
Department of Agriculture,
where she started the depart-
ment’s marketing program.
She received a Governor’s
Award for Excellence in Agri-
culture early this year.
“We are on track to do great
things. We are the largest bar-
ley producer in the U.S., and
I don’t see that changing in
the foreseeable future,” Olson
said.
Idaho has three large
malt-processing plants and a
large contracting program to
ship barley out-of-state for
malt processing.
While malting and brewing
remain strong, “we see a great
opportunity to build demand
for high-value food barley,
and we are launching a new
initiative with industry,” Olson
said. “I see great opportunities
in our region to build demand
and increase production of
high-value food barley.”
Purdy said Olson has been
doing “an outstanding job
helping to lead and grow the
industry.” As for Wilder, “I
think she’s going to take the
reins right up and do a great
job,” he said.
Wilder, fifth-generation
owner of her family’s ranch
northeast of Caldwell, lives
on a 12-acre sheep farm in
west Meridian with her hus-
band, Steve, a high school
agriculture teacher. They
have two grown children.
As Idaho Barley Commis-
sion administrator, she plans
to focus on communications
and on continuing to grow
the barley industry in Idaho.
“I will work on behalf of
every barley grower in the
state to utilize their check-
off funds in the best way
possible to enhance grower
profitability and add value to
the various barley sectors,”
Wilder said.
Idaho’s 4,000-plus barley
growers pay a 3-cent-per-
bushel checkoff at the first
point of sale. The checkoff
is designed to enhance grow-
ers’ profitability through re-
search, market development
and promotion, and informa-
tion and education programs.
Ida
h
Or o
e
HELLS .
CANYON
NATIONAL
RECREATION
AREA
WALLOWA
3
McClaran
Ranch
head-
quarters
h a River
Sna
ke
Riv
er
Capital Press
Joseph
Wallowa
Lake
WALLOWA-
WHITMAN
NAT’L
FOR.
na
By BRAD CARLSON
Im
Idaho Barley Commission
to get new administrator
EAGLE CAP
WILDERNESS
Oxbow
Dam
BAKER
Halfway
86
Ore
.
Idah
o
Brad Carlson/Capital Press
Laura Wilder at her Meridian sheep farm. She will be the Idaho
Barley Commission’s third administrator.
Environmentalists have
failed to persuade a federal
judge to block the salvage
logging of hazard trees burned
during a 2016 wildfire in Ida-
ho’s Boise National Forest.
Over four months, the
Pioneer Fire burned about
190,000 acres in the forest,
including areas frequently
visited by tourists. The federal
government decided to har-
vest about 70 million board-
feet of dead and hazard trees
from less than 8 percent of the
burned area.
Three
environmental
groups — Wildlands Defense,
USFS
Alliance for the Wild Rockies
and the Native Ecosystems A judge has allowed salvage logging to continue following the 2016 Pioneer Fire in the Boise Nation-
Council — filed a lawsuit op- al Forest.
posing the plan last year.
The complaint argued the
Timber harvest began in ter temperature, kills food to 240 feet were based on
U.S. Forest Service didn’t the two areas under an “emer- sources and destroys habi- sound data and models, not-
properly consider the effects gency situation determination” tat, among other things,” the ing that the Forest Service
of salvage logging on the bull by the Forest Service, which judge said. “These impacts took “extra steps” to ensure
trout, a threatened fish species, found that logging shouldn’t are magnified because the accuracy.
For example, the agency
in violation of several federal be delayed because burned creeks are already function-
trees were a hazard to the pub- ing at risk, meaning that compared its models with ac-
environmental laws.
Chief U.S. District Judge lic and deterioration would they cannot absorb much tual erosion after a previous
Lynn Winmill has now reject- reduce their value by $1 mil- sediment and still offer pro- fire and determined that sed-
tective habitat for the bull iments moved roughly 30 to
ed the plaintiffs’ motion for a lion.
70 percent less than project-
Because the wildfire af- trout.”
preliminary injunction halting
The environmental plain- ed, the judge said.
the two salvage logging proj- fected steep slopes with soils
ects, which affect the Payette prone to erosion, the agen- tiffs objected to the Forest
“Under these circum-
River and Boise River water- cy established buffer zones Service’s erosion models, stances, the court cannot find
sheds.
around waterways where arguing that sediment would that the plaintiffs have raised
Roughly half of the 14 logging and road-building move farther than the agency serious questions on their
timber sales involved in the would be restricted.
claims regarding threats to
expected.
projects have already been
“Sediment is deadly for
However, Winmill has the bull trout from sediment
completed.
bull trout. It increases wa- ruled the buffers of 120 feet movement,” he said.
Hells
Canyon
Dam
N
10 miles
Capital Press graphic
plaint, livestock trample the
Spalding’s catchfly and con-
sume its flowers and seeds,
thereby hindering reproduc-
tion of the perennial plant,
which has been protected un-
der the Endangered Species
Act since 2001.
Cattle also introduce and
spread invasive weed species
that compete with the Spald-
ing’s catchfly, whose popula-
tions are particularly at risk of
displacement due to their ten-
dency to “clump,” the plaintiff
argues.
The environmental group
alleges the Forest Service vi-
olated the National Environ-
mental Policy Act by failing
to study eliminating grazing
from areas where the Spald-
ing’s catchfly is vulnerable to
grazing, among other claims.
The Forest Service has
filed an answer to the lawsuit
denying violations of NEPA
and other federal statutes and
arguing the complaint should
be dismissed partly because
the nonprofit failed to raise its
objections during administra-
tive proceedings.
In his request to intervene,
rancher Scott McClaran said
his family has raised livestock
in the region for nearly 100
years and has developed strat-
egies with the Forest Service
to minimize negative effects
on the Spalding’s catchfly and
other native resources.
The ranch depends on graz-
ing within the four allotments
of the 44,000-acre “Lower
Imnaha Rangeland Analysis”
project area that’s at the center
of the lawsuit.
“A decision that limits, re-
stricts or prohibits livestock
grazing on some or all of these
allotments would hinder the
environmental benefits from
the rotational grazing among
pastures on the ranch and allot-
ments,” he said. “It would also
negatively impact the econom-
ic viability of McClaran Ranch
and threaten the ability of the
McClaran family to maintain
the ranching lifestyle that has
been central to my family for
generations.”
The lawsuit could set a le-
gal precedent affecting graz-
ing in other areas where the
Spalding’s catchfly grows,
which could seriously impair
Wallowa County’s economy,
according to a declaration
from Todd Nash, a rancher and
county commissioner.
“Such an economic impact
would affect the county’s abil-
ity to maintain the quality of
the services the county must
provide to ensure the health,
safety, and welfare of its resi-
dents,” he said.