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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
Wallowa County Chieftain From A1 wallowa.com LOGGING Continued from Page A1 Extension Service Master Forester and instructor for the Oregon Tree School program. Tanzey says he owes a lot to How- ard Johnson of Wallowa. ”When he was 92, he was still out there cutting with a chain saw,” Tanzey recalled. “I worked with him, and I manage timber the way he man- aged timber.” Johnson was a rancher turned tim- berman. He owned 4,000 acres on Smith Mountain north of Wallowa, Tanzey recalls, and “he raised trees like he raised cattle: top of the line, state tree farmer one or two years, was up for national tree farmer. Growing trees is no different than raising sheep, cattle, horses, dogs, goats, whatever.” That’s a particularly Wallowa County view. Logging in Wallowa County has changed, Tanzey said. There is not a single commercial lumber mill in the county, and Tanzey trucks saleable logs to Lewiston, Idaho, and earns a fraction of what loggers earned pre-1989. “We’ve lost the infrastructure of logging in Wallowa County,” he said. But he doesn’t mean just the phys- ical infrastructure of mills in the county. He means the infrastructure that supports land management of February 21, 2018 That knowledge, that men who are now retired have in their minds on how to manage that land, has got to be passed on through generations.” — Butch Tanzey any kind — an infrastructure that sup- ports a human community. That kind of social infrastructure depends upon generational knowledge and love for a specific place. “That knowledge, that men who are now retired have in their minds on how to manage that land, has got to be passed on through generations,” Tanzey said. “There’s more knowl- edge there than we’ll be able to teach in a college or school.” Because that knowledge is spe- cific to the natural landscape, much of what one needs to know about managing land must be learned both on the ground and in the community. “Doesn’t everything work hand in hand?” Tanzey asked. “It’s a strong chain: logger, rancher, business per- son who sells fuel or insurance or grain, works at the hospital, or what have you. You take one link out of it and it’s worthless. That’s all we are –– a link in the chain. It’s all infrastruc- ture. We all depend on each other.” On a recent day, Tanzey is work- ing on the sheep ranch of Skye Krebs outside of Enterprise. Krebs own quite a bit more land, but this lot is more than 3,000 acres, of which 760 acres is timber. Krebs uses timber money to help maintain his two-state livestock busi- ness, but he wants to preserve and improve his timberland at the same time, Tanzey said. Although Krebs runs bands of sheep on the lot, he has always sought to manage both to the benefit of the other. Tanzey points to a large green meadow. “See that meadow?” he asks. “That was a rock scab before Krebs ran his sheep here. Now it’s the first place the elk show up because it’s green. And all that sheep manure helps ‘my’ trees grow. If you don’t give back to the soil, it’s not going to give to you.” Giving back is why Tanzey mulches so much of the slash left after logging and thinning. He then plants a special Wallowa County blend of grass, sweetened with a nitrogen-fix- ing high-altitude clover that helps the trees digest the mulch. First in a multi-part series “My strategy on most of the lots I manage is that every 10 years I come in and do some logging and thin- ning on a lot –– and I’ve got the land broke up into 100-200 acre lots (in my plan),” Tanzey said. “You take an even mix of big and little trees so you have the diversity and you have red fir, larch, Ponderosa pine and dif- ferent species. As you log your big- ger trees the little trees come along to replace them.” That’s a long-term strategy that is radically different than that of com- mercial logging operations which requires clear-cut to maximize income on timberland. Although commercial operations are operating in line with forest prac- tice rules and regulation and replant immediately, it will still be 70 to 80 years before the replanted stands are mature. These newly planted forests are sold. New owners often buy with the previous owner’s profits in mind FISHTRAP Continued from Page A1 Nella Parks of Cove, who operates a vegetable production business on half an acre and Mary Hawkins of Wallowa, who operates a small meat pro- cessing business, Hawkins Sis- ters Ranch Chickens, were also panelists. The trajectory toward sus- tainable farming included years of education, internships at sev- eral different agricultural busi- nesses along the way, the assis- tance of family and neighboring farmer and ranchers, the volun- teer labor of extended family, and numerous “side hustles” or day jobs to raise money to keep the farm going. The reward was worth the effort, both women said. Hawkins benefited from access to third generation fam- ily farmland and relatively low startup cost, she said. Parks is also on family land she leases and opened her greenhouses with a Natural Resources Con- servation Grant. “My whole story would not have been possible in another place outside this community,” Parks said. “I had so much help in Cove. People who have spent 30-40 years in agriculture just wanted to give me their Panelist, rancher and coun- ty commissioner Todd Nash listens with interest as Flora rancher and farmer Elizabeth Enslin asks followup ques- tions during the presentation. Photos by Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Winter Fishtrap panelist Mary Hawkins of Hawkins Sisters Chickens in Wallowa tells the story of how she became a New Agrarian in Wallowa County at the Winter Fishtrap con- ference Feb. 16-18 at the Josephy Center in Joseph. knowledge. They had no one coming along behind them.” Hawkins is the only small (under 20,000 birds) chicken farm and processing plant oper- ating in Oregon — but a small operation that feeds nonGMO, locally sourced, custom chicken feed has high costs. “My chicken costs five times more than meat in the grocery store,” Hawkins said. “But my customers know me and my chickens are healthy and happy. My customers are on a list for chickens. I sell out all the time.” Breakout sessions that fol- lowed the panels allowed for brainstorming of solutions to the problems presented and swapping information. Land trusts, formal lease agreements between private individuals, the possibility of putting phil- osophically-motivated inves- tors together with young agrar- ians, new lending models being presented by banks, developing intern programs and develop- ing educational opportunities were considered. The program sought to answer the questions: Who are WALLOWA COUNTY Health Line 519 W. North Street, Enterprise the new generation of farmers? What are the barriers to begin farming today? And how has farming and ranching changed over the past 30 years? Turns out, three days was not enough to solve all the issues, including plans for suc- cession –– who will be tomor- row’s farmers? In Oregon, agricultural land A7 and no experience in management, Tanzey said. And new forests espe- cially require management or they turn into a tangle of too many trees competing for limited resources. Grass growing unchecked until it’s rank and unpalatable for wildlife cre- ates extreme fire hazards. “(Managed forestry) is constant maintenance,” Tanzey said. “You can’t plant a garden and not come back because the weeds are going to take over. Clear-cutting is a good management tool, and in some places it’s the only option if you’ve got a stand of timber that is all full of root rot and mistletoe and different dis- eases. You’ve got to go in there and remove that stand of timber and change the species for one cycle.” But one cycle can be a long time. “We live in a semi-desert coun- try here,” Tanzey said. “On the coast they can clear-cut every 35 years or so. One human generation can do two clear-cuts in a lifetime –– not here.” By logging and thinning “his for- ests” every 10 years, Tanzey reckons he will get two to three times the vol- ume of wood harvest over 60 years compared to clear-cut and “you’ve never lost the original aspect, never changed the ecosystem, all the lit- tle critters that were there the day you started are still there, you’ve got good pasture, good water, wildlife ... and you’ve kept a sustainable soci- ety here: you’ve kept the mills, tim- ber and grazing.” makes up 25 percent of the state –– 16.3 million acres –– but in the next 20 years, 64 percent of those lands will change hands. By one estimate, 80 per- cent of farmers do not have a succession plan: no one in the family is willing to continue the farm and they know of no one who can purchase the farm and continue operation. Oregon’s farmland is in danger of fragmentation, and once land is subdivided, it soon becomes lost to agriculture, permanently. There are significant finan- cial barriers. “Student debt crushes the ability to get started at any- thing,” said Kate Greenberg of National Young Farmers Coali- tion, one of the Winter Fishtrap speakers. Studies have shown that student loan debt is the second greatest obstacle to land ownership. “You probably aren’t going to own land for a long time. None of us are going to have the same trajectory that the generation before us had,” Greenberg said. Fishtrap leadership declared the event a resounding success. “Everyone who attended walked away with something new,” executive director Shan- non McNerney. “This is just what we hoped for.” Presenters came from a vari- ety of fiends and backgrounds. “We’ve got people from the full spectrum here in Wal- lowa County. Ranchers who have been here for generations and newcomers,” McNerney said. “That diversity of experi- ence and knowledge is what we wanted (to present) when we brought back Winter Fishtrap.” Around 75 mostly from Washington and Oregon attended. DON’T BE A WACKO, STOP TOBACCO Drawing done by Josiah Surber 4th grade, of Wallowa 541.426.3413 Mon-Thurs 9 to Noon/1-5pm; Fri. 9-1 Contact the QUIT LINE today at 1.800.QUIT.NOW (1.800.784.8669) or online at www.quitnow.net/oregon to recieve: Information about Insight into times and Tips on what to do when you Support! If you’ve tried to have the urge to smoke, chew situations when you usually medications that can help you quit, we’ll talk about what smoke, chew or use an e-cig quit. We may be able to send hasn’t worked and new things or use an e-cigarette. you could try. and ways to change these you free nicotine patches and or gum. routines when you quit. Keycode Entry Weight Room • Cardio Women’s Circuit • Tanning 202 W. Main, Enterprise 541-426-0313 Celebrating 150 Years of the National Grange Hurricane Creek Grange is Hosting A Wallowa County 4-H Fundraiser A Not-Quite Traditional Old-Time Box Social 5:00 PM, Saturday, February 24 th , 2018 At Cloverleaf Hall Decorated Boxes with delicious meals to be auctioned. Free coffee, tea, and punch. Live entertainment. Home-made Dessert Auction. Everyone is invited. Enjoy a great meal and support our 4-H Program. The Wallowa County Ducks Unlimited Committee wishes to thank all the patrons, businesses and donors who helped make our 2018 DU event successful . Silver Sponsors: The LaVigne Family, Burke & Tammy Lathrop, Keith & June Newburn, and Gene & Marge Bieraugel Bronze Sponsors: Paul & Jakki Boehne, Chris & Tina Borgerding, Chris & Mary Cunningham, John Duckworth, Duncan Hunter, Jeremiah & Christina Moffit, Jim Reese, Brian & Amanda Rahn, Chance & Cricket Waters Ace Hardware Anton’s Home & Hearth Arrowhead Chocolates Bank of Eastern Oregon Bee Crow Bee Bennett Insurance Bird Dog Signs Blue Mountain Barbers The Bookloft Bronson Log Homes Carpet One Central Copy & Shipping Community Bank Copper Creek Mercantile David Bronson Photography Diane Knox Double-Arrow Veterinary Clinic Eagle Cap Firearms Embers Brew House Emily Cunningham Gene & Marge Bieraugel Greg & Joleen Bieraugel Hancock Forest Management Henderson Fuel Henderson Logging Horseshoe Bar & Grill Hunter’s Firearm Services James Reese John Duckworth Joe Hall Ford, Lewiston John L. Sullivan Joseph Hardware Keith & June Newburn Kevin’s Tire Shop Kim Hutchison Kni-Co Manufacturing Les Schwab Tires Mad Mary’s Mae McGinnis NAPA/Thompson Auto Supply North 40, Lewiston Olaf Pottery Outlaw Motor Sports Ram Auto & Hardware Red Horse Coffee Company Rogers Motors, Lewiston Ron’s Place in Wallowa RY Timber, Bruce Dunn Safeway Schaeffer Auto Sports Corral Sportsman’s Warehouse, Lewiston Stangel Industries Stein Distillery Inc. Stewart Jones Sugar Time Bakery Susie Madigan Terry Bates The Sheep Shed Terminal Gravity Brewing Tri-county Equipment Trudy Turner, Silversmith T-Zion Uptown Art Valley Bronze VFW Wallowa County Grain Growers Wallowa County Nursery Wallowa Lake Lodge Wallowa Rod & Gun Club Wal-mart at La Grande Water Dog Tenders White Lightning Glass Wild Carrot Please bring a Box Lunch for two, or plan to purchase your meal at auction. (Those with special diet needs may order a lunch made to order.) A special thanks to Diana of Chuckwagon Sisters, Leo of El Bajio, the Enterprise FFA assistants, Kate of Community Bank, and Ellen Bishop. All of us on the DU committee appreciate everyone’s support. For further information visit: www.HurricaneCreekGrange.org/BoxSocial or call Darlene Stephens at (541) 786-4089 Thank you!