Capital Press
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, October 22, 2021
Volume 94, Number 43
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FLOOD IRRIGATION
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
FOREVER
White-faced Ibis with Canada geese in the
foreground are seen at the Market Lake Wild-
life Management Area.
Farmers provide crucial habitat
for waterfowl, recharge aquifer
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
R
About 62% of the wetlands in the
Intermountain West are fl ood-irrigated
pastures and hay meadows in fl ood-
plains. Those wetlands are concentrated
on 7% of irrigated agricultural land,
according to Intermountain West Joint
Venture.
Privately owned habitat
For example, roughly 80% of the
habitat used by sandhill cranes, white-
faced Ibis, cinnamon teal and northern
pintails is on privately owned, fl ood-ir-
rigated wet meadows, according to
the venture, which coordinates habi-
tat conservation through public-private
partnerships.
Maintaining fl ood irrigation in
A white-faced Ibis
for some bird species.
His fl ood-irrigated fi elds are an inte-
gral part of the birds’ survival, provid-
ing food and shelter. But habitat for bird
species on fl ood-irrigated agricultural
lands across the West is disappearing
as more farms are converted to effi cient
sprinkler irrigation.
Courtesy photo
See Irrigation, Page 11
Ag exports benefi t from Portland’s
container business upswing
La Nina forms and likely
to stay through winter
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
A La Nina has formed,
the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
reported Oct. 14, portending
a wet and cold winter in parts
of the Northwest.
NOAA’s Climate Predic-
tion Center forecast that the
La Nina will peak at moder-
ate strength from November
through January. The center
hedged a little, estimating a
13% chance that the La Nina
will diminish before winter.
“We have to have a little
humility,” Washington State
Climatologist Nick Bond
said, reacting to the forecast.
“But as much as we can, we
can count on it.”
La Nina winters gener-
ally lead to cool and wet win-
ters in the northern tier of
the U.S., including Idaho.
Above-average snowpacks
in the Cascades, especially
in Washington, are the norm.
Last winter, a La Nina pre-
vailed. Melting snow helped
large Washington irrigation
districts withstand this year’s
drought.
Farther south, how-
ever, La Nina has the oppo-
site eff ect. A La Nina winter
could worsen drought con-
ditions in California and the
Southwest.
Oregon roughly south of
Roseburg falls in a transi-
tion zone where the eff ects of
La Nina are hard to predict,
Oregon State Climatologist
Larry O’Neill said.
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
NOAA
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administra-
tion reports a La Nina has
formed and likely will stay
throughout the 2021-22
winter.
During last winter’s La
Nina, drought worsened in
southern Oregon.
“I tend to temper expec-
tations for that part of the
state,” O’Neill said. “The
real wildcard is southwest
Oregon and most of Eastern
Oregon.
“Washington tends to
have a strong La Nina
See La Nina, Page 11
TIME TO PLAN
for next year.
Richard Gilchrest checks on cattle at his farm
near Roberts, Idaho.
PORTLAND — Business is again on
the upswing at the Port of Portland’s con-
tainer terminal after a turbulent decade.
Agricultural exporters are benefi ting
from resumed ocean carrier service at the
terminal, which recently secured additional
weekly and monthly vessel calls from two
shipping lines.
The question is whether the port can
sustain this upward trajectory and bring
Terminal 6 into profi tability, so it no lon-
ger has to be subsidized by other marine
operations.
“We are still operating in the red but we
have closed the gap signifi cantly,” said Dan
Pippenger, the port’s chief operating offi -
cer. “We’re closing the gap but we’re not
there yet.”
Ten years ago, Terminal 6’s fi nancial
losses convinced the port to lease the facil-
ity to a terminal operator, ICTSI.
The longshoremen’s union began butt-
ing heads with the company almost imme-
diately, resulting in decreased productiv-
ity that drove ocean carriers to abandon the
container terminal in 2016.
ICTSI ended its contract to lease the
facility for $11 million under a legal set-
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File
A container stacker works at the Port of
Portland’s container terminal. Business
at Terminal 6 is on the upswing, helping
ag exporters, but the facility isn’t yet
profi table.
tlement, after which the port and the long-
shoremen’s union buried the hatchet.
Weekly container service returned to
Terminal 6 early last year and the facility
handled the equivalent of 58,800 20-foot
containers in 2020.
With expanded service from the SM
Line and MSC ocean carrier companies,
the port projects those numbers will grow
to 108,000 20-foot equivalent units in 2021
and 180,000 TEUs in 2022.
See Exports, Page 11
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S228621-1
OBERTS, Idaho —
Richard Gilchrist raises
a small herd of Angus
cross cattle about 20
miles northwest of Idaho
Falls. He also fl ood irri-
gates his pasture and the alfalfa and
grass he grows for hay, a practice that
is falling out of favor among irrigators
who seek effi ciency in their operations.
But Gilchrist’s goal goes beyond irri-
gation effi ciency.
“I’m interested in preserving the hab-
itat for the birds and the various wild-
life,” he said.
He has two plots, each about 150
acres. One is bordered on two sides by
the Market Lake Wildlife Management
Area, more than 6,000 acres of stopover
habitat for waterfowl and nesting habitat