NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Enviro groups oppose Yakima water plan
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — As
a long-term plan to ensure a future
with enough water for farmers and
wildlife in the Yakima Basin moves
forward, critics complain there
hasn’t been enough transparency in
the process.
Last month, a Senate committee
in Washington, D.C., approved
legislation to authorize the ¿rst
10-year phase of the 30-year plan,
which calls for more than $4 billion
for additional water storage, ¿sh
passage, water conservation and
habitat protection.
The Yakima Herald-Republic
reports a House bill is also being
drafted.
Praised for ending decades of
litigation and bitterness between
competing interests, the plan is
called vital to the future of the fertile
Yakima Valley, one of the nation’s
greatest farming regions. But it is
not without opponents, who say
the process hasn’t been inclusive
enough. There have also been
worries about cost and being able
to satisfy the diverse needs of water
users.
“We continue to object to the
Yakima Workgroup portraying
the Yakima Plan as the product of
diverse interest groups, when the
workgroup remains unresponsive
to comments and concerns from
those not at the table,” said Elaine
Packard, a representative from the
state chapter of the Sierra Club.
Lake Kachess homeowners
worry about wells drying up, lower
property values and reduced ¿re
protection when the reservoir is
drawn down. To the south, cabin
owners and campers don’t want to
see Bumping Lake expanded by a
new dam that would Àood cabins,
campgrounds and old-growth forest.
Some environmental groups oppose
any new reservoirs.
Finally, there are ¿scal watch-
dogs who say the plan’s bene¿ts
don’t justify the price.
Some opponents met with the
bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Maria Cant-
well, D-Wash., last fall.
“Sen. Cantwell’s staff was
handed a mess. The plan is poisoned
fruit from a contaminated process,
so it could not be made acceptable,”
said Bill Campbell, a retired scien-
tist who lives along Lake Kachess.
Distrust of the plan and the work-
group are so high, critics say the
only ¿x is to scrap the whole thing.
That would be the wrong move
for the region, Yakima County
Commissioner Mike Leita said.
But Chris Maykut, a Bumping
Lake cabin owner and president of a
group opposing the new dam plans,
called the plan a house of sticks.
BRIEFLY
“Everyone got something they
wanted and if one group pulls out, it
falls apart, ‘’ Maykut said.
In 2009, the federal Bureau of
Reclamation and the state Depart-
ment of Ecology convened a group
of “stakeholders” — irrigators with
junior water rights, the Yakama
Indian Nation, county of¿cials and
¿sh and wildlife agencies — to
review past studies and look for
solutions to the basin’s water short-
ages.
The agencies developed the
workgroup’s ideas into the Inte-
grated Plan.
But opponents say the plan is the
work of agriculture interests seeking
a way to build more water storage
and work around past attempts that
failed cost-bene¿t tests.
Opponents contend the plan
ignores an independent economic
review by a team of Washington
State University scientists who
found that the water supply projects
failed cost/bene¿t tests and the
bene¿ts from ¿sh passage are not as
large as initially estimated.
Supporters maintain that looking
at the economic bene¿ts of each
component of the plan in isolation
misses the point — it was designed
as an integrated plan because it’s
worth more together than the sum of
its parts.
Leland Pollock said in an email
to the Argus. “After 20 years of
the monument, the schools have
dramatically lost students,” he
said.
Since the Utah monument was
designated, enrollment at Escalante
High School dropped from 150 to
50, he said.
“They are considering closing
the school,” Pollock said.
The Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument was desig-
nated in 1996 by President Bill
Clinton in recognition of the
region’s unspoiled natural beauty,
according to information from
Headwaters Economics.
The monument is located in
Kane and Gar¿eld counties in
Utah, but ironically the signing
ceremony was conducted across
the border in Arizona, said Dixie
Brunner, editor of the South Utah
News, Kanab, Utah, who attended
the event.
That only increased the anger of
the local residents, Brunner said.
“People (in Kane County) went
absolutely nuts when the monu-
ment was designated,” she said.
That included black balloons
released, big protests, and the like,
ONTARIO — In the debate
over the creation of a national
monument in Malheur County’s
Owyhee Canyonlands, the local
opposition, holds up the similar-
ly-sized 1.9 million-acre Grand
Staircase-Escalante
National
Monument in Utah as a reason not
to have one.
Those opposed to protections
of a 2.5 million-acre area in the
canyonlands include members of
the Task Force in Opposition to the
Wilderness/Monument Proposal of
the Owyhee Canyonlands. While
proponents, including members
of Oregon Natural Desert Associ-
ation, maintain that local industries
will not be impacted by a designa-
tion, local opponents do not agree,
instead saying a designation would
greatly impact Malheur County’s
economic future.
Indeed, Grand Staircase-Es-
calante National Monument is
cited by the Gar¿eld County
Commission as a major reason for
its county’s economic downturn.
“We declared a state of emer-
gency in June,” Commissioner
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Mostly cloudy and
cold
Cloudy and cold
30° 19°
25° 16°
Mostly cloudy and
cold
FRIDAY
Sunshine and
quite cold
Sunny to partly
cloudy and cold
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
23° 13°
24° 11°
23°
6°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
33° 23°
31° 20°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
29°
39°
64° (1917)
28°
25°
2° (1990)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.02"
2.28"
1.45"
10.09"
13.13"
12.92"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
32°
39°
67° (1937)
30°
27°
2° (1983)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.01"
1.78"
1.33"
7.17"
7.60"
9.80"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
Jan 1
Jan 9
7:36 a.m.
4:19 p.m.
9:15 p.m.
10:06 a.m.
First
Full
Jan 16
27° 16°
27° 14°
26° 14°
Seattle
39/28
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Jan 23
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REGIONAL CITIES
Today
SATURDAY
Spokane
Wenatchee
25/18
27/15
Tacoma
Moses
39/25
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 27/14
26/17
41/30
40/25
31/17
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
41/27
31/19 Lewiston
33/23
Astoria
32/24
44/32
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
41/31
Pendleton 26/11
The Dalles 33/23
30/19
39/27
La Grande
Salem
31/13
44/33
Albany
Corvallis 42/31
44/33
John Day
33/17
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
23/14
45/33
32/19
Caldwell
Burns
26/16
24/8
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
44
24
32
46
24
26
45
31
33
33
29
31
29
42
44
50
23
32
30
41
35
44
25
29
41
31
31
Lo
32
6
19
39
8
11
33
17
23
17
21
13
11
33
36
41
14
23
19
31
20
33
18
8
28
19
17
W
r
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c
c
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r
c
c
c
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pc
c
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c
pc
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Wed.
Hi
45
22
27
49
20
23
44
26
31
30
34
27
25
45
45
52
24
30
25
39
29
42
23
24
38
26
29
Lo
30
3
11
35
-3
2
24
14
20
13
10
6
3
24
31
35
9
19
16
27
12
25
12
7
26
16
12
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pc
c
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pc
sn
c
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c
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sn
sn
c
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WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
40
66
59
54
75
21
53
57
35
73
50
Lo
23
58
43
49
42
17
41
33
23
61
40
W
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
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pc
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pc
Wed.
Hi
40
64
53
55
76
21
50
54
42
75
51
Lo
16
58
43
43
46
11
43
34
28
63
41
W
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WINDS
Medford
42/33
Klamath Falls
29/21
(in mph)
Today
Wednesday
Boardman
Pendleton
NE 3-6
NNE 3-6
NE 3-6
W 3-6
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Cloudy today; occasional
rain and drizzle; however, a shower in spots
in the south.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mainly cloudy
today. Cold; a fl urry near the Cascades in the
afternoon.
Western Washington: A little rain today;
times of clouds and sun in central parts.
Partly cloudy tonight.
Eastern Washington: Times of sun and
clouds today.
Cascades: Cloudy and chilly today with
a little snow, accumulating a coating to
an inch.
Northern California: Mostly sunny today;
frigid in the interior mountains.
0
0
1
SPOKANE (AP) — A Seattle
investigator has been chosen
to conduct an independent
investigation into recent personnel
issues involving the Spokane
Police Department.
Mayor David Condon and City
Council President Ben Stuckart
on Monday announced they have
chosen Kris Cappel to lead the
investigation. Cappel is a former
federal prosecutor.
Condon and Stuckart will
submit her name to the city
council for approval during its
next meeting on Jan. 4.
Spokane City Hall has been
swamped by problems after
the forced resignation of police
Chief Frank Straub. He had been
accused of sexually harassing the
former department spokeswoman,
and of launching into tirades that
some of his top administrators
considered abusive.
Cappel would also investigate
issues related to the release of
public records in the case.
Corrections
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Seattle investigator
chosen for probe
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Forecast
WEDNESDAY
OLYMPIA (AP) —
:ashington of¿cials say that
one of thousands of prisoners
erroneously released due to
a computer error is already
back behind bars on charges of
vehicular homicide.
In a news release Monday,
of¿cials with the Department
of Corrections say that Robert
Jackson was arrested and charged
for a Nov. 11 accident that killed
Lindsay Hill, a woman who was
riding in the car with him. Jackson
was released from prison on Aug.
10, 2015. His correct release date
should have been Dec. 6, 2015.
As many as 3,200 offenders
have being wrongly released
early since 2002. Of¿cials on
Thursday indicated that three
prisoners released since June
had committed new crimes, but
they downgraded that number to
two Monday. Of¿cials are still
searching for another offender
who committed crimes during
the period he should have been
incarcerated. They did not release
that inmate’s name.
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Copyright © 2015, EO Media Group
TODAY
ASHLAND (AP) —
Authorities say they have found
the three missing snowboarders
who failed to return from Mount
Ashland as planned — alive and
well.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s
2f¿ce on Monday said the men
went to the mountain on Sunday
at about 10:30 a.m. A family
member alerted the sheriff’s
of¿ce to the missing group when
they didn’t return the next day.
Rescuers found the
snowboarders at about 12:30
p.m. on Monday. 2f¿cials said
the three are in good condition
and warming up with hot
beverages.
Mount Ashland is the highest
peak in the Siskiyou Mountains,
just south of Ashland in southern
Oregon.
PORTLAND (AP) —
Portland-area bakery owners
who denied service to a same-sex
couple have paid $135,000 in
state-ordered damages — after
refusing to do for nearly six
months.
The Bureau of Labor and
Industries said bakery co-owner
Aaron Klein dropped off a check
Monday for $136,927.07. That
includes accrued interest. Klein
also paid $7,000 earlier this
month.
Damages were awarded in
July for emotional suffering
caused by Sweet Cakes by
Melissa, which two years ago
refused to bake a wedding
cake for Laurel and Rachel
Bowman-Cryer. The bakers said
their refusal was prompted by
religious beliefs.
A 2007 Oregon law protects
the rights of gays, lesbians,
bisexual and transgender people
in employment, housing and
public accommodations. The
state ruled it also does not allow
private businesses to discriminate
against potential customers.
Klein’s lawyer Anna Harmon
could not be reached for
comment.
Brunner said.
“The local and state politicians
tried to ¿ght it in every way possi-
ble-to no avail, she said. “Even
years later, they still point to what
an awful land grab it was.”
The land in question was
always government land with
many restrictions, but the people in
Kane County felt that this was yet
another layer of restrictions and a
travesty to the Western way of life,
Brunner said.
Years after it was designated,
the monument is still a source of
deep resentment to the locals, she
said, but it has had a few positives.
“People have come to travel
around and view it,” Brunner said.
The Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, which manages the monu-
ment, has built three visitor centers
in remote locations, and do get a
lot of visitors of which bene¿t the
small communities, she said.
“The teaching aspect has been
great, because we get many profes-
sionals studying it,” Brunner said.
In the regional reports about
the Utah monument debate, oppo-
nents complained about the loss
of natural resource jobs, such as
mining, timber and agriculture.
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Washington prisoner
released early charged
in fatal accident
%DNHU\RZQHUV¿QDOO\
pay damages in gay
wedding cake case
Opponents of national monument fear economic woes
By LARRY MEYER
The Argus Observer
Three missing
snowboarders found
alive on Mt. Ashland
0
0
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
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cold front
70s
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warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Snow, ice and rain will affect the Northeast with showers and storms
farther south to the Gulf Coast today. Snow showers will affect the Rockies and Upper
Midwest with rain showers in the coastal Northwest.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 88° in Plant City, Fla.
Low -29° in Gunnison, Colo.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
32
67
64
64
18
62
25
42
81
60
35
50
48
23
43
42
26
19
83
57
40
84
26
48
49
61
Lo
18
59
49
44
9
52
14
34
66
43
24
31
33
8
31
27
21
11
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46
29
66
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Wed.
Hi
36
66
56
56
22
59
25
44
79
55
30
42
51
25
37
45
37
19
83
63
38
84
27
49
53
63
Lo
16
49
48
46
18
43
12
38
64
37
21
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10
70
45
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Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
51
51
84
35
26
55
64
54
36
23
64
57
31
44
76
14
36
50
39
27
61
52
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53
64
30
Lo
39
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75
23
16
44
58
44
24
15
45
36
22
35
61
-2
19
31
28
17
45
41
28
32
46
17
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Wed.
Hi
50
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37
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Lo
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35
54
44
24
8
44
38
30
39
61
8
19
30
24
12
46
40
27
35
44
14
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
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