Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Redmond spokesman. (Redmond, Crook County, Or.) 1910-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2022)
P2 THE SPOKESMAN • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022 Tumalo Community School names Platt principal Bulletin staff report The Redmond School District announced Wednesday that it has selected Tumalo Community School’s new principal. Sam Platt, who has served the district in various roles for all of his 15-year career, will as- sume the position as the new principal starting July 1, ac- cording to a press release from the district. “I am truly honored to have the opportunity to join the Tumalo Community School family,” Platt said. Since 2020, Platt has served as the assistant principal and athletic director at Ridgeview High School. For six years prior, he was the assistant principal at Obsidian Middle School. He has also taught at Elton Gregory Middle School PET OF THE WEEK and Evergreen Elementary School since his career in the district began in 2007. Platt replaces Tony Vicknair, who served as interim princi- pal during the 2021- 22 year. Redmond co-op to lead national program on regenerative ranching BY GEORGE PLAVEN For the Redmond Spokesman An Oregon-based conser- vation group is forming what it says will be the country’s largest program to support re- generative ranching across the West — and that program will start in Redmond. Sustainable Northwest re- ceived a $488,500 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to roll out the initiative, partnering with Country Nat- ural Beef of Redmond to help ranchers adopt grazing prac- tices that build healthy soils and improve water retention. The program aims to in- clude 100 ranches and 6.5 million acres of rangeland by 2025. “When we think about regenerative (agriculture), we really start with the soil,” said Dylan Dylan Kruse Kruse, vice president of Sustainable Northwest. “If you have heathy soil, you’ll have a healthier landscape.” For example, rotational graz- ing is a strategy that falls under regenerative ranching. Live- stock are rotated frequently be- tween pastures, allowing forage plants to recover and deepen their root systems. “You get increased carbon sequestration, you get better water filtration and capture, A ranch in the Klamath Ba- sin. Sustain- able North- west received a $488,500 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to roll out what it says will be the country’s larg- est program to support regen- erative ranch- ing across the West. Sustainable Northwest you get better nutrient man- agement and better forage production,” Kruse said. “That can help the bottom line for ranchers.” In late 2020, Sustainable Northwest was awarded fund- ing from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Ser- vice to put some of these prac- tices to the test on four Oregon ranches. That project is still underway. But Kruse said they wanted to go bigger. There is no single, large-scale program looking at regenerative ranching, which he sees as a gap in the market. “This regenerative space is just exploding right now,” CROSSWORD Kruse said, citing more than $50 billion in U.S. organic food sales in 2019. “Responding to those demands is really signif- icant.” Country Natural Beef, a ranching cooperative based in Redmond, was founded on the premise of marketing naturally raised beef to local consumers. The co-op today has 100 mem- bers in 14 western states, and sells beef to such supermarkets as Whole Foods and New Sea- sons Market. Dan Probert, a Wallowa County rancher and the mar- keting director for Country Natural Beef, said the alliance with Sustainable Northwest makes sense for their mem- bers. “We want to call out the at- tributes that we have that are important to our consumers, so they feel good about the products they pick,” Probert said, adding that ranchers to- day face increased pressure and competition from plant-based meats among environmentally minded shoppers. Probert said he thinks of re- generative ranching as a “tri- ple bottom line” — promoting healthy cows, healthy people and healthy land. With the new regenerative ranching program, he said Sustainable Northwest will provide them with objective data to validate these claims. “We use extensive moni- toring to tell if we’re moving toward or away from our ob- jectives,” he said. “We know we have to be ahead of the game in that space.” Steve Moore, executive di- rector of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, said the pro- gram “provides an innovative, sustainable solution that helps our natural landscapes thrive while simultaneously growing local business.” “Ranchers in the Pacific Northwest play a vital role in helping our region thrive but face a variety of challenges, in- cluding development, climb- ing costs, climate change and more,” Moore said. “Organiza- tions like Sustainable North- west are doing important work to help support the individu- als and families who run these spaces.” Kruse, with Sustainable Northwest, said the group plans to hire a new regenera- tive ranching program man- ager by the end of March. They will then get to work enrolling the first cohort of ranches in the program, map- ping their properties and de- veloping individual grazing plans. “It’s voluntary, it’s incen- tive-based. For us, that’s good conservation,” Kruse said. “It’s good for the community, and it’s good for the economy.” SUDOKU Submitted Photo Meet Dakota! Dakota was surren- dered to BrightSide for potential adoption for her forever home. Dakota is an 11-year- old German Shepherd mix looking for a home to live out the rest of her life. Dakota is a sweet and quiet girl who loves being with people and shown love. With her floppy ear and sweet face, Dakota would love to meet you! If you would like to meet Dakota or have any questions, please go to BrightSide. FIND IT in the SPOKESMAN CLASSIFIEDS 923-3725 or classified@ redmondspokesman.com WEATHER Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9, with no repeats. FORECAST Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday LAST WEEK HIGH LOW 71 67 70 63 55 57 57 38 34 37 37 34 34 35 HIGH LOW Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Partly Cloudy Cloudy PRECIP Monday, March 14 61 39 .02 Tuesday, March 15 56 36 .02 Wednesday, March 16 56 24 0 Thursday, March 17 57 26 0 Friday, March 18 63 24 0 Saturday, March 19 51 32 .01 Sunday, March 20 48 20 0 Precipitation to date this year: 1.08 inches * = daily record National Weather Service broadcasts are on 162.50 mhz. Answers on Page 4 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6020, Bend, OR 97708 Office Number: 541-548-2184 EDITOR: Tim Trainor, ttrainor@redmondspokesman.com NEWS ASSISTANT: Lena Felt, lfelt@bendbulletin.com ADVERTISING CONTACT: Debbie Coffman, dcoffman@bendbulletin.com OFFICE HOURS: By appointment Answers on Page 4 NEWS & SPORTS: news@redmondspokesman.com DISPLAY ADVERTISING: 541-383-0393, adv@redmondspokesman.com CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: 541-923-3725, classified@redmondspokesman.com OBITUARIES: 541-385-5809, classified@redmondspokesman.com CIRCULATION: 541-923-1370, circ@redmondspokesman.com TO SUBSCRIBE: 541-923-1370, circ@redmondspokesman.com • Home delivery print: $52 per year • E-edition alone: $52 per year • Mailed in Oregon: $60 per year • Mailed outside Oregon: $80 per year POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: P.O. Box 6020, Bend, OR 97708. Periodicals postage paid at Bend, OR, and at additional mailing offices. USPS 778-040