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June 1, 2018 CapitalPress.com 3 Klamath Tribes sue to protect endangered fish By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press File Photo Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed a drought declaration for Harney County. Governor declares drought in third Oregon county By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a drought emer- gency last week in Harney County, bringing to three the total number of counties to receive a drought declaration in 2018. The governor previously declared droughts in Klamath County in March, and Grant County in April. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly all of southeast Oregon is expe- riencing moderate to severe drought. Winter snowpack has completely vanished in the Harney Basin, and is rap- idly diminishing across the rest of the state. Drought conditions in Harney County are expected to get worse in the months ahead, Brown said. “To minimize the impacts of drought on the local econ- omy and community, I’m directing state agencies to work with local and federal partners to provide assistance to Harney County,” she said. By declaring drought in Harney County, the Oregon Water Resources Department may be able to issue tempo- rary relief for agricultural producers such as emergen- cy water use permits, water exchanges, substitutions and in-stream leases. County officials request- ed a drought declaration on May 14, citing the potential for widespread and severe damage to farming, ranching, natural resources and tour- ism. The extended weather forecast also calls for high- er-than-normal temperatures, and less-than-normal precip- itation heading into summer. The Klamath Tribes are suing three federal agencies over management of endan- gered shortnose and Lost Riv- er suckers in Upper Klamath Lake. The tribes filed the lawsuit May 24 against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and National Marine Fisheries Service, ar- guing conditions in the lake have led to plummeting fish populations. Don Gentry, chairman of the Klamath tribal council, said the suckers are vital to the tribes’ culture and subsis- tence. However, fish harvests decreased from more than 10,000 to just 687 between 1968 and 1985, prompting the tribes to voluntarily suspend fishing to avoid pushing the species into extinction. Today, just two fish are harvested ev- ery year for ceremonial pur- poses. Both the shortnose and Lost River suckers were list- ed as endangered in 1988. The fish are managed under a 2013 joint biological opinion that also regulates flows down the Klamath River for coho and chinook salmon, and wa- ter for irrigation to the Klam- ath Project. According to the lawsuit, the Bureau of Reclamation has allowed water level in Upper Klamath Lake to dip below minimum conserva- tion levels for fish on several occasions in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The tribes are asking the court for an immediate injunc- tion both to provide enough water for the sucker fisheries, and correct deficiencies in the 2013 biological opinion. “The science makes it clear that this was the only option left to us to address the water and fish emergency in the lake,” Gentry said. This year is already pos- ing several challenges in the Klamath Basin. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a drought emergency in March, while regulators are also send- ing more water downstream to keep a parasite known as C. shasta from infecting juvenile salmon. The bureau still has not announced a water allocation for irrigators in the Klamath Project, which has farmers and ranchers on edge. In a statement released by the Klamath Water Users Association, Brad Kirby, gen- eral manager of the Tulelake Irrigation District and KWUA president, said the lawsuit shows the tribes have chosen “a strategy of isolation from the irrigation community.” “We will intervene and op- pose any action that could af- fect the already limited Klam- ath Project water supply,” Kirby said. “Consultation is already happening.” Mark Buettner, a fish biol- ogist for the Klamath Tribes, said 2018 may very well prove a tipping point for Up- per Klamath Lake suckers. “Too many fish are dying before they’re old enough to reproduce,” Buettner said. “Most of the younger fish are offspring of older fish that are nearing the end of their lifes- pans. We’re basically looking at a biological bottleneck.” Yet Mark Johnson, deputy director for KWUA and a for- mer fisheries biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said higher lake levels have not helped to protect sucker fish over the last 25 years. Scott White, executive di- rector of the KWUA, said the lawsuit could have “devastat- ing impacts on good and hon- est people and our regional economy.” The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for Northern California, outlines conser- vation levels for suckers in Upper Klamath Lake at dif- ferent times of the year, tak- ing into account factors such as spawning habitat, water quality and protection from predators. The Klamath Tribes have a responsibility to protect their treaty resources for current members and future genera- tions, Gentry said. “The Klamath Tribes look forward to continuing the valuable work we’re doing in partnership with state and federal officials, ranchers and others toward water quality improvements, water con- servation and habitat resto- ration,” he said. WESTERN CHERRY FRUIT FLY APPEARS IN REGION Judge dismisses lawsuit over synthetic organic inputs USDA’s change in voting procedure isn’t ‘final agency action’ By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press A federal judge has dis- missed a lawsuit that argued the USDA made it easier for synthetic materials to con- tinue being used by organic farmers. The USDA has changed how it evaluates synthetic organic inputs but this isn’t a “final agency action” that can be challenged under the Ad- ministrative Procedure Act, so U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. has ruled that he lacks jurisdiction in the case. The complaint was filed by 14 organic and environmen- tal groups, which claimed the USDA had effectively made it harder for synthetic substanc- es to be excluded from organ- ic production. Synthetic substances in or- ganic farming undergo a “sun- set” process every five years under which the National Or- ganic Standards Board recom- mends they either be retained or excluded. Traditionally, the NOSB would automatically recom- mend eliminating a synthetic substance unless two-thirds of its 15 members voted to keep it on the organic materials list. In 2013, however, the USDA switched the voting procedure so that a synthet- ic substance stayed on the list unless two-thirds of the NOSB voted to remove it. Due to this change, a syn- thetic substance would not be recommended for elimination from organic farming even if a nine-person majority of the board favored its removal. The Center for Food Safe- ty and other plaintiffs worried the new procedure would un- dermine the integrity of the USDA’s organic program and discourage the development of natural alternatives to syn- thetic inputs. Their lawsuit claimed that USDA didn’t follow the prop- er “open and transparent” rulemaking process by failing to notify the public and accept comments about the new vot- ing procedure, thereby violat- ing the Administrative Proce- dure Act. However, the judge has de- cided the new procedure isn’t subject to these full rulemak- ing requirements because the USDA can ultimately over- ride the board’s recommenda- tion to remove or keep a syn- thetic substance. The new procedure has “no binding outcome or de- finitive result” and thus isn’t a final agency action, so con- cerns about synthetic materi- als in organic food “may nev- er materialize” regardless of the NOSB’s recommendation, Gilliam said. “These scenarios illustrate that it would be premature for the court to intervene at this stage,” he said. If they file a lawsuit against the “wrongful renew- al” of a synthetic substance, the plaintiffs can still object to the “procedural harms” of the USDA’s new process, he said. Grass Expertise. LET’S TALK! Over 40 Years Experience GREENWAY SEEDS Caldwell, Idaho • Alan Greenway, Seedsman Cell: 298-259-9159 • MSG: 298-454-8342 Alan Greenway, Seedsman 22-3/108 DON’T PURCHASE SEED BLENDS CONTAINING SLENDER WHEATGRASS. IT IS VERY SHORT LIVED AND IS BASICALLY A “FILLER” FOR THE BLEND. Idaho Farm Bureau he Pacific Northwest Pest Alert Network reports the Western Cherry Fruit Fly has appeared in southwest Idaho and the Mid- Columbia River region in Oregon. On May 22 the first report of a Western Cherry Fruit Fly captured in a Idaho State Department of Agricul- ture species-specific trap in Canyon County. Network officials said that historically, the fly appears in Gem County about a week after the first specimen is found in Canyon County. T The fly was also found May 20 at the Oregon State University Mid-Co- lumbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center station in Hood River. Growers should start treating for the flies immediately, the recent alert said. White maggots infest cherries, and the mature maggot makes a hole in the cherry as it exits. Online phenology and growing degree-day models for the Western Cherry Fruit Fly predicted the first flight on May 21 in Ontario, Ore., and Parma, Idaho; and also in Idaho May 24 in Caldwell, May 25 in Em- mett, May 29 in Boise and May 31 in Nampa, the network said. Recommended strategies for growers include spraying one of about seven selected chemicals through harvest, at seven- to 10-day intervals, and growing early-matur- ing varieties. Recommendations: https://bit. ly/2LGJEJV Weekly fieldwork report Ore. Item/description (Source: USDA, NASS; NOAA) • Days suitable for fieldwork (As of May 22) 6.2 • Topsoil moisture, surplus 1% • Topsoil moisture, percent short 36% • Subsoil moisture, surplus 1% • Subsoil moisture, percent short 38% • Precipitation probability 33-50% below/ (6-10 day outlook as of May 22) Normal Wash. 5.1 5% 9% 5% 5% 33-50% below Idaho Calif. 5.3 20% 14% 14% 17% Normal/ 33-40% above 7 0 75% 0 45% Normal
