Friday, February 19, 2021
CapitalPress.com 9
Owyhee Land Exchange in Idaho advances
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
The Idaho Board of Land
Commissioners recently approved
the Owyhee Land Exchange
with the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management.
The swap, in the works for
12 years, involves ground fed-
erally designated as wilderness.
BLM Jan. 20 released a Record
of Decision that initiated a 45-day
public-protest period and 60-day
review by the Idaho governor’s
office. Also Jan. 20, BLM issued
an environmental assessment and
a finding of no significant impact.
The state, whose land is sup-
posed to generate income for
schools, will trade nearly 24,000
acres of endowment land within
the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilder-
ness for 31,000 acres BLM owns
outside wilderness boundaries.
The equal-value exchange
reflects appraisals rather than acre-
Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission
Cattle graze in Owyhee County, Idaho. The state and the Bureau of
Land Management plan to swap land in and around a wilderness
area.
age, according to the Idaho Depart-
ment of Lands.
The state will get non-wilder-
ness ground adjacent to existing
endowment lands that have access.
BLM would will increase its wil-
derness holdings and backcoun-
try-recreation access.
The state plans to exchange 40
endowment parcels with 17 graz-
ing leases for 11 federal parcels
with 18 grazing permits. The state
plans to honor the BLM grazing
permits by issuing land-use per-
mits for the time remaining.
The Idaho Farm Bureau Federa-
tion and Owyhee County Commis-
sion last year issued letters sup-
porting the exchange.
“Most people I talk to favor
it because it works better with
their individual operation,” said
Owyhee Cattlemen’s Association
President Scott Bunderson. “Oth-
ers are in favor of the trade but con-
cerned with potential (BLM) graz-
ing-preference loss in the transfer.”
Most OCA members have a mix
of Idaho and BLM grazing authori-
zations, he said.
State leases are about twice as
expensive and carry higher risk
they will change hands, though the
state has been “very favorable to
work with,” Bunderson said.
BLM permits give the holder
a renewal preference if he or she
remains qualified, but the agency
can reduce allowed grazing inten-
sity on a site.
“A lot of this just cleans up a
management issue for the state of
Idaho and for the BLM,” he said.
He expects grazing opportunities
to hold steady or increase.
Idaho Conservation League
Public Lands Director John Rob-
ison said the state and BLM, fol-
lowing the multi-stakeholder ini-
tiative that keyed wilderness
designation, “recognized the exist-
ing checkerboard situation wasn’t
serving the agencies’ interests as
well as it could.”
Some state-owned parcels with
habitat for bighorn sheep and sage
grouse are remote and surrounded
by rugged canyons, so they’re hard
for the Department of Lands to
manage for maximum long-term
financial gain, he said.
While some BLM holdings
are easier to manage and closer
to towns, they have fewer mul-
tiple-use amenities and are bet-
ter-suited to grazing.
“We don’t see increases or
decreases in grazing as a problem
because each agency will now be
able to optimize its mission,” Rob-
ison said. “BLM will be better able
to manage for both habitat for big-
horn sheep and sage grouse, and
manage for wilderness experi-
ences for outfitters and members of
the public while still allowing live-
stock grazing where it currently
exists.”
Swine inspection lawsuit moves forward
untary new system elimi-
nates important aspects of the
inspection process and vio-
lates the Administrative Pro-
cedure Act and the Federal
Meat Inspection Act.
USDA’s traditional inspec-
tion system required federal
inspectors to inspect swine
before slaughter, tagging and
separating animals indicat-
ing signs of disease. It also
required federal inspectors to
appraise the carcass of each
animal, condemn animals
found to be adulterated and
supervise the disposal of the
condemned animals.
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
The U.S. District Court for
Northern California is allow-
ing a lawsuit challenging the
implementation of USDA’s
New Swine Inspection Sys-
tem to proceed by denying
USDA’s motion to dismiss
the case.
The lawsuit was filed in
January 2020 by the Cen-
ter for Food Safety, Food &
Water Watch and the Humane
Farming Association.
The groups allege the final
rule to implement the vol-
The groups allege the
new system permits plant
employees to conduct pre-
and post-slaughter inspec-
tion instead of federal
investigators.
They also allege plant
employees are not required
to receive inspection train-
ing, which they contend will
increase the amount of adul-
terated or contaminated swine
products entering the food
market and the risk of food-
borne illness.
In addition, plaintiffs
allege that increased line
speeds in the new system will
diminish the ability of inspec-
tors to identify potentially dis-
eased or adulterated carcasses.
They also allege the final rule
for the new system revokes
E. coli and salmonella testing
standards and gives establish-
ments the ability to determine
microbiological
sampling
plans independently.
Lastly, the plaintiffs allege
their members who want con-
tinue consuming pork will be
unable to avoid pork from
plants using the new sys-
tem, given the number of
plants likely to adopt the sys-
tem and the absence of label-
ing regarding the location of
swine slaughter.
The final rule promulgated
by USDA Food Safety and
Inspection Service went into
effect Dec. 2, 2019. USDA
sought to dismiss the lawsuit
due to the plaintiffs’ lack of
standing.
In his ruling, Judge Jeffery
S. Wright said, “… the court
concludes there is a credible
threat that plaintiffs’ members
face an increased risk of ill-
ness from consuming adulter-
ated products because of the
final rule, sufficiently estab-
lishing standing based on
potential future harm.”
“We are pleased that the
court recognizes the ‘credible
threat’ posed by USDA’s new
swine inspection rules,” Ryan
Talbott, staff attorney for the
Center for Food Safety, said
in a press release.
“Those rules are disas-
trous for public health by
transferring inspection duties
to untrained plant employees
and allowing increased line
speeds. This all but ensures
that tainted meat will be sold
to consumers, increasing the
threat of foodborne illness
outbreaks,” he said.
S224778-1
California FFA winter update
Proud Supporter of
By California State FFA Officers
California FFA has kept the winter months busy, while staying tied to the state theme “Elevate” and
its three key pillars; elevating individuals, agriculture and community.
Proud Supporter
of FFA
P.O. Box 307 • Canby, OR 97013
888-877-7665
S225291-1
www.stutzman-environmental.com
While on the road the group made stops at various agriculture businesses learning about the industry
that feeds us all. Educational videos and interactive worksheets have been created based on these
visits as a classroom activity providing educational opportunities for students.
In December the California FFA Foundation held our annual “Giving Tuesday” event where an
astounding $76,213 was raised to supply FFA jackets to members across the state who may not be
able to afford one. This day provided 952 jackets to members of California FFA and we thank all
that contributed in making it possible. Our association is very fortunate to have such a supportive
community.
S225962-1
As 2021 has begun California FFA is planning a full and engaging spring. Students will be able to
attend a career webinar series with presenters from different backgrounds and jobs in agriculture.
The series kicked off with Ms. Margo Parks of the Western States Petroleum Association. She shared
with students the value of being a strong advocate for what you believe in. Many more are to come
and we encourage students to attend and expand their sights on agriculture.
We will be continuing a series of social media posts that began in
December titled “Unsung Heros” where individuals who go the
extra mile to help and support the
association are recognized. It is our
hope that this series continues at the
chapter level as well to highlight those
behind the scenes.
Auto • Home • Farm
Commercial • Health
615 Holly St., Junction City
541-995-6397
24957 Hwy. 126, Veneta
541-606-4616
Proud Supporter of FFA
S218273-1
541-998-2383
155 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
Along with this series students will be able to participate in a variety of leadership conferences, online
contests and more. During March students who are sophomores, juniors or seniors can attend our
Made for Excellence or Advanced Leadership Academy conference to learn personal leadership skills
as well as how to work on a team.
Above: California state officers offer a
workshop at the Loyalton FFA chapter.
Left: State officers visit the Corning FFA
chapter.
Intertwined in the events of late
winter and spring, planning for
the annual state FFA convention is
underway. We look forward to what is
to come and celebrating the hard work
and successes that the year has had.
12333 Silver Falls Hwy SE
Aumsville, OR 97325
Phone: (503) 769-2205
S223430-
1
In November and December our state officer team hit the road visiting FFA chapters at schools that
are open. The team put on workshops for students and learned about the communities around the
schools.
Proud Sponsor of FFA
THE TRACTOR STORE
(541) 342-5464
5450 W. 11 th , Eugene, OR
S203344-1
503-873-6498
877-FOR-IOKA
www.iokamarketing.com
Silverton, Oregon
Proud
Supporter
of FFA
S220327-1
S203317-1
503-932-0766
klopfensteinag.com | Silverton, OR
TREE PLANTING
DRIP LINE INSTALLATION
S223764-1
TREE & BRUSH REMOVAL
