4
CapitalPress.com
Friday, May 21, 2021
Delays create logistics ‘nightmare’ for hay exporters
helicopters, 91 single-en-
gine airtankers, up to 34
airtankers, 360 pieces of
heavy equipment and more
than 1,600 engines.
These resources will
supplement state and local
forces.
Vilsack said USDA and
the Interior Department
staff have been identifying
regions where they think
the highest fire risks are
and pre-positioning peo-
ple and supplies at those
locations.
2021 will probably be
better than 2020 in at least
one way, said USDA staff.
Firefighters who wanted to
get vaccinated were able
to do so this year, which
could relieve some pres-
sure surrounding COVID-
19 protocols.
Firefighting last year
was a nightmare, agency
leaders said, because of
social distancing and
safety requirements related
to COVID-19.
“It
was
incredi-
bly stressful,” said Patty
Grantham, acting director
of fire and aviation man-
agement at USDA’s Forest
Service.
Haaland of the Inte-
rior Department said her
agency will seek to reduce
wildfire risk by confront-
ing climate change, pro-
moting strategic fuels
management,
investing
in new science and tech-
nology, hiring personnel,
empowering communities
to help reduce fire risk and
building stronger partner-
ships with native American
tribes.
Vilsack said he’s hope-
ful President Biden’s
American Jobs Plan will
pass Congress. It would
invest billions of dol-
lars in forest restoration,
fuels management and
post-wildfire restoration.
But the Jobs Plan, also
known as Biden’s infra-
structure package, is con-
troversial and lacks bipar-
tisan support because it
would increase corporate
taxes.
Regardless of what hap-
pens with the infrastruc-
ture plan, Vilsack said the
Forest Service will request
more money from Con-
gress to fight wildfires.
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray,
D-Wash., and Gov. Jay Ins-
lee say Idaho Rep. Mike
Simpson’s plan to remove
four Snake River dams can-
not be included in federal
infrastructure package.
Instead, they’re calling for
more regional collaboration.
“While we appreciate
Representative Simpson’s
efforts and the conversa-
tions we have had so far with
tribes and stakeholders, it is
clear more work within the
Pacific Northwest is neces-
sary to craft a lasting, com-
prehensive solution,” Inslee
and Murray said in a joint
press release.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cant-
well, D-Wash., told the Seat-
tle Times she also does not
support the Simpson pro-
posal, though she does sup-
port salmon recovery in the
Columbia Basin and across
the region and collaborative
processes to get there.
Murray and Inslee say
regional collaboration is
needed “now more than
ever.”
Any solution must honor
tribal treaty rights, ensure
reliable transportation and
use of the river; ensure ongo-
ing access for fishermen and
sportsmen, guarantee Wash-
ington farmers remain com-
petitive and are able to get
farm products to market;
and deliver reliable, afford-
able and clean energy, they
stated.
Inslee and Murray called
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
A Central Washing-
ton dairy waited too long to
challenge a study linking it
to high levels of nitrates in
drinking water in the Yakima
Valley, a federal court has
ruled.
In a decision posted online
May 14, the 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals dismissed
a suit filed by the Cow Pal-
ace dairy and the Washing-
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/24/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2011 FORD RNG PU
VIN = 1FTKR4EE7BPA69420
Amount due on lien $1555.00
Reputed owner(s)
JAMES D & LINDA HUGHES
MANOR RESOURCES LLC
LEGAL
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CHAPTER 87
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following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/24/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2013 INFINITY J35 UT
VIN = 5N1AL0MM1DC332067
Amount due on lien $1555.00
Reputed owner(s) HUNTER TONRY
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CHAPTER 87
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following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
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at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2017 AUDI Q3 UT
VIN = WA1JCCFS5HR001183
Amount due on lien $1555.00
Reputed owner(s)
KATHRYN KING ARCHIE
AUDI FINANCIAL SERVICES
S244211-1
S244210-1
S244217-1
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/24/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2016 FORD EDGE UT
VIN = 2FMPK4K90GBB44230
Amount due on lien $1435.00
Reputed owner(s) EVAN SMYTHE
S244216-1
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
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following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/25/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
LITTLE J HOOK INC.
15114 MANNING RD WOODBURN, OR
2016 NISSAN VERSA 4D
VIN = 3N1CE2CPXGL352182
Amount due on lien $5605.00
Reputed owner(s) FERNANDO
MARTINEZ GARCIA
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NA
S244215-1
Associated Press File
The Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River near Pomeroy, Wash.
for “a formal, regional pro-
cess that is based on sci-
ence, consensus, and ensur-
ing all voices in the region
are heard.”
Simpson has not pro-
posed any legislation. He
offered his plan in February.
It was rejected by agricul-
tural stakeholders and envi-
ronmental groups.
In a statement, the Pacific
Northwest Waterways Asso-
ciation, which supports nav-
igation, trade and economic
development on the river
system, said the organiza-
tion is “encouraged” by the
Inslee-Murray statement and
strongly supports a “collabo-
rative, science-based process
that seeks to restore salmon
runs and works for all the
stakeholders and communi-
ties in the Columbia River
Basin.”
“Gov. Inslee and Wash-
ington’s two senators are
right to reject Rep. Simp-
son’s deeply flawed proposal
to remove the four lower
Snake River dams,” Sophia
Ressler, Washington wildlife
attorney with the Center for
Biological Diversity, said in
a press release.
Inslee and Murray say
groups like the Columbia
Basin Collaborative — con-
vened by Inslee and the gov-
ernors of Idaho, Oregon
and Montana — could help
identify a path to achieving
consensus.
A 2020 federal report
rejected dam breaching.
NOAA’s biological opin-
ion found that breaching
the dams would benefit the
fish in the long term but
would also impact the envi-
ronmental, socioeconomic
and cultural aspects of river
operations.
The preferred alternative
calls for making changes at
the dams to improve passage
and conditions for salmon
and other fish listed under
the Endangered Species Act.
Judges dismiss Cow Palace suit against EPA
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/24/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2020 TOYOTA 4RUNNER SW
VIN = JTEBU5JR2L5834149
Amount due on lien $1435.00
Reputed owner(s)
JOHN FRANCIS SARRAZIN
FIFTH THIRD BANK NTNL ASSOCIATION
S244209-1
still invested in old crop that
should have been delivered
(and) they should have been
paid on,” he said.
Exporter delays in pay-
ment get passed on to the
ton State Dairy Federation
against the Environmental
Protection Agency.
The suit alleged the EPA
misled the dairy about the
study’s strength, coercing
the dairy in 2013 to under-
take extensive and expensive
measures to prevent ground-
water contamination.
Cow Palace owner Adam
Dolsen declared that he
didn’t learn about the decep-
tion until he met with EPA
officials in 2019. He and the
dairy federation filed the suit
in 2020.
A three-judge panel ruled
that the lawsuit should have
been filed within 45 days of
Dolsen’s meeting with the
EPA, the window for chal-
lenging EPA actions taken
under the Safe Water Drink-
ing Act.
Dairy Federation director
Dan Wood said Friday that
the dairy and federation ini-
tially tried to negotiate with
the EPA, rather than sue.
The dairy and federation also
needed more EPA documents
before deciding whether to
go to court, he said.
“The EPA controlled the
release of those documents,”
Wood said. “Basically, they
delayed releasing the infor-
mation that would have held
them accountable, and they
got away with it.”
The EPA declined to com-
ment on the ruling. In court,
the EPA rejected claims that
it duped Cow Palace and
other dairies into the agree-
ments, which included lin-
ing manure lagoons to tox-
ic-waste standards, costing
dairies millions of dollars.
Wood said the ruling likely
ends the case. “We could
appeal, but it’s too much of a
long shot. We’re left with an
injustice,” he said.
Cow Palace agreed to
operational changes soon
after the EPA finished a study
linking dairies to contami-
nated wells.
The report was classified
in some EPA documents as
“influential,” an official des-
ignation reserved for stud-
ies with a high level of peer
review and used in regulatory
actions.
According to the lawsuit,
the EPA revealed in a meet-
ing in 2019 that the study had
been classified as “other,” a
lower category.
“This does not make one
confident that we live in a
nation of laws,” Dolsen said
in a statement.
“How can we trust the
actions of federal officials
when judges allow them to
create false science, lie about
the necessary review, delay
providing documents that
prove their guilt and then
claim our complaints are too
late?”
The EPA said that the
study’s designation didn’t
change its findings that
linked the dairies to elevated
levels of nitrates.
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/24/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2008 DODGE 3500 PU
VIN = 3D7MX38A98G233951
Amount due on lien $2355.00
Reputed owner(s)
JOHANNA HALE & MITCHELL
WALTERS
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/24/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2015 MAZDA CX 5 UT
VIN = JM3KE4DY9F0487555
Amount due on lien $2655.00
Reputed owner(s)
MARK S & ERIN E ENNIS
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK NA
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
05/24/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2019 FORD F 450 CB
VIN = 1FDTF4HT1KDA27572
Amount due on lien $1555.00
Reputed owner(s)
4C S ENVIRONMENTAL INC
FORD MOTOR CREDIT CO
S244214-1
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— USDA and the Depart-
ment of the Interior are
gearing up for what’s
expected to be one of the
most intense fire years in
recent history.
“May is wildfire aware-
ness month, but these days,
it seems as if the fire sea-
son is the entire year,” Deb
Haaland, secretary of the
Interior, told reporters in a
press call Thursday.
The National Inter-
agency Fire Center in
Boise, Idaho, predicts 2021
will be another above-av-
erage year for wildfire
potential in the West.
Agriculture Secretary
Tom Vilsack told reporters
he’s “troubled” the signals
suggest the U.S. is “headed
into yet another very dan-
gerous fire year.”
Jeff Rupert, direc-
tor of the Interior’s Office
of Wildland Fire, agreed
2021’s fire outlook is bad.
Nationwide, 550,000 acres
are currently burning, and
the Southwest already has
five large, active fires in
mid-May.
More than 90% of the
West is experiencing some
level of drought, according
to agency data. Rupert said
he expects the worst fires
across California, where
drought is acute, but he
also anticipates wildfires
will hit the Pacific North-
west in June, July and
August.
“The drought now is
worse than this time last
year, and the fire potential
across the West is worse,”
he said.
In 2020, more than 10.3
million acres burned across
the U.S., a record year and
more than 50% higher than
the 10-year average.
Haaland and Vilsack
told reporters what their
agencies are doing to gear
up for the season.
The Department of the
Interior’s land manage-
ment agencies and USDA
are combining resources
for a record-sized fire-
fighting team for this time
of year, including 15,000
firefighters, more than 500
Some companies will
have some “wiggle room,”
if they can get the containers,
Clausen said.
“New crop is coming and
they’ve got all this money
those numbers, that there’s
that much hay out there on
the farm,” he said. “I don’t
believe there’s as strong a
carryover as they’re saying.”
Old crop large squares of
alfalfa hay bring $155 per
ton in the Columbia Basin.
With the high price of
Midwest soybeans and corn
and drought conditions,
Clausen expects demand for
feed hay to increase.
Prices have increased
about $10 to $20 per ton in
the last two months, he said,
adding that the industry is in
price discovery mode.
“I see the bottom of the
market coming up ... and
I notice the top price is
bumped up,” he said. “I think
it still has room to move.”
Inslee, Murray on Simpson
plan: More work necessary
USDA and Interior
Department gear up for
dangerous wildfire year
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
Capital Press File
Hay growers report exporters are encountering delays
in overseas shipments.
farmer, Clausen added.
The USDA National
Agricultural Statistics Ser-
vice reported Washington
on-farm hay stocks totaled
220,000 tons, up 38% from
last year. May 1 stocks repre-
sent 8% of 2020 production.
In Idaho, hay stocks on
farms on May 1, 2021, totaled
410,000 tons in Idaho, down
16% from a year ago. May 1
stocks represent 8% of 2020
production.
In Oregon, on-farm hay
stocks totaled 290,000 tons,
down 27% from 2020. May
1 stocks are 10% of 2020
production.
Clausen isn’t certain the
NASS numbers are accurate
for Washington.
“I’m not sure I believe
S244213-1
Washington hay exporters
and farmers are hampered
by continuing container and
truck driver shortages.
“A lot of the hay that’s
sold has a market to go to,
it’s just having a hard time
getting off the farm,” said
Shawn Clausen, a Warden,
Wash., farmer and past pres-
ident of the Washington Hay
Growers Association.
Shipping can be delayed
for up to three months, with
cancellations and re-book-
ings, he said.
“It’s been an absolute
logistics nightmare for these
export companies,” Clau-
sen said, pointing to a truck
driver shortage and higher
fuel prices. “It just keeps get-
ting worse for these export-
ers trying to move this prod-
uct. They bought it at a fair
price last fall, they thought
they had it all lined out.”
Shipping and trucking
companies are raising prices
or exporters are having to
offer more incentives, wip-
ing out their margins, he said.
Quality of the hay isn’t
affected by the delay, as long
as it’s properly stored, Clau-
sen said.
“One problem is you can-
not make up time, in a fac-
tory where they process the
hay,” he said. “They can
only get so much produc-
tion per day. Lost time is lost
revenue.”
S244212-1
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
