FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015
Business & Ag
Baker County cattlemen
discuss water rights, salt tax
By Todd Arriola
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County Live-
stock Association (BCLA)
welcomed a room full of
area residents and other
interested parties for a
water rights informational
meeting at Best Western
Sunridge Inn, on Thursday,
February 12, at 3 p.m.
The focus of the meeting
was the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife’s
(ODFW) pending in-
stream water right appli-
cation, and the effects on
current water right users.
Jacob Bingham, BCLA
President, greeted the
crowd, and commented
about the great attendance.
He introduced Drew
Martin, of Yturri Rose
law firm, who is also Vice
President of BCLA. Martin
said the first purpose of the
meeting was that the issue
has been a long-standing
one, and the public needed
to be made aware of it, and
the second purpose was to
bring a variety of people
together to organize ideas
and responses.
He introduced Mar-
tha Pagel, a water rights
specialist and attorney,
and Elizabeth Howard,
an agricultural industry
advocate and attorney at
Schwabe, Williamson &
Wyatt, of Portland. He also
introduced Jason Spriet,
Manager for the East Re-
gion, Water Resources De-
partment, located in Baker
City. Martin also thanked
County Commissioners
Harvey and Bennett for
attending the meeting.
Martin explained that
in 1987, legislation was
passed allowing the
ODFW, Oregon Parks and
Recreation (OPR), and Or-
egon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality (ODEQ)
to apply for in-stream
water rights. He said that
ODFW had applied for
these rights in the Powder
River Basin in the mid-90s,
and the application stayed
in a “pending” status until
December 2013, when
a letter of protest from
the Powder Valley Water
Control District prompted
ODFW to respond with
talks of negotiations, a
move that resulted in the
informational meeting. The
application remains in a
“pending” status.
He presented a slide-
show, with a list of
in-stream water rights
applications currently in
the basin, noting that the
abbreviation “W W” on the
list means Water Watch,
an organization that has
applied for standing within
the Burnt River District
Originally, in January
2014, the defendant was
charged with three counts
of Unauthorized Use of a
Livestock Animal, with the
fourth charge added since
that time.
The two First Degree
Theft counts, Class C felo-
nies, were based on failing
to make reasonable efforts
to return the cow and its
calf to the owner.
The case was investigat-
ed in late September 2013
by Deputy Gabe Maldona-
— Weekly Hay Report —
Friday, February 13, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to the
same quality last week. Trade activity and demand
continue to be slow. The good weather in several
areas of Oregon has slowed down demand, as the
pasture grasses are growing causing end users to
be able to turn animals out on pasture rather than
purchase and feed additional hay. Fewer containers
available at the shipping ports has slowed down the
ability to export hay overseas. Several producers
have old all that they plan to sell for this season.
Eastern Oregon sales reported:
No new sales confirmed
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 590
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
Attorney Drew Martin gave a presentation on water rights issues at the meeting.
area, whose interests aren’t
aligned with those present,
he said.
The practical impact
of this situation, Martin
said, is that there would be
obstacles to overcome in
the area of stream develop-
ment.
A government agency
with standing could claim
presumptive injury with a
change in points of diver-
sion, for example.
He pointed out the issues
with junior water rights
versus senior water rights,
and the resources available
to government agencies
and environmental groups.
Spriet was present to
explain the applications
protest process, detailing
each step, saying that it’s
similar to a trial, and could
be a lengthy endeavor.
Final orders can pos-
sibly be appealed, he said,
so there are opportunities
throughout the process to
gain an advantage.
Pagel also explained
the process, along with
Howard, and questions and
comments were received
from the crowd, making
for a lively but informative
discussion.
They detailed the steps
in the process, and Martin
concluded the meeting
by suggesting individuals
formulate a plan by first
speaking with their respec-
tive irrigation districts, as a
good first step.
Around 5 p.m., most of
the crowd dispersed, but
there remained around 40
individuals for the regular,
monthly BCLA meeting.
Bingham called the meet-
ing to order, and thanked
everyone for their atten-
dance.
Cal and Vickie Foster
were present to give an
update about the recent
cattle theft case in which
they were victims. Bing-
ham said he was glad to
see the positive results
with the investigation and
prosecution, and discussed
the importance of being
aware of one’s environ-
ment, reporting suspicious
activity, and proper brand-
ing and other identification
of livestock.
Bingham mentioned the
proposed Salt and Mineral
Tax, stating that in January,
based on input, a letter
was drafted by BCLA,
addressed to the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association
(OCA), in opposition to
the tax. Some of the points
in the letter were as fol-
lows:
“We are good stewards
of the land and livestock
producers are not the cause
of the sage grouse popula-
tion decline.
“Fire, avian predators,
and habitat reduction are
the biggest causes. Sup-
porting the tax could be
construed as an admission
by livestock producers
that they are responsible
for sage grouse population
decline.
“Would this lead to
ramifications for other
threatened or endangered
species requiring funding
from taxes on other cattle-
related products?
“Is the Audubon Society
an appropriate group to
partner with (Lake County
issues)?”
The letter stated that
members of the BCLA do
not believe a salt tax is the
right method to raise the
funds in order to attempt
to avoid the listing of the
sage grouse as a threatened
or endangered species.
Some of the problems
with implementing the tax,
according to the letter, are:
1. Baker County uses
more salt than high desert
counties with high popula-
tions of sage grouse, and
would therefore pay more
than a fair share.
2. Ranchers in eastern
Oregon can go to Idaho or
Nevada to purchase salt
and avoid the tax, which
could have a dramatic ef-
fect on local business.
3. Feed and supply
stores would have to open
their books to audit and
bear the brunt of work and
added expense to collect
it, and they do enough for
us here already by support-
ing our projects, recycling
twine, and contributing to
the community.
One of the methods sug-
gested would be a possible
per-head fee assessed dur-
ing branding inspection, to
raise funds.
Ray Sessler, OCA Presi-
dent, was present to dis-
cuss the proposed tax with
the group, and stated that,
though it seemed “dead on
arrival,” something had to
be tried, rather than hoping
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) would
see the obvious commit-
ment of landowners and
others in the area, with
conservation efforts.
Local veterinarian Dr.
Tom Hill was at the meet-
ing to give a presentation
about calving issues. He
handed out copies of an
11-page document he com-
piled, and presented his
own ideas about calving
issues, while he answered
questions from the group.
These topics ranged from
types of vaccines recom-
mended to methods of
assistance with the birthing
process.
Members of the Baker
High School Future Farm-
ers of America (FFA)
Chapter were also at the
meeting to present ideas
about grazing, in the form
of a debate. The meeting
was adjourned around 7
p.m.
Cattle rustler convicted
Continued from Page 1
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
do and Deputy Eric Colton,
and the cow and calf were
seized by Baker County
Sheriff’s Deputies during
that period. The cow gave
birth to a second calf in the
spring of 2014, following
the 2013 insemination. At
that point, the cow and first
calf had been returned to
the Fosters.
Said Shirtcliff, “The
fact that the defendant lied
about the breeding, and
made no attempts whatso-
ever to return the animals
to their owners, made these
especially egregious acts.”
Jacob Bingham, Baker
County Livestock Asso-
ciation (BCLA) President,
among others, was present
during the trial, to show
support for the Fosters and
law enforcement for their
efforts with investigating
and prosecuting cattle theft
cases.
On Thursday, Febru-
ary 19, Bullington was
sentenced to 180 days in
County jail, 24 months
probation and $5,000 in
restitution to the Fosters.
In January 2014,
Richard Phillip New-
man, 76, also of 39554
Sumpter Cemetery Road,
was charged with two
counts of Theft in the First
Degree, and three counts
of Unauthorized Use of a
Livestock Animal, in con-
nection with the case. His
trial is set for April 7-8,
2015, Shirtcliff said.
“This happens more
often than can be proven,
and she got caught,” Cal
Foster said. “She has no
remorse.”
Bingham added, “ I
think it was an appropriate
sentence.”
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 315.00 - 360.00 Top 367.50
400-500# Bulk 297.00 - 321.00 Top 327.50
500-600# Bulk 241.00 - 306.00 Top 310.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 223.00 - 252.00 Top 280.00
400-500# Bulk 229.00 - 262.00 Top 266.00
500-600# Bulk 217.00 - 255.00 Top 257.00
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 206.00 - 228.00 Top 229.00
700-800# Bulk 188.00 - 205.00 Top 210.00
800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 194.00 - 217.00 Top 218.00
700-800# Bulk 171.00 - 190.00 Top 193.00
800-900# Bulk 162.00 - 175.00 Top 178.00
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 81.00 - 97.00
Butcher Cows 95.00 - 108.00
Butcher Bulls 97.00 - 116.00
Stock Cows 1400.00 - 1900.00
Younger Hfrts. 122.00 - 149.00
Stock Cows Yng. - N/A
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— Log Price Report —
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Delivered to Elgin
Doug Fir / Larch 6”+ $370/m
White Fir/Sp 6”+ $380/m
LPP 6”+ $350/m
Delivered to La Grande
P. Pine 6-11” $290/m
12-17” $340/m
18-23” $390/m
24’+ $420/m
Delivered to Pilot Rock
12-17” $390/m
18-23” $440/m
24’+ $480/m
Delivered pulp
$28/ton to Elgin
$28/ton to La Grande
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1,208.40
Silver: $16.48
Platinum: $1,170.88
Palladium: $779.25
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $398.25/bu/USD
Wheat: $538.50/bu/USD
Soybeans: $1015.50/bu/USD
Oats: $275.75/bu/USD
Rough Rice: $10.72/cwt/USD
Canola: $465.50 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $150.73/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $201.45/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $64.00/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com