Friday, December 13, 2019
CapitalPress.com
5
ODFW Commission to revisit greater
protections for marbled murrelet
Oregon hazelnut growers look
to penetrate new export markets
Environmental groups
seek endangered
species status
Research will focus
on new Chinese
regions, S. Korea,
Japan, Canada
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon fish
and wildlife commissioners
are reconsidering whether
to grant endangered species
protections for the mar-
bled murrelet, a small sea-
bird that nests in coastal old
growth forests.
The commission voted
4-1 on Dec. 6 to revisit the
status of the marbled mur-
relet after deciding not
to “uplist” the bird from
threatened to endangered in
2018.
Environmental groups
petitioned the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife to classify the
marbled murrelet as endan-
gered in 2016. The species
was listed as threatened
under the federal Endan-
gered Species Act in 1992,
and listed as threatened by
ODFW in 1995.
Since then, the groups
— including Cascadia
Wildlands, Defenders of
Wildlife, Oregon Wild, the
Audubon Society of Port-
land and Oregon Chapter
of the Sierra Club — have
argued the marbled mur-
relet could go extinct in
Oregon within the next cen-
tury, due in part to declin-
ing habitat from logging in
state forests.
The ODFW Commis-
sion initially voted 4-2 in
favor of uplisting the mar-
bled murrelet in February
2018, ordering the agency
to develop a new manage-
ment plan and survival
guidelines for the species in
state forests where the birds
nest.
But
commissioners
changed course in June
2018, reversing the deci-
sion and denying the envi-
ronmentalists’
petition.
The groups promptly sued
ODFW, and earlier this
year a Lane County Circuit
Court judge ruled the com-
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will recon-
sider listing the marbled murrelet on the state’s en-
dangered species list.
mission violated state law
by not adequately explain-
ing
the
contradiction
between the two results.
Now the commission
will taker another look
at uplisting, with meet-
ing dates to be announced
sometime next year. Bob
Spelbrink, of Siletz, Ore.,
was the only commissioner
to vote against the motion.
Quinn Read, North-
west program director for
Defenders of Wildlife, said
in a statement that the deci-
sion to list the marbled
murrelet as endangered is
a matter of science and law,
not compromise or politics.
“We are encouraged by
the commission’s actions
today, but we will con-
tinue to demand that they
follow the science, respect
public process and protect
this bird for future genera-
tions,” Read said.
Members of agricultural,
timber and private forest-
land organizations also tes-
tified at the Dec. 6 commis-
sion meeting, saying the
decision not to uplist was
based on the best and most
up-to-date science, which
indicates marbled murrelet
populations are on the rise
in Oregon.
Seth Barnes, director of
forest policy for the Oregon
Forest and Industries Coun-
cil, pointed to monitoring
work conducted by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
and U.S. Forest Service
between 2000 and 2017
showing marbled murrelet
populations grew in Ore-
th
50
c
c
c
Anniversar
gon by 1.8% per year.
At the same time, the
National Council for Air
and Stream Improvement
used data from the For-
est Service to analyze
growth and logging of for-
ests potentially used by
the marbled murrelet. The
results found that, since
1995, coastal forests have
added an average of 64,710
acres of trees 50 years or
older each year.
“We have abundant hab-
itat in Oregon,” Barnes
said. “More older forest
structure exists today than
we’ve had in decades and
continues to grow across
ownership.”
Jim James, executive
director of the Oregon
Small Woodlands Associa-
tion, said family woodland
owners are dedicated to
doing the right thing, but
remain concerned about
over-regulation.
“If this commission
were to decide to uplist the
murrelet, I believe the only
outcome from that ... is
that family woodland own-
ers would be concerned,
as you would be if your
401(k) is challenged,”
James said. “It would take
away any incentive to have
any large, old trees on your
property.”
Jerome Rosa, execu-
tive director of the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association,
said uplisting the murrelet
could have “significant
negative consequences” on
grazing and access to pub-
lic lands.
growth in Oregon’s hazel-
nut production, as acre-
age has grown from fewer
than 30,000 acres to roughly
85,000 in the past decade.
Between 2007 and 2015,
growers focused on planting
varieties meant for producing
the in-shell hazelnuts that are
popular in China, said Larry
George, president of the
George Packing Co.
More recently, packers
have been urging growers to
plant more cultivars meant
for the production of kernels
that can be used by domestic
food manufacturers, George
said.
However, the industry is
“just barely starting to see
production increase now”
of the kernel varieties, so it
needs to focus on widening
sales channels for the in-shell
nuts that represent the bulk of
new production, he said.
“We’re trying to develop
those markets first,” George
said. “It takes years to
develop markets.”
The Oregon Hazelnut
Marketing Board is paying
for the export research ini-
tiative with about half of the
$385,000 it recently received
in grant funding from
USDA’s Agricultural Trade
Promotion Program.
The study is intended to
pave the way for the Oregon
Hazelnut Marketing Board to
receive export-oriented fund-
ing more regularly through
the USDA’s Market Access
Program, Nagely said.
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wages are rising and who are
looking for new sources of
protein, he said.
Canada is a close neigh-
bor that offers an opportunity
to maximize “bang for the
buck” in terms of marketing,
but current exports are dom-
inated by one confectionary
company, Nawn said.
While China is already an
important market for Oregon
hazelnuts, most shipments
end up in Beijing and sur-
rounding areas, he said.
It may be possible to
enlarge the Oregon industry’s
footprint to include other
major metropolitan areas in
China, where in-shell hazel-
nuts could similarly be eaten
as a snack food, he said.
“Even though it’s a nice
market for hazelnuts, it could
be better with some strategic
marketing work,” Nawn said.
Last year, Chinese tariffs
on Oregon in-shell hazelnuts
— the most popular type con-
sumed there — jumped from
25% to 65% due to the ongo-
ing trade dispute with the
U.S.
The tariff hike convinced
Oregon’s industry to look for
ways to increase sales despite
the higher barrier while also
diversifying beyond the Chi-
nese export market, said
Meredith Nagely, manager of
the Oregon Hazelnut Market-
ing Board.
“Tariff mitigation was the
impetus for it,” she said.
The trade turbulence
comes at a time of looming
y
2020
MORE THAN
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File
Hazelnuts are swept into rows in preparation for har-
vest. The Oregon hazelnut industry is looking to ex-
pand export opportunities beyond its traditional mar-
ket in Northeast China.
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Oregon’s hazelnut indus-
try is looking to expand
beyond its traditional export
market in Northeast China
and gain a better foothold in
other Asian countries as well.
A new research export ini-
tiative overseen by the Ore-
gon Hazelnut Marketing
Board will examine improv-
ing the crop’s reach into
China while better penetrat-
ing markets in Japan, South
Korea and India.
The study will also ana-
lyze ramping up exports into
Canada, which is already the
second-largest
destination
for Oregon hazelnuts behind
China.
“The potential is quite
remarkable to access con-
sumers around the world. It’s
going to yield long-term ben-
efits for all the growers and
packers in the region,” said
Jeff Nawn, whose North Hill
Group consulting firm will
conduct the analysis. “For the
industry, it’s the right time to
do this type of work.”
Of the 18,000 metric tons
of Oregon hazelnuts exported
last year, nearly 80% were
shipped to China and most
of the rest to Canada, with
nominal amounts destined
for other countries. Oregon’s
total annual production has
averaged more than 37,000
metric tons in recent years.
Japan and South Korea
are attractive potential mar-
kets because they’re wealthy
countries that already con-
sume hazelnuts incorporated
into high-end chocolates, and
Oregon has strong “brand
equity” in both nations,
Nawn said.
“Oregon has the image
of being very clean, natural,
wholesome,” he said.
India, meanwhile, has the
“largest collection of vege-
tarians in the world” whose
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