NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
A7
Spending bill: Most provisions have to do with organic agriculture programs
Continued from Page A1
ture. That’s a win all-around
for both the rural economy
and a sustainable future.
Patrick Thiel, who oper-
ates Prairie Creek Farm
near Joseph and Lostine, is
one of the few fully organic
commercial farmers in the
county. He said none of
the ag spending increases
directly affects him.
“It sounds like the gov-
ernment’s maintaining pro-
grams they already have in
place,” he said.
Thiel said he is pleased
to see added funding for the
Organic Transition Program,
which helps conventional
farmers with some of the
costs in switching to organic.
Although the $6 million is
small by comparison to other
programs, he still called it
“very signifi cant” given the
high cost and high risk of
transitioning from conven-
tional to organic farming.
“That part of the spend-
ing gives farmers the tools to
make it,” he said.
The only real help Thiel
has received from federal
programs so far is a cost-
share reimbursement for
organic certifi cation fees.
But even that is limited. This
past year, he received $550
of a possible $750 from the
feds.
Mostly it’s the large-
scale organic industry and
research at state universities
that benefi t organic growers
that seem to receive the bulk
of federal assistance.
Other organic and sus-
tainable growers in the
county
welcome
the
thought, but, like Theil, are
skeptical of receiving any
direct support.
Kurt Melville grows
small grains on the no-till
Cornerstone Farms near
Joseph. He said they have
one parcel of 25 to 40 acres
that’s been pasture for 30
years that they’ve consid-
ered farming organic.
“If there’s funding avail-
able to do more research
and trials, we’ll continue to
look into it,” Melville said
when told of the funding
bill becoming law. He said
added funding may or may
not help develop herbicides
and pesticides that can mesh
with organic practices.
“It’s like throwing money
at renewable energies like
wind and solar,” he said.
“If the government comes
along and says here’s money
to test this out, I think that’s
a good thing.”
Self-described
hobby
farmer Wendy McCullough
raises 27 meat goats and
hay on her 20-acre Sally B.
Farms next to some of Mel-
ville’s land. She said she
uses organic methods but
her operation is not certifi ed.
She said she wasn’t
aware of the ag component
in the recent spending bill.
But her main concern over
the funding going to organic
agriculture is big ag getting
a share.
She has no plan to tran-
sition to organic, so she’s
not interested in much of the
funding.
“I don’t believe in it,”
she said. “It’s fi ne for small
companies, but when big ag
gets involved, it’s wrong for
all of us.”
Bob Stangel, one of the
owners of the Stangel Bison
Ranch, said he’s not so sure
any of the funding in the
recently approved spending
package would pertain to his
operation.
“We practice sustainable
agriculture,” Stangel said.
“There’s also the new buzz-
word, ‘regenerative’ agri-
culture where, if done prop-
erly, livestock keep the land
healthy.”
Other agricultural and
rural provisions in the 2020
spending bill include support
for production of CBD oil as
well as hemp, improvement
of water conservation and
use by irrigation districts,
rural housing, and rural
business development.
Top stories: Headline news includes dam reconstruction, suspicious barrels
Continued from Page A1
Photos by Ellen Morris Bishop
A member of the hazardous materials crew watches as a
rusted barrel is lifted from its containment “overpack” for
inspection and testing June 15.
of possible toxics contam-
inating Wallowa Lake, just
offshore from the marina,
caused widespread alarm.
EPA brought in a full hazard-
ous materials recovery team,
including a remotely oper-
ated vehicle to map the bar-
rels’ locations and HazMat,
fully suited divers. The
operation took about two
weeks. The EPA took over
a large swath of the marina
parking area. In the end,
the barrels initially photo-
graphed by the Blue Moun-
tain Divers, were removed
from the lake, along with 12
other suspicious barrels. All
of them tested out as clean,
and there was no trace of
contamination.
In July, Andy McKee
began serious renovations on
the Litch Building in Enter-
prise, and also withdrew his
application for a controver-
sial 825-acre campground
on Big Sheep Divide. Stein’s
Distillery doubled its pro-
duction and the OK Theatre
celebrated its centennial in
fi ne fashion. Lest we forget,
July also brought us Fiddle
Camp, the Fly-in, Tamkaliks
and the 74th Chief Joseph
Days.
The Granite Gulch fi re
and its successful manage-
ment as a naturally ignited
wildfi re occupied the sum-
mer’s news, as well. Sparked
by lightning July 31, the
fi re was entirely within the
Eagle Cap Wilderness, in the
upper reaches of the Minam
River watershed. Forest Ser-
vice fi re crews closely moni-
tored the blaze and restricted
the fi re’s spread somewhat
with helicopter water drops
and on-the ground con-
trol. It produced some vis-
ible smoke and notably
“blew up” Aug. 20, but with
encouragement from Forest
Service crews as well as the
weather, returned to more
sedate behavior by the next
evening. The fi re covered
about 6,000 acres, and was
allowed to burn until fall
rains quenched it.
Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital and other providers
continued their growth and
service to the community.
In November, the hospi-
The Yanke property that is being purchased by campaign
for the east Moraine, is 1,800 acres that off er superb views,
excellent opportunities for recreation, and a productive
working landscape.
tal raised nearly half of the
funds needed to purchase
a new 4x4 ambulance all
in one night at the Healthy
Futures dinner and auc-
tion. The hospital was also
one of only four in Oregon
to receive a fi ve-star rating
from Medicare/Medicaid,
and is ranked in the top 100
of U.S. hospitals.
The Lostine River Cor-
ridor has remained in the
news. In June 2018, an Ore-
gon District Court found no
merit in the lawsuit by Ore-
gon Wild and the Greater
Hells Canyon Council to
halt the Lostine Corridor
Public Safety Project. The
project would create open
spaces along the narrow
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OF
THE
occupy the same footprint as
the existing structure. But it
will be stouter. Importantly,
it will include a fi sh lad-
der, allowing the eventual
reintroduction of sockeye
salmon to Wallowa Lake.
The dam is being designed
by McMillen Jacobs Asso-
ciates of Boise, Idaho. The
fi rm expects to begin initial
reconstruction in August,
with project completion
slated for June 2021.
Hopes that a trail along
the Wallowa Union Railroad
Authority (WURRA) right-
of-way for hikers, cyclists
and others might happen
someday were dashed this
year. In late February, the
Wallowa County Planning
Commission turned down
the application of the Joseph
Branch Rails with Trails
(JBRWT) project. The deci-
sion was appealed to the
Wallowa County Commis-
sioners, but in July, before
they could make a deci-
sion, the group withdrew its
application for a trail along
the WURRA right-of-way
between Joseph and Enter-
prise. The reason: After
Commissioner John Hill-
ock recused himself due to a
confl ict of interest, JBRWT
thought that the remaining
two commissioners would
produce a tie in votes, which
would effectively deny the
application.
In April, a long-planned
restoration of the Wallowa
River through Wallowa
Lake State Park received
a green light and $1.1 mil-
lion in funding. The project
is planned to return the river
to its original braided pat-
tern. The changes will help
alleviate fl ooding of some
properties and also provide
improved spawning habi-
tat for kokanee and eventu-
ally, sockeye. Portions of the
park will receive new land-
scaping and new paths. The
construction began late in
the fall of 2019 and is antic-
ipated to continue in the fall
and winter 2020.
In May, Wallowa Coun-
ty’s fi rst recreational mari-
juana dispensary opened in
Joseph. The owner, Getty
Pollard, is a 13-year resident
of Wallowa County.
In June, the EPA agreed
to remove barrels labeled
as containing the toxic her-
bicide 24-D or 2,4,5T from
Wallowa Lake. The barrels
were discovered and docu-
mented by the Blue Moun-
tain Divers SCUBA team
of William Lambert and
Lisa Anderson. The report
road that leads to the Two
Pan trailhead. In Decem-
ber, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals hearing on the
appeal of this decision left
both sides feeling optimis-
tic. The appeal decision
is expected in early 2020.
Meanwhile, the USFS has
successfully offered one
timber sale in the corridor,
which may be logged and
thinned this winter. And the
concern about a future fi re
in the canyon sparked Los-
tine River Road residents to
establish a Fire Wise Com-
munity in August — the fi rst
in eastern Oregon.
As winter closes in
around us, and a new year
dawns, Wallowa County has
much to look forward to in
2020.
udly
Pro onsore d b y
p
S
Happy New Year!