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8 CapitalPress.com June 22, 2018 Wyoming develops unique solutions to water supply By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Seeing the need to better manage, develop, protect, conserve and restore water in Wyoming, Gov. Matt Mead took the issue to the state’s citizens. The result was a 10-point water strategy that has garnered public consen- sus. The key was public in- volvement, Nephi Cole, the governor’s policy adviser, told water users and attorneys at the Idaho Water Users As- sociation’s water law confer- ence. “We identified people don’t like it when government shows up and tells you what to do,” he said last week. Instead, the governor held nine public meetings on the issue in 2013, encouraging grassroots groups to tell gov- ernment what the problems were and which solutions would help. “We looked at different strategies and (identified) 10 overarching initiatives based on public input,” he said. Those initiatives were pre- sented to the public for more input. The process resulted Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Nephi Cole, policy adviser to Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, talks about the state’s water strategy during the Idaho Water Users Association’s water law confer- ence in Sun Valley on June 11. in people rallying around the projects and the governor’s ability to take those projects to the state Legislature with public consensus, he said. Water is the state’s most important resource, and it’s only going to become more significant as time goes on, he said. “There is increasing pres- sure on every cup of water, and there’s no more of it … so we had to make the most of it,” he said. In addition to initiatives addressing monitoring, anal- ysis, water quality and resto- ration, the strategy also ad- dresses water storage. Public consensus on stor- age was gained in part by focusing on improvements to existing infrastructure, which keeps costs down without ex- panding the state’s environ- mental footprint, he said. The governor’s office talk- ed to people about putting in a new dam on the Green River, but a more palatable solution was found in modifying two projects already in place — the Fontenelle Dam and the Glendo Reservoir. Fontenelle Reservoir has a capacity of 346,000 acre-feet of water but needs improve- ments to realize that capacity and to utilize all of the water, he said. It is limited by lack of ar- moring to protect the lower interior dam face and lacks infrastructure to utilize stored water. Completion of the proj- ect could potentially allow 100,000 to 200,000 acre-feet of usable storage to be ac- cessed. Using the existing dam and not increasing the envi- ronmental footstep got wide support, he said. The Glendo Reservoir has a total capacity of 800,000 acre-feet, of which 275,000 acre-feet are used for flood control by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The strat- egy is to repurpose a portion of the flood-control space and use the water for operational purposes. The other water storage initiative — the Ten in Ten project — is a fairly ambitious effort to complete at least 10 small reservoirs in 10 years. The reservoirs hold 2,000 to 20,000 acre-feet and are eas- ier to permit than large reser- voirs, he said. “We believe the time to start building reservoirs is not when you need it; it’s 20 years before they’re needed,” he said. The state will break ground on the first of those reservoir projects this summer, he said. Wyoming’s water strategy is part of the governor’s Lead- ing the Charge: Wyoming’s Action Plan for Energy, Envi- ronment and Economy. “We strongly believe in Wyoming this is not a ze- ro-sum game. We don’t have to starve in the dark or have a negative environmental im- pact,” he said. ‘Artificial fruit’ could control spotted wing drosophila Dan Wheat/Capital Press File A labor union has sued an orchard, WAFLA and a recruiting firm alleging they blackballed H-2A workers who participated in a strike last year. Union, former H-2A workers sue Larson Orchards By DAN WHEAT By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Spotted wing drosophila Two products under devel- opment by Oregon State Uni- versity could give Northwest berry growers new options for controlling the spotted wing drosophila, a particularly harm- ful type of fruit fly. One product in particular, described as an “artificial fruit” that lures the pests away from the berries without directly competing against the crop, has Bernadine Strik excited. “This is cutting-edge work,” said Strik, a berry crops spe- cialist at OSU. “These pat- ent-pending products have me doing a happy dance.” Details about the product were limited — the patent is, after all, still pending. But Vale- rio Rossi-Stacconi, who works in the OSU Department of Hor- ticulture, said it is a food grade attractant that can work for both conventional and certified or- ganic growers. Trials have shown the prod- uct reduces the number of fruit flies in berries by as much as 76 percent, Rossi-Stacconi said. “We are very happy about this,” he said. “These keep the insect from the fruit throughout the whole fruiting process.” The “artificial fruit” devel- opment may be available com- mercially by 2020, Rossi-Stac- coni said. Researchers shared the lat- est updates and information with about 40 growers June 6 during Strawberry Field Day at the OSU North Willamette Research & Extension Center in Aurora, Ore. The other product, designed for blueberries to thicken the skin and protect against the • A type of “vinegar fly”, its ability to feed and lay eggs on ripening fruit makes it a significant threat to Pacific Northwest growers. • Adult spotted wing drosophilas are small with red eyes and pale yellowish-brown bodies. Spotted wings • Males have a dark spot on the tips of their wings. They also have two dark bands on their front legs. • Females lack the distinctive dark spot on their wings. Look for a large, serrated ovipositor protruding from the abdomen. Ovipositor Female Actual size Male • For more information 2-3 mm on monitoring, preventative, cultural and chemical controls, go to: spottedwing.org Sources: Oregon State University Extension Service Alan Kenaga/Capital Press George Plaven/Capital Press About 40 growers attended the annual Strawberry Field Day at OSU’s North Willamette Research & Extension Center, where they could taste and compare different strawberry varieties available commercially. flies, could be available as early as next year. Spotted wing drosophila is troublesome for berry and stone fruit growers because, unlike other drosophila species, it in- fests them early during ripen- ing, rather than later as they rot. According to a study by the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics at the University of California, yield losses can range up to 80 per- cent depending on the crop and location. In 2008, Oregon, Washington and California ac- counted for 76 percent of total U.S. raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, blueberry and cher- ry production. Assuming maximum yield loss, the combined loss at the farm gate for all three states would be approximately $2.5 billion, including $1.5 billion for strawberries alone. Oregon grows relatively few acres of strawberries, with just 1,800 statewide. Most are sold to food processors, though Strik said growers have increasingly tapped in to fresh markets over the last 15 years, which has added value to the crop. “They are really relying on that higher value fresh market,” Strik said. “That has really helped our growers stay com- petitive.” The field day also gives growers the chance to hear from experts about the latest information and cultivars to adopt in their fields, Strik said. Other presentations included fungicide resistance and an evaluation of the newest straw- berry selections in breeding plots at the research station — with names like Sweet Sunrise, Puget Crimson and Rutgers Scarlet. “Here’s an opportunity where they can come compare the varieties being grown, and see some of the stuff we are close to potentially naming,” Strik said. “We also want their input.” Virginia Stockwell, a re- search plant pathologist with the USDA Agricultural Re- search Service in Corvallis, Ore., said fungicide resistance is now present in Oregon straw- berries. She led a study isolat- ing the fungus that causes gray mold in strawberries, known as Botrytis cinerea, and exposing it to several different fungi- cides. The results showed resis- tance to multiple fungicides was common, Stockwell said. “The number of tools you have to manage the disease is greatly limited,” she said. Stockwell urged growers to use multiple methods to control gray mold. It is espe- cially important, she said, to limit where spores can grow by keeping a dry canopy and clean field. Capital Press YAKIMA, Wash. — A labor union is suing Lar- son Orchard Management Inc., WAFLA and CSI Visa Processing alleging they retaliated against 17 former H-2A-visa foreign guestworkers by not re- hiring them this year after they went on strike last year. Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), a Burling- ton, Wash., farmworkers union formed in 2013 to represent workers at the Sakuma Bros. berry farm, filed the suit against Lar- son, WAFLA and CSI in Yakima County Superi- or Court on June 14. The lawsuit asks the court to require the company re- hire the workers and seeks damages for lost wages. “These workers live in poverty in Mexico and have very few options to provide for their families. If they are blacklisted for advocating for better conditions, their opportu- nities to work in the U.S. are destroyed,” said Joe Morrison, an attorney with Columbia Legal Services, which is representing FUJ. “H-2A workers are highly vulnerable workers with few rights and pro- tections. They take a huge risk to speak up about working conditions in part because of the rampant retaliation and blacklist- ing within the H-2A pro- gram,” Morrison said. Keith Larson, president of Larson Fruit Co., Selah, had little comment, saying he had just learned of the lawsuit. WAFLA director Dan Fazio could not be reached for comment. WAFLA, previously known as the Washington EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL Farm Labor Association, hires H-2A workers for member companies in- cluding Larson through recruitment contractor CSI in Durango, Mexico. In September 2017, H-2A workers at Larson’s W&L Orchards nine miles southwest of Quincy quit picking apples to protest alleged bullying by a su- pervisor for allegedly not working fast enough, al- leged unsafe work condi- tions and other complaints. In response, several state Department of Labor & Industries inspections found no serious viola- tions, Larson said at the time. Three workers were fired, then reinstated and an agreement was reached between FUJ and Larson in which Larson agreed not to blacklist the work- ers the following year. Larson said last year that he might hire them again if they did good work but that there were no guaran- tees. In response to the law- suit, Larson said the agree- ment does not require him to rehire the same workers. He declined comment on the quality of their work after they returned last season from their strike. The lawsuit alleges Larson, WAFLA and CSI violated the agreement this season when they re- cruited 156 H-2A workers with only four from last year who did not partici- pate in the strike. The 17 who did strike weren’t re- hired. Further, the law- suit alleges violation of Washington’s Little Nor- ris-LaGuardia Act, which protects all workers who join together to improve their working conditions. Linn County Fair & Expo Center • Albany, OR TUE • WED • THU NOVEMBER 13 • 14 • 15, 2018 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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