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4 CapitalPress.com August 17, 2018 Oregon’s Douglas County withdraws rural housing zone By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Oregon’s Douglas County has withdrawn its plan to allow more rural housing on 22,500 acres of farm and forest land, though it’s likely to be revived. Earlier this year, the county decided to allow 20-acre home sites on properties deemed of marginal value for agriculture or forestry within two miles of certain cities and communities. The change was challenged before Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals by two state agencies — the Department of Land Conservation and Devel- opment and the Department of Fish and Wildlife — as well as the 1,000 Friends of Oregon conservation group. Douglas County has now notified LUBA that it’s with- drawing the amendment to its comprehensive land use plan for reconsideration. Joshua Shaklee, the county planning manager, said there were some “potential proce- dural defects” in adopting the change that may have con- vinced LUBA to remand it. The county expects to “take another crack at it” after re- solving any possible issues, which are now being reviewed by a law firm, but it’s unclear how long the process will take, he said. “I’d describe it as a setback but not anything definitive,” Shaklee said. Meriel Darzen, staff attor- ney for 1,000 Friends of Or- egon, said the organization is hopeful the county will accept more citizen involvement in formulating a plan. The final version of the plan was adopted after the op- portunity for public comments had ended, which caused con- cerns about residents being able to weigh in on the change, she said. “We’re hoping the with- drawal recognizes there needs to be more public process with this decision,” Darzen said. The county has 90 days to resubmit the decision or other- wise report to LUBA, she said. If it decides to restart the deci- sion-making process altogeth- er, the eventual plan can still be appealed to LUBA. According to the coun- ty, only about 25 percent of the acreage available for new homes sites under the plan would have actually been de- veloped, resulting in about 375 housing parcels. The acreage was scaled down from 35,000 acres in the original proposal, which repre- sented about 1 percent of the county’s farm and forest land. However, critics said the county set too high a standard for commercially productive land, effectively opening the way for development of prop- erty that could profitably be used for grazing and logging. The plan was also criti- cized for potentially compli- cating the expansion of “urban grown boundaries” around communities. Area in detail Douglas Co. withdraws rezone of 22,500 acres of farmland and forestland. Pacific Oce an Change would have opened 22,500 acres to rural home sites 101 LANE 5 Coos Bay 138 COOS Roseburg 42 62 JACKSON N JOSEPHINE 199 Medford 20 miles Capital Press graphic Washington county tallying elk damage to its farmland Losses could top $1 million a year By DON JENKINS Capital Press Brad Carlson/Capital Press An elk herd encouraged to grow by Washington wildlife managers is inflicting signif- icant damage to commercial agriculture in eastern Skagit County, according to the county assessor’s office. Farmers, responding to a survey, report damages ranging from a couple hun- dred dollars to more than $100,000. The survey is only half done and includes assumptions that could in- fluence the numbers. When it’s done, estimated losses to income-producing farmland could total roughly $1.4 mil- lion annually, Assessor Dave Thomas said Tuesday. “It’s truly an estimate,” he said. “Our concern is the continuing viability of ag use in that part of the county.” The North Cascades elk herd, also known as the Nooksack elk herd, has been revived in the past 15 years by the Department of Fish and Wildlife and nine Native American tribes. Hunting was curtailed and elk were transported from around Mount St. Helens. As the population approximately doubled in a decade, elk have moved down from the hills to valley farmland. Farmers and ranchers say the elk have become so com- fortable in their fields that hazing them back into the hills or getting a permit from the state to shoot one pro- vides only temporary relief. Corn in southeast Meridian, Idaho, Aug. 13. Local growing condi- tions for corn have been mostly favorable this year. Most of Idaho’s 2018 corn crop fares well By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press Mike Goodson’s corn crop looks good overall, and better than it could have. “For all the heat we had, I’m actually kind of sur- prised,” the Parma, Idaho, farmer said. “I haven’t seen as much stress as I thought I would see in it. We must have had cool-enough nights to let it pollinate, so overall it looks good.” Most Idaho cornfields look good headed into harvest thanks to ample supplies of irrigation water and mostly good weather. Results for the wind-pollinated crop have varied by type and location. Corn is important in Ida- ho because its total acreage can approach or even exceed that of potatoes in a given year, and because it is part of southwest Idaho’s major seed industry. “This year, we had a little problem in the spring with dryness but we did not have early heat in June,” Goodson said. Early June’s moderate temperatures helped get the crop up and going, he said. Forty miles to the south- east, Melba, Idaho, farmer Brent Zeyer sees “great-look- ing” field corn and more slow- ly progressing sweet corn seed. In his sweet corn seed fields, “it seems to me the heat or wind or pollination did not quite set up right, so the ears are not full,” he said. Kernels aren’t setting on cobs as well as he would like, pos- sibly due to recently tougher pollinating conditions and high heat. “Some varieties I have seen are OK, but most I have seen are having a hard time,” Zey- Don Jenkins/Capital Press Elk graze in a valley in eastern Skagit County, Wash. The county assessor’s office is tallying the damage elk do to farmland in the area. So far, 48 of 57 farmers in eastern Skagit County who have responded to the survey report elk damage. Thirty-six estimated loss- es totaling $532,122. Twelve farmers reported damage, but did not provide an estimate. Chief Deputy Assessor Annette DeVoe told county commissioners Aug. 7 that some east county landowners like elk, but full-time farm- ers have been hit particularly hard. “For big farmers, they (the elk) are eating crops and causing significant damage,” she said. “It’s been interest- ing and eye-opening as far as how it’s affecting the actual market value of properties.” Farmers can apply for compensation for elk dam- age by submitting tax, prop- LEGAL Applications sought for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) Board of Directors. Pursuant to OAR 629-065-0400, the purpose of this notice is to solicit applications for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) Board of Directors. Applicants meeting all the qualifications will be maintained on a list to be used by the State Forester for filling existing vacancies and to fill vacancies caused by expiration of an existing member’s term. Each applicant must certify in the application that he/she meets the qualifications for the position. Each “producer” applicant for the board of directors shall have the following qualifications: 1) be a citizen of the United States; 2) be a bona fide resident of this state; 3) be a “producer” in this state, an employee of such a producer or own between 100 and 2,000 acres of forestland in this state on which harvest taxes are paid, but have no direct financial interest in any forest products processing activity; 4) have been actively engaged in producing forest products for a period of at least five years; 5) derive a substantial portion of income from the production of forest products (“substantial portion of income” means that 50 percent or more of the gross income of a member of the board of directors is derived from timber or timber products ownership or affiliation); 6) have demonstrated, through membership in producers’ organizations or organizations representing landowners who meet the requirements of ORS 526.610(4), a profound interest in the development of Oregon’s forest products industry; 7) is available to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the OFRI Board of Directors; and 8) meets the producer class eligibility requirements for the position to which nominated. Each “employee” applicant shall be: 1) a citizen of the United States; 2) a bona fide resident of this state; and 3) an hourly wage employee of a producer or a person who represents such employees. The “producer” class eligibility requirements are: Class 1 Producers having paid forest products harvest tax on 20 million board feet or less per year in the most recent year preceding the appointment. Class 2 Producers having paid forest products harvest tax on more than 20 million board feet but less than 100 million board feet per year in the most recent year preceding the appointment. Class 3 Producers having paid forest products harvest tax on 100 million board feet or more per year in the most recent year preceding the appointment. erty and insurance records, an adjuster’s report and a list of measures they took to try to prevent the damage. The department received two claims last year for elk damage in the Skagit Valley. One farmer didn’t qualify, and one didn’t complete the paperwork. Fish and Wildlife Regional Director Amy Win- drope said the department is willing to discuss revising the compensation system with farmers. “If they’re identifying barriers, let’s fix them,” she said. To get elk off farmland, the department has increased hunting, issued kill permits and installed fences. “I don’t disagree with the analysis that more needs to happen,” Windrope said. “I really feel like we’re taking the steps that are going to give us a long-term solution.” Swin- omish tribe hunting and gath- ering program manager Tino Villaluz said elk damage is a problem. “We have some serious issues we have to deal with,” he said. “It’s not falling on deaf ears.” Randy Good, vice pres- ident of the Skagit County Cattlemen’s Association, said the number of elk on his land is growing, and some are limping with hoof rot, another concern for cattle- men. Good said the depart- ment should allow hunting year-round on land where the owner gives permission. The assessor’s survey should draw attention to the eco- nomic costs of not doing it, he said. “Putting that information out there puts a new twist on it,” he said. Thomas, the county asses- sor, sent a letter this month to Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind reporting that several landowners who responded to the survey said they stopped farming, ranch- ing or leasing land because of elk damage. In one case, landowners twice tried to start a Christ- mas tree farm, but elk ate the young trees, according to the assessor’s office. The 35 acres were redesignated from farmland to conserva- tion land. The Skagit elk came up briefly at the Fish and Wild- life Commission meeting Aug. 10 in Olympia. Com- missioner Larry Carpenter, a Skagit County resident, said he’s heard a lot about the elk. “I think the situation is out of hand,” he said. Services & Supplies Special Section October 5 th , 2018 SAGE Fact #147 Doing Business with the Ag Community? Capital Press Ag Weekly readers will find labor & money saving tips in the 2016 Winter 25,000 dairy cows milked twice a day equals 1.4 million pounds of milk a day which fills 18 milk tanker trucks a day Services & Supplies Special Section. Place an ad in this Special Section & reach Capital Press readers online and in the newspaper with your services & supplies! Content Will Include: • Online Agribusiness • Equipment • Maintenance • New Products • Consulting & Planning Services • Plus Much More! Persons wanting to apply for the OFRI Board of Directors must request application materials from Kathy Storm at OFRI, storm@ofri.org or 971-673-2953. Send completed application packets to the State Forester: Oregon Forestry Department, Attention Whitney Lanham, 2600 State Street, Bldg. B, Salem, Oregon 97310, or via email at Whitney.Lanham@oregon.gov. Applications must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on September 14, 2018. Ad Space Deadline: September 7th 33-3-3/HOU Small Woodland Owner An owner of between 100 and 2,000 acres of forestland in this state on which harvest taxes were paid in at least one of the five years preceding the appointment, and who has no direct financial interest in any forest products processing activity. 33-3/999 er said, referring to sweet corn seed. He has seen some insect damage in sweet corn seed fields around the Boise area, and some growers are spraying fields to get the insect count down, he said. He sprayed ear- ly in the growing season, “and hopefully it lasts long enough.” As for his field corn, “ears are filled clear to the ends” and no insect pressure was apparent as of Aug. 13, Zeyer said. Corn ears are filling out better than they did last year. Irrigation water supplies have been good, and most corn was planted in time to avoid stress from the pronounced heat of midsummer, he said. “With the warm weather, and the moisture we’re able to put on this corn, I think all field corn looks pretty good from what I’ve seen around the Mel- ba area,” Zeyer said. “For the most part, field corn is tall, looks good and sur- vived the heat OK,” he said. He plans to start harvest in early to mid-September, roughly the same schedule as 2017. Zeyer believes southwest Idaho this spring saw few- er acres of field corn planted because prices for grain corn at the time were fairly low — prompting more farmers to instead plant wheat or another crop requiring less water, fertil- izer and labor. Goodson said last year’s season — following a heavy winter — got off to a later start and featured a hot June, “which kind of just put it back a little further. “We basically had to have a frost to bring the moisture down (out of the plant) to a harvestable level,” he said. That frost came around early October 2017. 800.882.6789 • www.capitalpress.com 33-3/101
