June 1, 2018
CapitalPress.com
7
Sea lions continue to eat endangered fish
Bill supported
by Northwest
lawmakers
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
All the time, money and
sacrifice to improve salmon
and steelhead passage in the
Willamette River won’t mean
a thing unless wildlife man-
agers can get rid of sea lions
feasting on the fish at Willa-
mette Falls.
That was the message
Tuesday from Shaun Clem-
ents, senior policy adviser
for the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife, who met
at the falls with Liz Hamil-
ton, executive director of the
Northwest Sportfishing In-
dustry Association, and Su-
zanne Kunse, district director
for U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader,
D-Ore.
The group watched as sev-
George Plaven/Capital Press
Sea lions continue to prey on salmon and steelhead at Willamette Falls in Oregon, prompting a bill by
Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader to kill sea lions where they are causing the most problems.
eral sea lions patrolled the
waterfalls and nearby fish
ladders. Clements said there
could be as many as 50-60 sea
lions in the area on any given
day in April or early May, and
the animals are responsible
for eating roughly 20 percent
of this year’s already paltry
winter steelhead run.
As of May 22, ODFW
has counted just 2,086 winter
steelhead at Willamette Falls.
That’s less than half of the 10-
year average and 22 percent
of the 50-year average.
ODFW applied in October
2017 to kill sea lions from
Willamette Falls under the
Marine Mammal Protection
Act, though Clements said
he does not expect a decision
from the National Marine
Fisheries Service until the
end of the year. The depart-
ment also tried relocating 10
California sea lions to a beach
south of Newport, Ore. earlier
this year, only to see the an-
imals return in just six days.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers is propos-
ing to build a water tempera-
ture control tower and floating
fish screen at Detroit Dam far-
ther up the Willamette Basin to
aid salmon and steelhead sur-
vival, a project that could cost
up to $250 million and leave
farmers without water in the
reservoir for up to two years.
Clements said it would be
a wasted investment if not
enough fish can even make it
past the falls.
“Certainly for winter steel-
head, if we don’t deal with
(sea lions), whatever we do
in the upper basin isn’t going
to help,” Clements said. “If
you’re managing other sec-
tors, you have to manage sea
lions as well.”
Schrader is co-sponsoring
legislation to provide greater
flexibility for managing sea
lions in the future. The En-
dangered Salmon and Fisher-
ies Predation Prevention Act
would extend the authority for
killing sea lions that prey on
endangered salmon and steel-
head to states and tribes.
The bill has support from a
bipartisan group of Northwest
lawmakers, including Reps.
Jaime Herrera Beutler and
Dan Newhouse of Washing-
ton, and Rep. Don Young of
Alaska, all Republicans.
Clements said the Marine
Mammal Protection Act —
which was signed into law in
1972 — is too restrictive, and
forces wildlife managers to
wait too long before they can
apply for a lethal take permit
to protect fish.
WSU crop tours begin soon Wheat growers push back
against Farm Bill critics
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Farmers will have a chance
to check out the latest grain
varieties during Washington
State University’s upcoming
crop tour season, which kicks
off June 6 in the Horse Heav-
en Hills.
University and private
breeders and researchers will
be present at the various tour
stops to provide specific back-
ground on the wheat and bar-
ley varieties.
“There’s some newer stuff
out there that I think is going
to catch people by surprise,”
said Aaron Esser, WSU Ex-
tension Adams County di-
rector and interim director of
WSU’s variety testing pro-
gram.
He said many growers are
curious about Norwest Duet
from Limagrain Cereal Seeds
and Oregon State University.
“The farmers win by hav-
ing a choice,” he added. “The
advantage is, they have more
options out there. The diffi-
cult thing is, they have more
options out there. It takes time
and energy to figure out what
option’s best for their situa-
tion.”
Esser expects discussions
on falling numbers, the test
that measures starch damage;
seeding rates and new tech-
nologies.
WSU crop schedule:
• Horse Heaven: 8 a.m., June 6,
contact Aaron Esser at 509-659-
3210
• Ritzville: 1 p.m., June 6, contact
Esser at 509-659-3210
• Western Whitman County
(LaCrosse): 9:30 a.m., June 7,
contact Steve Van Vleet at 509-
397-6290
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press File
Aaron Esser is interim director of Washington State University’s
variety testing program and director of the WSU Adams County
Extension. WSU’s crop tour schedule begins June 6 in the Horse
Heaven Hills.
• Connell: 5 p.m., June 7, contact
Esser at 509-659-3210
• Pendleton Field Day, Oregon:
7:30 a.m. June 12, contact Stew-
art Wuest at 541-278-4381
• Moro Field Day, Oregon: 7:30
a.m. June 13, contact Wuest at
541-278-4381
Growers): 8 a.m. June 22, con-
tact Paul Carter at 509-382-4741
• WSU weed science, Pullman:
12:30 p.m. June 13, contact
Drew Lyon at 509-335-2961
• Wilke Farm Field Day, Dav-
enport: 8 a.m. June 26; contact
Esser at 509-659-3210
• Reardan: 2 p.m., June 26, con-
tact Roberts at 509-477-2167
• Lind Field Day: 8:30 a.m,, June
14, contact Bill Schillinger at 509-
235-1933
• Harrington: 4 p.m., June 14,
contact Diana Roberts at 509-
477-2167
• St. Andrews: 5 p.m., June 15,
contact Dale Whaley at 509-745-
8531
• Eureka (cooperative with
Oregon State University and
Northwest Grain Growers): 3
p.m., June 18, contact Esser at
509-659-3210
• University of Idaho and
Limagrain (Lewiston, Idaho):
8:30 a.m., June 19, contact Doug
Finkelnburg at 208-799-3096
• Walla Walla: 1 p.m., June 20,
contact Esser at 509-659-3210
• Dayton (cereals and legumes;
cooperative with Oregon State
University and Northwest Grain
• Moses Lake (irrigated): 8 a.m.,
June 25, contact Andy McGuire
at 509-754-2011, ext. 4313
• Creston: 3 p.m. June 25,
contact Diana Roberts at 509-
477-2167
A Washington wheat rep-
resentative declined to partic-
ipate in a recent Washington
Policy Center conference be-
cause a speaker claims agri-
culture is not experiencing a
financial crisis and is calling
for the end of farm subsidies.
The center is “an indepen-
dent, nonprofit think tank that
promotes sound public policy
based on free-market solu-
tions,” according to its web-
site.
Montana State University
economics professor Vincent
Smith spoke at the May 23
conference in Spokane.
In a 2017 American En-
terprise Institute publication,
Smith said agriculture is “nei-
ther experiencing a financial
crisis nor about to enter an era
of extreme financial stress.”
He and his co-authors also
said current net cash income is
close to historical averages.
“Ideally, Congress would
terminate many farm subsidy
programs such as (Agriculture
Risk Coverage), (Price Loss
Coverage), federal crop insur-
ance, the sugar program and
marketing orders that waste
scarce economic resources,
raise some consumer pric-
es and send taypayer-funded
checks to relatively wealthy
and very wealthy individuals,”
the publication states.
The authors claim the pro-
grams do not provide mea-
surable benefits to farmers
in households with incomes
below the federal poverty line.
“Some of the $16 billion
in federal funding currently
tied up in the PLC, ARC and
crop insurance subsidy pro-
gram should be reallocated
to programs that do provide
U.S. households with genuine
positive benefits, one clear ex-
ample of which is agricultural
research,” the article states.
Nicole Berg, secretary of
the National Association of
Wheat Growers and a Pater-
son, Wash., wheat farmer, was
invited to speak but declined.
Berg said the center be-
lieves in a free market and
trade, but isn’t necessarily
working with the right defini-
tion for agriculture.
“They’re talking about
no government involvement
at all in agriculture, but yet,
how are you going to do
that?” she said. “If you’re
going to say, ‘Take away
subsidies, take away crop in-
surance, take away the con-
servation titles,’ farmers will
go broke unless you have an
escape hatch, and I haven’t
heard them come forth with
a solution.”
• Mayview: 9 a.m., June 27,
contact Mark Heitstuman at 509-
243-2009
• Anatone: 3:30 p.m., June 27,
contact Heitstuman at 509-243-
2009
• Fairfield: 7 a.m., June 28, con-
tact Roberts at 509-477-2167
• St. John: 10 a.m., June 28, con-
tact Van Vleet at 509-397-6290
• Lamont: 1:30 p.m,, June 28,
contact Van Vleet at 509-397-
6290
• Bickleton: 11 a.m., June 29,
contact Hannah Brause at 509-
773-5817
• Farmington: 8 a.m, July 6, con-
tact Van Vleet at 509-397-6290
• Palouse: 3:30 p.m,, July 6, con-
tact Van Vleet at 509-397-6290
Raffle offers chance to compete
in combine demolition derby
Proceeds from
annual event go to
town, show costs
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
LIND, Wash. — Lind Li-
ons Club members are offer-
ing a chance to take the driv-
er’s seat in the big show.
The club is selling 500 raf-
fle tickets for a shot at com-
peting in the final round of
the Lind Combine Demolition
Derby.
“It is truly a unique event
and true family event,” said
Josh Knodel, Lind Lions Club
board member and a longtime
combine derby driver with
friend Matt Miller.
The unique event is in its
31st year.
The derby is June 8-10 in
Lind, and includes cars and
pickups at 6 p.m. June 8; pick-
up races are at 2 p.m. June 9
and combines are at 3 p.m.
June 9. Grain truck and pick-
up races take place during in-
termission and soap box cars
are at 2 p.m. June 10.
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Head mechanic Jason Hulett, driver Tyran Doyle and pit crew
members Derrick Laird and Bryden Laird with their combine. The
Lind Lions Club is raffling a chance to sit in the combine during the
final heat of the Lind Combine Demolition Derby on June 8-10.
Online
www.lindwa.com
Events June 10 also in-
clude a kids’ parade at 10:45
a.m. and a grand parade at 11
a.m.
The club built a com-
bine to compete in the final
round. The driver will have
the opportunity to win the
derby prize, roughly $1,300,
Knodel said.
Raffle tickets are $10.
Tickets will be sold during the
event.
About 12 drivers are ex-
pected to compete in the der-
by. Roughly 4,000 people are
expected to attend the event,
said derby chairman Mike
Doyle.
Proceeds from the annu-
al derby, averaging roughly
$25,000, go back to the town,
Knodel said.
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