THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2016
Business & Ag
NRAC: Citizens for Balanced Use
update, wildfires among topics
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County
Natural Resource Advisory
Committee (NRAC) held
its monthly meeting on
Tuesday, March 22, 2016,
3 p.m., in the Commission
Chambers of the Baker
County Courthouse.
Present from the com-
mittee were Chair Doni
Bruland, Baker County
Commission Chair Bill
Harvey, Cynthia Long,
Lyle Defrees, Alice Knapp,
Kody Justus, Ken Ander-
son, Jan Kerns, Chuck
Chase, Laurene Chapman,
Jake Bingham, and Emily
Braswell.
Also in attendance were
local CPA Bruce Nichols,
and local miner Ed Hardt.
Bruland called the meet-
ing to order, and introduc-
tions of committee mem-
bers, and public attendees,
were made. Bruland
mentioned that she had not
seen the agenda, available
online, and usually sent
via email from her to local
area newspapers, published
prior to this meeting.
Hardt made some com-
ments during Public Partic-
ipation, regarding the U.S.
Forest Service’s (USFS)
overreach of authority, as
he recounted some stories
from the past, and present,
while he urged a major
emphasis on the continu-
ing process of coordination
between the county, and
federal agencies.
The minutes from the
last meeting were ap-
proved, with a motion
from Long, and a second
from Justus.
Harvey provided a
government-to-government
coordination process
update, stating that the
progress between the
County, the USFS, and
the Oregon Department
of Forestry (ODF), with
salvage logging, and sales
and potential sales, is go-
ing well.
Harvey commented
about a five-page handout
he provided the commit-
tee copies of, from Kerry
White, of Citizens for
Balanced Use (CBU),
based in Gallatin Gateway,
Montana. The docu-
ment, a CBU “ALERT,”
titled “Major Regulatory
Expansion of ESA List-
ing and Critical Habitat
Designation,” was written
by land use attorney Karen
Budd-Falen.
Harvey and other com-
mittee members voiced
concerns regarding the
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County
Economic Development
Council (EDC) held its
regular Board meeting on
Thursday, March 17, 2016,
8:30 a.m., in the Com-
mission Chambers of the
Baker County Courthouse.
Present from the Board
were Chair Craig Ward,
Baker County Commission
Chair Bill Harvey, Baker
Technical Institute (BTI)
Director Jerry Peacock,
Baker City Manager Mike
Kee, and Baker City Coun-
cilman Richard Langrell.
Attendance also included
Friday, March 18, 2016 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to week
ago prices in a very limited test. Many producers
have decided to hold on to their hay for now, in
hopes for higher prices or to feed to their own ani-
mals. Many hay producers are sold out for the year.
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
No new sales confirmed for this week.
Last week:
Orchard / Alfalfa —Small Square Premium
25 195.00-195.00 195.00
Two weeks prior:
Alfalfa —Large Square Good/Premium
85 135.00-135.00 135.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
The NRAC discussed the proposed Owyhee Canyonlands Monument, wildfire
fighting, and editing sections of the NRP, among other topics.
federal government’s over-
reach on private property
rights, and federal grazing
permits, through expansion
of the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), through the
release of four separate,
final rules, and two final
policies, resulting in the
listing of more species, and
expanding designated criti-
cal habitat, discussed in
Budd-Falen’s document.
This discussion led to
comments about the stan-
dard for listing, the “best
scientific and commercial
data available,” which the
group discussed is often-
times ignored by the U.S
Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), the Environ-
mental Protection Agency
(EPA), and other agencies,
and which Budd-Falen
said now includes “the
principals of conservation
biology,” described by
some scientists as “agenda-
driven,” or “goal-oriented”
biology, not created until
the 1980s.
Harvey said that col-
lecting, and providing
independent scientific data
to the agencies is one way
to fight the overreaching,
and he mentioned the Bull
Trout, to which Kerns
responded that there is
a 1,000-page study the
NRAC has played a pivotal
role in compiling, available
for viewing at the Baker
County Courthouse. Both
Bruland and Kerns said it’s
a good, thorough docu-
ment.
Defrees began a wildfire/
forestry discussion, which
was a main topic on the
agenda, and he provided
copies of a draft policy
statement proposal, to the
Forestry section of the
Baker County Natural
Resources Plan (NRP). He
said that, because of noted
issues with the lack of
personnel to provide watch
over fire lines during the
wildfire season, includ-
ing during the night, the
following was drafted, and
suggested to the commit-
tee, to assist with address-
ing the problem, as part
of the Forest Management
Policies subsection:
“It is the policy of Baker
County that during fire
season wildfires shall not
be left unattended, that all
wildfires be contained and
attended until the threat
of the fire is reasonably
diminished, and that a lo-
cal firefighting association
member shall be on site to
represent the county’s best
interest.”
The committee mem-
bers discussed firefighting
issues, including having
enough local, able-bodied
volunteers, who are
qualified to fight fire, a key
point Long and Harvey
have emphasized numer-
ous times. The discussion
included comments and
questions about safety
and other issues involved
with fighting fire at night,
including providing watch,
and Long displayed two
cards she normally carries,
one with two lists, titled
“Standard Firefighting
Orders,” and “Watch Out
Situations.” She pointed
out Watch Out Situations
No. 2, “In country not seen
in daylight.”
Several language
changes were suggested,
and made, to the origi-
nal, aforementioned draft
policy statement to the
Forestry section, and
adoption of the edited draft
as part of the NRP was
approved, with a motion
from Defrees, a second
from Long, and a unani-
mous vote.
In response to Kerns’
question about which
section(s) of the NRP
were to be reviewed, and
edited next, Harvey, and
Bruland replied that the
Energy section would
be the remaining section
needing attention, expected
to be discussed at the next
meeting.
Bruland announced the
date of the USFS’s public
session, to discuss the Pro-
posed Action for the Forest
Resiliency Project, on
Thursday, March 31, 2016,
from 6 to 9 p.m., at the
Baker City National Guard
Armory, 1640 Campbell
Street. This is a Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest
discussion, and it is the last
one of the March sessions
for the Ochoco, Umatilla,
and Wallowa-Whitman Na-
tional Forests, before the
comment deadline of April
5, 2016.
Bingham, who is also
President of the Baker
County Livestock Asso-
ciation (BCLA), said the
BCLA recently contributed
$10,000 to the Owyhee
Basin Stewardship Council
(OBSC), who hired Galla-
tin Public Affairs to lead
the opposition effort to the
proposed designation of
the Owyhee Canyonlands,
as a National Monument.
The Oregon Association of
Realtors has also contrib-
uted $50,000 toward the
opposition effort, Gallatin
Public Affiars’ Ysabel Bil-
bao said, during the most
recent BCLA meeting.
The next NRAC meeting
is scheduled for Tuesday,
April 26, 2016, 3 p.m., in
the Commission Cham-
bers of the Baker County
Courthouse.
Economic Development
Council to pen letter to FTC
BY TODD ARRIOLA
— Weekly Hay Report —
Baker County Economic
Development Director
Greg Smith, Smith’s assis-
tants Julee Hicks, and Phil
Scheuers, Baker City May-
or Kim Mosier, Baker City
Council member Sandy
Lewis, Baker City Council
member Dan Lowe, Blue
Mountain Community
College Small Business
Development Center
(BMCC SBDC) Advisor
Jeff Nelson, Baker County
Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Shelly
Cutler, retired BMCC
SBDC Advisor Bob Sav-
age, Baker City Council
member Rosemary Abell,
Historic Baker City (HBC)
President Larry Abell, and
Business Oregon Busi-
ness Development Officer
Melisa Drugge.
Ward called the meet-
ing to order, followed by
introductions of everyone
present. The minutes from
the previous Board meet-
ing were reviewed and
approved, with a motion
from Harvey, and a second
from Peacock.
Harvey provided a
Commission Chair update,
and he said that the joint
City/County meeting last
Wednesday had gone
well, with several topics
discussed. He also said
that last Tuesday, a meet-
ing with representatives of
the Oregon Department of
Forestry (ODF) also had
gone well, with discussions
regarding danger tree re-
moval, and salvage logging
opportunities.
Nelson provided a
BMCC SBDC update,
and he said that the new
BMCC SBDC Director,
Carol Frink, who’s excited
about some new programs
in Baker City, was here last
Monday, in order to intro-
duce herself, and to meet
with Nelson, and others.
SEE EDC PAGE 9
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 350
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk N/A Top N/A
400-500# Bulk 195.00 - 207.00 Top 214.00
500-600# Bulk 180.00 - 202.00 Top 214.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk N/A Top N/A
400-500# Bulk 170.00 - 185.00 Top 190.50
500-600# Bulk 160.00 - 175.00 Top 182.00
600-700#
700-800#
800-900#
900-1,000#
Yearling Steers
Bulk 150.00 - 175.00 Top 181.00
Bulk 140.00 - 157.00 Top 160.00
Bulk 138.00 - 146.00 Top 151.00
Bulk 125.00 - 132.00 Top 137.50
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 155.00 - 162.00 Top 166.00
700-800# Bulk 135.00 - 143.00 Top 146.50
800-900# Bulk 120.00 - 130.00 Top 135.50
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 55.00 - 65.00
Butcher Cows
68.00 - 76.00
Butcher Bulls 74.00 - 86.00
Stock Cows Yng. N/A
Younger Hfrts. 82.00 - 117.00
Stock Cows Older. - 925.00 - 1300.00
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— Log Price Report —
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Currently the local log market is flooded with
fire salvage logs. The log buyer for Malheur
Lumber Co. stated they have all the logs they
need under contract and are not accepting any
new purchases. BCC/LLC of La Grande has
receive so many burned fire salvage logs they
are no longer accepting logs at the La Grande
log yard. Any additional pine logs have to be
delivered to the Elgin Log yard cut in plywood
lengths and to a 8 inch top. For these pine
logs cut in plywood lengths, BCC is offering
$280.00/mbf. They are also paying $410.00/
mbf for Doug Fir & Western Larch. For White
Fir they are offing $310.00/mbf. At the Pilot
Rock Saw Mill BCC is offing $360.00/mbf for a
12 to 15 inch top, for 16 to 19 inch top $400.00/
mbf & offing $425.00/mbf for 20 inch plus top
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1,223.00
Silver: $15.83
Platinum: $960.48
Palladium: $575.75
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $367.50/bu/USD
Wheat: $464.25/bu/USD
Soybeans: $904.50/bu/USD
Oats: $187.00 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $10.30/cwt/USD
Canola: $469.90 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $124.95/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $154.13/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $82.53/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com