Friday, July 23, 2021 CapitalPress.com 5 Environmentalists plan to fi le Washington state sets new rule lawsuit over Idaho’s new wolf law for farm work in wildfi re smoke By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press By DON JENKINS Capital Press BOISE — Environmental groups have notifi ed Idaho Gov. Brad Little and other state offi cials of their intent to fi le a law- suit over an expanded wolf-killing law they believe will result in the illegal killing of federally protected grizzly bear and lynx. The Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and others on Monday gave a required 60-day notice of their intent to sue if Idaho offi cials don’t prohibit all hunting, trapping and snaring in grizzly bear and lynx habitat. For lynx, the conditions could cover most of Idaho except for the southwestern por- tion of the state. For grizzly bears, the areas would include portions of northern, cen- tral and eastern Idaho. Wolves are found in roughly the northern two-thirds of the state. In May, the Republican governor signed into law a measure lawmakers said could lead to killing 90% of the state’s 1,500 wolves through expanded trapping and hunt- ing. It took eff ect July 1. Lawmakers who sponsored the measure, backed by hunters and the state’s ranching sector but heavily criticized by environmental advocates, said numerous times that the state is allowed to cut the number of wolves down to 150 before federal authorities would take over manage- ment of the species. They said reducing the wolf population would reduce attacks on livestock and boost deer and elk herds. “Lynx, grizzly bears, and gray wolves all inhabit similar habitat types and geographic ranges in Idaho, and wolf hunting and trap- ping therefore frequently occur in areas in which lynx and grizzlies are also present,” the groups said in their letter. “Moreover, because snare and other authorized means of hunting and trapping are imprecise tools, they pose a substantial risk to non-target spe- cies, including lynx and grizzly bears.” A primary change in the new law allows the state to hire private contractors to kill wolves and provides more money for state Washington farmwork- ers must be provided with smoke-fi ltering masks when air quality reaches the threshold that federal regu- lators consider “unhealthy” for the public, the state Department of Labor and Industries says. The emergency rule went into eff ect July 16, though L&I investigators won’t begin enforcing it until July 23, department spokeswoman Dina Lor- raine said. L&I pulled back from an earlier proposal to enforce a mask rule at an air-qual- ity level the Environmental Protection Agency consid- ers acceptable, except for people unusually sensitive to smoke. Instead, L&I adopted the standard used by Cali- fornia, the only other state that regulates farmworkers laboring in wildfi re smoke. The department will revisit the threshold as it writes a rule for next wildfi re sea- son, Lorraine said. Gov. Jay Inslee ordered L&I to write a rule last fall as smoke clouded skies and air quality deteriorated from “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” to “hazardous” on the EPA scale in places across the state. L&I has yet to pro- pose a permanent rule. The emergency rule will be in place for the rest of the fi re season. The rule’s main pro- visions kick in when the federal air-quality index reaches 151 for particu- late matter, the equivalent of 173 on a separate state air-quality index. At 151, the color-coded EPA index turns red. Some members of the public may Alan Kanaga/Capital Press offi cials to hire the contractors. The law also expands the way wolves can be hunted and killed. The state Department of Fish and Game reported in February that the wolf popula- tion has held at about 1,500 the past two years. The numbers were derived by using remote cameras and other methods. Idaho Cattle Association Executive Vice President Cameron Mulrony told Capital Press the new law provides needed addi- tional tools to control wolves, and “will get the ball rolling.” The statute could be amended and admin- istrative rules revised, both with legislative approval, later if necessary, he said. Cattle group: CAFO legislation misguided LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 07/26/2021.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2012 TOYOTA RAV 4 LL VIN = JTMBF4DV6CD043923 Amount due on lien $1435.00  Reputed owner(s) DANIEL J HASS LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 07/26/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2015 HYUNDAI SONATA 4DR VIN = KMHEC4A48FA133786 Amount due on lien $1735.00  Reputed owner(s) WILLIAM A & KERA L O BOAZ FIFTH THIRD BANK NATL ASSOC LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 07/26/2021.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2005 CHALLENGER 34FT MH VIN = 5B4MP67G043392393 Amount due on lien $1455.00  Reputed owner(s) ROBERT BALDWIN WELLS FARGO 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 07/26/2021.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2012 V W GTI 4DR VIN = WVWGD7AJ1CW236225 Amount due on lien $1455.00  Reputed owner(s) LUIS FERNANDO NIEVES GONZALES MARION/POLK SCHOOLS C.U LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 07/26/2021.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2013 TOYOTA RAV 4 UT VIN = JTMBFREV8DD043693 Amount due on lien $1455.00  Reputed owner(s) ANGELIQUE J & WILLIAM D HOPSON CENTRAL WILLAMETTE C.U LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 07/26/2021.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2019 NISSAN SENTRA 4DR VIN = 3N1AB7AP7KY284046 Amount due on lien $1455.00  Reputed owner(s) DANIEL HERNANDEZ ZAMORA SANTANDER CONSUMER USA Farms groups said L&I was overstepping its juris- diction by proposing a stan- dard for working adults based on public health warnings for sensitive groups. Washington State Tree Fruit Association President Jon DeVaney said he was pleased L&I followed Cali- fornia’s rule. “It makes sense to follow that standard,” he said. Growers already were preparing for wildfi re smoke, but now have a new set of regulations to learn, DeVaney said. “Rolling out rules when people are at their busiest is a distrac- tion,” he said. United Farm Work- ers organizer Elizabeth Strater said L&I should have stuck with the lower threshold. Farmwork- ers inhale dust and chem- icals, and smoke adds to the occupational risks, she said. “These folks aren’t just going to and from their car,” Strater said. “I think the jump to 151 is prob- ably arbitrary. We know there are risks at lower levels than that.” WORLDWIDE LEADER IN SPREADING TECHNOLOGY Designed to meet the needs of any farming or industrial operation. ® PS 200 Series ProSpread Rear-Discharge Spreaders A SPREADER FOR EVERY OPERATION Our innovative, high-quality spreaders provide superior performance with years of low-maintenance service. S253258-1 S253260-1 S253255-1 S253257-1 S253259-1 ranchers. It would restore mandatory country-of-or- igin labeling requirements for beef and pork and pro- hibit USDA from labeling foreign, imported meat as “Product of USA.” Strengthening the Pack- ers and Stockyards Act and clarifying labeling are also part of USDA’s eff orts, as is expanding processing capacity and opportunities with a focus on small and mid-sized packers. NCBA has long been on the forefront of issues such as labeling, competitive and transparent markets and a more resilient supply chain, Lane said. “While it is positive to see some of those key pro- ducer concerns receiving attention from two new members of the Senate and House Agriculture Commit- tees, we’re also frustrated to see them buried in such a sprawling misguided pack- age,” he said. The legislation by Booker and Khanna would also hold corporate integra- tors responsible for pollu- tion and other harm caused by CAFOs and provide a voluntary buyout for farm- ers who want to transition out of operating a CAFO. have ill eff ects, while sensi- tive groups may have seri- ous illnesses, according to the EPA. At that point, farmwork- ers must move indoors or away from the smoke, or be given federally approved N95 masks, according to the rule. For this wildfi re season, KN95 masks are accept- able. Wearing the employ- er-provided mask is up to the worker. Employers must train workers about the rule, though that requirement won’t be enforced until Aug. 2 because training materials must still be trans- lated into Spanish, Lorraine said. L&I last month fl oated triggering the mask rule when the federal air-qual- ity index reaches 69, or 101 on the state scale. The rule would have been roughly twice as strict as California’s. At 69, the air could be hazardous for the young, the elderly and people with respiratory or other health problems, but is acceptable for most people, according to the EPA. S253254-1 Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., reintroduced a bill July 15 to clamp a morato- rium on new and expanding large confi ned animal feed- ing operations and phase out the largest CAFOs by 2040. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Ca- lif., introduced a companion bill in the House. The action would per- tain to beef and dairy cattle, swine, poultry and horses. The lawmakers said the legislation would “create a level playing fi eld for inde- pendent family farmers and transform the broken system built by multinational meat- packing companies. “Large multinational meatpackers, because of their buying power and size, are putting our food system at risk and harm- ing everyone along the sup- ply chain,” Booker said in a press release. Booker also called for an immediate transition to a more sustainable and humane system. “An important fi rst step is ending our reliance on huge factory farms and investing in a system that focuses on resilient and regenerative production,” he said. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association called the legislation misguided and in stark contrast to USDA’s plan to accomplish fair, transparent and competitive markets laid out last week by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. USDA’s path off ers prac- tical, long-term progress for cattle producers, said Ethan Lane, NCBA vice president of government aff airs. In contrast, the leg- islation introduced by Booker and Khanna “is the kind of broad, jumbled mess you get when you’re more focused on Twit- ter and talking points than the sound legislating rural Americans need,” he said. He pointed out that 95% of cattle raised in the U.S. visit a feedyard, and feeding operations are not antitheti- cal to small, family-owned farms and ranches. “They’re part and parcel of the same symbiotic sup- ply chain that produces the most nutritious, sustainable beef in the world,” he said. The legislation would also strengthen the Pack- ers and Stockyards Act to protect family farmers and By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Capital Press File A farmworker wears a bandana as protection against wildfi re smoke in a Washington orchard. 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