Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2018)
ss Capital A Pre g Weekly D airy The West’s June 1, 2018 I nsI de B J eRseys suIted 9 • R IveR end P age C ounty to C oos Dairy special section INSIDE» BEAR NECESSITIES? HAVING WOLVES IS BAD ENOUGH, ADDING GRIZZLY ONLY MAKES IT WORSE. Editorial | Page 6 Capital Press A g The West’s FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018 Weekly VOLUME 91, NUMBER 22 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM Basin on the brink Tensions run high as Klamath Project irrigators, tribes try to balance limited water supply Approximate area of Klamath Project 97 Upper Klamath Lake 140 Area in detail 140 By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Malin Riv th ma Calif. Lower Klamath Lake 97 N Tule Lake Clear Lake Reservoir LAVA BEDS NAT’L MON. Ore. Calif. Tulelake Dorris S IS K IY OU t K L A MAT H er Ore. Meiss Lake Gerber Reservoir River ost Riv 39 L Kl a er Keno Changes to the foreign guestworker process will take two years Capital Press Bonanza s 66 Trump admin vows to revamp H-2A rules By DAN WHEAT Klamath Falls Lo D riving along mostly empty county roads near the small town of Ma- lin, Ore., Paul Crawford stops to survey his stunted wheat and alfal- fa fields, which are soaking in the relief of a rare and much-needed spring thunderstorm. Crawford grabs a shovel and digs into the soil, finding moisture reaching an inch or so deep. It may not be much, but it is more than he expected from the previous night’s rain, and enough to turn some of the wilted plants a healthier shade of green. “That makes me feel good,” said Craw- ford, who along with roughly 2,000 other irrigators within the Klamath Project has had little to feel good about on the farm this year. As of late May, farmers and ranchers still do not have a water allocation, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which man- ages the project, is pleading for patience as regulators juggle limited supplies of surface water to protect endangered fish. The Klamath Tribes also filed a lawsuit May 24 against the bureau, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fish- eries Service, seeking an injunction forcing the agencies to provide more water in Up- per Klamath Lake to ensure the survival of shortnose and Lost River suckers. The two species, which are protected under the En- dangered Species Act, were once a main- stay of the tribes’ diet. $2.00 139 MO D O C 10 miles Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Two tribal women harvesting sucker fish in 1905. Klamath Tribes filed a lawsuit May 24 against the bureau, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, seeking an injunction forcing the agencies to provide more water in Upper Klamath Lake to ensure the survival of shortnose and Lost River suckers Courtesy of the Klamath Tribes Turn to KLAMATH, Page 12 Paul Crawford, a farmer near Malin, Ore., surveys a 40-acre wheat field stunted by the lack of irrigation water in the Klamath Project. Geroge Plaven/Capital Press Proposals to improve the H-2A visa agricultural guestworker pro- gram will soon be forthcoming, four U.S. cabinet departments have an- nounced. The plan is to “substantially re- duce” the program’s complexity while giving farmers incentives to use the E-verify system — elec- tronic verification of employment eligibility — to ensure workers are authorized to work in the U.S., the departments of Labor, Agriculture, State and Homeland Security said in a joint news release on May 24. “The Trump Administration is committed to modernizing the H-2A-visa program rules in a way that is responsive to stakeholder concerns and that deepens our con- fidence in the program as a source of legal and verified labor for agri- culture — while also reinforcing the program’s strong employment and wage protections for the American workforce,” the release states. Changes were not specified. “It’s good news. We appreciate the fact the administration has tak- en a look at the program and thinks there needs to be changes,” said Mi- chael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers. The rule-making process takes time with supporting evidence to be collected and periods for public comment. But the administration intends to move so that implemen- tation maybe as early as the 2020 growing season, Marsh said. Changes such as making the pro- gram non-seasonal to include year- round dairy workers requires legis- lation, but USDA will likely look at wages, he said. Growers often view H-2A wages as too high. They also must pay to recruit, transport and house H-2A workers. Marsh said he’s working to trans- late total costs it into an hourly rate. U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who represents a district with many tree fruit growers using H-2A workers, said the announce- ment shows “the Trump adminis- tration has farmers’ backs.” Labor is scarce and means lost revenue for growers, he said. Tom Nassif, president and CEO of Western Growers, Irvine, Calif., said any effort to simplify H-2A is welcomed and hopes it makes the program more usable by fresh pro- duce growers. Turn to H-2A, Page 10 Wolves breed problems for Washington ranchers Stressed cows fail to reproduce, ranchers say By DON JENKINS Capital Press Fewer cows have been breeding on the range since wolves migrated to northeast Washington, an economic loss little known outside the cattle in- dustry, according to the owners of the region’s largest ranch. The Diamond M ranch estimates that the rate of “open cows” — females that didn’t become pregnant — has in- creased to about 20 percent from the historic rate of 5 percent. “If wolves were attacking people night and day, I don’t think you’d have too many people pregnant,” said Len McIrvin, the patriarch of the fami- ly-owned and -operated ranch. The Diamond M has been impact- ed by wolf recovery for a decade. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has culled wolfpacks that at- tacked the ranch’s cattle. Thrust into the spotlight, the Diamond M has been vilified by some environmental groups. McIrvin said he’s accepted the pub- lic role and resulting attacks because it’s necessary to put a face on the problems caused by wolves. “If you’re in a war, you can’t run away. You have to have troops on the front lines. You can’t hide in the shadows forever,” he said. Turn to WOLVES, Page 10 Don Jenkins/Capital Press Len McIrvin of the Diamond M ranch stands on the ranch’s winter range May 21 in southeast Washington.
