4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017
For sale: ‘There’s an impact to the historic social fabric’
Continued from Page 1A
ORE.
97
umbia
Jo
Biggs
hn
iv e
y R
Wasco
r
Riv e
Arlington
Da
conversion is a concern espe-
cially in areas with “amen-
ity values.” Daggett’s scenic
Wallowa County is an exam-
ple, “Where the primary reason
to live out there is to be there,
and the secondary reason is to
farm,” Johnson said.
Ag property purchased to
be a recreational site, he said,
infl ates land values and makes
it more expensive for farmers
and ranchers to buy or rent.
New owners who aren’t
interested in farming them-
selves might gain more rev-
enue by enrolling land in the
federal Conservation Reserve
Program, in which they receive
payments for taking it out of
production, rather than leasing
crop land to other farmers, said
Walter Powell, a Condon wheat
farmer. In that case, there’s a
reduction to the farming infra-
structure: the seed and fertilizer
dealer, the equipment store,
local employment and more,
Powell said.
Jim Wood, a cattle rancher
near Post, in central Ore-
gon, said the biggest threat to
high-desert cattle ranching is
the fragmentation of grazing
ground. Ranching in his area
requires big acreage to be eco-
logically and economically sus-
tainable, and segmentation or
development for other uses
cuts into that and increases land
prices, Wood said.
“If you overgraze, this land-
scape is quick to be unforgiv-
ing, and you’re going to be out
of business,” he said.
Oregon’s land-use laws —
adopted to preserve farm and
forest land from urban sprawl
— generally preclude rapid,
wholesale development of agri-
cultural land.
Statewide,
counties
approved 473 houses on farm-
land in 2014 and 522 in 2015,
the most current fi gures pro-
vided by the Oregon Depart-
ment of Land Conservation and
Development.
Daggett acknowledges an
argument could be made that
the “highest and best use” of
her family land could be as a
“view property.”
But ownership changes
can ripple deep in rural
communities.
“This is very personal for
me,” said Daggett, who was
Wallowa County’s planning
director in the late 1990s and,
Area in
detail
19
r
206
SHERMAN
97
Cottonwood
Canyon
State Park
Eric Mortenson/EO Media Group
Cattle graze along Highway 97 south of Biggs Junction. Observers say sales of Oregon
farm and ranch land, sometimes involving thousands of acres at once, can change the
social fabric of rural communities by shutting off traditional uses of the land. With the av-
erage age of producers now 60, a study estimated 64 percent of Oregon farm and ranch
land could change hands in the next 20 years.
ironically, now sells real estate.
She said her son had hoped to
run cattle on the family land,
but now leases land from oth-
ers. “Like a sharecropper,”
Daggett said.
The giddy buyer who called
her husband in the Caymans
has yet to build a dream home
on the property. It appears
someone is leasing the pastures.
“There’s an impact to the
historic social fabric, there’s
this disruption socially,” Dag-
gett said.
“It’s more than a question of
who’s buying,” she said. “It’s
who’s buying, and then what?”
Big properties
Some of the listings car-
ried by Whitney Land Co.
are breathtaking. The Pendle-
ton -based real estate company
specializes in farm and ranch
properties, especially big ones.
Until the owner took it off
the market this spring, one of
Whitney Land’s offerings was
called the Kinzua Ranch in
Wheeler County: More than
39,000 acres with a $28 million
asking price.
The property included much
of what used to be the tim-
ber holdings and former com-
munity of Kinzua, a company
mill town that ceased operation
in 1978. Timber industry reps
have expressed interest, but the
property hasn’t sold yet.
Whitney Land Co. has
other big properties to sell,
including the Maurer Ranch
at Clarno, along the John Day
River, which is listed for $19.7
million. It includes more than
29,000 deeded acres plus
18,000 acres of Bureau of Land
Management and U.S. Forest
Service grazing leases, which
hold signifi cant value.
The property has been in the
same family for more than 90
years, has been used for cattle,
grain and hay production, and
includes nine fenced pastures
and eight miles of river front-
age. The owners may break it
into smaller parcels and sell it
that way, said Todd Longgood,
a Whitney broker.
While cautious about char-
acterizing possible clients,
Longgood said Oregon farms
and ranches catch the atten-
tion of what he called “corpo-
rate ag” or “intense ag” buyers.
Some potential buyers are look-
ing for “longterm holds,” fi g-
uring the land will increase in
value and they can resell later;
others pursue crop land “know-
ing there will always be a mar-
ket for food.” Some buyers
bring with them the resources
to develop or expand irrigation
systems, critical for high-value
crops.
“In the corporate ag world,
there is more money available
for ag land than there is sup-
ply,” he said.
Sales add up
At Portland State Univer-
sity, land-use and urban plan-
ning professor Megan Horst is
assembling ground-breaking
data on Oregon farm and ranch
sales. Working with a gradu-
ate research assistant, she asked
county clerks for information
on sales from 2010 to the end
of 2015 of land zoned exclusive
farm use .
Horst is compiling land
sales in the eight agricultural
regions defi ned by the Oregon
Department of Agriculture. In
Northeast Oregon, 360,265
acres of exclusive farm use
GILLIAM
206
Condon
Eric Mortenson/EO Media Group
N
19
97
5 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
land sold during the 2010-15 land, will pass to new owners.
time period. In the Willamette How that land changes hands,
Valley, 169,572 acres sold, and who acquires it, and what they
along the coast, 13,397 acres do with the land will impact
sold.
Oregon for generations,” the
Oregon has slightly more authors wrote.
than 17 million acres of farm-
Creating a park
land. Over the six-year study
In Portland, Sue Doroff
period, the acreage sold in the
three ag regions analyzed so far nods in understanding at some
amounts to only 3.2 percent of of the concerns expressed over
Oregon farm and ranch land
the state’s total farmland.
In some cases, however, sig- sales. People “go to their fear-
nifi cant money was involved. ful place” pretty quickly when
According to Horst’s fi gures, they hear of big acreages listed
the median sales price per acre for big money, she said.
Doroff is a co-founder and
of Willamette Valley farm use
land was $21,909. On the coast, president of Western Rivers
Conservancy, which
it was $10,299, while
has had a very public
in Northeast Oregon
role in signifi cant farm-
the median price per
land transitions.
acre dipped to $2,451.
In 2008, West-
The values include
ern Rivers bought the
permanent
crops
8,000-acre
Murtha
such as orchards and
Ranch, along the John
vineyards and other
Sue
Day River 25 miles
infrastructure.
Doroff
north of Condon, for
Horst said the sales
$7.9 million. The pur-
fi gures compiled so far
raise issues Oregonians ought chase included an 8,000-acre
to be discussing. Among them: BLM grazing lease. The orga-
Who has access to agricultural nization then began selling the
land, and what happens if food ranch in stages to the Oregon
production is concentrated in Parks and Recreation Depart-
the hands of the few who can ment for the same price, com-
afford to buy large swaths of pleting the process in 2011.
Cottonwood Canyon State
land?
The research follows a Park, one of the largest in the
study Horst co-authored with state, opened two years later.
fi ve others: “The Future of Ore- The ranch’s barn, corrals and
other infrastructure are incor-
gon’s Agricultural Land.”
The report, produced by porated into the park. Hunting
Oregon State University, PSU and fi shing are allowed in the
and Rogue Farm Corps, an park, and a grazing manage-
advocacy group, noted that the ment plan is in the works.
The sale cost Gilliam
average age of Oregon farmers
County some property tax rev-
is now 60.
“As older farmers retire enue as the land went from pri-
over the next two decades, over vate ranch to tax-exempt pub-
10 million acres, or 64 per- lic park. County Assessor Chet
cent of Oregon’s agricultural Wilkins said the property was
Megan Horst, a land-use
professor at Portland State
University, is assembling
data on all farmland sales
in the state from 2010-2015.
More than 360,000 acres
was sold in northeast Or-
egon counties alone, and
nearly 170,000 acres in the
Willamette Valley during
that time.
mostly low-value range ground
that was specially assessed.
The approximate total yearly
tax loss to Gilliam County
is $2,080, Wilkins said in an
email.
In 2014, Western Rivers
again bought John Day River
property, this time the 14,148-
acre Rattray Ranch, and its
10,530-acre BLM grazing
lease.
Western Rivers is primar-
ily concerned with improving
water quality and river habitat
for salmon and steelhead runs,
but Doroff said there are “lots
of opportunities” for compat-
ible conservation work, crops
and livestock grazing.
“When we take sensitive
lands and make them better, it
takes some of the stress off the
ecosystem,” she said. The Rat-
tray Ranch purchase will pro-
vide public river access, hope-
fully reducing trespassing
problems that bothered other
landowners. That and the park
opening also bring more eco-
nomic activity to nearby Con-
don, as visitors choose places
to stay and eat.
Even though there is some
“parsing of the landscape”
through sales, Doroff said big
buyers are likely to continue
traditional uses such as grazing
cattle and growing wheat.
“Who is going to spend that
much and not generate some
revenue from it?” she asked.
“The adjustments are smaller
than the fear.”
Seaside: Additional $112 million capital budget for construction was presented
Continued from Page 1A
students, staff, parents and the
community at both elementary
schools. An elementary teacher
will also be added to reduce
class size, allow more time
to focus on student achieve-
ment and narrow the achieve-
ment gap, Roley said in her
budget message.
A full-time social studies
teacher will be added at Broad-
way Middle School, among
other personnel additions.
School bond
An additional $112 million
capital budget for construc-
tion of the new K-12 campus
was also presented for review
Tuesday night. That number
grew from the original $99.7
million bond approved by
voters in November with the
addition of $4 million from
THE DAILY
ASTORIAN
T HURSDAY E VENING
A
(2)
(-)
(-)
(6)
(-)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(12)
(13)
(-)
(20)
(-)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(38)
(39)
(43)
(44)
(45)
(46)
(47)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(51)
(52)
(53)
(54)
(56)
(57)
(58)
(61)
(63)
(64)
(65)
(162)
L
KATU
KOMO
KING
KOIN
KIRO
KGW
KRCW
KOPB
KPTV
KPDX
KCPQ
TBS
KZJO
ESPN
ESPN2
NICK
DISN
FAM
FMC
LIFE
ROOT
FS1
SPIKE
COM
HIST
A&E
TLC
DISC
NGEO
TNT
AMC
USA
FOOD
HGTV
FX
CNN
FNC
CNBC
BRAV
TCM
SYFY
RFD
(2)
(4)
(5)
(-)
(7)
(-)
(3)
(10)
(12)
(-)
(13)
(20)
(22)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(38)
(39)
(43)
(44)
(45)
(46)
(47)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(51)
(52)
(53)
(54)
(56)
(57)
(58)
(61)
(63)
(64)
(65)
(162)
6
the state, along with
— IBI Architects pro-
favorable bond sales
vided an update on the
and rates.
construction project’s
The district antici-
progress . The district
pates paying out $22.5
is soliciting comment
million next year
while interviewing
toward the project,
contractor candidates
endorsed by voters in Justine Hill to work with archi-
November, Business
tects to design the
Manager Justine Hill said in building.
April.
During construction, facil-
Representatives of Day ities repair and maintenance
CPM and Dull Olson Weekes will continue to be addressed
at all buildings. The average
useful life of the buildings is
45 years, yet the average age
of the high school, middle
school and Gearhart Elemen-
tary School is about 65 years,
Roley said.
The budget calls for new
fl ooring at Gearhart Elemen-
tary School; a new roof pack
at Broadway Middle School;
playground safety measures
at Seaside Heights Elementary
LISTINGS
A - Charter Astoria/ Seaside - L - Charter Long Beach
School and improvements at
the high school.
The budget was approved
unanimously without addi-
tional comment from the pub-
lic, members of the board or
the budget committee .
A public hearing on the
budget will be conducted at
the school district’s June 20
meeting. The budget must be
adopted prior to the end of the
fi scal year in June .
Evening listings
THURSDAY
M AY 18
PM
6:30
7 PM
7:30
8 PM
8:30
9 PM
9:30
10 PM
10:30
11 PM
11:30
KATU News at 6
Jeopardy!
Wheel of Fortune Grey's Anatomy "Ring of Fire" (SF) (N) Scandal "Tick, Tock" (N)
Scandal "Transfer of Power" (SF) (N)
KATU News at 11 (:35) Jimmy Kimmel
KOMO 4 News
Wheel of Fortune Jeopardy!
Grey's Anatomy "Ring of Fire" (SF) (N) Scandal "Tick, Tock" (N)
Scandal "Transfer of Power" (SF) (N)
KOMO 4 News
(:35) Jimmy Kimmel
NBC Nightly News KING 5 News
KING 5 News
Evening
Law & Order: S.V.U. "Net Worth"
The Blacklist "Mr. Kaplan" Pt. 1 of 2 (N) Blacklist "Mr. Kaplan: Conclusion" (N) KING 5 News
(:35) Tonight Show
KOIN 6 News at 6 CBS Evening News Extra
Ent. Tonight
Big Bang Theory The Great Indoors The Amazing Race (N)
The Amazing Race (N)
KOIN 6 News @ 11 (:35) Colbert
KIRO 7 News
CBS Evening News The Insider
Ent. Tonight
Big Bang Theory The Great Indoors The Amazing Race (N)
The Amazing Race (N)
KIRO News
(:35) Colbert
KGW News at 6:00 p.m.
Live at 7
Inside Edition
Law & Order: S.V.U. "Net Worth"
The Blacklist "Mr. Kaplan" Pt. 1 of 2 (N) Blacklist "Mr. Kaplan: Conclusion" (N) KGW News at 11 (:35) Tonight Show
Last Man Standing Last Man Standing Modern Family
Modern Family
Supernatural "Who We Are" (N)
Super. "All Along the Watchtower" (N) KGW News at 10 Two and a Half
Two and a Half
Met Your Mother
Born to Explore
Business (N)
PBS NewsHour
Art Beat (N)
Oregon Guide
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries "For the Sake of Elena"
(:35) Hinterland (N) (:20) Hinterland Pt. 2 of 2 (N)
6 O'Clock News
Family Feud
Family Feud
MasterChef "The Semi Finals" (N)
MasterChef Junior "Finale" (SF) (N)
10 O'Clock News
11 O'Clock News 2 Broke Girls
Mike & Molly
Mike & Molly
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory FOX 12's 8 O'Clock News on PDX-TV FOX 12's 9 O'Clock News on PDX-TV Family Guy
Family Guy
American Dad
Cleveland Show
Modern Family
Modern Family
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory MasterChef "The Semi Finals" (N)
MasterChef Junior "Finale" (SF) (N)
Q13 News at 10
Q13 News
The Simpsons
Seinfeld Pt. 1 of 2 Seinfeld Pt. 2 of 2 Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Conan
Two and a Half
Two and a Half
Last Man Standing Last Man Standing Modern Family
Modern Family
Q13 News at 9
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Friends
Friends
NBA Basketball Playoffs (L)
SportsCenter With Scott Van Pelt Scott Van Pelt presents the day in sports.
SportsCenter
We the Fans/ Soldier
Boxing Golden Boy Diego de la Hoya vs. Erik Ruiz (L)
30 for 30 "Muhammad and Larry"
Jalen & Jacoby (N) 30 for 30 Shorts NFL Live
Full House
Full House
Friends
Friends
Henry Danger
Henry Danger
Henry Danger
The Thundermans Shrek Forever After (‘10, Ani) Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers.
Andi Mack
Bizaardvark
Tangled-Series
Good Luck Charlie Stuck in Middle
Good Luck Charlie K.C. Undercover K.C. Undercover Liv Maddie Cali
Bunk'd
Jessie
Jessie
(5:30) Coming to America (‘88) Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Eddie Murphy. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993, Comedy) Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Robin Williams.
The 700 Club
(5:55) I Think I Love My Wife (‘07) Chris Rock.
(:45) FXM Presents This Means War (‘12) Chris Pine, Reese Witherspoon.
(:55) FXM Presents The Watch (2012, Comedy) Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller. (:55) FXM Presents
Grey's A. "Love the One You're With"
Married/ First Sight "Honeymoons" 1/2 Married1stSight (:45) Married (N)
Married at First Sight "Move-Ins" (N) (:15) Married Sight Second "Soft Lips, Hard Choices" (N)
(:45) Married
In Depth (N)
MarinersPre-game MLB Baseball Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners Site: Safeco Field -- Seattle, Wash. (L)
Post-game
MLB Baseball Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners
(5:00) MLB Baseball New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals (L)
MLB Whiparound (L)
Speak for Yourself
Skip and Shannon: Undisputed Opinions on the biggest sports topics of the day.
The Blind Side (2009, Sport) Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock.
Lip Sync Battle 1/2 Lip Sync Battle 2/2 Lip Sync Battle (N) Lip Sync Battle
The Blind Side (‘09, Spt) Sandra Bullock.
(:15) Futurama
(:50) South Park "Fourth Grade"
(:25) South Park
South Park
South Park
Tosh.0
Tosh.0
Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood The Daily Show (N) Pres. Show (N)
Swamp People "Time's Running Out" Swamp People "Racing Sundown"
Swamp: Blood "The Hunt Ends" (N)
Swamp People "Monster in the Dark/ Savage Pursuit" (N)
(:05) Swamp "Monster in the Dark"
First 48 "Trust No One/ Risky Business" The First 48 "Old Wounds"
The First 48 "The Other Wife"
60 Days In "Aftermath" (N)
First48/ First 48
(:05) The First 48 "Mother of Two"
Nate Jeremiah Design "Happy Hour"
My 600-lb Life "Milla's Story"
My 600-lb Life "Milla and Charity" Charity is struggling help her daughter. (N)
Skin "Where Are They Now? Part 1" (N) My 600-lb Life "Milla and Charity"
Naked&Afraid XL "What Lies Beneath" Naked and Afraid XL "Shattered"
Naked/Afr. "The Amazon: Part 4" (N)
Naked and Afraid: Pop-Up Edition (N) Naked "Louisiana Swamp: Part 2" (N)
(:05) Naked and Afraid "Ashes to Ashes"
Wild Thailand
The Himalayas
The Forbidden River "Khan's Kingdom" Forbidden River "The Black Dragon"
Forbid River "Into the Shadowlands"
The Last Shangri-la
Get Hard (2015, Comedy) Kevin Hart, Alison Brie, Will Ferrell.
Get Hard (2015, Comedy) Kevin Hart, Alison Brie, Will Ferrell.
Bones "The Crank in the Shaft"
Bones "The He in the She"
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992, Action) Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Mel Gibson.
Lethal Weapon 4 (‘98, Act) Danny Glover, Mel Gibson.
(5:30) Twister (1996, Action) Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Helen Hunt.
Law & Order: S.V.U. "Strange Beauty" Law&Order: SVU "Unholiest Alliance" Law&Order: SVU "Fashionable Crimes" Law&Order: SVU "Assaulting Reality" Inside FBI "Gangs and Gangsters" (N)
Law & Order: S.V.U. "Father's Shadow"
Chopped "Grandma vs. Grandma"
Chopped "There Will Be Bloody Marys" Chopped "Money Saver"
Chopped "T.G.I. Fry-Day"
Beat Flay (N)
Beat Bobby Flay Beat Bobby Flay Beat Bobby Flay
House Hunters
House Hunters
House Hunters
House Hunters
Flip or Flop
Flip or Flop
FlipFloVegas (N) Flip or Flop
House Hunters
House Hunters (N) House Hunters
House Hunters
Thor (2011, Action) Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth.
Thor (2011, Action) Anthony Hopkins, Chris Hemsworth.
(5:30) Prometheus (‘12) Logan Marshall-Green, Noomi Rapace.
Anderson Cooper 360
Soundtracks "Hurricane Katrina" (N)
CNN Tonight With Don Lemon
CNN Tonight With Don Lemon
Soundtracks "Hurricane Katrina"
Anderson Cooper 360
The Five
Hannity
Tucker Carlson Tonight
The Five
Hannity
Tucker Carlson Tonight
Shark Tank
Shark Tank
The Profit "The Soup Market"
The Profit "Tea2Go"
The Profit "Vision Quest Lighting"
Paid Program
Paid Program
Million Dollar "Don't Touch Me, Bro"
The Real Housewives
Housewives Atl. "Reunion Part 3" 3/4 Housewives Atl. "Reunion Part 4" 4/4 Housewives Atlanta "Secrets Revealed" WatchWhat (N)
Southern Charm
It Came From Beneath the Sea (‘55) Kenneth Tobey.
The Giant Behemoth (‘59) André Morell, Gene Evans.
(5:00) Them! (‘54)
(:45) Godzilla, King of the Monsters (‘56) Takashi Shimura, Raymond Burr.
Movie
John Wick (‘14, Action) Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Keanu Reeves. Snakes on a Plane Julianna Margulies.
(4:30) Pompeii (‘14) 300 (2006, Epic) Lena Headey, Dominic West, Gerard Butler.
SF Machinery (N) Small Town (N)
Rural America 'Live'
Steve Lantvit
Rural Eve. News Market Journal
GA Farm Monitor SF Machinery
Small Town
Time Life Library