Friday, June 11, 2021
Farming,
hunting groups
band together
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — Signature
gathering is underway for
a controversial ballot mea-
sure in Oregon that, if
passed by voters, would
remove most exemptions
for farming, ranching and
hunting under the state’s
animal abuse laws.
The Oregon Elections
Division released a draft
ballot title for Initiative
Petition 13 on May 20 after
verifying 1,085 sponsor-
ship signatures. Petition-
ers now have until July 8 to
collect 112,020 signatures
required to place the initia-
tive on the November 2022
ballot.
A coalition of 19 agri-
culture and outdoor sports
groups, meanwhile, has
banded together to oppose
the measure.
“I have never seen an ini-
tiative that would have such
an immediate and devastat-
ing impact on more Oregon
families than IP13,” said
Mary Anne Cooper, vice
president of public pol-
icy for the Oregon Farm
Bureau.
IP13, titled the Abuse,
Neglect,
and
Assault
Exemption
Modification
and Improvement Act, was
filed Nov. 2, 2020 with the
Oregon Secretary of State’s
office. The chief petitioner
is David Michelson, a Port-
land animal rights activist.
Under Oregon law, a
person commits animal
abuse if they “intentionally,
knowingly or recklessly
cause physical injury to an
animal,” or “cruelly cause
the death of an animal.”
Baked into the law, how-
ever, is an exemption for
“good animal husbandry”
— things like branding and
dehorning cattle that are
common on ranches.
Not only would IP13
erase that exemption, but
it would classify breeding
livestock as sexual abuse
of an animal, a Class C fel-
ony. The measure would
also strip away protections
for hunting, fishing, rodeos,
slaughtering
livestock,
wildlife management, pest
control, scientific research
and more.
According to the Yes on
IP13 campaign website, the
measure doesn’t change the
definition of abuse — rather
it modifies existing laws to
hold everyone to the same
ethical standard.
But opponents say the
result would effectively
turn farmers, ranchers,
sportsmen and even teach-
ers into criminals.
“Everyone from horse
trainers to pet groomers
to dairy farmers to anyone
who kills a rat in their own
home would become crim-
inals under this measure,”
Cooper said.
A dozen agricultural
groups submitted comments
on June 4 to Oregon Attor-
ney General Ellen Rosen-
blum asking for amend-
ments to the ballot’s draft
language that more clearly
communicates the effects of
the measure.
The groups include the
Oregon Farm Bureau, Ore-
gon Cattlemen’s Associa-
tion, Oregon Dairy Farm-
ers Association, Northwest
Chicken Council, Oregon
Sheep Growers Association,
Oregonians for Food and
Shelter, Food Northwest,
Livestock Marketing Asso-
ciation, Fur Commission
USA, Oregon Horse Coun-
cil, West Coast Seafood
Processors Association and
Friends of Family Farmers.
As written, they claim
the draft ballot is under-in-
clusive and misleading, and
does not accurately sum-
marize all of IP13’s major
effects.
“Oregon law prohibits
killing or injuring animals
but acknowledges that there
are many necessary excep-
tions to protect the food
supply, and rudimentary,
widely accepted animal
management and care prac-
tices, none of which Orego-
nians would likely expect
should or would be crimi-
nalized,” the letter states.
CapitalPress.com 3
Protesters threaten to breach Klamath headgates
By HOLLY DILLEMUTH
For the Capital Press
Rising tensions in the Klamath
Basin could soon come to a boil,
as two Klamath Project irrigators
announced last week that they plan
to lead the breach of the headgates of
the federal irrigation project’s main
canal and try to release water, likely
triggering a standoff with the federal
government.
Klamath Project irrigators Grant
Knoll and Dan Nielsen bought prop-
erty next to the headgates in April
for $30,000 and have set up camp
on the site. They are staffing a red-
and-white canvas tent with volun-
teers from the local branch of Peo-
ple’s Rights, a national organization
formed in 2020 by property rights
activist Ammon Bundy, and they’re
trying to rally support.
Both met in 2001 during a sim-
ilarly extreme drought, and were
among those who forcibly turned
on the water to the A Canal at the
headgates.
They say they’re planning to do
it again, but just need bigger equip-
ment this time around.
“I’m planning on getting D.C.’s
attention,” Knoll said following a
Memorial Day barbecue held at the
tent. “We’re going to turn on the
water and have a standoff.”
Federal officials announced in
mid-May that, due to extremely low
water elevations in Upper Klam-
ath Lake, that no water would be
released this season from the lake
into the A Canal, the main channel
that delivers irrigation water to the
Project.
Holly Dillemuth/ For the Capital Press
Grant Knoll, left, and Dan Nielsen. The two Klamath Project irrigators
say they will breach the project’s headgates in an attempt to get water
into the system’s main canal.
Knoll and Nielsen say they plan
to enter the fenced area surround-
ing the headgates, which is topped
with barbed wire and posted with
keep-out signs threatening criminal
charges.
The large tent where they’ve
been rallying supporters and hosting
speakers, along Nevada Street, has
served as a “water crisis info center”
for the past two weeks.
Nielsen and Knoll were frank in
discussing their plans with Jefferson
Public Radio. They said they were
both prepared to do what it takes
to get access to water they believe
belongs to them.
“If you stand up for your private
property, it appears that you’re put-
ting your life on the line, ‘cause they
will shoot you down and gun you
down like they did LaVoy Finni-
cum,” Nielsen said.
Finnicum was a prominent par-
ticipant in the armed takeover and
occupation of the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge in Harney County,
Ore., in 2016. Oregon State Police
killed Finnicum after he tried to
run an FBI roadblock during an
attempted arrest.
Nielsen says when he and the
others break into the headgates,
“(We’re) not going to be armed but
they’re probably going to be people
on the outside protecting us, and if
it’s not our sheriff, we’ll have peo-
ple protect us.”
Ammon Bundy, leader of the
2016 Malheur occupation, has
stated he’s willing to come to Klam-
ath Falls to join those involved in
the effort, if asked to do so.
Nielsen is quick to showcase
a text conversation he has with
Bundy, and Nielsen says Bundy
will get the heads-up when they
make their move. Knoll and Niel-
sen won’t say when that will be,
but they are saying it’ll be on short
notice.
Knoll had told a pool of report-
ers at a rally that having Klamath
Irrigation District turn on the water
would be the ideal approach. Knoll
is a board member of the district and
said he has swayed one of his fel-
low board members to vote to let the
water flow.
“It would be much better for the
community for KID to do it than for
civil disobedience,” Knoll said.
But the odds of the KID board
taking that approach appear to be
slim.
The federal government owns the
land underneath and surrounding the
headgates, says Gene Souza, who
manages the Klamath Irrigation Dis-
trict. The district has a contract with
the federal Bureau of Reclamation
to operate and maintain the facility.
Souza could sense things were
going to get bad for water delivery
this year starting last fall. In Febru-
ary and March this year, inflows into
Upper Klamath Lake were the low-
est since 1933. He says he under-
stands the frustration that’s driving
Knoll and Nielsen’s efforts.
But, Souza says he doesn’t sup-
port any effort to breach the fence
surrounding the headgates to access
the water.
“The sad part about it is, their
actions, physical actions … would
not result in a single drop of water
being delivered to their farm.”
OSU to build new $20 million Severe drought
spreads in Washington
dairy processing facility
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State
University announced Tuesday it will
build a new $20 million dairy process-
ing facility using private investments,
state bonds and university funding.
The new, 3,000-square-foot dairy
plant — three times the size of OSU’s
existing facilities — will be used as a
research laboratory and hands-on class-
room for students and faculty, an educa-
tional space for the community, an incu-
bator for dairy startups, a space where
creameries statewide can test new prod-
ucts and a retail shop selling products
such as ice cream made on site.
“I’m thrilled. It’s truly a dream
come true,” said Lisbeth Goddik, head
of OSU’s Department of Food Science
and Technology. “We’ve wanted to pro-
vide the very best educational oppor-
tunities for our students, and this will
allow us to do that. I think it’ll also have
a really broad impact on our industry,
because it’ll make it faster and cheaper
to develop new products.”
This year is devoted to planning and
design. Construction will likely begin
summer 2022 and take about a year.
The facility will be in OSU’s Withy-
combe Hall, which originally housed
a dairy in 1952. Robin Frojen, OSU’s
current creamery manager, said she’s
excited to restore the building “back to
its creamery glory.”
More than a dozen outside groups
invested in the renovation. The three
lead outside donors were Tillamook
County Creamery Association, North-
west Farm Credit Services and the Ore-
gon Dairy Nutrition Council.
Alan Sams, dean of the College of
Agricultural Sciences, said about $3
million comes from private donations,
$3 million from state bonds and the
remainder from university funds. Addi-
tional fundraising is underway.
JEWETT
Oregon State University
Oregon State University students
making cheese. The upcoming $20
million facility will provide oppor-
tunities for students, Oregon’s dairy
industry and the broader community.
Goddik, the department head, said
industry groups donated for a few rea-
sons: to invest in the next generation of
the dairy industry, to support research
and to have a facility they could access
for testing and product development.
Goddik said small creameries often
lack the equipment needed for prod-
uct testing, while large creameries usu-
ally have equipment that’s too big for
batch tests — so the scale of OSU’s
new facility will be ideal to serve both
groups.
OSU’s existing facility is only set up
for artisanal cheesemaking — a brand
line called Beaver Classic. In the new
facility, students will be able to produce
more cheese varieties, yogurt, ice cream
and other products.
Frojen, the creamery manager, said
she looks forward to making blue
cheese with her students, which isn’t
possible in the current facility.
“We’ll be able to expand into other
products,” said Sams, the dean. “(The
plant) will also allow us to teach more
technologically advanced and indus-
try-relevant things to the students to
keep pace with the industry so they’re
ready to step into jobs when they
graduate.”
Drought conditions have
spread in Washington, the U.S.
Drought Monitor reported
Thursday, with one-third of
the state suffering “severe
drought” and forecasts predict-
ing that a hot, early summer
will follow the extraordinarily
dry spring.
Drought covered 68% of
the state, up from 53% the
week before. The percent-
age of the state in a “severe
drought” increased to 33%
from 24%.
Portions of Benton, Colum-
bia, Klickitat, Walla Walla
and Yakima counties, mak-
ing up 4% of the state, were
in “extreme drought,” the sec-
ond worst of four drought
categories.
The U.S. Climate Prediction
Center forecasts that Washing-
ton, along with the entire West,
will be hotter and drier than nor-
mal between June 12 and 25.
“We could see some serious
drought conditions develop by
the summer,” Washington State
Assistant Climatologist Karin
Bumbaco said.
Compared to Oregon, Cal-
ifornia and the Southwest,
Washington’s drought condi-
tions are still mild, but the dry
spring has pushed the state to
look more like the rest of the
West.
Temperatures have been
moderate. April, however, was
the seventh driest April in the
past 127 years, and it followed
the 11th driest March.
Combined, the two months
were the fourth-driest March
through April on record,
according to the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration. Statewide May fig-
ures have not been released.
Washington’s
snow-
pack was the best in nearly a
decade. The spring, however,
has been drier than in 2015,
the year of the state’s “snow-
pack drought.”
“It goes to show that you
can have a dry spring regard-
less of what happened in the
winter,” Bumbaco said. “The
drought conditions are all the
result of the dry spring.”
Snow continues to melt in
streams and rivers. The U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation on
Thursday affirmed that senior
and junior water-right holders
can expect to get their full allot-
ments in the Yakima Valley.
“Despite the third month
with dry conditions, the snow
and reservoir storage still
appear adequate to meet nor-
mal demands,” Yakima Proj-
ect River Operations super-
visor Chuck Garner said in a
statement.
The Northwest River Fore-
cast Council on Thursday pre-
dicted Columbia River flows at
The Dalles though September
will be 84% of normal.
In northwest Washington,
the Skagit River near Mount
Vernon has projected flows
of 101% of normal, while the
Dungeness River on the Olym-
pic Peninsula has projected
flows of 107% of normal.
Farther south, however,
snowpacks have melted. Fed
by snow but mostly reliant on
rain, the Walla Walla River near
Touchet in southeast Washing-
ton has projected flows of only
53% of normal.
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