EUGENE, Ore. — A federal judge has rejected a request by environmentalists to drastically modify how water in several Central Oregon reservoirs is managed.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken said the environmental groups failed to show that such a preliminary injunction was justified to protect the threatened Oregon spotted frog.

“It was a very difficult burden for you and I don’t believe you’ve met it,” she said at the end of an oral argument hearing here March 22.

At the outset of the hearing, Aiken warned an overflow crowd “right off the bat” that she planned to deny the request.

While holding oral arguments is appropriate in a case of this magnitude, Aiken told environmentalists not to expect a “big surprise” at the conclusion of the hearing.

“You have a long way to go to persuade me,” she said.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Waterwatch of Oregon claim that water management at the Crane Prairie, Wickiup and Crescent Lake dams must be drastically altered to protect the threatened Oregon spotted frogs from further population declines.

“You have a long way to go to persuade me,” she said.

During oral arguments the two groups asked Aiken for a preliminary injunction that would restore flows in the streams and rivers on which the dams are located to more natural levels.

However, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and several irrigation districts countered that the frogs have adapted to water conditions in the 70 years since the dams were built, so a sudden disruption in how they’re operated will likely injure the species.

Environmentalists risk harming the spotted frogs they want to protect by demanding major operational changes at three Central Oregon water reservoirs, according to the federal government.

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the federal agency and three irrigation districts — Central Oregon, North Unit and Tumalo — earlier this year for allegedly violating the Endangered Species Act.

Their complaint alleges that reservoir operations have reversed the natural hydrology in associated rivers and creeks, which experience low flows during winter while water is stored and higher flows during the summer irrigation season.

Extreme seasonal fluctuations cause the frog’s eggs to dry up during low flows and exposes them to predators during high flows, the plaintiffs claim.

Water levels differ from year to year, creating unpredictability for female frogs that would otherwise return to the same breeding sites, according to the environmentalists.

Insufficient water flows in winter also reduce habitat for the frogs, forcing them to congregate in marginal areas where they’re vulnerable to predation, the plaintiffs argue.

Under the preliminary injunction proposed by plaintiffs, the Bureau of Reclamation and irrigation districts would operate the reservoirs under a “regulated option” — with higher winter flows and lower summer flows set a fixed levels — or a “run-of-the-river option,” under which dam controls would be left open to mimic natural fluctuations.

The Bureau of Reclamation asked the judge to reject the preliminary injunction request because there’s no evidence the frog’s population will suddenly deteriorate without these measures.

Such “aggressive and immediate” actions aren’t justified by science and wouldn’t work in the best interest of the species, which is more likely to respond positively to gradual changes, the federal agency said.

The “regulated option” and the “run-of-the-river” option are inconsistent with each other, since unmanaged flows of the river could result in lower water levels than environmentalists claim are necessary under the “regulated option,” according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Reducing flows in summer would eliminate some frog habitat while greater winter volumes could overwhelm the species with cold water to which it’s now unaccustomed, the agency said.

The plaintiffs have also failed to give the irrigation districts credit for conservation measures aimed at improving the frog’s chances of survival, the Bureau of Reclamation said.

These steps are being implemented while federal agencies consult on the impact of dam operations on Oregon spotted frogs and develop a broader “habitat conservation plan” that preserves several protected species in the region, as required by the ESA, the agency said.

PORTLAND — Columbia Gorge winemakers believe their wines deserve more attention than they get from Portland consumers.

They’ve taken to describing themselves as residents of Portland’s less expensive backyard, easier to visit and with less traffic than vineyards and wineries in the better-known Willamette Valley.

That description is courtesy of Kate Hart, co-executive director of the Columbia Gorge Winegrowers Association, who might cheerfully acknowledge some bias.

Consumers have an opportunity to decide for themselves on Friday, April 1, when 22 gorge wineries will be pouring during a Portland tasting. It will be held at Castaway Portland, 1800 N.W. 19th Ave. in Portland’s Pearl District.

General admission is $25 and gets you in from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A VIP ticket costs $40 and grants admission an hour earlier and into a private room.

The Columbia Gorge AVA, or American Viticultural Area, dates only to 2004, but is marked by elevation changes, soil types and micro-climates that result in production of a wide variety of wines, Hart said. Although the AVA is new, grapes have been grown in the area since the late 1880s, Hart said. The oldest is presumed to be a Zinfandel vineyard near The Dalles.

The AVA runs 40 miles west to east on both sides of the Columbia River, roughly from Hood River, Ore., to Maryhill, Wash. The winegrowers association describes the AVA as “a world of wine in 40 miles,” with precipitation decreasing approximately an inch per mile west to east and with much more sun toward the eastern end.

For ticket information go to: http://www.columbiagorgewine.com/portland-grand-tasting.html

Oregon State University has hired a new invertebrate pest scientist to help farmers fight the slug menace threatening their crops.

In 2015, farmers complained that damage from the slimy mollusks has grown worse in recent years during a “slug summit” organized by OSU, prompting the university to seek additional resources to battle the problem.

While slugs have long been a pest for Oregon growers, some believe their populations have grown more numerous in recent years due to the popularity of no-till farming and diminished field burning.

The slug researcher job was among several new positions created at OSU thanks to an additional $14 million in funding allocated for agricultural research and extension during the 2015 legislative session.

The search for OSU’s slug expert was recently completed with the hiring of Rory McDonnell, who’s currently a research specialist at the University of California—Riverside and will start his new position in Oregon in mid-July.

A native of Ireland, McDonnell obtained a doctorate in environmental science from the National University of Ireland in 2004 and has since studied biological control of slugs, including a nematode that parasitizes them.

OSU was initially concerned that few people with sufficient expertise in slugs would apply for the job, but was ultimately able to choose from a good pool of candidates, said Sujaya Rao, an entomology professor at the university who headed the hiring committee.

It was important for OSU to find a researcher who’s familiar with applied science — managing slug pests — rather than simply studying slug biology, she said.

McDonnell’s experience with using biological control agents and essential oils to combat the mollusks was impressive, as was his ability to win grant funding and train graduate and post-doctoral students, Rao said.

Novel methods of controlling slugs are increasingly important because the baits that are commonly used to attract and kill them aren’t always economical, she said.

“People are looking outside the box for slug management,” Rao said.

While recruiting for the position, OSU consulted farmers as well as representatives of the USDA, Oregon Department of Agriculture and local soil and water conservation districts, she said.

“We got input from everyone,” Rao said.

Several Boardman, Ore., corn growers placed highly at the state level in the National Corn Growers Association’s annual yield contest.

Vern Frederickson placed first in Oregon in the no-till/strip till irrigated class with a yield of 309.28 bushels per acre, using DeKalb DKC62-06.

Jonathon Lewis Springstead placed first in Oregon in the irrigated class with a yield of 273.9 bushels per acre using Pioneer 35K02. Springstead did not respond to requests for comment.

Nolan Mills placed second in the no-till/strip-till irriagated class with a yield of 255.29 bushels per acre using Pioneer P1266.

Rod Taylor placed second in the irrigated class with a yield of 267.13 bushels per acre using DeKalb DKC62-08RIB. Taylor could not be reached through the corn organization.

The contest announced 407 state winners and 18 national winners. David Hula of Charles City, Va., won with a yield of 532.03 bushels per acre.

According to the organization, the average yield among national winners was 386.4 bushels per acre, with six national winners recording yields of 400 bushels or more per acre. The U.S. average corn yield in 2015 was 169.3 bushels per acre.

Frederickson said his yields are usually 280 to 290 bushels per acre. Last year he yielded 314 bushels per acre and won the organization’s contest in Oregon, too.

“We farm about 5,000 acres, about 1,200 acres devoted to corn, so we have several people involved in this process,” he said. “It’s a good team effort.”

Frederickson participates in the contest to compare his performance against other farmers in the industry.

“It gives us an incentive to continually improve our process,” he said. “We do hope we do well, but it’s not our primary focus.”

Mills said his winning field averaged five bushels more than his other, non-contest corn fields averaged.

“It’s a good measure to see how we’re doing,” he said. “We try to pick the best field and the best spot.”

The contest helps growers compare varieties and farming practices, Mills said.

Frederickson has several ideas to further boost his yield. He is looking for a 15- to 20-bushel increase, he said.

“The most important thing is, focus on the planting and getting a good stand (and) even emergence,” he said.

Mills also plans to enter again this year. He expects a similar approach to last year.

“Mostly try to stay up on the fertilizer and water and be timely with our inputs,” he said. “More of the same thing we’ve already done, just trying to be timely on all our inputs from planting to harvest.”

SALEM — Opposing sides in Oregon’s continuing wolf argument both believe some aspects of the state’s management plan should be reviewed by independent parties.

Speaking March 18 to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Commission, conservationists repeated their view that an external scientific review should have been done before the commission took wolves off the state endangered species list last November.

Livestock, hunting and farming interests, meanwhile, suggested a third-party should make the call on whether livestock attacks are listed as confirmed wolf depredation or only “probable,” which don’t count toward lethal control decisions.

On just about every other aspect of wolves in Oregon, however, the two sides disagree. Panelists representing both sides were invited to meet with the ODFW Commission and stake out their positions as the state begins what is expected to be a nine-month review of the wolf management plan.

The review begins as cattle and sheep producers, hunters and the Oregon Farm Bureau have scored a couple of key victories. First was the commission’s de-listing decision in November, and the Oregon Legislature followed that up by passing a bill that protects the decision from legal challenge. Since then, the state’s annual wolf survey showed the state population grew 36 percent in 2015. Wildlife biologist Russ Morgan, ODFW’s wolf recovery manager, said the numbers represent a continuing success story as wolves expand in number and range.

Panelists from Oregon Wild, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Cascadia Wildlands repeated their view that de-listing was premature and not supported by independent scientific review. Representatives said they oppose a state population cap or range limits on wolves. They also oppose sport hunting of wolves, which some think could be an eventual result of de-listing and plan revision.

Amaroq Weiss, of the Center for Biological Diversity, said some Oregon actions undermine wolf protection. The Legislature passed a bill increasing the fines for poaching, she said, but excused “unintentional take.”

“The law provides an absolute defense for someone who shoots a wolf and claims he thought it was a coyote,” she said, noting the case of an Oregon hunter who was prosecuted for a 2015 incident. “The state is saying, claim it was an accident and we’ll turn our back.”

Rob Clavins, Northeast Oregon field coordinator for Oregon Wild, said wolf poaching has increased, the de-listing and legislative action was “unfair and unethical” and discussions are marked by “renewed conflict and controversy” even as a majority of Oregonians favor wolf protections.

“We’re skeptical, but we are here again,” he told the commission.

The other side had points to make as well.

Mary Ann Nash, an attorney with the Oregon Farm Bureau, said conservationists’ complaints about transparency and scientific review are “in the eye of the beholder.”

“They mean their preferred outcomes, and their science,” she said.

Dave Wiley, with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, said ODFW must protect Oregon’s deer and elk herds as wolf packs expand.

Jim Akenson, conservation director for the Oregon Hunters Association, said it’s “wonderful” to restore wolves to the ecosystem, “But at some point there needs to be management. We’ve reached that point,” he said.

Wallowa County rancher Todd Nash, head of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association wolf task force, said ODFW has too high a bar for confirming wolf attacks and an outside party ought to do it instead. He and others also favor establishing geographic management zones in which wolves could be controlled on a more local basis.

Morgan, the ODFW biologist, said Oregon’s minimum wolf population at the close of 2015 was 110, with 12 packs and 11 breeding pairs. A recently updated count showed 35 pups survived through the year.

Seven wolves are known to have died during 2015: A pup died of natural causes, the Sled Springs male and female pair were found dead of an unknown cause, one wolf ingested poison in some fashion, and three were illegally shot. Two of the shooting deaths remain under investigation.

Oregon State University is studying the interaction of wolves and cougars, Morgan said, and biologists have seen some cases where wolves attack coyotes.

In one case, biologists noted that tracking collars showed wolves at one spot for several days. When they investigated, biologists discovered wolves had dug out a coyote den to get at pups.

Morgan said the state spent $318,322 on wolf management in 2015, a figure that doesn’t include reimbursements to livestock owners for damage or defensive measures.

Of the expenditure, about $225,000 came from the federal government and the state provided about $92,000. The state’s share came from hunting license sales and Oregon Lottery funds.

Expenses include helicopter flights, drugs to knock out wolves and the tracking collars placed on them, Morgan said. “Wolf management is expensive,” he told the commission.

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Christmas trees are being planted on the Big Island in an effort to add a boost to the local economy while giving more residents the chance to take part in the holiday tradition of choosing your own tree.

The Hawaii Forest Industry Association is leading the project with help from volunteers, foresters and horticulturists who have been planting Douglas fir seedlings on the slopes of Mauna Kea, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported. The hundreds of trees are being grown on Department of Hawaiian Homelands trust land.

A 2012 survey funded by state and federal forest agencies found that 96 percent of the state’s Christmas trees are imported from the mainland, with most being sold at chain stores. The Big Island does have some farms where people can pick their own trees, but not enough to meet the holiday demand.

Those supporting the efforts behind the Aina Mauna Christmas Tree Demonstration Project are looking for a change to benefit the local economy and give more residents the option to pick their own trees.

“It’s a big market if you can get it going,” said Heather Simmons, executive director of the Hawaii Forest Industry Association.

Trial plantings to determine which trees would grow best and could be readily germinated in a nursery took place in 2002. Researchers ended up settling on the Douglas fir, which has a rich green color and relatively low purchase point. The tree is also named after David Douglas, a Scottish botanist who died after falling into a cattle pit near the seedling planting site.

Growing Christmas trees on the Big Island will also help reduce the risk of bringing in invasive species from trees imported from the mainland. In 2014, a shipment of 1,200 trees had to be returned to the Pacific Northwest because they did not pass an invasive species screening in Honolulu.

“If Christmas trees could take off up here, it could offset gorse,” said Spring Kaye, the manager of the Big Island Invasive Species Council.

But those involved in the project also recognize the challenges that come with getting an entire tree farm up and running.

“It takes time to get going,” said Mike Robinson, a forester with the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. He also said it will pay off in the end by providing future generations with a source of revenue.

The project has received funding from the state and federal Departments of Agriculture as well as Hawaii County and DHHL.

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — It’s too early to tell what will come from this week’s visit by President Barack Obama and his family to Cuba — both politically and economically — but one outcome could be increased agricultural sales of Oregon products to the island.

Politically, the United States slapped a trade embargo on the Caribbean island of 11 million residents after Fidel Castro’s guerrilla army took control in 1959 and allied with communist China and Russia.

But in reality, more than $300 million in U.S. agricultural products were exported to Cuba in 2014 under the Trade Sanctions and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.

In fact, the United States was the leading exporter of agricultural products to Cuba for nine of 11 years since 2000, topping out at $658 million in 2008.

Leading exports have been chicken, corn and soybean meal.

An estimated 70 to 80 percent of all food consumed by Cubans is imported.

President Obama spent two years in secret talks with Cuban officials and in December 2014 announced that diplomatic relationships would be restored. A symbol of that effort was the recent reopening of the U.S. embassy in Cuba.

Bruce Pokarney of the Oregon Department of Agriculture said that although other states in the Southeast or along the Eastern Seaboard would have an easier trade path to Cuba, just 90 miles away from Florida, the expanded Panama Canal has made the trip from the Pacific Northwest to Cuba more economically feasible.

“Obviously, our top market is Asia,” Pokarney said. “But we are always open to looking at new markets. It’s a situation where we want to maintain existing markets and to find new ones.”

Pokarney said Oregon could play a role in providing specialty products such as hazelnuts, which are on a marked upswing among products grown in Oregon. New hazelnut orchards are popping up throughout the mid-valley.

Oregon wines could also be welcomed in Cuba, if not necessarily for its own residents but for the flood of tourists, expected to jump from last year’s 3.5 million.

The number of tourists from the United States jumped 77 percent last year alone.

Those tourists generated almost $2 billion in revenue, or more than 10 percent of the country’s total gross domestic product.

Oregon products that could likely see increased exports include wine, craft beer, blueberries, apples, pears, cherries and beef.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the European Union and Brazil are Cuba’s leading agricultural partners, with the United States third.

The European Union and Canada are Cuba’s largest supplier of wheat with more than $170 million and $67 million in sales, respectively. The United States has not shipped wheat to Cuba since 2011.

Argentina and Brazil were the largest corn exporters and the U.S. was third with $28 million in sales. The United States had been the country’s largest exporter of corn from 2002 to 2012, reaching 64 percent of the country’s corn supply in 2012. That figure dropped to 14 percent in 2014.

Other major exporters to Cuba are Vietnam and Brazil, which supply the majority of the country’s rice. The United States once supplied up to 40 percent of Cuba’s rice needs, but has not exported rice to Cuba since 2009.

Although more than 20 percent of all adults work in agriculture in Cuba, farm products account for less than 10 percent of the country’s total gross domestic product.

Key crops are cassava (yucca), citrus including grapefruit and oranges, coffee, potatoes, rice, sugar, tobacco and plantains.

In 2015, U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., traveled to Cuba with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Schrader noted that his grandmother had emigrated from Cuba and he was interested in learning how the Cuban government has treated Cuban-Americans.

He reported being “welcomed by a warm people who didn’t seem to harp on the embargo and the apparent effect it’s had on the Cuban economy.”

Schrader said there has been little new construction in Havana since the 1950s, people subsist on about $24 income each month and that unemployment is high, especially among young people.

He said Cubans appeared interested in Oregon fruits such as pears and apples and other Northwest produce.

Schrader said there is great opportunity to help Cuban farmers modernize their operations with modern irrigation systems and newer farm equipment.

Schrader said the U.S. can also learn a lot from Cuban farmers, who are well-versed on organic farming since agricultural chemicals were on the embargoed list.

Importing organic goods from Cuba could help meet domestic organic food needs, Schrader said.

PORT ORFORD — Looking for somewhere to read your poems or short story? Sing a song? If so, you are invited to participate in Port Orford's 10th Annual Poet's Roundup. This event will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday March…

COOS BAY — The World offers an interesting list of opportunities to keep your mind and body active. Everything from yoga to geology lectures, dancing to trivia, and hiking to book sales is shared through Go! Calendar of Events, Classes…

PORT ORFORD — Looking for somewhere to read your poems or short story? Sing a song? If so, you are invited to participate in Port Orford's 10th Annual Poets' Roundup. This event will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday March…

LANGLOIS — Ginger Pearson will introduce Curry County to Self-Sufficiency Programs: OHP, energy assistance applications, vaccination information, food stamps, food bank, help for the homeless, rental information, weatherization programs and more. The first meeting will be 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, March…

SACRAMENTO — Proponents say an updated plan to remove four dams from the Klamath River doesn’t skirt the U.S. Constitution or leave out opportunities for public debate.

In their first announced public meeting since announcing their plan last month, officials from Oregon, California and the federal government said it’s perfectly appropriate to seek dam removal approval through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“In my opinion, we’re not trying anything new here,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife director Charlton Bonham said during the March 16 hearing at the state Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. He added the FERC process for removing dams has existed since the 1920s.

Richard Whitman, natural resources adviser to Oregon’s Gov. Kate Brown, said no interstate compact is being made to set up the “non-federal” entity that would take control of the dams from owner PacifiCorp and handle their removal.

“It’s easy to get confused about this entity,” Whitman said. “That corporation is an independent corporation that is not an instrument of the states of Oregon or California.”

He also said the state is willing to help farming and ranching communities in Klamath County, where Commissioner Tom Mallams contends the dams’ removal would cost the county as much as $500,000 in annual revenue and take away local jobs.

Mallams, who attended the meeting, said he would like to see a settlement that resolves water issues in the Klamath Basin but wants the county “left whole.”

The exchanges came amid a sometimes contentious afternoon of haggling over language in the 133-page “agreement in principle” announced Feb. 2 by PacifiCorp, the states of Oregon and California and the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce. The new agreement was reached after Congress failed to authorize the original Klamath Basin water-sharing agreements by the end of 2015.

The March 16 meeting was attended by representatives from most of the 42 original signatories to the 2010 agreements as well as critics, who in recent weeks have accused dam-removal proponents of meeting in secret and claimed the private entity created under the new plan would still need congressional approval.

The latter argument is based on a legal opinion issued in late January by Oregon Legislative Counsel Dexter Johnston, who opined the private entity amounted to an interstate compact that must be authorized by Congress under the Constitution. But Whitman said Johnston’s opinion was based on language from the original agreements and not the new pact, which the Oregon Department of Justice has assured him is legally sound.

“The amendments we’re discussing today are an agreement to a private party to handle removal of its dams,” he said.

The meeting began as a veritable rehashing of a more than decade-long debate over dam removal, as public officials given a chance to make opening statements argued in favor of or against the idea. Grace Bennett, chairwoman of the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, argued removing the dams is unnecessary to help fish and would expose area residents to risks from the built-up sediment and loss of flood control and water supply.

“This is our livelihood, this is our watershed, this is our home,” Bennett said. “For two decades, the county government has worked with landowners and water users to improve fish habitat and water quality in a successful effort to reverse the last century’s trend of declining salmon runs.”

But Humboldt County Supervisor Mark Lovelace said his county supports dam removal “in this instance” because it will lead to benefits to downstream farms, recreation, the fishing fleet and other on-shore industries.

“Every boat is a small business — an independently owned, family-owned small business,” Lovelace said.

Proponents hope to craft a final version of their agreement and have all the original signatories on board with it by the end of this month, although Klamath Tribes chairman Don Gentry said the final pact would have to be put to tribal members for a vote.

The proponents are also beginning work on a separate pact that would continue the water-sharing arrangements and fisheries improvements in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, they said.

PORTLAND — About 40 food vendors are taking part March 19 in a CSA Share Fair, at which customers will be able to hook up with Community Supported Agriculture operations that deliver in Portland neighborhoods.

Portland-area farmers, ranchers and fish suppliers will be on hand to discuss CSA options, which include deliveries of vegetables, fruit, meat, wild fish, honey, eggs, flowers and other items.

Other activities include demonstrations by local chefs, a cookbook exchange, food and drink stations and children’s activities. Admission is free.

Saturday is the second time the event has been held. It takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Redd, 831 S.E. Salmon St., Portland. The Redd,established by a non-profit, Ecotrust, serves as a food business “incubator.”

As befits a Portland event, the Share Fair has on-site bike parking and can be reached by bus, streetcar or car.

A CSA is essentially a food subscription service, in which customers pay a set fee for regular deliveries of food, primarily vegetables. They are popular in cities such as Portland where there is a receptive customer base for fresh, local food and support for small, urban farms.

The Share Fair coincides with release of the 2015 CSA Farming annual report, which showed CSAs continue to grow in scope nationally.

The report said the average CSA income increased to $35,443 in 2015 from $30,342 in 2014. Value per box increased to $47.21, compared $36.39 in 2014.

The 10most common items in CSA boxes nationally were lettuce, eggplant, garlic, carrots, Swiss chard, kale, green beans, broccoli, cabbage and cucumbers.

In a city serious about food, OSU innovation center is at home

By Eric Mortenson

Capital Press

PORTLAND — An agricultural experiment station might seem an unlikely resident of this city’s upscale Pearl District, which has gone from gritty warehouses and railyards to gain a self-described “worldwide reputation for urban renaissance.”

But Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center has been perched along Naito Parkway since 2000. And in hindsight, the decision to open the FIC in what became arguably the foodie capital of the U.S. seems an inspired choice.

“Lucky, maybe,” laughs Thayne Dutson, who was dean of OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences at the time.

Nonetheless, the FIC was OSU’s first foothold in Portland, where OSU and the University of Oregon increasingly scrap for attention, money and students. The FIC may have been the first agricultural experiment station — still its technical designation — to open in an urban area. It marked a major and continuing collaboration with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, which leases space in the FIC for its marketing, trade and laboratory services.

Staff at the FIC help Northwest food entrepreneurs with product development, manufacturing, safety, packaging, labeling, shelf-life and more. Its sensory science specialist can measure consumer acceptance of new products, and another researcher is working on the use of radio frequency identification technology (RFID) to track products as they move from processor to plate.

Clients range from hundreds of small entrepreneurs learning how to take their idea to market, to giant, unnamed food corporations that pay to test products with sophisticated Portland consumers.

The appointment of a new center director has people mulling the FIC’s role as producers and processors respond to consumers’ demand for better, safer and healthier food.

David Stone, an OSU toxicology professor and director and principal investigator of the National Pesticide Information Network on campus, takes over from retiring Director Michael Morrisey April 1.

Dan Arp, dean of OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences, said Morrisey provided the FIC stability, direction and momentum during his nine years as director. Morrisey built a “terrific” staff, Arp said, and allowed them to develop to their full potential.

The FIC can raise its visibility as an integral part of the Portland scene, Arp said.

“Is it as well known as it should be? No, certainly not,” he said.

There’s no question the city is a “foodie hub,” Arp said, and the center can “accentuate that Portland vibe we all know and love.”

Stone said maintaining the center’s existing programs is important, but the FIC’s role will broaden as well. The center will hire a food safety professor this summer to educate people as the federal Food Safety Modernization Act unfolds.

Stone also wants to engage the “underserved” people who don’t have access to healthy food, and to provide more internships and other opportunities for students.

Staff members appear to share Arp’s and Stone’s vision.

“We now have a brand,” said Sarah Masoni, the FIC’s product development manager. “What we need to do next is figure out how to take it to next level.”

Research chef Jason Ball, who joined the staff 14 months ago, said the FIC is much like OSU’s other ag experiment stations in that it responds to needs of the micro-climate.

“And so to have us in the urban center of Portland makes sense from a food entrepreneur standpoint, and also from a sensory standpoint,” Ball said.

“One of the first things you notice is that people in Portland care so much about their food: Where it comes from, how it’s produced and what the ingredients are,” he said.

“The city is full of people who are really invested in food.”

It’s also full of people who make a living with food. An August 2015 study by Portland State University estimated the five-county Portland-area “food economy” employs 100,000 people. The study, “Portland’s Food Economy: Trends and Contributions,” counted jobs in food production, processing, distribution and services.

The authors said Portland alone had 40,000 food economy jobs, from grocery store and processing plant employees to restaurant workers. Food economy jobs accounted for slightly more than 10 percent of all employment in the city and grew by 6.9 percent from 2010 to 2012 alone, according to the study. The growth rate nearly doubled that of non-food jobs.

Establishing the FIC in Portland came before anyone knew that would happen.

Dutson, who retired from OSU in 2008, said the idea came first from Roy Arnold, then the ag school dean.

Arnold hosted a meeting at his house with Dutson, who was experiment station director and the college’s associate director of research, and with Bob Buchanan, then ODA director, and his top assistant, Bruce Andrews.

Arnold believed OSU and the state agency should ramp up their connections. The four men shared a collaborative view of what could be accomplished by establishing a “hotbed of different disciplines.”

It made sense to combine food science and market development activities in the state’s largest city, Dutson said. “It all really fits together.”

Dutson and Andrews eventually succeeded their bosses at their respective institutions, and carried the vision into office with them. They rounded up political support, particularly from then-Sen. Mark Hatfield, and financial help from the USDA and other sources.

The center wobbled a bit in early years, but OSU and the ag department would not let it “die on the vine,” Dutson said. Hiring Morrisey as station director in 2007 — he’d been manager of OSU’s seafood lab in Astoria — was a “very good move,” Dutson said.

Arp, the current OSU dean, has described food as “the handshake between urban and rural.”

“Our name is the College of Agricultural Sciences, but our mission really is food, ag science and natural resources,” Arp said.

“That allows us to take a soil-to-shelf approach to everything we do. That requires places like the FIC to be the point of the spear in doing that.”

LANGLOIS -- Ginger Pearson from Coast Community Health Center will be at the Langlois Public Library from 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 23. She will be introducing individuals in Curry County to self-sufficiency programs. These programs include such things as OHP,…

Thursday, March 17

Federal regulators are again delving into the process of dividing up roughly 1.6 million acre-feet of water stored behind 13 dams in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Those dams perform flood control during the rainy winter months but also hold water during the spring and summer that’s designated for joint use by irrigators, municipalities, industries, recreationists and fish.

Exactly how much water is allocated for each use is currently undefined, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which operates the dams — is under an internal deadline to ration it out by mid-2017.

The agency recently restarted the earliest “scoping” phase of the allocation process, which involves collecting information from the public on water needs.

Future irrigation demands calculated by the Oregon Water Resources Department and Oregon Department of Agriculture will be considered by the Corps.

The process of allocating the water was previously undertaken in the 1990s but was postponed by a “biological opinion” that analyzed the impact of dams on several fish protected under the Endangered Species Act, said Mary Anne Nash, public policy counsel for the Oregon Farm Bureau.

“It halted the process while they did that work,” she said.

Under a biological opinion completed in 2008, the amount of water slated for irrigation is capped at 95,000 acre feet, but the Oregon Farm Bureau and other irrigator groups hope to increase agriculture’s share under the Army Corps’ allocation process.

Currently, irrigators in the Willamette Valley have contracted with the federal government to use 74,000 acre-feet of the water available.

It’s too early to tell how much water will realistically be devoted to irrigation under the allocation plan, which is expected to be submitted for approval by Congress in 2018, said Nash.

Apart from the water supply, growers must have the facilities to convey it to their crops, she said. “That’s been a missing piece for quite a while.”

Due to the expense involved, such infrastructure has largely been built near the river systems on which the dams are located, Nash said. The longer-term goal is to irrigate farmland that’s further away from those sources.

Drought conditions like those in 2015 may increase irrigation demands in future years. More farmers in the region are also growing higher-value crops, such as blueberries, that require summer irrigation.

Greg Bennett, an onion farmer near Salem, Ore., said the Willamette Valley may have an opportunity to increase vegetable production as California farmers continue to face water scarcity.

“I’m really hoping we can realize the value of what we have,” he said.

While the 13 dams have the capacity to store 1.6 million acre-feet, that represents ideal water conditions, said Kathryn Warner, an environmental scientist at the Corps.

Realistically, the dams hold about 1.4 million acre feet of water during an adequate year, and 500,000 acre-feet are dedicated to in-stream uses for fish under the current biological opinion.

The amount designated to irrigation could rise above 95,000 acre feet, but the entire allocation plan must be reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act, Warner said.

This process will include inter-agency consultation on species impacts and may require another biological opinion, Warner said.

MARSING, Idaho (AP) — Small, green blades of grass are sprouting next to bundles of buttercup flowers in some areas of Owyhee County, near Jordan Valley. A contrasting scene to what the hills looked like directly after the Soda Fire last summer, black and scorched.

Ed Wilsey, owner of Wilsey Ranch outside Marsing, said that over the past few months he’s watched the Bureau of Land Management seed the land through aerial tactics and drill seeding.

“I have to give them credit because they seeded fast,” Wilsey said. “Now we just have to hope Mother Nature brings us enough rain.”

While most of the grass seen growing near Wilsey’s ranch was established grass that survived the fire, a mix of rain and sun could help the diverse grass seed the BLM placed sprout within the next month.

The BLM created an extensive rehabilitation plan to help growth of sage brush and grass in Owyhee County, but months after the fire, ranchers are skeptical about the BLM’s chance of success.

During a meeting between Idaho and Oregon BLM officials and local ranchers affected by the fire, the BLM asked ranchers, who used the burned public land to graze cattle, to sign agreements saying they will stay off the land for at least two years. If ranchers did not sign the contracts, the BLM said it could suspend ranchers’ grazing rights.

“We need to get cows out there,” Wilsey said. “Cows will help get the seed in the ground. Just by walking, they dig and create a better land.”

Resting land for two years after a natural disaster is basic protocol. The Soda Fire ended more than six months ago, and many local ranchers are paying high costs per day to keep their cattle off the ground.

According to BLM documents, on Oct. 16 the BLM made the decision to implement emergency stabilization and rehabilitation projects and land treatments “necessary to reduce the immediate risk of erosion or damage due to the Soda Fire.”

The plan, which can be found on the BLM’s website, states the land in Owyhee County must be stabilized immediately. An Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation team of more than 40 natural resource specialists assessed damage and threats to life, property and resources on BLM managed lands in Idaho and Oregon.

In the plan, the BLM recognized four significant threats to the land: expansion of invasive plant species; habitat recovery for threatened species; increased runoff, erosion potential and resulting flooding; and loss of cultural resources.

The BLM plan is to plant desirable grasses and shrubs in the area.

“This will not only combat invasive weeds, it will assist the area in recovering back to sagebrush steppe,” the plan stated. “Which will in turn attract native wildlife, such as greater sage-grouse, deer, elk and hundreds of other sagebrush steppe species.”

The BLM also stated in the plan that fire lines, fuel breaks and other fire preventative methods will be sought to help keep the burned acres safe while sage brush is re-established. According to the BLM, it takes decades for sage brush and its coexisting wildlife to re-establish.

“We plan to implement fuel breaks as we work on rehabilitation plans,” the BLM wrote, “so we can improve the odds that this area will make a full recovery.”

According to the plan, almost 180,000 acres of BLM land burned in Idaho during the Soda Fire. Another 100,000 acres of privately owned land was burned as well.

In fiscal year 2015, the BLM plans to spend $10.8 million on the emergency stabilization portion of the rehabilitation. In 2016, the BLM estimates spending $18.9 million on emergency stabilization.

In the written agreement presented to ranchers during the meeting on Feb. 18, ranchers would have to stay off specific parts of the BLM land for at least two years or until certain objectives are met. BLM officials said in the meeting that ranchers would not have access to land after two years if plan objectives were not met, but they seemed positive that would not be an issue.

The objectives are broken into four sections: drill seeding, aerial grass seeding, natural recovery and other treatments.

Tony Richards, a rancher near Reynolds Creek, spoke up during the meeting saying he was concerned about the objectives.

“We could be off anywhere from six to eight years on parts of our allotment,” Richards said.

Richards and others at the meeting, including Owyhee County Commissioner Kelly Aberasturi, said land owners should not sign the agreement until it states only a two-year figure.

During the meeting, Peter Torma, a BLM range land management specialist, said the objectives are not meant to be unattainable.

“We’re not trying to get cows back in a hurry, but we are not trying to preclude them,” Torma said. “We’re trying to identify a path that we feel is actually going to keep us moving in the right direction.”

According to the agreement, the earliest that ranchers could start grazing on public land would be in the year 2018. Many land allotments will be closed until 2019 because the BLM will perform drill seeding in the fall of 2016.

Other BLM officials during the meeting asked ranchers and farmers to look at the “bigger picture” when it comes to the health of the land, stating the plan could create a long-lasting future and protection from other natural disasters.

At Wilsey’s ranch, it’s hard to tell where the fire burned. New grass is growing on the hills, both seeded and grass that survived the disaster. He said the BLM provided him with enough seed to start growth on his private land, and they aerial-seeded the land around him.

Overall, the success of the grass is a mix of good luck and diligent effort.

“We were lucky we had a wet season,” Wilsey said. “They really did work hard out there, but now we have to hope the seeds germinate. But I have a lot of faith in what they did this fall.”

If Wilsey and other ranchers agree to stay off the land for two years or more while BLM objectives are met, it could cost the ranchers millions.

February and March is calving season for cattle ranchers, and Wilsey already has 60 new head of cattle walking around on his land. Many of Wilsey’s neighbors are feeding hay to their cattle, which is a much higher cost than grazing. Wilsey and others have taken some of their herds and moved them to other ranches to feed.

Wilsey said the cows are used to walking and grazing. Because of this, the animals he chose to keep on site are eating less hay, hoping to start eating the new grass on the other side of the electric fence. Lines of hay sit untouched by hundreds of cows and the new calves.

To keep a cow on another ranch costs $2.50 per day, and Wilsey has 180 cows. To keep a yearling on the ranch costs $1.80 per day, and the Wilsey ranch has sent 150 yearlings. So it is costing Wilsey $720 per day to keep his cows on another ranch to graze.

“The best method is to let the cows graze,” Wilsey said.

The beef from the Wilsey ranch is sold at the Boise Farmers’ Market, the Boise Co-op and many other local markets in the Treasure Valley. He said raising the price of his beef would not help cover costs because his competitors would beat him with lower prices.

It’s the high costs to ranchers like Wilsey that have Owyhee County commissioners concerned. During the meeting on Feb. 18, Commissioner Jerry Hoagland commented that the loss of revenue to ranchers will hurt his county’s economy.

“That’s affecting us beside you,” he said. “Now you’ve got to increase more money to go out and find pasture somewhere else. You can’t survive in that, which means a loss to us.”

Wilsey said he and his wife, Debbie, are playing the waiting game in hopes the seeds germinate and BLM will open its land up soon.

LANGLOIS — The Langlois Lions will be hosting their famous Spaghetti Feed starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Lions Club on Floras Lake Loop. This annual benefit event is ear marked for the club's 2016 Pacific High…

The first step of reviewing and perhaps revising the state’s contentious wolf management plan begins March 18 in Salem when the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission meets with selected panelists.

The review comes as Oregon’s wolf population continues to grow and stake out new territory, a development cheered by activists and frowned at by livestock producers. An annual survey by ODFW biologists showed the state had a minimum of 110 wolves at the end of 2015, up from 81 at the end of 2014. In 2009, the state counted only 14 wolves.

An ODFW wolf report said 33 pups born in 2015 survived through the end of the year.

The ODFW Commission voted 4-2 in November 2015 to remove wolves from the state endangered species list. Environmental groups challenged the decision, arguing among other things that ODFW should have completed the plan review before de-listing wolves. The Oregon Legislature and Gov. Kate Brown approved a bill that ratified the decision and nullified the legal challenge, however.

The plan review may take nine months. Friday’s commission meeting will include input from organizations that have been involved in wolf issues the past 10 years, including Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Oregon Wild, Oregon Cattleman’s Association, Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Hunters Association and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Although no longer covered under the state Endangered Species Act, wolves ranging west of Highways 395, 78 and 95 – the western two-thirds of the state – remain protected under the federal ESA. ODFW officials say the state wolf management plan remains in effect and believe it will protect wolves from illegal hunting.

The commission meeting at 8 a.m. Friday at ODFW headquarters, 4034 Fairview Industrial Drive S.E., Salem.