PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A central figure in the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon has been sentenced to three years and a month in prison, the longest term for anyone convicted in the case.

At the federal courthouse in Portland, Ryan Payne of Anaconda, Montana, apologized Tuesday to those disrupted by his actions and to the American people.

Payne helped seize the bird sanctuary on Jan. 2, 2016, in a protest against federal control of Western lands and the imprisonment of two ranchers convicted of setting fires.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy in July 2016, but his sentencing was delayed until the outcome of his trial on charges stemming from a standoff with federal agents at a Nevada ranch owned by Cliven Bundy.

The judge in the Nevada case dismissed charges against Payne last month, citing federal prosecutors’ misconduct with evidence.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal fisheries officials said Tuesday they will consider putting the Pacific Northwest’s once-flourishing wild spring-run Chinook salmon on the list of threatened or endangered species.

The National Marine Fisheries Services plans a 12-month review on whether to give protected status to the salmon in and around the Klamath River.

Spring Chinook, historically the first Chinook salmon to return from the ocean each winter, were once one of the most abundant salmon of the Pacific Northwest, important to tribes, fishermen and wildlife.

California’s Kuruk tribe, which joined the Salmon River Restoration Council environmental group in petitioning for more protections for the fish, say the species is nearly extinct throughout much of its range in Oregon and Northern California.

The tribe blames Klamath River dams for blocking the fish from their spawning grounds.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to decide in 2019 whether to approve a deal among tribes, dam-owner PacifiCorp utilities company, and others to remove the dams and reopen hundreds of miles of river to the migrating salmon.

The federal fisheries’ move comes after a University of California, Davis study showed the spring Chinook are more of an evolutionary rarity than realized when compared to Chinook salmon that return later in the year.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Most Americans receiving food assistance benefits can’t afford the cost of an average low-income meal, a new national study reported on the heels of the federal government’s proposal to limit the program.

The study from the Urban Institute reported that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fell short of affording an average meal in 99 percent of US continental counties and the District of Columbia. The Urban Institute is a liberal-leaning think tank and research organization based in Washington D.C.

More than 44 million Americans received SNAP benefits every month in 2016, according to the most recently available government data.

The study, published Thursday, follows the federal government’s proposal to reduce SNAP funding by about $213 billion, or 30 percent, over 10 years. President Donald Trump also proposed replacing food stamps with a home delivery box similar to a “Blue Apron-style” meal kit.

The study calculated the maximum SNAP benefit per meal and compared it to the average low-income meal cost per person based on census data. The maximum SNAP benefit was $1.86. The average meal cost was 27 percent higher.

The 20 counties with the largest gap included high-cost urban areas like New York and San Francisco and smaller rural counties in Oregon and Michigan. California had the most counties in the top 10 percent.

SNAP is intended to supplement a family’s food budget. But the study reported that for 37 percent of SNAP households with no income, benefits are the only way to buy food.

The study also said the current SNAP benefit per meal meets the meal costs of less than 1 percent of all counties in the country: 18 of those counties are in Texas; three are in Indiana; and one is in Ohio, the report said.

Barry Spear, public information manager for Alabama’s Department of Human Resources, which administers SNAP, told The Associated Press that SNAP is meant to supplement but not meet all food needs, like the name suggests.

“It’s not the only source that they have to find food,” Spear said. “A lot of people think it’s supposed to take care of all their needs, and it’s not designed to do that.” He said individuals can join other federal programs like WIC, which gives aid to women and children, or go to food banks run by nonprofit organizations or churches.

The study acknowledged that SNAP isn’t designed to meet all food needs but added that people in low- or no-income households will be “at high risk of experiencing hunger and food insecurity.”

“This analysis further confirms that food price affects a wide variety of communities - small and large, urban and rural, and in all geographic regions of the continental US,” the study said.

More than 850,000 Alabamians received SNAP benefits every month in 2016. The study reported those benefits don’t cover an affordable meal in all 67 Alabama counties. In Baldwin County, the worst affected, the average meal cost 43 percent more.

Elaine Lee, a planner and special projects director at the Community Action Agency of South Alabama in Baldwin County, said most clients she serves depend on multiple federal programs because SNAP runs short each month.

“SNAP benefits are really a problem for the elderly who have other limited fix-income issues,” Lee said. “It seems that the award amount and the benefit amount is not enough to get over the hump of the month.”

Lee refers clients to Prodisee Pantry, the largest food bank in Baldwin County. Executive Director Deann Servos said the food bank serves between 1,000 to 1,200 families a month with a week’s worth of groceries. Almost all the clients are on SNAP.

Servos said the federal government’s cuts would have a devastating impact on families stuck in the cycle of poverty.

“Without that benefit, it’s detrimental to those families,” Servos said. “For families with unexpected emergencies and job losses, that program is there and they only use it for a short period of time and then move forward. Without that, we will find more folks falling deeper and deeper into poverty.”

CORVALLIS, Ore. — It often begins with a few acres and a dream of living the good life, tied to the earth and in harmony with nature.

But, as Rachel Suits told a room of would-be farmers Saturday, starting a small farm is not easy. The hours are long, the labor strenuous, and it could take years before they see any return on investment.

Suits, who works for Oregon State University Extension Service in the Columbia River Gorge, led a presentation titled “Exploring the Small Farm Dream” as part of the 2018 Oregon Small Farms Conference at the OSU campus in Corvallis.

Roughly 1,000 people maxed out attendance at the daylong conference, with seminars held at the LaSells Stewart Center and CH2M Alumni Center. Suits’ talk was tailored specifically to new or beginning farmers, offering tips and resources on how to get started.

Running a successful farm boils down to three questions, Suits said — What do you want to do? What can you do? and What can you sell?

“That sweet spot is right in the middle,” she said.

First, Suits recommended making a detailed map of the property showing where fields, buildings, fences, roads and water sources are. That, she said, will help determine what is logistically possible on the new farm or ranch.

Water is especially important, since access to irrigation dramatically increases the number of options available to farmers.

“There are still options (for dry farming), but the more high-value crops require irrigation,” Suits said.

Every county has a local watermaster who can tell whether the land has existing water rights. However, Suits said getting new water rights through the Oregon Water Resources Department is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

Soil and climate make up the other pieces of the environmental puzzle, Suits said. She praised the Northwest as having some of the best soils in the nation, though beginning farmers should collect soil samples to test for nutrient levels.

Climate, on the other hand, varies widely in Oregon, from the dry and frosty east side to the rainy, more temperate Willamette Valley. Micro-climates also form around slopes and valleys, which can trap cold air and moisture in pockets.

In addition to understanding the environment, Suits emphasized having a concrete vision and goals for success.

“There is nothing worse than going to work every day and hating it because your skills don’t match up,” she said.

Depending on the individual, a farm may grow crops or livestock. It may be organic or conventional. It may emphasize tradition, or pursue innovation. Those decisions are informed by the farmer’s values.

“Your values really play a role in your vision,” Suits said.

Of course, the economics of farming are also inescapable, Suits added. Beginning farmers must know how long they can afford to wait before turning a profit, while understanding and adapting to changing markets.

“My best advice for you is to start small and learn,” Suits said.

Heyona Cho, 28, said she is interested in eventually starting a farm but is still in the process of developing her own goals.

Cho, who was born in South Korea and raised in California, is an apprentice at Unity Farm in Northeast Portland, part of the Oregon Food Bank, which seeks to train farmers and break down racial barriers. She attended the Small Farms Conference to learn more about resources available to her.

“I think the most important message I’m taking is there are a lot of resources out there,” Cho said. “I just need to reach out.”

The conference began Saturday morning with a rousing pep talk from Javier Zamora, of JSM Organic Farms in Aromas, Calif., who was on hand to discuss the role of Latino farmers in the growing Northwest organic movement.

During his introductory remarks, Zamora said he is not against big farming — the country needs to grow a lot of food to feed the world. But he said they also need a lot more small farmers who can make a difference in their communities.

“It’s really difficult. It’s not easy,” Zamora said. “If you have the passion, and you’re willing to put in the hours, you will make it happen.”

Oregon’s forestland owners are overwhelmingly following regulations aimed at managing and harvesting timber, though they’ve fallen short on some counts, state regulators found.

Landowners had a compliance rate of 97 percent with 57 key rules related to logging, road building and water protection under the Oregon Forest Practices Act, according to a study by the Oregon Department of Forestry.

For example, the timber industry strictly avoids removing vegetation along streams during harvests.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, we get it right,” said Paul Clements, ODFA’s training and compliance coordinator, during the Oregon Logging Conference Feb. 23 in Eugene, Ore.

Most of the impacts from non-compliance were minor, but there were certain rules where the timber industry had room for improvement, he said.

Minimizing the amount of waste slash in waters of the state had a compliance rate of 76 percent, Clements said.

Other areas of low compliance included leaving vegetation around small wetlands, which may not be readily apparent during the dry season, he said.

A rule requiring landowners to use properly sized culverts on roads crossing streams was only properly followed about half the time, Clements said.

A rule requiring removal of petroleum product containers from landings only achieved 58 percent compliance, prompting Clements to tell the audience to “take your oil jugs home.”

While most erosion impacts from non-compliance were small — involving less than a cubic yard of dirt in a stream — those that were larger usually involved “legacy conditions,” he said.

Many roads were built before forestry regulations were enacted, so soil piled up a half-century ago may be prone to “blowout” into a waterway, he said.

Forestland owners should also try to prevent sediment from roads from washing into waterways through culverts, Clements said.

This problem was the subject of a 2013 Supreme Court decision that was favorable to the timber industry — as runoff from culverts wasn’t found to be industrial pollution — but only after years of litigation.

Oregon’s rules for forestry and logging are intended to minimize the effects of disturbances, Clements said. “You can’t go get logs without disturbing something.”

SALEM — Early organization has paid off for supporters of a bill establishing minimum contract protections for all Oregon seed growers, which has passed both chambers of the Legislature.

House Bill 4068 was unanimously approved by the Senate on Feb. 22 and the House on Feb. 13.

The bill requires dealers to pay farmers market prices for seed by certain deadlines enforced by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Grass seed crops have received similar protections since 2011 under a statute aimed at preventing “slow pay, no pay” problems, but other types of seed were excluded from the legislation.

Before the idea of expanding the contract protections was brought to the Oregon lawmakers, the specifics were hashed out by farmers, seed dealers and trade groups.

By the time HB 4068 was introduced, all the details had been hammered out and the bill sailed through the House Agriculture Committee and Senate Business and Transportation Committee without any opposing testimony or even an amendment.

The lack of complication has served the bill well in 2018, when several other proposals have been killed off for being too grandiose or intricate to properly examine in a little more than a month.

The bill’s smooth course through the Legislature was referred to as a “love fest” by Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, who chairs the Senate Business and Transportation Committee.

Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer, praised the bill for adhering to the “spirit of the short session” — it’s “narrow in scope” and has been “thoroughly vetted” by the affected parties, he said.

Anna Scharf, whose family farms near Amity, Ore., was instrumental in advocating the bill, Post said.

The concept for expanding contract protections to clover, meadowfoam, radish, turnip, mustard and other seeds was initiated by Scharf in 2017.

Initially, she sought to simply add other seed types to the class of crops protected under the 2011 statute. However, the proposal “unraveled” because the payment terms for grass seed didn’t align with those of other seeds, Scharf said.

For a year, the Oregon Farm Bureau and farmers “worked out the kinks” with seed industry stakeholders and arrived at a proposal that lawmakers could embrace as “bipartisan” and “not political,” she said.

“It shows they’re willing to acknowledge that farmers growing proprietary crops have a necessity and a right to be paid in a timely manner,” Scharf said. “We aired out our differences and figured out a law we could live within.”

Because most specialty seeds are proprietary, they can’t be sold on the open market if the contracting seed dealer fails to pay, she said.

The bill will level the playing field between growers and dealers, Scharf said. “It’s a game changer. I can’t tell you how excited I am about it.”

The proposal was inspired partly by a dispute over proprietary radish seed grown by Oregon farmers for a defunct seed company, she said.

When the seed company went broke, its bank tried to seize the radish seed from the farmers as collateral for a loan to the company, Scharf said. Though Oregon growers won the case in federal court, the ruling is now being challenged before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The problem drew the attention of the Polk County Farm Bureau, which then got the Oregon Farm Bureau involved in the issue, said Jenny Dresler, OFB’s state public policy director.

“We’re really proud of the process this bill went through and the compromise at the end of the day,” she said.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Three Republican U.S. House members from Washington state are criticizing Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., for opposing their legislation that would prevent the breaching of four dams on the Snake River to help improve endangered salmon runs.

The three Republicans support a bipartisan bill that seeks to maintain existing dam operations until at least 2022.

Murray and two Democratic House members from the Seattle area are pushing an environmental study that will look at different alternatives for salmon recovery, including breaching one or more of the dams.

Republican U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Jaime Herrera Beutler contend that “Seattle Democrats are putting politics over science.”

This is the latest skirmish in a decades-long battle that pits environmentalists against users of the Columbia-Snake river system.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke revamped a plan for a sweeping overhaul of his department Friday with a new organizational map that more closely follows state lines instead of the natural boundaries he initially proposed.

The changes follow complaints from a bipartisan group of Western state governors that Zinke did not consult them before unveiling his original plan last month. The agency oversees vast public lands, primarily in the U.S. West, ranging from protected national parks and wildlife refuges to areas where coal mining and energy exploration dominate the landscape.

Zinke said in an interview with The Associated Press that his goal remains unchanged: decentralizing the Interior Department’s bureaucracy and creating 13 regional headquarters.

The redrawn map, obtained by AP, shows that states such as Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming would fall within a single region instead of being split among multiple regions. Other states remain divided, including California, Nevada, Montana and Oregon.

Aspects of the original map remain, with some regions labeled according to river systems, such as the Upper Colorado Basin and the Missouri Basin. But the new lines tend to cut across geographic features and follow state lines, not boundaries of rivers and ecosystems.

The new proposal resulted from discussions with governors, members of Congress and senior leaders at the agency, Interior officials said.

Zinke, a former Republican congressman from Montana, already has imposed major changes at the 70,000-employee Interior Department. He has rolled back regulations considered burdensome to the oil and gas industry and reassigned dozens of senior officials who were holdovers from President Barack Obama’s administration.

The vision of retooling the department’s bureaucracy plays into longstanding calls from politicians in the American West to shift more decisions about nearly 700,000 square miles of public lands under Interior oversight to officials in the region.

Some Democrats have speculated that Zinke’s true motivation for the overhaul is to gut the department, noting that more than 90 percent of its employees already work outside Washington, D.C.

Zinke contends that he’s trying to streamline Interior’s management of public lands by requiring all of the agencies within the department to use common regional boundaries, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service.

Congress has the final word on the proposal.

Federal grants are available through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to help farmers and ranchers develop tools, technologies and strategies for conservation on working lands.

The NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants program is intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches in each of six project categories: energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, plant health, soil quality, wildlife habitat and water quality or quantity. Funding for the grants comes from the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Up to $250,000 is available in Oregon for eligible landowners, local and state governments, tribes and non-governmental organizations. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 6.

Ronald Alvarado, NRCS Oregon state conservationist, said the Conservation Innovation Grants, or CIGs, are critical for developing science, technology and innovative tools to address natural resource concerns.

“CIG helps bridge the gap between initial product development and taking that product or approach to market,” Alvarado said. “The overall goal is to incorporate new innovations into NRCS technical manuals and make them available to the agricultural community.”

Applicants can request up to $75,000, with at least a 50 percent non-federal match that can be cash or in-kind work. Projects must be within Oregon and may be area-based or statewide in scope.

Since 2009, Oregon CIG has awarded $2.3 million in competitive grants. More information about the program is available online at www.nrcs.usda.gov.

For questions about the application process, contact CIG Program Manager Loren Unruh at 503-414-3235 or email loren.unruh@or.usda.gov.

Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek is proposing an amendment to a controversial cap and trade bill that would allow the Legislature to delay voting on key details until next year.

The amendment, developed in coordination with co-sponsors of the bill, would allow the lawmakers to vote on the “cap” for greenhouse gas emissions this session while delaying a vote on the “trade” portion of the bill until next year.

The legislation, known as the Clean Energy Jobs Bill, would cap the state’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 and launch a trading system for emissions permits. About 100 companies in the state’s largest industries would be required to buy pollution permits to cover their emissions.

The bill requires permits for any business that emits more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. That includes a variety of large manufacturers, paper mills, fuel distributors and utilities.

Over time, the cap on emissions would come down and there would be fewer pollution permits available. So companies would have to reduce their emissions, spend more on permits or buy credits to offset their emissions.

The ultimate goal is to reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

The bill has House and Senate versions, both of which have had public hearings and passed into rules committees last week.

Rep. Karin Power, D-Milwaukie, said the amendment acknowledges an urgent need to act on climate change while offering “another option to consider” for lawmakers who say they need more time to study the details of the bill.”Not all of them have significant environmental policy expertise,” Power said. “I think this is responsive to the concerns that we’ve heard. In that sense, I hope it would gain support from my colleagues to pass this year.”Power said Oregonians are already seeing the effects of climate change across the state, and lawmakers have spent years vetting ideas for reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.”We’ve done a tremendous amount of work and we have a lot of answers,” she said. “I think if we were to have the interim to continue discussing this issue ... I think we’d be able to have more individual conversations around the projects we need to engage in around climate change.” The amendment stipulates that if lawmakers fail to approve a cap and trade program by the end of next year’s legislative session, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission will adopt one instead.

By JOHN SCHROYER

Marijuana Business Daily

DENVER (AP) — Cannabis businesses, beware: The Hershey Co. is on the warpath.

Perhaps the most famous confectionery peddler in the world has a well-documented history of actively protecting its trademarks, and the marijuana industry is no exception.

Although Hershey’s has been relatively quiet in the marijuana sector since it sued two cannabis businesses in 2014, the company seemingly ramped up its oversight of possible trademark infringements in 2017.

Hershey’s — a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of more than $7 billion — sent cease-and-desist letters last year to at least two California marijuana companies:

Harborside, a well-established dispensary in Oakland.

Good Girl Cannabis Co., an edibles maker in rural northeast California.

Those cases — along with several others in recent history — emphasize that the still-maturing cannabis industry still must face such legal issues as complicated trademark laws that can force small companies to change course.

While Good Girl Cannabis owner Kimberly Scott said her situation was resolved quickly and amicably, Harborside wound up fighting back after months of legal threats from one of Hershey’s law firms.

Harborside filed suit against Hershey’s in December after receiving multiple demands from an Indianapolis law firm representing the confectioner.

The lawyers wanted Harborside to pay $20,000 for “liquidated damages” and sign a settlement agreement with a confidentiality clause.

“Harborside refused confidentiality, and I told Hershey’s that we were prepared to proceed with the litigation,” said Henry Wykowski, Harborside’s longtime attorney.

“And guess what happened? They caved the next day.”

The case was voluntarily dismissed Jan. 31, according to court records — within weeks of Harborside’s initial filing.

Wykowski said the sides reached a settlement agreement that outlined zero legal liability for Harborside with respect to Hershey’s trademark-infringement allegations.

Harborside’s executive director, Steve DeAngelo, characterized Hershey’s attorneys as “bullies.”

“We stood up to the federal Department of Justice when they tried to close us down (in 2012),” DeAngelo said in a statement. “We are certainly not going to be intimidated by a candy company.”

Hershey’s did not respond to requests from Marijuana Business Daily for comment, nor did the law firm that represented the chocolatier against Harborside.

In mid-2014, Hershey’s filed suit against a Colorado edibles maker, Tincturebelle, and a Seattle dispensary, Conscious Care Cooperative, regarding edibles that were obvious parodies of classic Hershey’s candies.

Hershey’s won easily in both instances, with the Colorado and Washington state companies settling instead of going to trial.

It’s unclear from court records if Tincturebelle paid Hershey’s any money.

But Conscious Care Cooperative did not.

“At the end of it, we walked away not owing them anything,” Conscious Care co-founder Trek Hollnagel told MJBizDaily.

Hollnagel, also a co-founder of Dope Magazine, said Conscious Care’s attorney convinced Hershey’s lawyers that the dispensary wasn’t the guilty party since it was an edibles reseller and not the manufacturer that created the product name and logo.

Conscious Care was dissolved in 2016.

Tincturebelle also reached a settlement and remains in business.

California attorney Amanda Conley, who has seven years-plus of experience in intellectual property disputes, said one of her marijuana business clients also received a cease-and-desist letter from Hershey’s around 2014.

Her client reached a quick settlement, she said, and no money changed hands.

“We backed down pretty quickly, but so did Hershey’s,” Conley recalled.

She said the Harborside case seems to be “a ramping up, just based on our limited experience with this company.”

Hershey’s hasn’t focused solely on marijuana businesses when either threatening or filing lawsuits against companies it believes have committed trademark infringements. Just two examples of many from recent years:

In 2009, Hershey’s sued a West Virginia company named Reese’s Nursery and Landscaping for allegedly infringing on its Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups trademark.

In 2015, the company sued a New Jersey chocolate importer for alleged trademark violations.

Wykowski, Harborside’s attorney, believes Hershey’s took its trademark concerns a step further with his client.

The confectioner sent Harborside a cease-and-desist letter in April 2017 demanding that the dispensary stop selling Jolly Meds cannabis infused products.

In an attempt to stave off a potentially expensive legal fight, the dispensary immediately began working to comply with Hershey’s request. Its situation was similar to Conscious Care’s in that Harborside was a middle man reseller, not the creator of the product line Hershey’s took issue with.

That meant asking the manufacturer, San Francisco-based Jolly Meds, to redo its name and packaging.

(Jolly Meds officially changed its name and product line to J:Meds in 2017 and has a trademark pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.)

Harborside spent months responding to Hershey’s requests and acquiescing to demands regarding the products in question, Wykowski said.

“Hershey’s came on strong,” Wykowski said. “We thought this was an appropriate time to take a stand, not only on behalf of ourselves but on behalf of other people who are similarly situated.”

Harborside then filed suit based on the repeated demands from Hershey’s attorneys.

Hershey’s wanted a $20,000 payout from Harborside and an agreement that would have forbidden the dispensary from disclosing the existence of a settlement, including the payment.

The case had another twist: Hershey’s told Harborside that Jolly Meds was violating the confectioner’s trademark for Jolly Ranchers, yet didn’t send any correspondence at all to the infused products manufacturer.

“They did not come after us directly,” J:Meds owner Jeffrey Kolsky said. “They came after us through (Harborside), basically.”

The only practical impact on Kolsky was that he rebranded his products quicker than he had planned.

“Really, nothing has come of it,” he said, “except that we pivoted to become J:Meds instead of Jolly Meds as soon as it happened.

“We basically said, ‘This is a fight not worth having.’”

The takeaway for Wykowski is that Harborside’s fight will serve as an alert that at least some of Hershey’s attorneys are trying to extract payments from companies by threatening expensive lawsuits and then demanding confidential settlements.

“We have already been contacted by other attorneys that are faced with a similar situation on this issue,” he added, “because now it’s a matter of public record.”

Kolsky said he was delighted to see Harborside’s stand against Hershey’s, which he accused of “predatory practices.”

“It was very apparent that this was a game they were playing, that they were trying to get money where they could,” Kolsky said. “I think what it took was somebody standing up to Hershey’s with money and saying, ‘We’re calling you out on this. This is wrong.’”

Despite Harborside’s victory, Conley said most companies involved in trademark disputes will have to evaluate their situations on a case-by-case basis, in large part because settlements typically are cheaper than a court battle.

Such fights can easily cost a company hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, according to Conley.

“You don’t want to be in this fight. You have so much money to spend right now on compliance and other issues, the last thing you need to be doing is having a fight with Hershey’s.”

Both Conley and Wykowski agreed: There will only be more cannabis-related trademark and IP legal disputes as the industry continues to develop.

Over the next century, sea level rise is expected to wreak havoc on the U.S. coastlines – and a new analysis shows that the Northwest is not immune. Nearly all coastal wetlands in Oregon, Washington and California will be swamped at the highest predicted sea level change.

Sea level rise is a byproduct of climate change. It happens as the world’s oceans warm and physically expand.  Melting glaciers and ice sheets are also contributing.

New research from the U.S. Geological Survey gives the first ever insight to how specific bays, marshes and harbors will fare.

“We wanted to collect data and build models at a smaller spatial scale. Really the scale of decision making,” said USGS ecologist Karen Thorne. “Like, ‘I’m a refuge manager and I want to know what’s going to happen to my wetlands’ or ‘I live in this town.’”

Coastal wetlands are important for wildlife and nurseries for our fisheries. They filter water and provide flood and erosion protection to coastal communities.

Thorne says under the lowest predictions of sea level rise – about five inches over the next century in the Northwest – wetlands will remain relatively stable.

But in higher scenarios that range anywhere from 2 to 6 feet, big changes are in store.

“You increase the water levels to a point that the plants start to die because they’re flooded too often. So when the plants start to die, you start to lose the ability to build or maintain the elevation of these wetlands,” Thorne said.

This starts off a negative feedback loop. What once was marsh becomes a mud flat.

The new models predicts that many of the most profoundly affected wetlands in Oregon and Washington won’t be able migrate inland to higher elevations. Their path has been blocked by human development and the natural topography of our rocky coast.

Wetlands at Bandon Marsh, Coos Bay and Siletz Bay in Oregon are expected to disappear entirely if the higher projections for sea level rise hold. Port Susan, Nisqually and Skokomish in Washington will lose more than half their vegetation. Even at moderate rates of sea level rise, most of the coastal wetlands will look and function very differently.

But there are a few spots on Washington’s coast that are expected to weather this symptom of climate change better than elsewhere. Notably, wetlands in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor in Washington are expected to survive.

“Thankfully, Willapa Bay is one of those estuaries that are in a better place than some of the others,” said Jackie Ferrier, manager of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.

“Because it’s so influenced by the river, there’s a large amount of sediment accretion that happens within the bay.”

The sediment buildup continually raises the elevation of the wetlands and is projected to allow the marshes to keep pace with sea level rise.

Ferrier says the new information is helpful because of how localized it is. But she says the refuge will continue to rely on a range of predictive models to make decisions going forward.

The Willapa refuge is already taking actions to improve the quality of the coastal area. The refuge is in the middle of a massive habitat restoration project that is expanding the saltwater wetland footprint.

“I think our restoration puts us in an even better place because it does increase that resilience to sea level rise,” she said.

The results of the new research published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

EUGENE, Ore. — Rather than convince a jury, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants a federal judge to declare that an Oregon farmer violated the Clean Water Act by stabilizing a riverbank.

Because the evidence “conclusively” shows large rocks were unlawfully discharged into the North Santiam River, the judge should proclaim the farmer liable instead of referring the matter to a jury, according to EPA.

The farmer, Bill Case of Linn County, Ore., argues a jury trial is necessary because it’s “hotly disputed” that his erosion-control activities ran afoul of the Clean Water Act.

Attorneys representing Case likely expect he’d be a sympathetic defendant to jury members.

The key question in the case is whether Case deposited large rocks under the river’s “ordinary high water mark,” below which the federal government has Clean Water Act jurisdiction, said Kent Hanson, an attorney representing the EPA.

The government’s experts have determined the farmer worked below that level based on historical photographs and LIDAR — or Light Detection and Ranging — a remote sensing technology, Hanson said during Feb. 21 oral arguments in Eugene, Ore.

“The defendants have questioned that but have presented absolutely no evidence,” Hanson said. “They have no expert testimony.”

Crystal Chase, the farmer’s attorney, acknowledged the defendant hasn’t produced an expert witness, but said that’s not necessary to establish a controversy to be decided upon by a jury — rather than a “summary judgment” ruling by a judge.

“Expert testimony is not the only way to create a fact dispute,” Chase said.

The federal government hasn’t sufficiently shown that the entirety of Case’s bank stabilization project fell below the ordinary high water mark, she said.

“There has not been a jurisdictional determination,” Chase said. “The government has not met its burden of proving where it is.”

If the EPA convinces the judge to rule that Case was liable, the judge would proceed to determine “remedies” for the violations. He could be fined up to $37,500 per day of violation dating back roughly nine years.

Attorneys for the EPA filed a lawsuit against Case two years ago, claiming that in 2009 he placed riprap and other fill materials in an 835-foot-long trench along the river without the required CWA permit.

During the oral arguments, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin appeared skeptical the farmer wouldn’t realize he was working below the ordinary high water mark.

“It’s not all that difficult of a concept to grasp if you live along the river,” Coffin said.

Case argued the government’s lawsuit should be blocked because he was relying on the advice of another federal agency — the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — in carrying out the stabilization project.

However, the EPA argues the farmer can’t rely on this doctrine — known as “equitable estoppel” — because government officials didn’t purposely mislead Case, even if he’s accurately representing their instructions.

“Does all that add up to a deliberate lie? The answer is no,” said Hanson. “It does not add up to a pattern of false promises.”

Case countered that relying on “repeated, affirmative statements” is enough of an injustice to invoke “equitable estoppel” and block the lawsuit.

It’s not necessary to show the government intentionally lied, said Chase. “That’s not the standard.”

Apart from the original project in 2009, the EPA alleges that Case built an 800-foot-long dike along the river in 2012 and then extended it by 170 feet the following year, also without the proper permits.

Altogether, the EPA claims he deposited more than 20,000 cubic yards of fill material under the river’s “ordinary high water mark.”

According to Case, floodwaters had washed away roughly 2 acres of a field adjacent to the river, prompting him to undertake the original stabilization project in 2009 with the consent of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Oregon’s Department of State Lands.

As for the activities in 2012 and 2013, Case argues that he was simply repairing dikes that had been built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers more than a half-century earlier, which doesn’t require CWA permitting.

However, the EPA claims he doesn’t qualify for the maintenance exemption because the dikes he rebuilt were more than twice as tall and three times wider than any pre-existing structure.

“What’s there is much bigger than what was there before,” said Hanson.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon sheriff and district attorney blasted efforts to regulate legalized marijuana, saying Tuesday the state is allowing black market operations to proliferate.

The issue is especially sensitive because U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently allowed federal prosecutors more leeway to pursue federal anti-marijuana laws in states like Oregon that have legalized pot. The top federal attorney in Oregon, Billy Williams, earlier this month said Oregon produces more marijuana than it consumes, with the overproduction feeding the black market. He urged locals to address the problem to avoid a possible crackdown.

Marijuana grow sites have flourished in many parts of the state, including in Deschutes County, Oregon’s fastest-growing county which sprawls over high desert and the snowy peaks of the Cascade Range.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel and Sheriff Shane Nelson announced charges stemming from an illegal grow site that deputies discovered accidentally — and sharply criticized state regulatory efforts as basically nonexistent.

“Our state has no regulation for the marijuana industry,” Nelson said at a news conference in the district attorney’s offices in Bend. “In order to have regulation an agency has to have enough resources to be effective at enforcement of the regulations. Oregon does not have this.”

The Oregon Health Authority, which regulates medical marijuana, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday’s assertions. Mark Pettinger, a spokesman for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates recreational marijuana, noted the agency depends on the Legislature for funding for marijuana enforcement.

Hummel and Nelson complained in a Feb. 7 letter to the health authority that local law enforcement officers often can’t tell whether medical marijuana grow sites are legal or illegal because the agency hasn’t provided a list of authorized sites.

“Unfortunately, our hands are often tied when it comes to enforcing manufacturing and cultivation laws,” they wrote to Carole Yann, the agency’s manager of the medical marijuana program. They asked for a list of all registered medical marijuana grow sites in Deschutes County, but said they have not received a response.

Hummel told reporters the health authority conducted no inspections in Deschutes County in 2017, and said it is “ridiculous” that the agency provides a 10-day written notification of an inspection to growers.

Jonathan Modie, a spokesman for the health authority, said it is reviewing the letter and plans to respond soon. He confirmed that a 10-day notice is given for routine inspections but that for “complaint inspections,” staffers may make an unannounced visit.

In the news conference, Nelson complained that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has only 23 inspectors for more than 1,200 marijuana grows and retail outlets.

“Citizens must demand that the governor’s office increase and fund more inspectors,” he said.

In a telephone interview, Pettinger said additional inspectors from the commission would soon staff a new office in southern Oregon co-located with the Oregon State Police, and that the ratio of Oregon’s inspectors is similar to some other states.

The sheriff said he respects voters’ wishes to legalize marijuana in Oregon but threatened to try to halt the establishment of marijuana grows.

“I have taken a stance. No more recreational commercial marijuana grows in Deschutes County,” Nelson said. “The state needs to take a time out and assess the oversupply that is more than likely going into the black market.”

County officials are concerned that the state will impose land use regulations for marijuana on the county, Nelson said, adding: “The state has no business in determining that.”

Hummel said he is going to “work within the system” but that if the health authority doesn’t provide a list of licensed growers he may speak with Gov. Kate Brown or lawmakers about further action.

Taking a back seat in the news conference was the announcement of criminal charges against Blake Pyfer, 27, of La Pine.

Hummel said deputies were searching with a warrant for a stolen snowboard in Pyfer’s home when they found 98 mature marijuana plants growing in a room and 63 immature marijuana plants in a separate space. He is charged with unlawful manufacture of marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Hummel said Pyfer is a medical marijuana patient and was an authorized grower for one other patient, meaning he could legally possess 12 mature plants and 24 immature plants.

Pyfer, contacted through Facebook, said he had no comment.

PORTLAND — Oregon’s wine producers should beware of becoming complacent now that their growth is outperforming regional and national competitors, experts say.

“There’s no question Oregon is rocking,” said Rob McMillan, executive vice president of the Silicon Valley Bank’s wine division, said Feb. 20 during the Oregon Wine Symposium in Portland, Ore.

Last year, the Nielsen consumer research company found that Oregon’s annual sales volume had increased 17 percent, compared to 2.3 percent for Washington, 3 percent for California and 2.8 percent for the U.S.

“Nobody is growing as fast as Oregon,” said Danny Brager, senior vice president of the beverage alcohol practice at Nielsen.

Certain trends continue to favor Oregon.

The value of wine exported from Oregon increased 53 percent, from $127 million to $195 million, between 2013 and 2016, he said. Roughly half of Oregon’s wine is now sold outside its prime West Coast sales territory.

Social media references to Oregon wine are much more complimentary than references to the wine industry on average, Brager said. “The discussion of Oregon wine is massively positive.”

Higher-quality wine generally continues to see increasing sales compared to lower-end brands, said Christian Miller, proprietor of the Full Glass Research company.

“The core wine consumers are drinking more and better,” he said.

Oregon’s renowned Pinot noir is in the “sweet spot” to appeal to debt-ridden “millennials” and retirement-age “boomers” who are “frugal hedonists,” said McMillan.

In the future, though, Oregon wine producers shouldn’t count on tasting rooms to remain as effective in selling their products — particularly if they’re overly reliant on visitors from Portland, he said.

Though the trend has yet to hit Oregon, tasting room traffic is falling on other popular wine country destinations, such as California’s Napa and Sonoma counties, McMillan said.

“Oregon is the outlier, which is good for now,” he said.

Even so, the tasting room is a “choke point” in terms of reaching consumers, so wineries should become more effective national marketers, he said.

Wineries should move past “wine clubs” to attract customers by improving their e-commerce capability and digital marketing, as well as focusing on tourism, McMillan said.

“A national brand needs to have a national presence,” he said.

The 15-year-old boy charged with igniting the Eagle Creek Fire pleaded guilty last Friday morning. 

The teenager — described by his defense attorney as a respectful, polite violin player from a tight-knit, loving family — underwent the juvenile equivalent of pleading guilty to 12 charges, including two counts of burning on forest land, eight counts of reckless burning, one count of criminal mischief and one count of reckless endangerment.

Judge John Olson sentenced the teenager to five years of probation. He will also be required to complete 1,920 hours of community service, which will be facilitated by the U.S. Forest Service.

“In my perspective, the law was applied here as it should,” said Jack Morris, the boy’s defense attorney. “I want you to know that the state has not done him any favors.”

Morris said his client has been given another chance.

“That’s what the law here provided my client,” Morris told the courtroom. “You’ve been given a second chance; earn it. [And] I can guarantee you that’s what my client will do.”

In a statement read before the courtroom, the teen apologized.

“Every day, I think about this terrible decision and its awful consequences,” he said. “Every time I hear people talk about the fire, I put myself down. I know I will have to live with my bad decision for the rest of my life, but I have learned from this experience and will work hard to help rebuild the community in any way I can.”

Friday’s hearing was the first public proceeding related to the fire that affected nearly 49,000 acres of the Columbia River Gorge. The Hood River County Courthouse was open to media, members of the public and residents in nearby communities who were evacuated as a result of the blaze that first began Sept. 2.

Victims of the fire sat in the mustard-colored former church pews in Courtroom 1 of the courthouse. Behind the teenage boy were his parents, who were wearing headsets as a Russian interpreter translated the proceedings into a microphone nearby. The parents wiped away tears as the teen issued his apology.

In October, the Hood River County District Attorney’s Office charged the suspect from Vancouver, Washington, as a juvenile.

At the time of the fire, witnesses described a child lobbing a firecracker down a canyon before the area erupted in smoke and flames, and trapped a group of hikers overnight.

At the hearing, Hood River County District Attorney John Sewell said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to press felony arson charges, which would have required investigators to prove the teenager intended to start the fire.

Sewell added there wasn’t evidence to prosecute the group of teenagers accompanying the 15-year-old boy. Sewell said the boy, his parents and the group of teenagers voluntarily submitted their interviews to investigators.

Representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon State Parks gave statements before the judge, describing millions of dollars in damage.

“A lot of people spent a lot of restless nights wondering if they would have a home to go back to,” said Kent Kalsch with the Oregon Department of Transportation.

As part of his sentencing, the teenager is not allowed on Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area property, except during community service. He must also write apology letters to the community of Cascade Locks and the 150 hikers stranded in the Gorge the night the fire erupted, among others. The letters will be sent to local newspapers for publishing.

The teen and his family are still on the hook for restitution fees for injuries or loss as a result of the fire. The restitution hearing is scheduled for May 17. 

Juvenile court records are protected from public release by state confidentiality laws, except under unusual circumstances. Little was known about the case and teenage suspect until the hearing. A legal assistant with the defense team said there was secrecy even within the firm because of the high-profile nature of the case. 

After the fire, many people used social media to post threats of violence against the suspect. Sewell decided not to release the juvenile’s name in October.

“When you’re dealing with reckless behavior — a 15-year-old engaging in reckless behavior — probation is not the expected response or disposition, but certainly is very normal,” said Gary Bertoni, an attorney of criminal juvenile law who has worked in the juvenile court system for 40 years.

“Community safety plays a significant component in the juvenile system and philosophy right now, but rehabilitation of the youth in delinquency cases remains a focal point,” Bertoni said. “You’re weighing risk to community, rehabilitation options, how the youth responds to rehabilitation options.”

He said all of those factors can play into a sentencing, as well as one other key factor: remorse.

“I suspect his acceptance of responsibility from the get-go was a factor,” Bertoni said.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Light snow began falling before the morning commute in the Portland metropolitan area, a preview of the heavier precipitation that’s expected during the drive home from work and into the evening.

The National Weather Service says a winter storm warning is in effect from the Portland metro area north into Southwest Washington, with potential snow accumulations of 3 to 8 inches.

Snow is also projected to fall in Salem, Corvallis and other parts of Oregon, with the weather service warning that the Interstate 5 passes between Roseburg and Grants Pass could be treacherous.

Those who must drive are advised to slow down, carry tire chains and wear warm clothes.

Portland Community College canceled classes Tuesday and some school districts did the same.

The Third Annual Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest returns to the Polk County Fairgrounds and Event Center in Rickreall, Ore., this weekend.

The slate of family friendly events begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, when the fairgrounds and the Polk Heritage Museum open to the public, and continues through Sunday, Feb. 25, according to a press release from the organizers.

The weekend event will be preceded at 8 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, with a free CORE pesticide training for applicators presented by Oregon State University Extension and Polk County Farm Bureau in Building B. Breakfast is included.

A “Grower to Grazier Connections” workshop will be presented at 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, by the Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District. Livestock and horse owners will learn about the many grass, legume and other kinds of seed available for high quality forage production. RSVP to Claudia.Ingham@PolkSWCD.com or 503-623-9680 ext. 101 to reserve a light dinner.

At 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, a special screening of the “Food Evolution” movie will be presented by Polk County Women for Agriculture with refreshments provided.

Weekend workshops include:

2 p.m.: “Living with Your Well Water.” Main Building Seminar Area. Free of charge with a $5 adult admission to Ag Fest. Host: Polk SWCD. Bring a cup of your well or domestic drinking water for confidential nitrate sampling.

3-4 p.m.: “Streamside Restoration on Your Farm.” Main Building Seminar Area. Free of charge w/$5 adult admission to Ag Fest. Host: Polk and Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District. Tips for success and funding opportunities.

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: “Farm Succession Planning Workshop.” Main Building Seminar Area. Free of charge with a $5 adult admission to Ag Fest. Hosts: Rogue Farm Corps (Nellie McAdams), Schwabe Williamson (Joe Hobson), Greenbelt Land Trust (Claire Feigner) and two local farmers.

2 p.m.: “Living with Your Septic System.” Main Building Seminar Area. Free of charge with a $5 adult admission to Ag Fest. Host: Chrissy Lucas of OSU Extension. Bring a cup of your well or domestic drinking water for confidential nitrate sampling.

3-4 p.m.: Streamside Restoration on Your Farm. Main Building Seminar Area. Host: Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District, Marc Bell and Josh Togstad.

Family attractions at Winter Ag Fest include an expanded 4-H petting zoo, a new balloon installation by Joy Entertainers, a “G” train display and a working sawmill; demonstrations all weekend long by the 4-H horse club; roping demonstrations by the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association; Dutch oven cooking; and free face painting.

Local 4-H clubs will also offer fun contests in Building B during the weekend.

Early spring plants and advice will also be available from the OSU master gardeners.

For additional information go to mvwagfest.com.

Weekend hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25.

Adult admission is $5. Children 18 and under are free.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The invasive quagga and zebra mussels have a $100,000 bounty on their “heads.”

The U.S. government is offering the six-figure prize for the best suggestion on how to stop their relentless and destructive spread because scientists say they are stumped.

“We might as well give it a try,” said Sherri Pucherelli, a biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. “Open water. That’s really where the challenge is. Nothing has been developed right now that causes complete eradication in a large water body.”

The filter-feeders that syphon in water to pluck out microscopic organisms can throw food chains out of balance, and their sheer numbers in attaching to surfaces can clog pipes at reservoirs and damage boat motors. Giant water bodies turning aquamarine blue is a sign that the base of the food chain is being depleted, risking starvation for other species, including sport fish.

Quagga mussels approach an inch in length while zebra mussels can be about twice that size. The species are native to Russia and Ukraine, and are believed to have arrived in the U.S. in the 1980s aboard ships that released ballast water into the Great Lakes.

They attach to boats and trailers and travel long distances, and their microscopic larvae can survive in water inside a boat or even an angler’s wading boots. Also, the mussels can sense toxins and close their shells.

The Bureau of Reclamation first started dealing with the mussels after discovering them in 2007 in Lake Mead in southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. They’ve multiplied so fast that scientists now estimate the entire volume of the lake is filtered by the mussels every five days.

Federal officials say the only area not yet invaded in the contiguous United States is the Columbia River Basin in the Pacific Northwest. The basin is heavily used for hydroelectric power, and officials estimate it will cost $500 million annually to prevent the mussels from clogging pipes and infrastructure.

The environmental damage to the food chain could further strain struggling runs of salmon and steelhead in the basin where more than a dozen species are listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The mussels are getting close to the basin. Sampling last fall found larvae of quagga or zebra mussels at Tiber Reservoir in north-central Montana. It was the first positive test in the state.

Federal and state agencies have mostly tried to contain the spread of mussels, typically with boat inspections. The goal of the prize competition is eradicate mussels in large water bodies. The deadline for ideas is Feb. 28.

Specifically, federal scientists are seeking a solution that kills 100 percent of the mussels in large water bodies, is cost-effective and environmentally sound. That means native species must survive whatever kills the invasive mussels.

“We can kill mussels,” said David Raff, science adviser at the Bureau of Reclamation. “Chlorine is very effective. But you can’t dump chlorine into a reservoir.”

The bureau has been experimenting with ultraviolet light and substances that prevent the mussels from adhering to pipes and other infrastructure. Mussel infestations could increase costs that would have to be passed on to consumers. The agency has 53 hydroelectric projects supplying energy and delivers water to 31 million people each year. Also, with partners, it manages nearly 300 recreation sites.

The mussels “are a huge problem currently and it has the potential to be a much bigger problem,” Raff said.

That threat prompted the governors of 19 western states in November to send a letter urging Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to put in controls by spring to prevent the mussels, including mandatory inspections and decontamination of boats leaving infected water bodies.

Denise Hosler, a biologist with the Bureau of Reclamation who has been fighting the mussels since 2006, said boat inspections have had some success stemming the spread, even though it may only be temporary.

“But there is such a heroic effort being advanced at this point that, hopefully, we’ll have success,” she said.

ROSEBURG, Ore. — The mild winter in Western Oregon has produced plenty of green pasture forage for livestock, but some elk herds are also loving it.

The elk rest and relax during the day in nearby forested area and then dine on the green grass during the night.

Many of the ranchers who own those pastures and the livestock are not too pleased with the wildlife intrusion.

“They’re robbing feed that is intended for livestock,” said Veril Nelson of elk. Nelson is the owner of a red Angus operation east of Sutherlin, Ore. His pastures have had many nightly visits from a herd of 50 to 60 elk over the past couple of months.

“One of those mature elk weighs as much as a yearling cow, 600 to 700 pounds,” the rancher said. “They certainly eat as much as a yearling beef animal. They hide in the timber during the day to rest and ruminate, then they’re back out at night, eating enough for a 24-hour meal.”

Tim Miller of Siletz, Ore., runs cattle on five properties. He said he has elk issues at four of those locations.

“If I can’t keep the elk out, I’m a month later getting the cattle onto those pastures,” he said.

Miller is working to keep the elk out. He has built 6-foot electric New Zealand fence around two of the pastures and is in the process of fencing a third property. He has also obtained a hazing permit. Those permits allow ranchers to run or scare off wildlife with vehicles or shotgun blasts.

Craig Herman, a rancher in the Bandon, Ore., area, is chairman of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association’s Private Lands Committee. He said there has been “a lot of frustration” with elk herds on private property. He explained in addition to losing pasture forage, fence damage caused by elk is also a major issue and expense for ranchers.

“One woman in the Newport (Oregon) area is getting out of the cattle business because she can’t keep her fences up due to the elk,” Herman said. “When elk are spooked, they’ll go right through a fence, and then you have the problem of your own cattle getting out.”

Tod Lum, a big game wildlife biologist in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife office in Roseburg, said complaints about elk this winter have been about the same as in the past. He understands the situation ranchers who are trying to turn a profit with their cattle face.

“It’s very attractive for an elk to look at a neon green field and be attracted to it, especially if they’re living in the timber. When they graze on a field all night, the rancher has a valid damage complaint.”

Lum said property owners with at least 40 acres can obtain landowner preference tags to take an antlerless elk and to hopefully discourage the rest of the herd from returning. Additional antlerless elk tags can be obtained by hunters who are approved by the landowner and the biologist.

“That’s a win-win for the hunter and the landowner,” Lum said.

The biologist added a hazing permit is also an option. It allows a landowner to lawfully harass the wildlife, but he said that process has to start early before visiting a field because too much of a habit for elk.

The ranchers and the biologists admit filling the LOP and hunter tags are not easy pasture shoots because after being harassed once or twice, the elk sense daylight and have a tendency to leave the pastures as darkness is fading.

Herman would like to see ranchers compensated for forage and fence damage by the state, but knows that reimbursement is probably not available.

“We have meetings with ODFW and they’re polite and listen,” Herman said. “I appreciate what ODFW is dealing with, but I don’t think those folks appreciate what landowners are dealing with. Forage loss and fence damage are major issues. ODFW needs to manage the wildlife populations better, maybe have longer hunting seasons.”

In eastern Oregon, the mild winter is resulting in less wildlife damage since fewer deer and elk are being driven by bad weather down to the valley pastures and hay barns. Eddie Miguez, who supervises wildlife feed sites in Baker, Union and Wallowa counties, said 10 Elkhorn Range sites managed by the state had about 1,100 animals in early January compared to 2,000 head a year ago during a severe winter.

The feed sites are along traditional migratory routes and are intended to intercept and stop the animals before they reach private ranches.

Justin Primus, assistant wildlife biologist in ODFW’s Baker City office, said his district has had “virtually no elk damage.

“But this has been our mildest winter since 2008,” he added.

Leonard Erickson, the district wildlife biologist for Union County, agreed that wildlife numbers in the valleys and any resulting damage are down this winter compared to a year ago.

Nelson said wildlife officials and forestry representatives need to work together to create more forage in the forest for wildlife. He said that would involve some logging, some prescribed burning and replanting.

“In the old growth forest, there is no forage, nothing to eat, so those animals come down to the pastures,” the rancher said. “We tend to manage for one species, whether threatened or endangered, and that results in managing against all other species.”

Nelson said about 1½ miles east of his ranch, another herd of 50 to 60 elk have been regular visitors to the pastures of another ranch.

“The bottom line is we have to have feed in the mountains,” he added. “Fifteen years ago there were no elk on my place and now we’ve got up to 60 because the forest is not being managed for multiple use.”