Capital Press
Friday, June 24, 2022
CapitalPress.com
Volume 95, Number 25
$2.00
‘SECOND BATTLE FIELD’
Organizers seek support for Ukrainian farm families
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
C
OLFAX, Wash. — Ukraine’s farms
have become a “second battle fi eld”
in the war with Russia, according to
a Ukrainian businessman who is working
in the U.S. and Europe to build support for
farm families in his homeland.
It’s harvest time in Ukraine, and farmers there
are struggling with the lack of fuel and storage
for their crops. But in many of the fi elds, Russian
mines and unexploded rockets pose lethal dangers.
“Every week, there is one or two situations
where a tractor or agricultural equipment explodes
on the mines, even in the peaceful areas,” said
Roman Grynyshyn.
He is CEO of Travelite MICE and Travel
Ukraine. The Kyiv-based company organizes a
farmer-to-farmer program funded by the U.S.
Agency for International Development, or USAID.
He organizes farm tours and brings in experts to
speak with Ukrainian farmers about new agricul-
tural technologies.
When the Russian Army invaded Ukraine, sol-
diers destroyed as much as they could, Grynyshyn
See Ukraine, Page 10
Rodrigo Abd/Associated Press
A soldier stands in the entrance of a farm destroyed by a Russian attack near
Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 28.
A farmworker climbs out of a crater caused by shelling in a fi eld in Cherkaska
Lozova, near Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on May 28.
Bernat Armangue/Associated Press
Critics fear restrictions under new Oregon wildfi re map
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Oregon forestry offi cials
are bracing for controversy
after approving statewide
hazard ratings that encom-
pass up to 300,000 proper-
ties with an elevated risk of
wildfi res.
Many of those tracts are
expected to face new defen-
sible space and building
code requirements under
“wildland-urban interface”
criteria recently enacted by
the state’s Board of Forestry.
Critics anticipate the two
regulatory actions will result
in sweeping and unwork-
able restrictions for rural
communities when a map
of aff ected areas is released
later this month.
Blowback from rural
residents against the new
requirements is expected by
the state forestry offi cials
due to objections they’ve
encountered during the
rule-making process.
“We have to recognize
there will be people and
organizations that will con-
tinue to push against this
and attempt to embarrass
the department and related
agencies,” said Jim Kelly,
the board’s chair, during a
recent meeting. “It will enter
into the governor’s race and
all that. I think we all need to
be prepared.”
Stayton Fire District
The Oregon Department of Forestry has approved mapping rules that critics fear will
cause over-regulation of rural properties.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry received
roughly twice as many com-
ments opposed to the map-
ping regime than in favor
of it, mostly because peo-
ple thought the wildland-ur-
ban interface was too expan-
sive, said Tim Holschbach,
the agency’s fi re prevention
and policy manager.
The agency will send
out written notices to
250,000-300,000 landown-
ers aff ected by the rules.
They can appeal their classi-
fi cations if they’re subject to
regulation, he said. Periodic
audits will review the eff ec-
tiveness of the rules, which
can continue to be modifi ed.
As the rollout of the wild-
fi re map gets underway,
ODF realizes it will be in a
“fi sh bowl” of public scru-
tiny and it expects that revi-
sions will be necessary, said
Mike Shaw, the agency’s fi re
chief.
“The agency’s work is
not done. The work will con-
tinue through this year. We
know we’re not going to be
See Fire, Page 10
Stricter groundwater rules contemplated for Oregon
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon
water regulators want to
impose stricter rules for
drilling new irrigation
wells next year to preserve
groundwater levels and
prevent over-pumping.
A preliminary analysis
of available data suggests
that little groundwater
across the state is available
for new allocations, said
Ivan Gall, fi eld services
division administrator at
the state’s Water Resources
Department.
The goal is to create a
policy that’s “simple and
transparent” and also “pro-
tective” of groundwa-
ter and senior water rights
holders, Gall said at the
June 16 meeting of the
state’s Water Resources
Commission, which over-
sees the department.
The agency plans to
hold public outreach work-
shops about the proposal
this summer, following by
a “rules advisory commit-
tee” to weigh in on poten-
tial changes.
Under this timeline, the
commission could vote to
adopt the new regulations
in early 2023.
“It’s a very large under-
taking, when you look at
the issues before us,” said
Doug Woodcock, OWRD’s
deputy director of water
management.
The agency is on an
“ambitious schedule” to
revise the rules for per-
mitting new wells, he said.
It plans to later deal with
other groundwater reforms,
such as the rules for deep-
ening existing wells.
“We’re really looking
at the groundwater alloca-
tion piece and getting that
under control,” Woodcock
said.
Depletion of groundwa-
ter has been a growing con-
cern for several areas in
Oregon, drawing increased
scrutiny to how irrigation
uses are regulated.
Traditionally,
irriga-
tors have been permitted
to tap into aquifers as long
as the wells didn’t imme-
diately interfere with sur-
face waters, according to
OWRD.
The agency is now con-
templating an approach
that would deny permits for
new wells where ground-
water is over-appropriated
or where data is lacking.
Currently, new ground-
water uses may be approved
even if there’s insuffi cient
information about aquifer
appropriation.
Under the new regula-
tion, wells would no lon-
ger be permitted sim-
ply because an area
“cannot be determined to
be over-appropriated.”
During the June 16 meet-
ing, commission members
urged OWRD offi cials to
cease approving new wells
See Groundwater, Page 10