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4 CapitalPress.com May 25, 2018 Wolves kill calf; rancher rethinks grazing plan Another depredation in NE Washington Known Washington wolf packs NOTE: Polygons represent estimated ranges for known wolf packs with radio-collared animals. Circles represent generic ranges for packs that have no collared wolves. Estimated range 6 10 14 18 15 19 20 3 5 7 11 16 Okanogan 8 12 17 13 9 4 Bellingham 1 N 20 Capital Press 20 miles 2 5 Wolf packs 101 spond to requests for details and confirmation. It’s unclear which wolf- pack attacked the calf, though the herd was close to the Togo pack’s territory in northern Ferry County. Togo 2 97 2 Spokane 2 23 90 Wenatchee 90 WASHINGTON 90 195 C 395 m olu b Yakima River 1. Skagit (Lone wolf) Seattle 2. Lookout 3. Loup Loup 4. Beaver Creek 15. Smackout 5. Strawberry 16. Dirty Shirt 6. Togo 17. Carpenter 7. Nc’icn Ridge 8. Frosty 18. Salmo 9. Whitestone 19. 5 Goodman 10. Wedge Meadows 11. Stranger 20. Tucannon 12. Huckleberry 21. Touchet 13. Five Sisters 22. Grouse Flats 14. Leadpoint 23. Teanaway ia A northeast Washington rancher says he may quit a U.S. Forest Service graz- ing allotment that he’s had since the 1980s after wolves killed one of his calves Sunday in northern Ferry County. Ron Eslick, 71, said the Black Angus calf, a week and a half old, was the first animal he’s lost to wolves, as far as he knows. He said he will look into grazing on private pastures this summer rather than risk losing more livestock on an open range. “It’s been a perfect range,” Eslick said. “I don’t want to give it up, but I’m not going to feed the wolves.” Several sources said the Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that the calf was killed by wolves. The department did not re- 82 S Confirmed range By DON JENKINS (As of Dec. 31, 2017) e nak R ive r Pasco 21 Co l u m bia R i v er 20 22 Source: Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Alan Kenaga/Capital Press was one of four new packs identified by Fish and Wild- life in 2017. It has not been officially blamed for any previous depredations. Eslick has a permit to graze cattle on the Jasper allotment in the Colville Na- tional Forest. Eslick said a neighbor saw the wolf over the calf. The wolf left, leaving the partially eaten carcass. “A lot of the quarters were eaten off,” he said. “If we had come two hours later, it would have been eaten and nobody would have known anything about it.” Eslick said the calf was killed about 600 yards from his brother’s home and was found on federal land just inside the boundary with pri- vate land north of Orient, an unincorporated community that borders Stevens County. Eslick said officials sug- gested he could put flashing lights on the 1,300-acre al- lotment to prevent wolf at- tacks. He said he’s checking on the condition of fences on pastures about 12 miles away. Fish and Wildlife has adopted a policy of releas- ing information about wolf attacks on its own delayed schedule. “I don’t think WDFW has a lot of interest in tell- ing people what’s happening up here,” Cattle Producers of Washington President Scott Nielsen said. “There’s been less information, and it’s getting progressively worse.” Oregon farm seeks $2.5 million for wrong strawberries Lawsuit filed against Norcal Nursery, a California grower By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife variety that Townsend had to plow under and replace with the correct cultivar, the complaint said. “Further, as a result of the low yield, inferior qual- ity and loss of growing cy- cles, Townsend Farms has incurred lost profits that would have resulted from the sale of its strawberries,” according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges that Norcal violated its contract, breached an express war- ranty and acted negligently in shipping the strawber- ries, causing damages of at least $2.5 million. Capital Press was unable to reach a representative of Norcal Nursery as of press time. Washington ranchers increase reward for cow shooters Cattlemen link killings to wolf issue By DON JENKINS Capital Press A reward offered by a cat- tlemen’s group for tips lead- ing to a conviction for shoot- ing cattle in Stevens and Ferry counties has been increased to $15,000. Ranchers say shooting cat- tle is on the upswing. They suspect it’s fallout over the conflicts with wolves. A Western Washington man, who wants to remain LEGAL WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! BAGS: • Seed Bags • Fertilizer Bags • Feed Bags • Potato Bags • Printed Bags • Plain Bags • Bulk Bags • Totes • Woven Polypropylene • Bopp • Polyethylene • Pocket Bags • Roll Stock & More! 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Previously, it was a more rare occurrence, he said. “Through the years we’ve always had some, but not like it’s been the last five years,” Hedrick said. “I’m going to speculate that it’s wolf-related.” Hedrick said a dozen of the ranch’s cattle were shot in one recent year. One was butch- ered for the meat, he said, while the others were not. The cows were common- CHERRY AVENUE STORAGE LOCATIONS: Albany, Oregon (MAIN OFFICE) Ellensburg, Washington CONTACT INFORMATION: Phone: 855-928-3856 Fax: 541-497-6262 info@westernpackaging.com ....................................................... CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY! w w w. w e s t e r n p a c k a g i n g. c o m 21-1/100 2680 Cherry Ave. NE Salem, OR 97301 (503) 399-7454 AUCTION SAT., JUNE 2,2018 • 10 A.M. 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The department has not re- ported cow-shooting incidents in its periodic public reports on what it calls “key wolf ac- tivities.” Cattle Producers of Wash- ington President Scott Niel- sen, a Stevens County ranch- er, said the shooting of cattle has been under-publicized by the department. “We have had cows shot up here, and I can tell you we believe it’s related to the wolf issue,” he said. “I don’t think (Fish and Wildlife) want the story being told about what’s happening out there.” Efforts to reach the depart- ment to comment Tuesday were unsuccessful. According to the Stevens County Cattlemen’s Associ- ation, tipsters can call the as- sociation at (509) 680-3497 or the sheriff’s offices in Ferry or Stevens County. LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 6/1/2018. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON 2885 NATIONAL WAY, WOODBURN, OR 2013 FORRI 31 FT R.T. VIN = 4X4TSCB21DC006525 Amount due on lien $1,495.00 Reputed owner(s) COLUMBIA FORD INC. 20-1/999 Capital Press File An Oregon farm has filed a lawsuit against a Califor- nia nursery alleging that it received the wrong plants. The remains of a calf lie Sept. 6, 2016, on a U.S. Forest Service grazing allotment in Ferry County, Wash. Investigators concluded the calf was shot to death before scavengers got to the carcass. The Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association is offering a $15,000 reward for tips leading to a conviction for shooting cattle in Stevens and Ferry counties. legal-20-2-3/999 An Oregon farm claims to have suffered $2.5 mil- lion in damages from plant- ing an incorrect variety of strawberries sold by a nurs- ery in California. Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore., has filed a federal complaint accus- ing Norcal Nursery of Red Bluff, Calif., of delivering nearly 1.6 million straw- berry plants with “poor yield and inferior berry quality.” The Oregon farm claims it ordered the Tillamook variety of strawberries and accepted six shipments of plants from the California nursery in 2016 and 2017, for which it paid about $167,000. Whereas the Tillamook cultivar is “ideally suited” to Oregon’s climate and produces “high yields of large, well-shaped, richly colored excellent flavored berries,” the plants from Norcal were “inconsistent” with these attributes, the complaint said. Genetic testing con- firmed the strawberries were of another, unnamed Agriculture weighs in on farm bill failure By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Agriculture groups had mixed reactions to the defeat Friday of the farm bill. The massive legislation failed by a 213-198 vote on the U.S. House floor. House Agriculture Com- mittee Chairman K. Michael Conaway called it a tempo- rary setback. “We may be down, but we are not out,” the Texas Republican said in a state- ment. “We will deliver a strong, new farm bill on time … our nation’s farmers and ranchers and rural America deserve nothing else.” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said a farm bill is necessary to provide farm- ers, ranchers, foresters and other producers with the sta- bility and predictability they need. “Our farmers feed the people of this nation and the world, and they deserve the certainty of a farm bill,” he said. Others in the agricultural community echoed that sen- timent in press statements, but they were divided as to whether the bill’s defeat was a curse or a blessing. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the organiza- tion is already starting to hear from farmers, many of whom are perplexed and out- raged. “They are facing very real financial challenges,” he said. “We call on all mem- bers of Congress not to use farmers and ranchers as pawns in a political game. The risk-management tools of the farm bill are too important, particularly at a time of depressed farm prices.” National Farmers Union, however, said rejection of the bill highlights the host of concerns family farmers have with the legislation. “At a time when farmers and ranchers are in signifi- cant financial strain due to years of depressed prices, this bill does not make nec- essary improvements to the farm safety net,” Roger Johnson, NFU president, said. It eliminates conserva- tion programs and funding and reverses progress toward expanding farmers’ access to local, regional and specialty markets. It also makes un- necessary cuts to programs that feed hungry Americans, he said. “Major changes need to be made to this bill,” he said. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said the bill’s failure is a disappoint- ment for cattle producers. “It is unfortunate that some in Congress chose not to stand with the farmers and ranchers who work hard ev- ery day to feed families in the United States and around the world,” Allison Cooke, NCBA executive director of government affairs, said. The bill addresses several priorities for cattle produc- ers, including an expanded foot-and-mouth disease vac- cine bank, funding for envi- ronmental stewardship ini- tiatives and trade promotion programs. It is critical that Congress pass a new farm bill before Sept. 30 to provide certainty for cattle and beef producers, she said. The National Association of Conservation Districts also expressed its disappoint- ed. “Today’s defeat brings us further away from passing a new farm bill on time and providing producers with the certainty they need to contin- ue feeding and clothing this nation,” Brent Van Dyke, NACD president, said. “Farmers and ranchers across the country utilize farm bill conservation pro- grams on their operations every day to preserve natural resources for future genera- tions,” he said.
