Oregon water regulators have apparently stopped allowing the transfer of stored water among reservoirs, which irrigators hope will be rectified with upcoming legislation.

The problem was recently encountered by the Tumalo Irrigation District, which aimed to transfer storage water rights to enhance habitat for the threatened Oregon spotted frog and improve the function of its water distribution system.

By piping irrigation canals, the district is conserving water from its Crescent Lake reservoir that could then be transferred to an instream use in the Deschutes River, increasing stream flows for the frog, said Ken Rieck, the district’s manager.

Transferring stored water into the river would also generate credits allowing for groundwater pumping, which could be sold to raise money for additional piping projects, he said.

Aside from transfers to instream uses, the district wants to move water from the Tumalo reservoir into several smaller ponds that would help regulate water pressure, Rieck said.

Just as flushing a toilet can cause a home’s other water outlets to lose pressure, water diversion by a large irrigator can reduce pressure to lateral lines in a water system, he said.

Water transferred for storage in nearby ponds, however, can be pumped into the system to offset this loss in pressure, Rieck said. “We’re trying to bring our efficiency way up and this is the way to do that.”

Historically, the Oregon Water Resources Department has permitted the transfer of stored water among reservoirs, as well as the transfer of stored water to instream uses, said Elizabeth Howard, an attorney representing the district.

Over the past year or so, however, the agency has ceased approving such requests, seemingly due to a changed legal interpretation by the Oregon Department of Justice, Howard said.

It’s unclear what prompted the change, but the situation may be resolved with the Irrigation Storage Efficiency Act, which would clarify OWRD’s authority to approve such transfers.

The bill is expected to be introduced during the upcoming legislative session in February by Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, who recently spoke in favor of the “legislative concept” during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

Capital Press was unable to reach OWRD for comment as of press time.

Each transfer application would “stand or fail on its own merits,” as the legislation does not create any “shortcuts” to approval under the OWRD’s standard process, said Rieck.

The clarification would restore water management flexibility not only in the Tumalo Irrigation District but also in other areas that have similar needs, said Howard.

“The plain fact is it has a pretty significant impact on districts and irrigators who thought they had all these tools in their toolbox,” she said.

Federal wildlife officials are scrambling to protect cattle at a southwest Oregon ranch after wolves from the nearby Rogue pack killed three calves in eight days in the same fenced pasture.

The attacks are also prompting calls from the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association to change how wolves are managed on the west side of the state, where the animals remain listed as endangered.

All three kills occurred at the Mill-Mar Ranch south of Prospect in Jackson County, which lies in the middle of Rogue wolfpack territory. John Stephenson, wildlife biologist and Oregon wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the pack had visited the ranch for years without preying on livestock.

That changed Thursday, Jan. 4, when investigators confirmed the pack was responsible for killing a 500-pound calf. Two more incidents were confirmed Wednesday, Jan. 10, and Thursday, Jan. 11.

“It’s something we’re very concerned about,” Stephenson said. “We can’t just trust anymore that (wolves) are going to come visit and not cause problems. Things have changed in that regard.”

In each case, GPS-collar data from OR-54 — a member of the Rogue pack — showed the wolf was nearby when the calves were killed. Biologists collared OR-54 in October 2017 to help track and learn more about the pack.

The Rogue pack was established in 2014, when the famous wandering wolf OR-7 and his mate had their first litter of pups. OR-54, an 80-pound female, is believed to be directly related to OR-7. Stephenson said he believes the pack now has between seven and 12 individual wolves, with a territory that covers parts of Jackson County and neighboring Klamath County to the east.

Rancher Ted Birdseye said he was aware wolves were present in the area when he purchased the Mill-Mar Ranch two years ago. In a recent interview with the Capital Press, Birdseye said he was growing concerned about chronic predation.

“I hope (wolves) don’t come in once a week over the next few months,” he said. “There’s nothing I can really do about it.”

Gray wolves are listed as a federally endangered species west of highways 395, 78 and 95. East of the highways, wolves were removed from the state endangered species list in 2015, enabling ranchers and wildlife officials to shoot wolves in certain situations to prevent or deter repeated attacks on livestock.

Last year, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife authorized kill orders for members of the Harl Butte pack in Wallowa County, as well as the Meacham pack in Umatilla County. Stephenson, with the USFWS, said lethal control will not be considered for the Rogue pack.

“We’re still looking to try an effective deterrent that keeps them out of the pasture,” Stephenson said. “We’re not looking at anything beyond that at this point.”

Stephenson said deterrents may include some combination of fladry, electric fencing and increased human presence to haze wolves from the area. In fact, Stephenson had just arrived at the ranch Jan. 10 to help replace fladry when he discovered the second dead calf.

After the third calf was killed, Stephenson remained at the ranch in his truck, with a spotlight and shotgun to haze wolves should they return.

“It did appear Thursday night that they were coming back to the ranch that evening, and then redirected,” Stephenson said. “I think it’s likely they were coming down and saw my headlights, spotlight and human activity, and took off and went somewhere else.”

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, however, is looking for broader changes in western Oregon wolf management to protect ranchers and livestock.

Rogue Valley rancher Veril Nelson serves as co-chairman for the OCA wolf committee, focused on western Oregon wolves. He said the association would eventually like to see the species delisted, but knows that may be a lengthy battle in court.

“It could be years and years and years before the courts make decisions and go through with appeals,” Nelson said.

Nelson said they are also working on changing the rules for endangered species that would allow ranchers to kill wolves caught in the process of attacking livestock, or agencies to authorize killing wolves that repeatedly attack livestock similar to how they do in eastern Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

“Once wolves start preying on livestock, they tend to continue,” he said.

ODFW estimated there were at least 113 known wolves statewide at the end of 2016. An updated population estimate is expected to be released in March.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Laws in Idaho and Washington that allow people to salvage roadkill have yielded some benefits, according to wildlife officials in both states.

Idaho and Washington have passed laws allowing people to salvage roadkill, provided they fill out a short form with the state wildlife agency to get a permit.

Washington’s law, which took effect July 1, 2016, allows for deer and elk only, The Spokesman-Review reported. Between then and the end of 2017, 3,099 animals were salvaged off Washington roads, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

Idaho’s law, which took effect six years ago, is much broader, listing nearly 50 species of mammals and birds as salvageable. Most animals are fair game, provided they’re not endangered, threatened or otherwise protected by federal or state law.

Deer and elk top the list in Idaho. But Idaho residents have also hauled away 419 moose, 55 black bears, 51 wild turkeys and 39 beavers since the law went into effect.

Under a law passed last year, Oregon will begin allowing permit holders to salvage roadkill in 2019.

Salvagers don’t have to say what they intend to do with the animal. Gregg Servheen, the wildlife program coordinator at Idaho Fish and Game, said salvagers, in addition to eating, may be practicing taxidermy, looking for hides to display, gathering items for crafts or regalia or making their own fishing lures.

Idaho’s roadkill data is more detailed than Washington’s, with a greater variety of species and occasional notes from the salvager. The species is often a best guess from the salvager.

In Washington and Idaho, the locations of salvaged animals are reported by the people who take them home. People fill out the permit form online and have the option of clicking a point on a map or listing a highway and milepost.

Most of the animals end up along highways and major roads, as well as along smaller roads traveling through national forest land. Mapping Idaho’s roadkill produces a scattering of dots across Montana, Alberta and Oregon. Washington’s extends into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Aberdeen.

Wildlife officials in both states say they haven’t seen negative impacts from the law on other wildlife populations. Health districts haven’t complained, either.

Their hope is that having fewer carcasses sitting alongside the road will prompt raptors and scavengers to stay away. That might mean people see fewer eagles in the wild, but it doesn’t mean they’re not there.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers are considering a major change in how the state will go about reducing its contributions to climate change.

Right now, there’s nothing to stop a lot of Oregon businesses from pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The Clean Energy Jobs Bill introduced last week would launch a cap and trade system that would limit some of those emissions and charge businesses for the right to pollute.

The system would be similar to existing programs in California and some Canadian provinces.

The state would set a cap on total greenhouse emissions, and 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 will come down and there will be fewer pollution permits available. So companies will have to reduce their emissions, spend more on permits or buy credits to offset their emissions.

This system would create a new marketplace for pollution credits that companies can buy and sell. It would be designed to link up with existing markets in California and Canadian provinces, so a company in Oregon could buy pollution credits from a business in California.

It also creates a market for offset projects, so a forest landowner in Oregon could sell the carbon sequestration credits from not cutting down trees. Buying an offset credit may be a cheaper option for companies that need to reduce their emissions or buy a pollution permit.

Creators of the bill call it a “cap and invest” program because the state could make an estimated $700 million a year from selling pollution permits. That money would then be invested in projects that expand public transit, solar power, electric vehicles and home energy efficiency upgrades that will help reduce the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

The bill mandates reductions down to 80 percent of 1990 emission levels by 2050. Supporters say that’s the only way the state is ever going to meet its targets for reducing carbon emissions. Right now, the state is way behind on the climate goals it set in 2007.

“That’s what brings urgency to this,” said state Sen. Michael Dembrow, who helped create the bill as the chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. “It’s very clear we’re not going to get there if we don’t have the discipline of a program that sets a cap each year and gradually brings us down.”

Environmental groups point to California’s cap and trade program and its recent renewal as proof that this kind of system can reduce emissions and generate revenue without hurting the economy.

A lot of industries are opposed to a cap and trade system in Oregon because they say it will inevitably raise prices for all kinds of energy, which affects businesses as well as the cost of living for everyday people.

Oregon Business & Industry, the Oregon Farm Bureau and Northwest Food Processors Association, which together represent thousands of businesses across the state, have all spoken out against the Clean Energy Jobs Bill.

“This legislation is harmful to farmers and ranchers in Oregon because it increases our cost of production and makes us less competitive,” said Jenny Dresler of the Oregon Farm Bureau. “Raising the price of gas, electricity and natural gas on everybody will simply make it harder for Oregon family farms to survive to the next generation.”

The bill is designed to address some of these concerns by setting revenue aside to help low-income families, displaced workers and rural areas adapt to the new policy and the effects of climate change.

There’s a chance the bill will pass this session but it will depend on what else lawmakers have to tackle. If Measure 101, the so-called health care “provider tax,” doesn’t pass, lawmakers will likely be too busy with health care issues to address cap and trade.

After months of work group sessions, though, lawmakers now have a detailed proposal to work with. The program isn’t scheduled to launch until 2021, so the Legislature could also pick it back up next year.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a statement outlining her requirements for signing any bill that creates a cap and trade system for the state. They include protecting people from utility rate hikes as the state transitions away from coal-fired power and investing revenues to help rural and under-served communities make the shift to cleaner energy sources.

“It must both grow our economy and reduce pollution,” she said. “Specifically, the policy needs to ensure that as we reduce emissions, Oregon small businesses and manufacturers are not put at a competitive disadvantage in global markets.”

Salem, Ore. — There are speeches to prepare, scrapbooks to finish and current events to brush up on as five young women prepare for the 2018 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador contest later this month.

Hosted by the Oregon Dairy Women, the 59th annual coronation banquet will take place Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Salem Convention Center, according to a press release from the organization.

2017 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador, Kiara Single, will close her year representing the dairy industry and will crown her successor responsible for continuing the legacy of promotion of dairy products.

For the past year, these five representatives have represented their respective counties, promoting dairy products, educating the public about nutrition and enlightening their communities about life on a dairy farm at local schools, fairs and events.

The 2018 finalists include Stephanie Breazile of Linn and Benton Counties, Donata Doornenbal of Marion County, Rachel Jenck of Tillamook, Megan Sprute of Washington County and Jessica Monroe of Yamhill County.

The contestants will arrive in Salem on Friday morning for a full three days of speeches, interviews and prepared commercials promoting dairy products. The winner will be crowned at the conclusion of Saturday’s banquet.

Tickets to attend the event should be ordered prior to Jan. 22, from the Oregon Dairy Women by calling (503) 357-9152 or visiting oregondairywomen.com/events. No tickets will be sold at the door. Tickets are $50 per person and must be paid in advance.

Oregon Dairy Women is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization with the main objective of promoting the dairy industry.

Since 1959, the Oregon Dairy Women’s Dairy Princess Ambassador Program has served as the premier advocate for the Oregon Dairy Industry in collaboration with the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association and the Oregon Dairy Nutrition Council. The ODW award scholarships, and provides financial support to 4-H and FFA programs, Agriculture in the Classroom, Ag Fest, Summer Ag Institute, Adopt-a-Farmer and judging teams. For more information visit www.oregondairywomen.com.

VALE, Ore. — As wolves continue to disperse throughout the state law enforcement officials and ranchers are learning how to determine whether livestock was killed by wolves or another predator.

Todd Nash, a Wallowa County rancher who attended the meeting, said the instructors, Canadian conservation officers James Barber and Jesse Jones, talked about looking at the totality of information at hand when investigating livestock that appears to be killed by a predator.

During an investigation, the instructors noted the type and age of the livestock and whether the rancher had previous problems with any particular predator.

Then, Nash said, they moved on to obvious things such as ruling out bears in the winter and looking for tracks, bite marks and attack sites.

Various predators kill differently, the instructors said. When bears attack, they maul, using their paws, but not always their claws. He said bears get on the back of their prey and often attack the withers, the ridge between an animal’s shoulder blades.

Differentiating between coyotes and wolves is largely determined by the spacing of their teeth. Also, wolves are bigger and stronger and can take on larger prey. Both canine predators use their teeth, but coyotes are multiple biters, leaving more bite marks than wolves.

Cougars are more strategic and typically kill their prey by clamping down with one bite.

Oregon ranchers whose livestock and working dogs have been proven killed by a wolf can apply for compensation under a program administered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Jerome Rosa, the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association executive director, said his organization was a supporter of the training, which was sponsored by the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office.

“With the Oregon wolf population increasing 30 percent per year and limited qualified personnel to confirm depredations, this program is another tool in the toolbox to manage escalating conflicts between predators, livestock and humans,” Rosa said.

Following a string of investigations into dead cattle presumed killed by wolves, Travis Johnson, Malheur County’s under sheriff, said there was an interest in getting additional training in necropsies.

“Part of the reason we want to bring this in is so we will all be better educated,” Johnson said.

The deputies have had a couple of classes, Johnson said, and have worked closely with Wallowa County Sheriff Steve Rogers and Chief Deputy Fred Steen, who are well familiar with investigating whether livestock was killed by wolves.

Wolf attacks on livestock started in 2009 when lambs and a calf were killed outside Baker City. Steen said shortly after wolves began killing cattle in Wallowa County in the spring of 2010 he attended training in Enterprise led by Rick Williams, a USDA Wildlife Services agent from Idaho, and a workshop hosted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in La Grande.

But the bulk of his expertise in animal necropsies, he said, was in the field investigating dead livestock with Marlyn Riggs, who was Wallowa County’s Wildlife Services field agent until 2014.

Steen said he attended the workshop in Malheur County “to see how these Canadian conservation officers work through their process.”

Like the Wallowa County sheriff’s office, Johnson said when his deputies investigate a potential wolf-kill they treat the area like a crime scene and contact the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A veterinarian who is on Malheur County’s wolf compensation committee has assisted with necropsies and trained the deputies.

An investigation of an animal presumed killed by a predator attempts to determine if the animal was killed or if it died of other causes and was eaten by wolves afterward.

“We want to try and be able to differentiate between different kills,” Johnson said. “With each predator the kill characteristics are different. All are very distinct and some distinctions are very nuanced.”

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has hosted a few workshops with Wildlife Services, Roblyn Brown, Oregon’s wolf coordinator, said.

“These one-day trainings have focused on non-lethal and lethal measures that can be taken when wolves are in an area, what to do if you believe a wolf or other predator has attacked livestock, signs of wolf and other predator attacks and our evidence-based investigation process and current information about wolves in Oregon,” Brown said.

Brown said working with ranchers in the field has been useful.

“We have found the actual investigation is a good time to work with producers to learn about investigating different predator attack signatures,” Brown said.

The recent killings of three calves by wolves in Jackson County, Ore., probably by members of the Rogue Pack, hit close to home for Mark Coats, who advocates a predator awareness program he believes can reduce such incidents by wolves, coyotes and other carnivores.

Coats, who has cattle operations in Siskiyou County in far Northern California and Klamath and Jackson counties in Oregon, said the attacks happened on a neighbor’s land.

“My cows turned out fine,” he said. “I’m confident in my cows’ ability to stand off predators,” explaining he routinely takes steps to retrain his herds.

Coats doesn’t necessarily like it, but he accepts the fact that wolves have become a fixture in Oregon and parts of Northern California.

“The wolf is a carnivore. Killing is what he does. By the laws of the ESA we can’t do a lot,” said Coats, referring to protections to wolves mandated under the federal Endangered Species Act. “We need to learn how to stay in business in his presence.”

Over the past six years Coats has been studying and implementing new ways of preventing cattle deaths by predators, including wolves, coyotes and mountain lions. He has been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on creating a predator awareness program he believes can successfully reduce or eliminate predation deaths.

“What they need is the individualized chase,” where a wolf or wolves isolate a cow or calf from the herd, then chase, immobilize and eat the animal, which is often still alive. “We’re trying to interrupt that. That is the key.”

The key, he believes, is training cattle to gather in herds when threatened by wolves or other potential killers.

Coats began researching wolf and cattle behavior six years ago when OR-7, then a lone male gray wolf that for several years was electronically tracked after it left the Imnaha Pack in northeast Oregon in 2007, passed through his lands near the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge along the Oregon-California state line. During his wanderings in Southern Oregon and Northern California, OR-7 eventually found a breeding female. The pack has grown and includes OR-7’s grandchildren.

“My phone was ringing off the hook because I was the cattlemen’s president,” remembers Coats, who served as the Siskiyou County Cattlemen’s Association president for three years, of what spurred his interest. “I started doing a lot of research on what cattlemen can do.”

What cattlemen and others can do is limited. Wolves east of Highway 395, which slices through Washington, Oregon and California, are not protected by the ESA but wolves west of the highway are protected, which restricts ways cattle ranchers and others can deal with potential depredation threats. Coats said various studies, including research done in Yellowstone National Park, show threats can be reduced or eliminated if cattle are taught to group together and not to flee or run.

“The fear of the wolf is still there. There are no sound practices to defer him,” Coats said of concerns by livestock owners who are legally prevented from killing wolves. “We cannot manage them with any effective measure.”

Instead of hunting or trapping wolves, he believes the predator awareness program is a viable alternative. “When wolves confront livestock, they (livestock) get fearful for their lives. Once they reach the group, the pressure is relieved. A defensive standing posture will defer wolves. What we’re encouraging is a defensive posture of moving to the herd.”

He said studies indicate wolves do not attack groups of livestock, choosing instead to chase individual animals. According to Coats, previous studies showed that wolves will leave if livestock remain still and in groups. While he is focused on cattle, he said the group-and-stand theory applies to other livestock. “We always saw losses to coyotes, but since we’ve worked with this program we haven’t had any losses to mammals.”

“Training can last several months or, if done intensely, seven to 10 days,” he said. “And it continually needs to be tuned up. The cow must understand it is its decision to return to the herd. ... A key is training them to stand and not run or flee.”

Studies indicate cattle can check attacks by gathering in groups as few as three, although he prefers groups of 10 to 12. In more open areas, such as the Wood River Valley south of Crater Lake National Park, he promotes having groups of 40 or 50.

He hopes to make his findings more available through a series of workshops.

“We’re encouraging something that’s been un-encouraged for years,” Coats said of training cattle to respond to threats by forming groups. “Keep it tight, keep them in a herd, in a defensive posture. They’re in that group for a reason.”

Online

For detailed information on Mark Coats predator awareness program, including videos on how to train cattle, visit his website at www.rancherpredatorawareness.com.

Tuesdays

COOS BAY — Southwestern Oregon Community College students who have excelled during the fall term were honored by being included on the honor roll list. To receive academic honors, students must have had at least 12 credit hours.

Federal agencies are investing $32 million nationwide and $4.4 million in three Oregon projects designed to reduce wildfire risk from the Coast Range to the high desert.

Work will be done on national forests and adjacent private lands in Deschutes, Lake and Tillamook counties. Funding comes from the U.S. Forest Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Joint Chief’s Landscape Restoration Partnership.

“Wildfire, invasive species and water quality concerns don’t stop at the boundaries of private and public land,” said Jim Peña, Pacific Northwest regional forester. “By working together with agency partners, stakeholders and private landowners, we can better protect local communities, strengthen the resilience of our forests and contribute to rural economies.”

Oregon projects include the Greater La Pine Basin Cohesive Strategy, which launched in 2016. Partners are doing small tree thinning, brush management and digging fire breaks to reduce wildfire risk on the Deschutes National Forest, straddling southern Deschutes and northern Klamath counties.

The Greater La Pine Basin Cohesive Strategy received approximately $1.7 million for 2018 from the Forest Service and NRCS.

Another $790,000 went to the Salmon Superhighway Basin Management Project on the Siuslaw National Forest, in the Nestucca and Tillamook Bay watersheds. The project aims to restore native fish and wildlife habitat — including endangered coho salmon — while at the same time improving forest health and reducing fire risk.

Finally, the North Warner Multi-Ownership Forest Health Project in south-central Lake County, Ore., received $1.89 million for commercial timber harvest, small tree thinning and slash burning on both federal and private lands. Work there is being done in partnership with the Fremont-Winema National Forest.

The area is home to extensive stands of old legacy ponderosa pine, intermixed with aspen and meadows, with sage grouse habitat to the north and east.

Past projects funded by the Joint Chief’s Landscape Restoration Partnership include the East Face of the Elkhorn Mountains Project in northeast Oregon, and the Ashland Forest All Lands Restoration in Jackson County. The latter received $9.8 million over three years, and has been touted as a national model for collaborative forest management.

To date, landowners and partners have completed more than 8,400 acres of forest fuels reduction and restoration, generating 14 million board-feet of timber to support logging jobs in the area.

Conservationists in northeast Oregon are suing the U.S. Forest Service for reauthorizing livestock grazing on 44,000 acres of grasslands within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 10 by the Greater Hells Canyon Council in La Grande, Ore., seeks to protect a rare and endemic species of plant known as Spalding’s catchfly — a summer-blooming member of the carnation family.

Spalding’s catchfly is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. It is found today only in eastern Washington, northeast Oregon, west-central Idaho, western Montana and a small sliver of British Columbia, Canada.

Veronica Warnock, conservation director for the Greater Hells Canyon Council, said livestock grazing further jeopardizes the viability of Spalding’s catchfly in the area, as cattle displace soil, trample habitat and spread invasive weeds.

Fewer than 1,000 catchfly plants are known to exist in the grazing area along the lower Imnaha River. However, the Forest Service renewed permits in 2015 on four winter allotments, including Cow Creek, Toomey, Rhodes Creek and Lone Pine.

All permits are held by McClaran Ranch, based in Joseph, Ore. Scott McClaran, ranch manager, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Forest Service is obligated to protect Spalding’s catchfly under the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Comprehensive Management Plan, Warnock said. The lawsuit also lists Kris Stein, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area district ranger, as a defendant.

Grazing is currently underway on the allotments, though Warnock said the group is not asking for an injunction.

“This isn’t about a rancher doing something wrong,” Warnock said. “This is about the Forest Service ignoring management recommendations on how to protect and recover a threatened species, something it is required to do in Hells Canyon.”

A spokesman for the Forest Service said the agency cannot comment on pending litigation.

The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is part of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, though they are technically managed under different forest plans. In 2015, Stein, the forest district ranger, signed off on the Lower Imnaha Rangeland Analysis, which authorized commercial grazing on the four allotments.

The Greater Hells Canyon Council argues that decision violates the agency’s obligation to protect threatened Spalding’s catchfly under the National Forest Management Act. The species was listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2001 due to agricultural and urban development.

The USFWS released a recovery plan for Spalding’s catchfly in 2007. In order to be delisted, the species must reach 27 populations that each have at least 500 individual, reproducing plants.

Darilyn Brown, executive director of the Greater Hells Canyon Council, said delisting is the ultimate goal.

“The area in dispute is really just a small fraction of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest,” Brown said. “However, it could have a big impact on the recovery of Spalding’s catchfly.”

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Pendleton, Ore., claims the Forest Service “failed to take the requisite hard look at the potential environmental impacts of reauthorizing cattle grazing in the Lower Imnaha Rangeland Analysis.”

The record of decision for the Lower Imnaha Rangeland Analysis allows grazing on all four units between November and May, except for the Lone Pine allotment which allows grazing between December and May. The plan also defers grazing in pastures with Spalding’s catchfly every third or fourth year, depending on conditions.

The decision points out that livestock grazing has been part of the landscape for more than 300 years, and this strategy “best meets the purpose and need of the project, while providing the most balanced approach for mitigating significant issues and resource concerns, with a feasible and implementable livestock operation.”

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada rancher who led a 2014 armed standoff with government agents spoke Wednesday saying that it’s up to people in states, not the federal officials, to manage vast expanses of rangeland in the U.S. West.

To conservative followers, the plainspoken 71-year-old Cliven Bundy is an icon. He told them he’s angry after spending nearly 23 months in jail before and during a trial that ended in mistrial three weeks ago. He was freed Monday.

But conservation advocates characterized Bundy as an outlaw who escaped justice, and called for federal land managers to again round up and remove Bundy cattle from what is now Gold Butte National Monument.

“The Trump administration is coddling violent zealots and preventing the public from feeling safe to enjoy our new national monument,” said Patrick Donnelly, Center for Biological Diversity director in Nevada.

Leaders of a coalition of public lands supporters said separately that they believe people are afraid to visit the national monument near the Bundy homestead outside Bunkerville.

“The Bundys used guns to express their displeasure with the government,” said Ralph Williamson, senior pastor at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Las Vegas and leader of the local Faith Organizing Alliance.

Williamson called Bundy’s release without a jury decision “the exact opposite of safety and a clear lack of justice.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed the criminal case against Bundy, his two sons and a Montana militia leader. The judge cited what she called flagrant misconduct by federal prosecutors who failed to fully share evidence with defendants.

The Bureau of Land Management began rounding up Bundy cows in April 2014 after obtaining court orders against Bundy for 20 years of failure to pay grazing fees and penalties to the federal government.

“Bundy is still an outlaw when it comes to his grazing actions, and the prosecutorial failings in the Bunkerville case do not excuse him from the decades of unauthorized livestock trespass on our public lands,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project.

To cheers from supporters outside Las Vegas police headquarters, Bundy said that if the U.S. Bureau of Land Management comes again for his cattle, he’ll ask the Clark County sheriff to protect his life, liberty and property.

“I graze my cattle only on Clark County, Nevada, land,” he said, using what he has dubbed his 15-second defense. “I have no contract with the United States government.”

Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the elected head of the Las Vegas police department, didn’t meet with Bundy personally.

Lombardo issued a three-sentence statement saying he respected Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro’s decision.

“Mr. Bundy has his own beliefs and has the right to express his opinion,” the sheriff said, adding that Las Vegas police “will continue to follow the law.”

Some Bundy case analysts think his states’ rights message could find support from President Donald Trump, who has moved to open public lands to industry, than it did under former President Barack Obama.

Ian Bartrum, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law professor who has been writing about the Bundy case and federal land policy, said he sees a blend of beliefs between Trump supporters and Bundy backers.

Bartrum noted that Trump dramatically reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah and that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending downsizing Nevada’s Gold Butte and Oregon’s Cascade Siskiyou monuments.

But Bundy said this week he doesn’t recognize federal authority, no matter who is president.

Advocates who fought for years to protect habitat for threatened species including the desert tortoise are angered that Bundy cattle are still grazing in Gold Butte. Obama declared the sprawling and scenic range 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas a national monument in December 2016.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. government will temporarily stop killing beavers in Oregon after environmental groups threatened a lawsuit alleging the practice reduces the number of dams that create deep pools that are ideal habitat for young, endangered coho salmon.

In a letter released Wednesday by a coalition of environmental groups, the government said it will further study whether the actions violate the Endangered Species Act.

Wildlife Services, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said in the Dec. 27, 2017, letter that it would “cease all aquatic mammal damage management activities” directed at beavers, river otters, muskrats and mink.

Wildlife Services killed more than 400 beavers in Oregon in 2016 as part of a federal effort to control damage to agricultural fields, timber land and roadways caused by flooding that resulted from beaver dams.

It’s a little-known program in Oregon, where the beaver is the state animal, appears on the state flag and is the mascot of Oregon State University. Beavers played an important role in the state’s early economy, earning Oregon the nickname “the beaver state.”

Environmentalists say killing beavers to mitigate damage to private agricultural interests harms the environment and particularly endangered salmon species because the dams help salmon - another icon of the Pacific Northwest.

Beavers are “nature’s engineers” and their complex dams form deep pools in bubbling streams that shield young salmon and give them a resting place to fatten up as they migrate to the Pacific Ocean, said Andrew Hawley, a staff attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center.

The dams have also been shown to reduce turbidity in streams and maintain stable water levels even in drought by blocking and slowing the flow of water.

“Instead of going in and just killing them, there are options for live-trapping them and figuring how to move the family units into other areas. Let them do what they do best,” he said.

“They do exactly the type of restoration work that the biologists say we need to do for salmon and coho and steelhead recovery and they do it for free - and better than we could ever do.”

A message and email left for David Williams, state director of the Wildlife Services program in Oregon, were not returned Wednesday.

Beavers are the largest rodent in North America. They can grow to four feet in length and reach 65 pounds.

They build dams to create ponds in fast-moving streams and then build a lodge of felled trees in the middle of the pond. The lodges have underwater entrances and the beavers - which can hold their breath for 15 minutes underwater - enter and exit without attracting attention from predators.

BUTTE FALLS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say another calf was found dead on the same ranch in southwestern Oregon where the Rogue Pack of wolves was linked to killing a calf last week.

The Mail Tribune reports U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel were installing wolf deterrents on the ranch near Medco Pond when they found the carcass Wednesday morning.

Authorities say wolf prints were found at the kill scene and a tracking collar places the young female wolf OR-54 near the scene earlier that morning.

Rancher Ted Birdseye says his calf was devoured, leading him to believe multiple wolves were responsible.

Authorities say OR-54 was likely responsible for killing one of Birdseye’s calves last week.

The pack of gray wolves is named after the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southern Oregon.

U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown on Tuesday ordered Malheur occupation leader Ryan Payne back into custody in Oregon. A day earlier, Payne and members of the Bundy family were handed a stunning legal victory in Las Vegas in a separate case.

Payne must report to the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Portland by noon Thursday, Brown ruled from the bench.

“We need to return him to the position he was in when he went to Nevada,” Brown said during a court hearing Tuesday.

Payne is currently on pretrial release in Las Vegas and subject to GPS monitoring. U.S. Marshals previously transported Payne to Nevada to face charges related to a 2014 armed standoff between the Bureau of Land Management, ranchers and members of the Bundy family.

Payne was granted pretrial release in December after it surfaced that prosecutors had withheld information from defendants.

The only reason Payne was released, rather than being held in  pretrial custody, was that he was “preparing his joint defense with other defendants,” Brown said Tuesday. “Now that no longer exists.”

Arranging Payne’s transportation from Las Vegas to Portland has proven challenging.

U.S. Marshals said they could take Payne into custody in Las Vegas and transport him to Oregon, but that would take at least one week. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoff Barrow said that was the government’s preference, but Brown seemed to want Payne moved as quickly as possible.

Commercial fights were also discussed, but Payne’s attorneys said his photo ID was seized by the FBI when he was arrested along a rural Oregon highway nearly two years ago. Identification is required at airport security.

Brown eventually agreed to allow Bundy family supporter Kelli Stewart to drive Payne the 973 miles from Las Vegas to Portland, pending a background check of Stewart.

A release hearing for Payne was set for Jan. 23 in Oregon.

Lisa Hay, Payne’s attorney in Oregon, pushed to get a hearing later this week. But Brown said she wasn’t available and out of town next week on court related business.

On Monday, a federal judge in Nevada dismissed with prejudice the government cases against Payne, brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy and family patriarch Cliven Bundy.

The Bundy brothers led the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and were acquitted by a jury.

But in July 2016, before the refuge trial, Payne pleaded guilty to conspiracy, a felony. During previous court hearings, federal prosecutors in Oregon have said they plan to recommend Payne serve 3-4 years in prison.

Brown set Payne’s sentencing date for Feb. 27.

Oregon winegrowers raised a glass Wednesday to state Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, presenting the 20-year lawmaker with the first Oregon Wine Leadership Award.

Jim Bernau, founder and winemaker at Willamette Valley Vineyards, gave the award on behalf of the Oregon Winegrowers Association, which wrapped up its annual meeting and legislative reception at the state Capitol.

The award recognized Winters for her role in promoting the Oregon wine industry, which now generates more than $3.35 billion in statewide economic impact.

“I’ve watched over the years an industry that has come into its very own,” Winters said. “I think it’s only going to get bigger and better.”

The Oregon Winegrowers Association represents 725 wineries and more than 1,000 vineyards, though Winters said she can remember the naysayers who insisted Oregon wines would never catch on.

“It’s been a growth industry that has done not only a tremendous job with economic development, but we can brag about our wines!” Winters said.

Bernau, who established Willamette Valley Vineyards in 1983, ran down a list of Winters’ contributions to the industry. Just last session, she helped to secure $500,000 for marketing and research, and in 2013 she was the chief sponsor for creating Oregon Wine Country license plates, with proceeds going to Travel Oregon for wine and culinary tourism programs.

Winters was also a force behind planning for Senate Bill 841 in 2013, a comprehensive winery land use bill that, in part, allows permitted use wineries to have professional kitchen facilities, and to pair food with wine.

“In a pretty big way, we are the creature of the changes in public policy that have been made over the last 40 years,” Bernau said.

Legislators like Winters are a big part of that momentum, Bernau added.

“They are shoulder-to-shoulder behind our industry,” he said.

The Oregon Winegrowers Association will continue to award the Oregon Wine Leadership Award to those who take a strong role in promoting, as well as advancing, the Oregon wine community, the group announced.

Fridays

For the second time in as many weeks, wildlife officials are investigating whether wolves are to blame for preying on cattle at the Mill-Mar Ranch in Jackson County, Ore.

John Stephenson, Oregon wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said a second dead calf was found early Wednesday morning at the ranch south of Prospect.

An investigation is underway into whether the animal was killed by wolves. No determination has been announced yet, though Stephenson said GPS collar data show OR-54, a member of the Rogue pack, was in the area.

Investigators confirmed wolves from the Rogue pack killed one calf at the same ranch overnight on Jan. 3. Stephenson arrived Jan. 10 to put up more fladry around the property when he discovered the second dead animal.

Rancher Ted Birdseye said he is concerned about wolf predation becoming a chronic problem for his herd.

“I hope (wolves) don’t come in once a week over the next few months,” he said. “There’s nothing I can really do about it.” Wolves are listed as federal endangered species west of highways 395, 78 and 95 in Oregon.

Birdseye said the most recent dead calf weighed between 350 and 400 pounds.

“It was devoured,” he said. “All that was left was skin, bones and the head.”

Before the first confirmed attack, Stephenson, with the USFWS, said wolves had been frequenting the ranch property for several years. He said the agency will be stepping up nonlethal deterrents, such as fladry and flashing strobe lights, to keep wolves away from the livestock.

Birdseye, who serves on the Jackson County wolf compensation committee, said the losses are eating into his bottom line.

“The margin of making any kind of money in this business is slim,” he said.

THURSDAY, JAN. 11

BUTTE FALLS, Ore. (AP) — A wolf from the Rogue Pack is believed to be responsible for killing a calf last week on a ranch in southwestern Oregon, authorities said.

A rancher found a 250-pound calf dead on his property near Medco Pond on Thursday, the Mail Tribune reported .

Rancher Ted Birdseye said his wife heard the attack on their livestock Wednesday night, but they didn’t find the scene of the kill until the next morning. Wolves have been previously heard and spotted on their 276-acre ranch, which is in a rural area between Butte Falls and Prospect, he said.

“They howl off and on,” Birdseye said. “Three months ago, I had two right outside my back door — 30 yards away.”

The dead calf was linked to a wolf after finding tracks in the area and tooth scrapes and bites on the carcass matching a wolf, according to a livestock investigation report by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists.

Authorities traced the kill to OR-54, a young female wolf in the Rogue Pack. A tracking collar on the wolf placed it less than a mile from the scene of the kill on Thursday, according to the report.

The collar was put on the wolf in October after it was captured in Klamath County’s Wood River Valley, which is in the eastern section of Rogue Pack’s home range, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The pack is named after the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southern Oregon — the area where it typically roams.

The wolf OR-25 was linked to a calf killing near Prospect in February, and the Rogue Pack was blamed for three livestock kills in southern Oregon in 2016.