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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.
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