THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015
Business & Ag
County and USFS meet
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
Attendance also
included Baker County
Natural Resource Advi-
sory Committee (NRAC)
Coordinator Eric Wuntz,
Alice Knapp, Cynthia
Long, John and Ramona
Creighton, Chuck Chase,
Dave Noble, Doni Bruland,
Bobbie Danser, Tork and
Wanda Ballard, and Arvid
Andersen.
Introductions were made,
and Tomac provided those
in attendance with a Pow-
erPoint presentation, using
the County’s Smart Board.
This slide show presenta-
tion included photographs
displaying wildfire after-
math, treatments imple-
mented, and different map
overlays and statistics for
the Cornet/Windy Ridge
wildfire.
Statistics for the Cornet/
Windy Ridge wildfire, ac-
cording to Tomac, include
a total of 103,906.4 acres
burned, broken down as:
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment (BLM), 26,885.6;
private, 46,985.7; and,
USFS, 30,035.1.
Using different map
overlays, Tomac proceeded
to narrow down what
timber salvage opportuni-
ties the USFS is currently
pursuing in the Cornet/
Windy Ridge wildfire area,
using different factors.
Of 103,906.4 acres that
burned, he said that the
USFS is looking at 1,052.9
acres for salvage, but, that
number is cut in half—500
acres—since two Cat-
egorical Exclusions (CEs)
would be applied at 250
acres each, which Tomac is
working on.
CEs, according to USFS
documentation, “…provide
a categorical determination
based on agency experi-
ence, that certain catego-
ries of actions do not result
in significant impacts to
the human environment,
eliminating the need for
unnecessary or lengthy
documentation in an envi-
ronmental assessment (EA)
or environmental impact
statement (EIS).”
Harvey asked about
the other 500 acres, and
Tomac, after first respond-
ing that nothing would be
pursued with that remain-
ing area, stated that there
might be firewood cutting
opportunities.
When asked about any
timber salvage sales cur-
rently expected by the
USFS by Harvey, Tomac
said that a bid for a con-
Friday, December 11, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to week
ago prices. The upcoming holidays have slowed
sales. Many producers have decided to hold on to
their hay for now, in hopes for higher prices. Snow
has hit some of the hay producing areas.
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
Orchard Grass —Small Square Premium
3 190.00-190.00 190.00
Last Week:
Alfalfa — Large Square, Good/Premium
900 130.00-130.00 130.00
Alfalfa/Orchard Mix— Small Square, Good
17 195.00-200.00 195.50
Timothy Grass — Large Square, Good
65 200.00-200.00 200.00
Timothy Grass— Small Square, Good
5 200.00-200.00 200.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
USFS officials (center) address the audience and County Commissioners on
Wednesday.
tract for roadside salvage
would be open on January
7, 2016, with a possible
sale in February, which
includes an estimated 7.4
million board feet. The
two CEs utilized for the
500 acres would result
in an estimated 2 to 2.5
million board feet, Tomac
said. He said that, the
USFS is looking at two
to three total sales for the
Cornet/Windy Ridge area.
During the meeting, Har-
vey devoted a significant
portion of time to discuss-
ing the term coordina-
tion. This included issues
he pointed out to Tomac
and Gamble, regarding
Wallowa-Whitman Forest
Supervisor Tom Montoya’s
letter, dated November
19, 2015, to the Board,
which Harvey read to those
present. In response to
Montoya’s letter, Harvey
read a letter he drafted, ad-
dressed to Montoya, dated
December 15, 2015:
“In response to your
letter dated November
19, 2015, I would like to
clarify some misconcep-
tions regarding Coordina-
tion between USFS and the
County.
“Coordination is not
used to identify conflicts.
Rather, it is a process for
government-to-government
dialogue that allows for the
representation of multiple-
users in an evenhanded
negotiating manner. Local
governing boards have the
responsibility of providing
for the safety, health and
welfare of their citizens,
as well as funding public
services with tax revenues
generated by property
taxes. Because of the mas-
sive holding of federal land
from which no tax revenue
is drawn, it is important
to local elected officials
to have direct, meaningful
input into management that
promotes natural resource-
based income.
The desired outcome of
the Coordination process
between government enti-
ties is to reach consistency
between plans, policies and
actions.
“I am providing an
Agreement to Protocol for
Coordination. This is to
help reach an understand-
ing on the responsibilities
for each of the coordinat-
ing participants. Please
read through this carefully
and come to the next meet-
ing prepared to discuss this
document.
“The American Heritage
Dictionary defines ‘coordi-
nate’ as ‘one that is equal
in importance, ran, or de-
gree.’ It also states that as
a verb, the term means, ‘to
harmonize in a common
action or effort,’ ‘to work
together harmoniously.’ It
defines the term ‘coordina-
tion’ as ‘the act of coordi-
nation; the state of being
coordinate; harmonious
adjustment or interaction.’
“Congress placed coor-
dination obligation in the
Federal Land Policy Man-
agement Act (FLPMA)
and defined what steps the
agency has to take to coor-
dinate. They felt no need
to specifically identify co-
ordination in both FLPMA
and the National Forest
Management Act (NFMA)
as a definition of the term
for management of public
lands was thought enough
for management of all
federally managed lands.
The Supreme Court of
the United States has also
stated that unless the term
‘coordination’ was stated
to be different between the
two Acts, then it would
have had to be specifically
defined in each.
“The Baker County Com-
missioners look forward to
working with you through
coordination. Sincerely,
Bill Harvey, Commis-
sioner.”
Harvey read through
a three-page document,
Local Government Co-
ordination with the US
Forest Service, copies of
which the Board provided
to Tomac and Gamble.
Copies of the four-page
Agreement To Protocol
For Coordination were also
provided to Tomac and
Gamble, for which neither
had any comment to make
at the time, as it was some-
thing they had no experi-
ence with previously.
The Board provided
copies of a list, titled U.S.
Forest Service Require-
ments to Coordinate and
Cooperate with Local
Governments, to Tomac
and Gamble. This list con-
tained a brief summary of
all the federal coordination
and cooperation policies,
according to the document.
The Board, Tomac and
Gamble discussed briefly
the remaining topics on the
agenda, including the East
Face project, road work,
and access management.
Gamble said, in re-
sponse to a request at
earlier meetings from the
Board, for information
relating to the Blue Moun-
tains Forest Plan Revision/
Travel Management Sub-
part A, that the informa-
tion was expected to have
been released by Thursday,
December 17.
OCA holds annual meeting in Bend
Hawaii, Wyoming,
Washington D.C. and
of course, Oregon, were
a few of many states
represented at this year’s
Oregon Cattlemen’s As-
sociation Convention in
Bend, Oregon.
The event was well
attended with over 300
Oregon ranchers register-
ing and hosted a myriad
of industry speakers from
across America.
Jerome Rosa, executive
director for OCA, praised
the event. “I thought this
year’s Convention was
outstanding,” Rosa said.
He felt all the speakers
were great and was excited
to have National Cattle-
men’s Beef Association’s
Kristina Butts from Wash-
ington D.C. presenting.
“We were really privileged
to have Kristina speak.
— Weekly Hay Report —
She was very enlightening
on many issues.”
Young Oregon rancher,
Tierra Kessler, appreci-
ated being able to connect
with other ranchers from
around the state. “It’s an
opportunity to see other
producers and catch up
with them while learn-
ing what’s going on in the
industry.”
Kessler also valued the
variety of presentations
offered, specifically a class
on QuickBooks and a
presentation from National
Young Beef Leader Keith
Nantz.
“As a young producer, I
enjoyed attending Young
Cattlemen events and
listening to what’s coming
up,” she said.
The event came to a
close with a banquet and
a concert by Oregon’s
Joni Harms. The evening
honored Paulette Pyle of
Oregonians for Food and
Shelter and celebrated
the association’s outgoing
president Ray Sessler and
welcomed new president
John O’Keeffe.
Sessler felt like the
event was a success and
a great conclusion to his
presidency. “That I can
remember, this was the
best attended Convention
that I’ve seen in the last
few years. It means the
organization is growing
and that is positive.”
Rosa noted OCA is sad
to see one man go but ex-
cited to see another come
in. “We are sad to see Ray
leave as he did tremendous
work for OCA and will be
missed.”
He added that O’Keeffe
is well respected, knowl-
edgeable of the cattle
industry and will do a
great job of leading the
cattlemen.
O’Keeffe commented
that he is “looking forward
to meeting the many
outstanding individuals
who make up the livestock
industry in this state.”
O’Keeffe started his term
as OCA president after the
conclusion of the cattle-
men’s business meeting on
December 5.
The Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association was founded
in 1913 and works to pro-
mote environmentally and
socially sound industry
practices, improve and
strengthen the economics
of the industry, and protect
its industry communi-
ties and private property
rights.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 2,114
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 149.00 - 192.00 Top 215.00
400-500# Bulk 147.00 - 199.00 Top 207.00
500-600# Bulk 149.00 - 179.00 Top 181.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 159.00 - 182.00 Top 188.00
400-500# Bulk 141.00 - 179.00 Top 198.00
500-600# Bulk 139.00 - 159.00 Top 160.00
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 144.00 - 161.00 Top 162.00
700-800# Bulk 128.00 - 152.00 Top 152.50
800-900# Bulk 126.00 - 137.00 Top 138.00
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 131.00 - 154.00 Top 163.00
700-800# Bulk 122.00 - 139.00 Top 141.00
800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 42.00 - 57.00
Butcher Cows 57.00 - 65.00
Butcher Bulls 36.00 - 55.00
Stock Cows Yng. N/A
Younger Hfrts. 93.00 - 122.00
Stock Cows Older. - 775.00 - 1075.00
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— Log Price Report —
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Doug Fir is $415.00/mbf
White fir is $365.00/mbf
Ponderosa Pine is brought sold
on diameter splits
6 to 11 inch dib $300 to $310/MBF
12 to 17 inch dib $350 to $375/MBF
18 to 23 inch dib $400 to $430/MBF
24 inch plus dib $450 to $500/MBF
DIB is diameter inside bark at
small end of log.
MBF is thousand board feet lumber, net scale.
People interested in selling logs
should call and get specific
quotes from saw mills.
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1,075.10
Silver: $14.17
Platinum: $874.90
Palladium: $571.50
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $370.50/bu/USD
Wheat: $484.25/bu/USD
Soybeans: $860.00/bu/USD
Oats: $224.00 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $10.89/cwt/USD
Canola: $482.70 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $124.48/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $147.50/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $57.98/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com