NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
A7
Draft climate plan excludes carbon sequestration
Although originally
included, it was
dropped at the last
meeting in July
“IF YOU LEAVE OUT
SEQUESTRATION, THE RURAL
COMMUNITIES AREN’T GOING
TO BE ABLE TO SHARE IN THIS
MONEY.”
By George Plaven
EO Media Group
—Wallowa County Commissioner John Hillock
A new program aimed at
significantly curbing Ore-
gon’s greenhouse gas emis-
sions is coming under criti-
cism for omitting investments
that could help farms and for-
ests sequester more carbon
from the atmosphere.
The Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
released draft rules for the
Climate Protection Program
on Aug. 5 — similar to cap-
and-trade legislation thwarted
twice in the state Legislature
Contributed photo/Oregon Department of Forestry
by Senate Republicans who
fled the Capitol to deny a vote. A new Oregon state program aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions is under criticism for
After the second walkout omitting investments that could help farms and forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere.
in 2020, Gov. Kate Brown
signed an executive order variety of projects to transi- the context of this program is ier, more resilient landscapes.
Lee said from the begin-
requiring Oregon DEQ and tion Oregonians from fossil simply that it would take fund-
other state agencies to take fuels to cleaner, more sustain- ing away from investments ning the committee discussed
action on harmful emissions, able sources of energy, said in hastening Oregon’s clean carbon sequestration within
targeting a 45% reduction Colin McConnaha, who man- energy transition,” McCon- the CCI program. Then, at the
final meeting in July, it was
below 1990 levels by 2035 ages Oregon DEQ’s Office of naha said.
That decision is not sitting suddenly removed without
and 80% below 1990 levels Greenhouse Gas Programs.
However,
McConnaha well with some members of explanation.
by 2050.
“It was very difficult at the
Like cap and trade, the Cli- said it will not subsidize car- the rules advisory committee
mate Protection Program sets bon sequestration on natural tasked with helping DEQ to end to drop it out,” said Lee,
a limit on emissions that grad- and working lands, such as develop the draft rules.
whose association represents
ually lowers each year.
through no-till farming and
Jan Lee, executive direc- 45 soil and water conserva-
Part of the program also the planting of cover crops. tor of the Oregon Association tion districts across Oregon.
allows regulated utilities and While DEQ is not opposed to of Conservation Districts, said “Sequestration was one of the
fuel suppliers to buy or trade carbon sequestration, McCon- carbon sequestration is not few things that could be done
offset credits to meet their naha said the primary focus of only a critical tool for address- in rural areas to deal with the
reduction goals, referred to as the program is reducing fossil ing climate change, but can impact of climate change.”
Under Gov. Brown’s exec-
“community climate invest- fuels in homes, vehicles and benefit rural communities
ments,” or CCIs.
that are disproportionately utive order, the Oregon Global
businesses.
CCIs would pay for a
“The primary drawback in impacted by creating health- Warming Commission has
also drafted a natural and
working lands proposal that
calls for a net sequestration of
9.5 million metric tons of car-
bon dioxide per year by 2050.
Not connecting seques-
tration with the Climate Pro-
tection Program’s source
of funding “is a big missed
opportunity,” Lee said.
The Climate Protection
Program sets the initial price
of CCIs at $81 per metric ton
of carbon. At 9.5 million met-
ric tons, that adds up to $769.5
million worth of investment
that could be coming in to
rural Oregon, said Wallowa
County Commissioner John
Hillock.
“If you leave out seques-
tration, the rural communities
aren’t going to be able to share
in this money,” Hillock said.
Jeff Stone, executive direc-
tor of the Oregon Association
of Nurseries, said he was like-
wise disappointed to see car-
bon sequestration excluded
from the draft rules.
If the Climate Protection
Plan has winners and losers,
the question then becomes
what Oregon wants its econ-
omy to look like in 25-30
years, Stone said.
“We should be doing
things that enhance agricul-
ture, and that enhances carbon
sequestration,” Stone said. “I
think there’s a missed oppor-
tunity here in trying to build
more bridges rather than walls
between urban and rural.”
McConnaha, with Oregon
DEQ, insists the program will
prioritize rural communities
while maintaining the focus
on transitioning to cleaner
fuels.
For example, he said many
rural households and busi-
nesses — including agricul-
ture and forestry — have a
tougher challenge switching
to cleaner modes of transpor-
tation since they often have to
travel longer distances and tra-
verse rough terrain.
“This makes helping
enable that switch to cleaner
transportation
especially
important for these communi-
ties,” he said.
A 60-day public comment
period is currently underway
for the Climate Protection
Program, ending Oct. 4. DEQ
will also hold two virtual pub-
lic hearings to discuss the pro-
posal on Sept. 22 and Sept. 30.
Final rules need to be
approved by the Environ-
mental Quality Commission
before going into effect as
early as next year.
Rangeland study to address impact of drought, predators on ranching
Six sites in Idaho
and Oregon will be
equipped with
50 cameras
By Brad Carlson
EO Media Group
—Lead investigator Sophie Gilbert, a UI assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management
drought, and how those affect
wild ungulate populations as
well as livestock and people
who live there,” lead inves-
tigator Sophie Gilbert, a UI
assistant professor of wild-
life ecology and management,
said.
She said the study will
examine the interconnected-
ness of humans, plants and
animals on rangeland in the
face of a changing climate and
other stressors.
Rangeland and the people
who live and work on it are
seeing multiple stressors at
once, Gilbert said in an inter-
view. Drought, wildfire, live-
stock market challenges and
the return of large carnivores
in an environment where they
were absent for decades are
examples.
“This group has been
talking and talking for years,”
she said. “We wanted to
put together a proposal to
S258714-1
A University of Idaho-led
team next month will start
studying how drought and
wolves impact rangeland and
the people who live and raise
livestock there.
A $1.6 million National
Science Foundation grant is
funding the five-year project.
It includes collaborators from
the University of Michigan,
Ohio State University and the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife.
Researchers will study six
sites in Idaho and Oregon,
each equipped with 50 cam-
eras. The team aims to find
out more about how drought
affects vegetation and in turn
livestock, deer, elk and their
interactions with predators.
Scientists also will explore the
impacts wolves and drought
have on ranching communi-
ties and rangeland.
“We’ll look at the inter-
actions between wolves and
“WE’LL LOOK AT THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN
WOLVES AND DROUGHT, AND HOW THOSE AFFECT
WILD UNGULATE POPULATIONS AS WELL AS
LIVESTOCK AND PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE.”
Shawna Clark, DNP, FNP
541-575-1263
Accepting new Patients! Go to:
www.canyoncreekclinic.com
S258721-1
235 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day, Oregon 97845
TOM CHRISTENSEN
CHRISTENSEN
TOM
CONSTRUCTION
(541) 410-0557 • (541) 575-0192
explore how multiple sources
of stress interact with each
other and affect humans and
wildlife trying to make a
living.”
She said the integrated
approach aims in part to ben-
efit ranchers, land and wildlife
managers as they make deci-
sions. For example, findings
may result in a more thorough
understanding where preda-
tors are and how they move,
and the amount of forage
available to livestock, deer
and elk.
“Something we’re going
to try to do is produce a
mobile app that produces a
forecast of key rangeland
conditions,” Gilbert said.
It would build on existing
applications by linking sat-
ellite data to wildlife images
on the cameras. Ideally, she
said, it would help forecast
forage supply, greenness and
competition — and possibly
concentration of predators,
livestock and other animals
in riparian areas in drought
conditions.
Gilbert said this year’s
work will include holding
workshops with ranchers.
“The ranchers are going
to be the ones who know the
information they need,” she
said. “Those concerns are
going to be really important.”
Cameras will be placed in
late spring and early summer.
Sites will be selected based
in part on different levels of
drought and wolf activity, Gil-
bert said.
ANDY’S PLUMBING Hello Grant County,
Well, it almost seems that Fall is in the
& SPORTS
American Standard Sinks & Toilets, Delta
Faucets Brandford White, Water Heaters
air. The cooler temperatures have been
245 N. Canyon Blvd., Canyon City nice!
541-575-2144 • Mon.-Fri. 8am-4:30pm
In light of the recent COVID outbreak,
I hope you are staying well.
Just a reminder – we still have a good
supply of face masks and gloves if you
need them. Just come by the office and
pick them up.
The Chamber Board of Directors has
decided to postpone the Grape and Grain
Celebration until possibly next Spring.
We are planning a very nice event and we
want to have it at a time when we will all
feel comfortable about getting together.
We have just completed the revisions for
the Chamber By-laws. The Board will be
approving them at the September Board
meeting.
This month’s Chamber Board meeting
will be Thursday, September 16th at 10:30
at the Chamber office.
If you haven’t checked out our new
logo merchandise, you should! We have
t-shirts and sweatshirts, hats, stickers,
coffee mugs, lapel pins, and our challenge
coins should be here any day!
We would like to thank everyone who
stopped by the Chamber’s Fair booth. It
PIONEER FEED & was nice to see everyone and hear your
comments about our new swag!
FARM SUPPLY
60561 HWY 26,
If you haven’t joined the Chamber yet,
John Day, Oregon 97845
you should really consider it! Come by
541-575-0023
the office and pick up an appliction.
Stay healthy and safe!
• etc •
A uniquie boutique featuring local
artisans from Grant County
133 W. Main, John Day, OR
541-620-2638 • etc.handmade@yahoo.com
CCB# 106077
REMODELS • NEW CONSTRUCTION • POLE BUILDINGS
CONCRETE EXCAVATION • SHEET ROCK • SIDING
ROOFING • FENCES • DECKS • TELESCOPING FORKLIFT SERVICES
S258725-1
Tammy Bremner
Executive Director
S260052-1