State
Blue Mountain Eagle
A7
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Campaign
Drought emergency
declared in Grant County finance reform
key for Starnes
Gov. Brown cites
low snowpack
and precipitation
Independent
governor
candidate
hopes to
provide third
choice
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
EO Media Group/Kathy Aney
Gov. Kate Brown signs House Bill 4023, which increases broadband for rural schools,
as education and technology leaders look on Friday at the Pendleton Technology and
Trade Center. Brown has declared a drought emergency in Grant County.
Oregon snow
water equivalent
(As of April 9)
*Average annual SWE, 1981-2010
91
91
87
55
78
Weather patterns
change
According to the federal
Natural Resources and Con-
servation Service’s April 1
statewide basin report, storm
systems in the Pacific North-
west this winter deposited
most of their snow north of the
Columbia River, leaving Or-
egon with only 72 percent of
normal snowpack.
Gov. Brown described the
bleak consequences of this
weather pattern in her execu-
tive order.
“Forecasted water condi-
tions are not expected to im-
prove, and drought is likely to
have significant economic im-
pacts on agriculture, livestock
and natural resources in Grant
County,” she said. “Dry con-
ditions will place agricultural
and livestock investments at
risk, threaten natural resources
and recreational and tourism
activities, and subject the re-
gional economy to widespread
and severe damage.”
The Grant County Court
described similar conditions in
its March 14 letter requesting
a drought declaration by the
governor.
“Current predictions by (the
federal National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration)
are that seasonal drought with-
in our region will persist or in-
tensify and could dramatically
increase wildland fire danger,”
the court said. “Additionally,
a large share of the county’s
economy is dependent upon
the agriculture sector, which
is adversely affected by low
Percent of median*
25-50%
51-70
71-90
91-110
65
43
59
54
39
62
47
Source: USDA NRCS
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
rainfall. Our initial assessment
of impacts indicates imminent
and significant damages and
losses to the agricultural econ-
omy of Grant County.”
Snowpack data
According to the National
Resource Conservation Ser-
vice, March precipitation in
the John Day Basin was 99
percent of average, and pre-
cipitation from Oct. 1 to April
1 was 85 percent of average.
Most streamflow forecasts in
the basin for April through Sep-
tember range from 49 to 81 per-
cent of average.
“Water managers in the
basin should expect well be-
low normal to below normal
streamflows this summer,”
NRCS said in its April 1 basin
report.
NRCS reported April 19
that snow water equivalent at
eight of 13 SNOTEL sites in
the John Day Basin averaged
60 percent of the median from
1981 through 2010. Data for
other basins included Harney,
62 percent; Malheur, 57 per-
cent; Klamath, 55 percent; Up-
per Deschutes and Crooked, 73
percent; Rogue and Umpqua,
61 percent; Lake County and
Goose Lake, 70 percent; and
Owyhee 35 percent.
Precipitation at the 13 SNO-
TEL sites in the John Day Basin
averaged 89 percent of average
from 1981 through 2010. Pre-
cipitation data from the basins
cited above were also below
average.
Oregon’s first drought emer-
gency of the year was declared
by Gov. Brown in Klamath
County March 13. As state and
local officials coordinate with
federal partners, conditions
will be closely monitored by
the state’s natural resource and
public safety agencies, includ-
ing the Water Resources De-
partment and OEM.
“For portions of Oregon, in-
cluding Grant County, drought
forecasts are already predicting
a troubling year ahead,” Gov.
Brown said. “To minimize the
impacts drought, severe weath-
er and wildfire conditions could
have on the local economy, I’m
directing state agencies to work
with local and federal partners
to provide assistance to the
Grant County community.”
Among the tools provided
to water-right holders under a
drought emergency are a tem-
porary permit allowing the use
of groundwater instead of sur-
face water; an expedited pro-
cess that allows a water user to
change the type of use, place
of use or location of a diver-
sion; permission to convert all
or some of a water right to an
instream use for one year or the
length of the drought declara-
tion; special-option agreements
that allow a water-right holder
to provide water to another
party; a temporary exchange
of existing water-rights from
direct flow in a stream to
stored water; and the author-
ity to temporarily give human
consumption or stock-water-
ing uses preference over other
uses.
Campaign finance re-
form is the top issue for
gubernatorial candidate
Patrick Starnes of the
Independent Party of
Oregon.
Until “big money” is
removed from politics, he
told the Eagle, no other
reforms will have much
chance of success in the
current two-party system.
With large donations
from special interest
groups fueling the cam-
paigns of the Democrat
and Republican parties,
Starnes said voters are
left with a choice of the
lesser evil, rather than “a
true third choice,” which
he hopes to change.
Starnes said he is mod-
eling campaign finance
reform by limiting dona-
tions to his campaign to
$100.
He is touring the state,
town by town, focusing
on “solutions, not poli-
tics,” he said. Lifetime
political party members
have approached him at
events and told him they
plan to vote for him, he
said.
“People want to re-
ally change it,” he said
of the political system.
“They’re tired of these
arguments.”
Secondary priorities
include open primary
elections and the preven-
the
tion of gerrymandering,
he said.
A freelance cabinet-
maker for 30 years with
school board experience,
Starnes said state politi-
cians should be required
to have served on school
boards to learn about the
issues facing communi-
ties.
After campaign fi-
nance reform, he said the
state Public Employees
Retirement System could
be reformed through a
nonpartisan committee,
which would alleviate the
PERS burden on school
districts and provide
more dollars in class-
rooms, which would lead
to better graduation rates.
Health care, tax and
economic reforms would
all follow, he said, but
wouldn’t be possible un-
til campaign finance was
reformed.
Starnes said he be-
lieves the general elec-
tion will be interesting
because 38 percent of
Oregonians are not reg-
istered as Democrats or
Republicans.
“I know I’m a dark
horse,” he said, “but oth-
er dark horses have won.”
corner’s
HOT
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School: Long Creek
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Host Parents: Ed & Linda Studtmann
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Patrick Starnes
405 W. Main
John Day
1 800 303-0419
145 E. Main Street
John Day
PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES
52743
55400
Gov. Kate Brown issued a
drought emergency declaration
for Grant County April 10 fol-
lowing a March 14 request by
the Grant County Court.
“I find that the continuing
low snowpack, lack of precip-
itation, low streamflows and
warming temperatures are like-
ly to cause natural and econom-
ic disaster conditions in Grant
County, resulting in a severe,
continuing drought emergency
in that county during 2018,”
Brown said in her executive
order.
The declaration followed
a three-step process that be-
gan with the Grant County
Court’s request and underwent
a review by staff at the state
Water Resources Department
and Office of Emergency
Management. The declaration
allows the Water Resources
Department to offer options
to water-right holders in Grant
County to help them cope with
conditions.
100 E. MAIN • Stoplight in John Day
55396
541-792-0425
Grant SWCD Weed Control Dept.
Working for You in 2018
Thanks to the Grant County Court and Northeast Oregon Forests Resource
Advisory Committee, Grant Weed Control is able to offer a 25% Cost
share program for Noxious Weed Control on Private Grazing Lands,
through a Title II funded Grant Project. This program will provide a
maximum $5,000 of noxious weed control services with a $1,250 maximum
landowner contribution to qualifying participants. To be eligible for
participation, the treatment property must not be actively irrigated and must
be primarily managed for livestock grazing, minimum of 20 acres in size,
located within Grant County, and must contain priority noxious weed
species. Applications for this limited weed control assistance opportunity
will be ranked and funded according to a priority noxious weed list..
Contact the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District Office at (541)
575-1554 or visit 721 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845 for
applications and additional information.
The application deadline for this program is May 4th, 2018. 50943
541-523-6377
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
541-576-2160
54392