http://www.wsfb.com/PublicRelations/NewsWatch.htm

Dec. 21, 2001

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU. THE FARM BUREAU office in Olympia will be closed until Thursday, Jan. 3, 2002. NewsWatch will resume publication at that time.

THE INSPECTOR GENERALS FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND THE Department of Interior will join a growing investigation into why federal biologists planted fur from captive Canadian lynx in Washington’s Gifford Pinchot and Wenatchee national forests. (AP/The Olympian, Dec. 21) Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Oregon, and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, have also asked the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s subcommittee on forests to conduct an oversight hearing. The biologists contend they were testing the accuracy of a DNA laboratory used by federal agencies. But Rep. James Hanson, R-Utah, chairman of the House Resources Committee, and Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., chairman of the House forests subcommittee, said the biologists should be fired if the investigation shows they were deliberately trying to skew results of a wildlife survey that could have led to greater restrictions on forest activities. State biologists have also been implicated in the hoax.

THE STATE LEGISLATURE MAY CONSIDER A BILL NEXT YEAR THAT WOULD STRIP the Fish & Wildlife Commission of its authority to set state fish and wildlife policy. (Tacoma News Tribune, Dec. 19) Natural resources consultant Ed Owens said the measure being discussed would establish a 12-member legislative oversight committee to establish policy, relegating the commission to an advisory role. Members of the oversight committee, six Republicans and six Democrats, would be appointed by the House speaker and Senate president.

SPOKANE COUNTY HAS APPROVED A SPECIAL TAXING DISTRICT FOR A PROPOSED $75 million biotechnology business park near Airway Heights. (Spokesman-Review, Dec. 19) A portion of the business taxes generated by development of the Northwest Pacific Biotechnology Park would be used to pay for roads, sewers and water mains.

THE LANDMARK LEGAL FOUNDATION HAS FILED SUIT AGAINST THE U.S. FOREST Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and Bureau of Land Management, seeking information on federal grants to environmental groups. (Sacramento Bee, Dec. 18) Earlier this year, the Sacramento Bee published a series of articles about environmental group funding, including how millions of dollars in federal funds were being used for advocacy and lobbying efforts. "You woke us up," Landmark President Mark Levin told The Bee. "Ultimately what we’d like to see … is the de-funding of those kinds of activities where the federal government is giving millions and millions of dollars to organizations that have an agenda."

YACOLT IS NOW SET TO VOTE ON A ORDINANCE BANNING ALL LIVESTOCK WITHIN town limits on Jan. 22. (Columbian, Dec. 18) The small rural town began debating the future of farm animals when some residents complained about the noise and smell of their neighbors’ chickens. The ordinance would allow chickens and other fowl only with permission from the town council.

2002 DATES TO REMEMBER: The American Farm Bureau Federation will hold its annual meeting Jan. 6-9, in Reno, Nev. Washington Farm Bureau will hold its annual Legislative Days in Olympia Feb. 5-6. Washington Farm Bureau will join other state Farm Bureaus nationwide on Feb. 8 to celebrate Food Check-Out Day. Washington Farm Bureau will sponsor a "Campaign School" at the Ramada Inn in Olympia on April 9-10.

THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE ISSUED TEMPORARY GUIDELINES FRIDAY THAT GIVE greater authority to regional forest managers. (San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 17) Under the interim rules, which will remain in place while the Forest Service decides how to proceed under a court ruling that blocked the former Clinton administration’s roadless policy from taking effect, regional managers will decide whether to require environmental or public reviews of forest road projects. The reviews were mandatory under the Clinton administration.

THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH &WILDLIFE IS PREDICTING A SHARP DROP OFF in returning salmon in 2003, just when the federal government begins its first assessment of salmon-recovery efforts. (Greenwire, Dec. 18) But the Bonneville Power Administration argues that 90 percent of the juvenile salmon in the Snake River were barged around hydroelectric dams this year, which should offset the effect of the drought on 2003 returns. Both Oregon and Bonneville fisheries biologists predict strong returns in 2002.

STATE REP. JIM BUCK, R-JOYCE, ISSUED A NEWS RELEASE MONDAY CALLING FOR the immediate firing of state and federal wildlife biologists who falsified evidence that Canadian lynx were living the Gifford Pinchot and Wenatchee national forests. State and federal agencies have acknowledged that fur from captive lynx was left on rubbing posts, which could have led to greater restrictions on logging and recreational activities. The seven state and federal employees involved in the hoax, who said they wanted to test the accuracy of laboratory DNA analyses, were "counseled" and taken off the project.

THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE IS CONSIDERING WHETHER TO LIST the green sturgeon, one of the world’s oldest living species, for protection under the Endangered Species Act. (San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 14) The freshwater, prehistoric fish – believed to have evolved more than 200 million years ago – can be found from Canada to Mexico, but spawn in only three places: the Sacramento River, Oregon’s Rogue River, and the Klamath and Trinity rivers along the Oregon-California border.

THE UMATILLA CONFEDERATED TRIBES ARE NEGOTIATING WITH THE U.S. ARMY Corps of Engineers to conduct a $1 million study on how to maintain sufficient year-round flow for salmon in the Walla Walla River. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Dec. 14) Under an agreement between the Walla Walla River Irrigation District and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this year was the first time in more than a century that the river did not run dry during the summer months, despite a regionwide drought.

KLAMATH BASIN UPDATE: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation last week began releasing water from the Upper Klamath Lake so grain farmers can flood their fields for the winter. (Klamath Falls Herald & News, Dec. 13) The bureau said early snows allowed it to provide water for the farmers, while still ensuring that it meets federally mandated levels in the lake for sucker fish and flows in the Klamath River for coho. The flooded fields have the added benefit of providing winter habitat for migratory waterfowl and bald eagles. The cost of security at the headgates to the Klamath Basin Irrigation District after the Bureau of Reclamation shut off water for irrigation last summer exceeded $1 million (Klamath Falls Herald & News, Dec. 16) U.S. marshals, National Park police, Bureau of Land Management rangers, and special agents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service were all called in at one point.

THE COLUMBIA-SNAKE RIVER IRRIGATORS ASSOCIATION HAS FILED SUIT TO STOP the state Department of Ecology from issuing new conditional water rights. (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 17) The state was set to issue new Columbia River water rights by the end of the year, conditioned on the river meeting target flows set by the National Marine Fisheries Service. But the irrigators contend the conditional water rights would be worthless in July and August, when water is needed the most, and would set a dangerous precedent for all water users. The irrigators also argue that by adhering to federal flow targets, the Department of Ecology has illegally adopted new rules without going through the required rule-making process. The key question, according to the irrigators, is whether the federal government can dictate state water-rights policy. The Benton County Superior Court is expected to hear the suit in January.

STATE AND FEDERAL WILDLIFE OFFICIALS PLANTED FALSE EVIDENCE THAT THE rare Canadian lynx still inhabits the Gifford Pinchot and Wenatchee national forests as part of a study leading to a possible listing under the Endangered Species Act. (Washington Times, Dec. 17) The false evidence was exposed by DNA testing, which showed that one sample of fur left on a rubbing post belonged to a lynx living in an animal preserve, while another belonged to an escaped pet being held by federal officials.

A GRANDVIEW DAIRY OPERATOR IS APPEALING A YAKIMA COUNTY REQUIREMENT that he conduct a full environmental review before moving to a new site near Mabton. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Dec. 15) Attorney Brian Iller said his client, Art Mensonides, has already developed a state-required manure-management plan that addresses most of the county’s concerns, and that other issues fall under the authority of the Yakima Regional Clean Air Authority. The environmental impact statement is the first required by the county under a zoning ordinance adopted last year for animal-feeding operations with more than 1,000 head.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY HAS ASKED THE NATIONAL ACADEMY of Sciences whether it should "accept, consider or rely" on human pesticide research to determine safe levels of exposure. (New York Times, Dec. 15) The EPA stopped accepting the results of human research in 1998 when environmental groups complained that using paid volunteers was unethical. The Bush administration, however, recently indicated it would again consider human test results submitted by pesticide manufacturers. The industry considers human testing to be more reliable than extrapolating tests on animals to humans.

THE SEATTLE-BASED CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY FILED complaints Friday against the Adams and Lincoln county water conservancy boards, claiming they are violating public disclosure laws. (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 15) The same environmental group earlier challenged the legality of the water boards, only to have the state Legislature reaffirm their authority to consider changes in water rights.

THE 9^TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS RESTORED FEDERAL PROTECTIONS FOR Oregon coastal coho salmon until it can rule on an appeal of a lower court decision that the National Marine Fisheries Service improperly applied the Endangered Species Act when it listed the fish. (AP/Seattle Times, Dec. 15) The two-sentence order issued Friday stays the ruling by District Judge Michael Hogan that effectively de-listed the salmon. Environmental groups appealed Hogan’s ruling after NMFS decided against an appeal. It could be months before the appeals court rules.

THE STATE FISH & WILDLIFE COMMISSION HAS TABLED A PROPOSAL TO ALLOW hunters to chase cougars with hounds, but not kill them. (Spokesman-Review, Dec. 13) Supporters of pursuit-only seasons believe they would reinforce the cougars’ fear of humans, and would keep the dogs honed for when they are needed to track down a cougar that attacks people or livestock. Similar pursuit-only seasons were allowed before voters passed Initiative 655 in 1996, which banned the use of hounds in hunting or chasing bears or cougars.

SALMON RETURNS THIS YEAR "EASILY EXCEEDED WHAT MOST FISHERY EXPERTS believed possible" in the Columbia and Snake rivers. (Vancouver Columbian, Dec. 13) In 1995, the entire spring chinook run at Bonneville Dam was 10,200. The run this year was estimated at 417,000, blowing away the previous single-year high of 280,400 in 1972. Sport fishing was allowed in April for the first time since 1977. The summer steelhead run was 630,000, the most since counting began in 1938. The fall chinook run was 520,000, almost double the experts’ forecast. About 1.1 million coho have returned to the Columbia this year, the most since 1991. Fish biologists for Oregon and Washington predict 2002 returns should be almost as strong as 2001. "What’s different from the pre-1970s is the hatchery system as mitigation for the dams is all built up now," said Steve King, salmon manager for Oregon. ""With the right conditions in the river and in the ocean, yeah, we can enjoy this again."

THIRTY-ONE OF THE 39 LOCAL WATERSHED-PLANNING GROUPS IN THE STATE have filed documents with the Department of Ecology indicating they will study and recommend target flows for streams in their watershed basins. (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 14) Three groups have already set target flows. Under the water bill passed by the Legislature this year, each of the planning groups could get as much as $100,000 from the state to begin the multi-year study process.

A BIPARTISAN COALITION OF NORTHWEST SENATORS IS HOPING TO INCREASE federal funding for salmon-recovery efforts, and Idaho wants a share of the money. (AP/The Olympian, Dec. 14) Congress this year appropriated $110 million for the Pacific Salmon Coastal Recovery Fund, which is being split among Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska. But Idaho Sens. Michael Crapo and Larry Craig, with the support of senators from Oregon and California, want to see funding increased to as much as $350 million, to be split among the five states. They are hoping to convince senators from Washington and Alaska to also support the proposal.

THE FIRST COMMERCIAL SHIPMENT OF U.S. FOOD DESTINED FOR CUBA IN ALMOST four decades left New Orleans this morning bound for Havana. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel/ Spokesman-Review, Dec. 14) Archer Daniels Midland is shipping 24,000 metric tons of corn to Cuba, and has a contract for rice, soybeans and soybean meal. Cuba is also buying wheat, vegetable oil and chickens from other U.S. companies. Congress last year relaxed the trade embargo imposed when Castro rose to power in the 1960s.

THE JAPANESE AGRICULTURE MINISTRY PLANS TO INCINERATE 13,000 TONS OF beef to ease consumer fears about mad cow disease. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Dec. 14) The beef was all processed before Oct. 18, when the government began screening cows nationwide for the disease. Officials estimate destroying the beef will cost $158 million. Japan is the only Asian country where the disease has been detected.

THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU WILL HOLD THREE "KICK-OFF" MEETINGS NEXT week to talk about the upcoming legislative session and Farm Bureau goals for 2002. Meetings, which are open to all Farm Bureau members, will be held 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, at the Hallmark Inn Best Western in Moses Lake; 5:30 – 9 p.m., Wednesday, at the Cotton Tree Inn in Mt. Vernon; and 5:30 – 9 p.m., Thursday, at the Kit Carson Restaurant in Chehalis. Lunch or dinner will be served at each of the meetings at no cost to Farm Bureau members. Call 800-331-3276 to register.

THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY APPROVED FAST-TRACK TRADE Promotion Authority for President Bush on an 18-3 vote. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 13) Full Senate action isn’t expected until early next year. The House approved fast-track negotiating authority last week, 215-214.

SECRETARY GALE NORTON SAID WEDNESDAY THAT THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, which manages one out of every four acres of U.S. land, is "in the tourism business." Norton told the 18^th annual Governor’s Conference on Travel and Tourism, meeting in Las Vegas, that she would work to provide economic opportunities on public lands, including recreation, as well as encourage conservation.

RATHER THAN LABEL FOODS MADE FROM, OR WITH, BIOTECH INGREDIENTS AS "GM" – for genetically modified – the United States is trying to persuade the European Union to accept a non-GM label. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 13) U.S. negotiators argue that a "non-GM" label – much like a kosher-food label – would be easier to enforce than a "GM" label, especially since a growing number of foods and food products contain at least some biotech agricultural product. The EU has imposed a moratorium on new biotech products until a labeling law is in place, even though its own scientists believe the products are safe for human consumption.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY SAID WEDNESDAY IT HAS SETTLED A dispute with a Longview farmer for allowing manure to get into a wetland and slough that drain into the Columbia River. Pete Van Grinsven had been assessed a $10,000 fine, but under an agreement with Ecology, he will pay just $1,000. He also must submit an animal waste plan approved by the Cowlitz County Conservation District if he has more than four farm animals or more than 20 chickens on his property at the same time. Van Grinsven sold most of his animals after he was fined to avoid developing an animal waste plan.

A GROUP OPPOSED TO "ACTIVISTS AND MEDDLING BUREAUCRATS WHO ‘KNOW what’s best for you’" has created a web site (www.ActivistCash.com) that tracks contributions to organizations like Greenpeace, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 13) The Guest Choice Network, which represents 30,000 restaurant and tavern owners, spent a year gathering public IRS documents about leading activist organizations. "What we discovered," said Guest Choice Network public relations director John Doyle, "is an intricate, organized, well-funded web [that links] environmental activists with the animal rights activists with the anti-corporate activists."

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PETALUMA, CALIF., DISCOVERED A CHUM SALMON trying to spawn in a creek 35 miles north of San Francisco – 2,000 miles from its native habitat in Alaska. (AP/Olympian, Dec. 13) State Fish & Wildlife hatchery manager Jerry Ayres said finding the 8-pound chum in California would "set people on their ears."

A SCIENTIFIC PANEL APPOINTED BY THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE has issued a report calling the agency’s sport and commercial harvest levels for salmon "biologically unsustainable." (Seattle P-I, Dec. 12) In 1999, fishermen caught about 970,000 salmon, including a percentage of stock listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The independent science panel criticized NMFS for not doing more to protect endangered runs, and said it set harvest levels that were not "scientifically justifiable." In an interview before the report was released, Bob Lohn, newly appointed Northwest regional director for NMFS, said salmon and the ESA are an awkward fit. "The law, Lohn said, "wasn’t written to take into account that one of our motives is to kill ‘em and eat ‘em."

THE YAKIMA COUNTY COMMISSION AGREED TUESDAY TO CONTRIBUTE $100,000 TO a study of a proposed water-storage reservoir 40 miles east of Yakima. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Dec. 12) The state and Benton County have already pledged $500,000 each to study the 1.7 million acre-foot Black Rock reservoir, which would more than double water storage in the Yakima Basin.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY HAS DROPPED CITATIONS AGAINST THREE FARMERS JUST days after the county’s "Right to Plow" initiative took effect. (Everett Herald, Dec. 12) In one case, a farmer had been cited for widening a farm road within 50 yards of a salmon-bearing stream. In another, a farmer was cited for dredging a ditch that some county officials have labeled a stream. County officials were unable to provide details of the third citation. The initiative exempts farmers from needing permits for plowing or other traditional farming activities that involve moving earth.

FARM WORKERS PROTESTED OUTSIDE LABOR & INDUSTRIES OFFICES IN YAKIMA, East Wenatchee and Kennewick Monday, claiming that those injured on the job were not getting the medical care they required under the state industrial insurance program and were being sent back to work before they were healed. (AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Dec. 11)

GOVERNMENTAL DEMANDS ON BOX CANYON DAM IN PEND OREILLE COUNTY could force the Public Utility District to raise electrical rates and force Ponderay Newsprint Co., one of the county’s largest employers, to close its plant. (Spokesman-Review, Dec. 10) Pend Oreille County already has one of the state’s highest unemployment rates. Among the demands before the 50-year-old dam is relicensed: The U.S. Forest Service wants a 50-mile paved trail for nonmotorized use along the Pend Oreille River; the U.S. Department of Interior wants a fish ladder installed and 750 acres of PUD land transferred to the Kootenai Indian Tribe; the Idaho Department of Fish and Game wants the PUD to change operation of the dam so water from the reservoir doesn’t back up into Idaho; and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wants a boat to patrol the river.

TWO DEMOCRAT CONGRESSMEN FROM WASHINGTON ARE ON A "HIT" LIST BEING compiled by the Green Party for the 2002 elections, Norm Dicks and Adam Smith. (Washington Times, Dec. 10) Once seen as the party of "tree-huggers," the Green Party has turned anti-trade and is working to defeat fast-track trade promotion authority for the Bush administration.

THE BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION IS PLANNING TO SPEND $186 MILLION on Columbia Basin salmon-recovery next year – a 46 percent increase -- but tribes and environmentalists who support breaching Snake River dams say that still is not enough. (Portland Oregonian, Dec. 11) The BPA also plans to spend $159 million next year to make the dams more salmon friendly. The total BPA plans to spend on salmon and dams would jump from $252 million of ratepayer money this year to $345 million in 2002 – a 37 percent increase. The salmon spending would represent about 9 percent of BPA’s wholesale electrical rates. Congress has also authorized $435.6 million in taxpayer money for Columbia River salmon in 2002.

THREE MEMBERS OF THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU HAVE BEEN NAMED BY THE Bush administration to the Farm Service Agency state committee. Appointed were Lon Inaba, with Inaba Produce Farms in Yakima County, Skagit County berry farmer Michael Youngquist, and Pam Cheney, who operates a diversified farm in Lewis County with her husband, Chris.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAVE SUED THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN AN effort to stop cattle from grazing on federal land along the north fork of California’s Eel River. (Greenwire, Dec. 11) The lawsuit blames grazing for algae blooms, degraded fish habitat and other problems in the Six Rivers National Forest. Fifteen miles of the 40-mile north fork was declared a Scenic and Wild River in 1981.

THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU AND 31 OTHER AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS sent a letter to Senate leaders this week urging them to approve new farm bill legislation by Wednesday. The letter emphasized that "it is critical to producers, farm lenders and rural communities that a new farm bill be approved this fall to provide the assurance necessary to plan for next year’s crop production."

THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IS LOOKING AT SEVERAL AG-RELATED operations for the former prison-run dairy in Monroe, including growing native plants for other state agencies to plant along roadways and riverbanks. (Everett Herald, Dec. 11) The 300-acre prison dairy sold its herd and closed down in September. Other possibilities include growing vegetables to feed prisoners at the nearby Monroe Correctional Complex.

THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAID MONDAY IT HAS BROKEN UP A SMUGGLING RING that used a Los Angeles-based bus company, Golden State Transportation, to transport hundreds of illegal Mexican immigrants a day to cities in the Southwest and Northwest, including Yakima. (AP/ Olympian, Dec. 11) Thirty-two people were indicted, including bus company officers.

THE SAMISH TRIBE HAS FILED SUIT IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT TO REGAIN ITS treaty fishing rights, which could lead to restrictions on development in the San Juan Islands. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Dec. 11) In 1979, District Judge George Boldt found that the Samish no longer existed as a tribe and stripped them of their fishing rights. In 1995, a federal judge in Seattle reversed that ruling and said the Samish deserved to be recognized as a tribe, although their fishing rights were not restored. The Department of Justice has indicated it would not oppose restoration of the tribe’s fishing rights as long as the Samish don’t raise the issue of Boldt’s competence. The judge, whose 1974 landmark decision gave half the Northwest salmon harvest to Northwest Indian tribes, began suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, affecting his reasoning, about 1978, according to his death certificate.

THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS HAS DROPPED EFFORTS, AT least temporarily, to unionize workers at Stemilt Growers and Yakima Fruit and Cold Storage. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Dec. 10) Fearing an employee campaign against the union, the Teamsters filed a letter with the National Labor Relations Board that it was no longer interested in representing the workers. A union spokesman said the withdrawal was strategic. Workers at both packinghouses were set to vote before the end of the year whether to bar the union. "This isn’t over; this is just a maneuver," said Al Hobart, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 760. "By withdrawing we can keep our cards on the table and come back in any time we want." The Teamsters won the right to organize the packinghouses in 1999.

THE HOUSE THURSDAY APPROVED FAST-TRACK TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY for President Bush by a single vote, 215-214. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Dec. 7) Trade promotion authority allows the administration to negotiate trade agreements that Congress can then approve or reject in a straight up-or-down vote without amendments. Farm Bureau supports fast-track trade authority, which had been granted to every president since Gerald Ford, until it was allowed to lapse in 1994.

WASHINGTON REPUBLICANS JENNIFER DUNN, GEORGE NETHERCUTT AND DOC Hastings, and Democrat Norm Dicks voted for Trade Promotion Authority; Democrats Brian Baird, Jim McDermott, Rick Larsen, Adam Smith and Jay Inslee voted against it. Ironically, Inslee said he opposed the trade promotion bill because it didn’t include money to help laid-off workers in the Puget Sound region, but Boeing and Microsoft were among the companies lobbying hardest for passage. A statement from Microsoft said fast-track authority "fosters the free flow of goods and services and create new jobs and economic opportunities here at home." The Senate is not expected to take up the bill until next year. (Seattle Times, Dec. 7)

YAKIMA COUNTY WILL DECIDE TUESDAY WHETHER TO CONTRIBUTE $100,000 TO study the proposed 1.7 million acre-foot Black Rock Reservoir. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Dec. 7) Commissioners met last week with Benton County Commissioner Max Benitz to discuss the project, which would more than double current water-storage capacity in the Yakima River Basin. Benton County and the state have already committed $500,000 each to the study.

THE KLAMATH WATER USERS ASSOCIATION HAS "SERIOUS CONCERNS" ABOUT A five-year, $175 million proposal floated by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., designed to craft a long-term solution to the region’s water problems. (Klamath Falls Herald and News, Dec. 7) The proposal includes money to buy water-conservation easements, but in a letter to Wyden and Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., the association noted that earlier efforts to take land out of production failed to result in any improvements in the water supply for farmers. They also expressed concern about a proposed task force that includes nine federal agencies, but no local representation.

NEARLY A THIRD OF THE WORLD’S FISH HARVEST IN 1999 CAME FROM FARMING, according to a report released last week by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. (Greenwire, Dec. 10) Total aquaculture production, which is expected to continue to increase, was 42.77 million metric tons, worth $53.56 billion. The UNFAO said aquaculture now dominates all other animal food producing sectors of agriculture worldwide.

COMMISSIONERS FROM BENTON, YAKIMA, GRANT AND KITTITAS COUNTIES WILL meet Friday to pick a state representative to replace Moses Lake Republican Gary Chandler, who resigned last month to become chief lobbyist for the Association of Washington Business. (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 6) Although the commissioners can appoint anyone they choose to finish Chandler’s unexpired term, they are expected to select from among three candidates endorsed by GOP precinct committee officers. Top choice: Janea Holmquist, an aide to Rep. Joyce Mulliken, R-Ephrata. Also on the short list: Grant County Public Utility District Commissioner Mike Conley and Mary Burke, former president of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association.

THE EAST COLUMBIA BASIN IRRIGATION DISTRICT IS OFFERING GROWERS LOW-interest loans to convert from rill irrigation to more efficient center-pivot systems. (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 6) The district recently received a water-quality loan up to $10 million from the state, which will be used to fund the five-year, 2.25 percent interest loans for the irrigators. About 60 percent of the district’s growers now use center-pivot systems, which not only conserve water, but also reduce soil erosion by applying water at a rate it can be absorbed by the soil.

MORE THAN 500 CHUM SALMON HAVE RETURNED TO SPAWN AT THE SEATTLE Aquarium this year – 10 times the previous high of 50 in 1993. (Seattle Times, Dec. 6) The Seattle Aquarium was the first facility in North America to create its own salmon run. Biologists credited good feeding conditions in the ocean for the strong run. Next spring, they expect to release up to 100,000 juvenile chum salmon into Elliott Bay.

WOLVES DESCENDED FROM THOSE INTRODUCED INTO IDAHO IN THE MID-1990s are expected to begin migrating into Eastern Oregon this coming spring, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Dec. 6)

THE INLAND NORTHWEST SNOWPACK ALREADY CONTAINS AS MUCH MOISTURE as the season-ending snowpack did last April. (Spokesman-Review, Dec. 6) "We’ve busted (the drought) big time," said Eastern Washington University geography professor Bob Quinn. Ski areas near Spokane were reporting up to 90 inches of snow already this season, with another snowstorm building over the region.

OKANOGAN COUNTY HAS DECIDED NOT TO HIRE ITS OWN WILDLIFE AGENTS TO track and kill cougars to avoid a potential legal fight with the state. (Spokesman-Review, Dec. 6) Instead, the county has created a seven-person volunteer county wildlife service to work with the state Department of Fish & Wildlife to track complaints about cougars, bears and bobcats. County Commissioner Dave Schulz also suggested the volunteer wildlife services gather information on financial losses from inadequate cougar control and bill the state.

MORE THAN 40 DAIRY OPERATORS MET WITH THE YAKIMA COUNTY COMMISSION Wednesday to complain about harassment from a "vocal minority" that opposes dairies in the county. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Dec. 6) Sunnyside dairyman Dan DeGroot told commissioners, "You need to lead. We have a right to know how you view the dairy industry." Planning Director Dick Anderwald said the county needs to begin looking at the dairy industry "as a whole," which could lead to designating areas of the county where dairies would be allowed based on the depth of ground water, soil types, and proximity to rural populations.

WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU PRESIDENT STEVE APPEL TODAY URGED CONGRESS to approve Trade Promotion Authority for President Bush. Speaking at a bipartisan news conference in Washington, D.C., Appel said agriculture needs the United States to take a lead role in World Trade Organization talks on agriculture, and the administration needs Trade Promotion Authority to provide that leadership. "Never before has the need to access new markets and resolve trade problems facing the agricultural sector been greater," said Appel, who is also vice president of the American Farm Bureau. "If the United States doesn’t lead the WTO agricultural negotiations that are now underway, the European Union will -- and we won’t like the results." Congress is set to vote on Trade Promotion Authority on Thursday. Trade Promotion Authority would give the administration authority to negotiate trade agreements that Congress could approve or reject, not amend. Without Trade Promotion Authority, U.S. negotiators are hamstrung in their ability to push for favorable trade agreements. "If Congress wants U.S. farmers and ranchers to be on equal footing with their foreign counterparts, passing TPA is the only way to do it," Appel said. News release.

THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS HAS CONCLUDED THAT THE BEST WAY TO STRENGTHEN salmon runs on the Snake River is to improve fish passage at four federal dams rather than tear them down. (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 4) "Breaching does not represent the best choice," said Corps spokesperson Nola Conway, adding that there is "great biological uncertainty" whether breaching is necessary. She said improving salmon passage, including more fish-friendly turbines for generating power, would be "more cost effective" with "a minimal economic impact" on the region. The Corps will release details of its plans to improve fish passage at the four Snake River dams next year. Meanwhile, the environmental group American Rivers said it would continue its efforts to have the dams removed.

THE BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION IS HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT giving a conservation group $2.5 million to buy development rights to 1,100 acres bordering the upper Methow River after learning the river often runs dry in August and stays that way until spring. (Spokesman-Review, Dec. 4) In its application for a BPA grant, the Trust for Public Land said the four-mile stretch of river was important for spawning salmon. But chinook salmon spawn in the winter when there’s no water in the river.

THE U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE HAS GRANTED TEMPORARY STATUS AS AN endangered species to Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits. (Wenatchee World, Dec. 2) The emergency declaration provides for 240 days of federal protection while the agency goes through the formal process of listing the pygmy rabbits under the Endangered Species Act. The rabbits were once thought to be extinct in Washington, but were rediscovered in 1987. They are found only in the Sagebrush Flats area of Douglas County.

ASPARAGUS GROWERS WILL TRY AGAIN TO GET THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF Agriculture to dissolve its marketing commission. (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 3) Two years ago, the agency turned down a petition from 40 growers, representing about 4,500 acres of asparagus. In September, the Franklin County Superior Court said the department had held hearings "insulated from meaningful public input," and ordered the state to reconsider the petition. The first of two public hearings is now set for 9 a.m., Dec. 13, at the Trade and Agricultural Center in Pasco; a second hearing is set for 1 p.m., Dec. 12, at the West Coast Yakima Center in Yakima.

SKAGIT COUNTY TUESDAY GAVE FARMERS ANOTHER SIX MONTHS TO PICK FROM among four buffer options for protecting salmon. (Skagit Valley Herald, Nov. 28) Fewer than half the 320 farmers affected by the county’s buffer ordinance had signed up for one of the four plans by the original Tuesday deadline. Farmers in the Skagit River delta are not affected. The Skagit County Commission also extended the deadline because a Thurston County court last week ruled that one of the options – a 75-foot managed buffer – was not supported by enough science. Six farmers had signed up for the 75-foot buffers. The most popular option, with 128 takers, was to enroll buffers in the federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program; four other farmers had signed up to develop Conservation Farm Management Plans, and three had submitted custom buffer plans.

THE NAVIGATION LOCKS AT LOWER GRANITE DAM WILL SHUT DOWN FOR THREE months early next year for repairs. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 26) Lower Granite is the Snake River dam closest to Lewiston, Idaho. The closure – the longest since the dam was completed in 1975 – will likely result in increased traffic on Highways 12, 26 and 124 during February, March and April as many producers truck their goods to Pasco before being loaded on barges for the trip to Portland. But other shippers plan to send a higher volume of goods down the river before and immediately after the shutdown.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY IS AGAIN CONSIDERING DATA FROM human testing in determining pesticide safety levels. (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 27) Carol Browner, EPA administrator during the Clinton administration, halted the use of human-test data submitted by the pesticide industry in 1998. Instead, the EPA determined pesticide safety levels for animals, and then reduced the allowable exposure for humans by a factor of 10. But pesticide companies argued that human testing provided more accurate results. EPA officials have acknowledged they are developing a new policy.

THE TULALIP TRIBES FILED CLAIMS AGAINST EVERETT, SNOHOMISH COUNTY AND the Snohomish County Public Utility District for $36 million Monday for the loss of salmon and steelhead runs in the Sultan River before 1961. (Seattle Times, Nov. 27) Two decades ago, Everett and the PUD paid the tribes about $1 million for the impact of dams on the Sultan River on salmon runs from 1961 through 2032. The newest claims cover the period from 1916, when the first dam was built without fish ladders, to 1961. The Tulalips claim they lost 1.5 million fish from their share of the harvest during that period. Everett, Snohomish County and the PUD have 60 days to respond to the claims.

NEIGHBORS OF THE DeVRIES FAMILY DAIRY NEAR MOXEE HAVE ASKED YAKIMA County to rescind its approval and order a new environmental review. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Nov. 29) Washington FARM (Families Against Rural Mess) contends the dairy is not living up to out-of-court settlements reached earlier this year in a pair of lawsuits filed by the citizens group. Owner Tom DeVries disputed the claims and said the dairy is complying with all the environmental regulations imposed by the county.

FFA STUDENTS FROM KAMIAKIN HIGH SCHOOL IN KENNEWICK ARE TEACHING younger students about water conservation with hands-on demonstrations and a water-themed bingo game. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 29) The FFA students will give the presentation to a national Ag Forestry Group this spring.

A SAN JUAN COUNTY FARMERS COOPERATIVE IS PLANNING TO OPERATE THE country’s first "mobile meat-processing unit" for slaughtering livestock on the farm to U.S. Department of Agriculture standards. (Seattle Times, Nov. 26) The Island Grown Farmers Cooperative hopes the mobile slaughterhouse will create new markets for locally raised beef, pork, lamb, goat and even ostrich by allowing farmers to sell meat by the cut directly to restaurants, retailers and individuals. Under federal regulations, farmers can only sell their meat directly by the whole, half or quarter animal, while the nearest slaughterhouse for San Juan farmers that offers USDA inspections is in Chehalis. The $150,000 mobile unit is seen as the first phase of a Center for Sustainable Agriculture to preserve farming in the county.

A THURSTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT RULED LAST WEEK THAT SKAGIT COUNTY did not use "best available science" in setting the size of streamside buffers to protect salmon habitat at 75 feet. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nov. 22) The ruling sends the buffer ordinance back to the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board with instructions to gather more science from the county. (Skagit Valley Herald, Nov. 22) The ordinance allows farmers to opt for managed 75-foot buffers, with compensation; enroll property in the federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program; or submit a custom plan. Farmers who fail to choose an option by Tuesday will automatically come under the county’s 200-foot default buffer plan without compensation.

OKANOGAN AND FERRY COUNTIES MAY HIRE WILDLIFE AGENTS TO HUNT DOWN cougars preying on livestock and pets in rural areas. (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 23) Ferry County Commissioner Mike Blankenship said the counties need to act because the state Department of Fish and Wildlife is too slow to respond to cougar complaints. In 1996, Washington voters approved an initiative that outlawed the use of hounds to hunt cougars, except for hunters working for a government agency. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is also considering a no-kill hound-hunting season in an effort to teach cougars to fear people and dogs, and to keep the dogs trained. (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 23)

AN INDEPENDENT PANEL OF SCIENTISTS APPOINTED BY THE NATIONAL MARINE Fisheries Service has issued a report criticizing the agency for continuing to allow the "biologically unsustainable" harvest of salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act. (NW Fishletter, Nov. 21) The Salmon Recovery Scientific Review Panel said "harvest decisions are never connected with other factors in an overall restoration and recovery plan." [Note: The Common Sense Salmon Recovery Lawsuit filed by a coalition that includes the Washington Farm Bureau accuses NMFS of violating the Magnuson-Stevens Act by continuing to allow harvest of listed salmon populations.]

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND, CARGILL AND RICELAND FOODS HAVE SIGNED agreements to sell about $20 million worth of wheat, corn, soy and rice to Cuba. (New York Times, Nov. 21) The firms are the first U.S. businesses in four decades to sign trade accords with Cuba.

U.S. BEEF EXPORTS TO JAPAN ARE EXPECTED TO DROP BY MORE THAN HALF THIS year because of a consumer scare over mad cow disease. (Washington Post, Nov. 22) The first case of mad cow disease in Japan was discovered two months ago; a second case was confirmed last week. Japanese supermarket sales of beef are down 40 to 70 percent compared to a year ago, and 11,000 public schools have dropped beef from their lunch menus. Japan is the single largest market for U.S. beef exports.

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS HAS PETITIONED A U.S. DISTRICT Court in Washington, D.C., for permission to submit new evidence in its challenge of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s designation of critical habitat for 19 Northwest salmon populations listed under the Endangered Species Act. (Greenwire, Nov. 21) Although the case has already been argued, the judge has not issued a ruling. The builders association wants to add to the record a memo written by Donna Darm, former acting Northwest regional director for NMFS, that says the agency doesn’t bother with conducting an economic analysis, as required by the ESA, "we just designate everything as critical …" (See NewsWatch, Nov. 19) NAHB President Bruce Smith said the memo could lead to eliminating the critical habitat designations altogether.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY WANTS THE PORT OF SEATTLE TO SPEND $200 million for a cistern capable of holding 390 acre-feet of water to keep runoff from a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport from flooding three small streams and endangering about 200 salmon. (Seattle Times, Nov. 21) In his column, business writer Bruce Ramsey noted that’s about $1 million per fish. The price tag is roughly equivalent to the dock-value of the entire catch of 173 million salmon in Alaska this year. "Here is my question," Ramsey wrote, "Can taxpayers afford to spend $200 million everywhere there are a few creeks and a wetland?" But, he added, the money for the cistern would come from federal funds taken from airline passengers a few dollars at a time, "which means it may be safely hijacked and deposited on the collection plate for the fish god."

FORMER STATE SEN. VALORIA LOVELAND IS A LEADING CANDIDATE TO BECOME director of the state Department of Agriculture. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 21) Jim Jesernig’s last day as director is Nov. 30, but there is no indication Gov. Locke will fill the position right away. Assistant Director Bill Brookreson is expected to run the department on an interim basis. Loveland, who represented the 16^th District in Southeast Washington, was defeated a year ago by Mike Hewitt, in part because she lost the support of the agriculture community.

WASHINGTON FRONTIER JUICE, WHICH HAS PRODUCED CONCENTRATES FROM apples, pears and carrots at a plant in Prosser since 1991, plans to switch over to making wine. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 21)

IN AN EDITORIAL TODAY, THE TRI-CITY HERALD URGED THE MOUNTAIN STATES Legal Defense Fund to leave the Hanford Reach out of its ongoing challenge of national monuments created by then-President Clinton. The Herald said many in the community didn’t like the way Clinton used the Antiquities Act to declare the Hanford Reach National Monument, but it "at least delivered this region from much of the quarreling that marked previous discussions." The newspaper said the community is "not anxious to get bogged down in those arguments again."

PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, THE ANIMAL-RIGHTS GROUP best known for its outlandish stunts to draw attention to its anti-meat message, is toning down this year’s Thanksgiving Day protests in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Nov. 21) Instead, PETA is sending soybean turkeys and beef roasts to homeless shelters around the country. The group is also shipping tofu jerky to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is involved in the Afghan campaign.

THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU OFFICE IN OLYMPIA WILL BE CLOSED THURSDAY and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

STATE REP GARY CHANDLER, WHO IS RESIGNING FROM THE LEGISLATURE AT THE end of the month, has become the first lawmaker to receive Washington Farm Bureau’s annual Legislator of the Year award for a second time. The Moses Lake Republican, who has accepted a job as chief lobbyist for the Association of Washington Business, also was honored in 1995, the first year the award was given. Also named Legislator of the Year at Washington Farm Bureau’s annual meeting in Yakima last week were state Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Shelton, and state Rep. Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla.

YAKIMA COUNTY PLANNERS WANT DAIRYMAN ART MENSONIDES TO COMPLETE A full environmental impact statement before they allow him to move 2,800 cows from Grandview to a 350-acre farm near Mabton. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Nov. 17) The South Yakima Conservation District questioned whether the impact statement is necessary, since the district has already drafted a dairy nutrient management plan that it says should address all the county’s concerns. A consultant hired by Mensonides said he would appeal the planners’ decision to the county’s hearing examiner.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS PLAN TO FILE A MOTION THIS WEEK ASKING THE NINTH Circuit Court of Appeals to restore Endangered Species Act protections to Oregon coastal coho salmon while they appeal a U.S. District Court ruling that overturned the listing. (AP/Olympian, Nov. 17) The groups were given permission to intervene in the Alsea Valley case last week by District Judge Michael Hogan. It was Hogan who overturned the ESA listing when he ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service acted improperly by including both hatchery and wild fish in the coastal coho "evolutionarily significant unit," but extending protections only to wild fish. Hogan granted the environmental groups intervener status after NMFS decided not to appeal the ruling.

LOWER YAKIMA VALLEY IRRIGATORS HAVE REDUCED SEDIMENT FLOWING INTO Granger Drain and Sulphur Creek by 95 to 98 percent since 1997, when state regulators ordered them to clean up water returning to the Yakima River. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 18) The improvement was attributed to farmers switching from rill irrigation to more efficient sprinkler systems.

THE HOUSE WILL VOTE DEC. 6 ON A BILL TO GIVE PRESIDENT BUSH AUTHORITY TO negotiate trade agreements that Congress could approve or reject, but not change. (AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nov. 16) The World Trade Organization last week also agreed to launch a new round of negotiations that could result in opening new markets for U.S. agriculture. Negotiations are to be completed by January 2005.

IN AN E-MAIL WRITTEN IN 1998, DONNA DARMS, FORMER ACTING NORTHWEST regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service said the agency doesn’t conduct analyses of how much habitat is needed to restore threatened or endangered salmon runs, "we just designate everything as critical." (News from the Front, Nov. 19) In the e-mail, Darms added, "Mostly we don’t do (an analysis) because we lack information. What we really do is the same thing we do for Section 7 consultations. We just say we need it all." Portland attorney James Buchal, who publishes News from the Front on his web site (www.buchal.com) said the e-mail, which he called a "blockbuster" admission by the fisheries agency, was uncovered during recent litigation.

CUBA IS EXPECTED TO BUY UP TO $10 MILLION OF U.S. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS to rebuild emergency supplies in the wake of Hurricane Michelle, which struck the island Nov. 4. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Nov. 18) Congress approved food exports to Cuba last year, easing a trade embargo imposed in 1961.

THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU WILL CELEBRATE ITS 82^ND ANNUAL MEETING this week in Yakima. Roger Marzulla, a property-rights attorney who is representing irrigators in the Klamath Basin, will be the keynote speaker at noon on Tuesday. Cowboy poet-philosopher Baxter Black will provide entertainment Tuesday night. The meeting, at the Yakima Convention Center, is open to all Farm Bureau members.

THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE SAID FRIDAY IT WOULD NOT APPEAL U.S. District Court decision that overturned the listing of Oregon coastal coho salmon under the Endangered Species Act. In that decision, Judge Michael Hogan said the agency could not list wild salmon without extending the same protections to hatchery fish in the same sub-group or "distinct population." Instead, NMFS said it would spend the next 10 months reviewing its hatchery policies and 23 other listings of Northwest salmon and steelhead that could be affected by the decision. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, called the NMFS decision "great news for those committed to common sense salmon recovery. (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 10) Dean Boyer, director of public relations for Washington Farm Bureau, said he is confident the review would lead to some salmon runs being removed from ESA protection. "If you count hatchery fish that are identical to protected wild fish, there is no justification for a listing," Boyer said. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Nov. 10)

FEDERAL BIOLOGISTS SAID LAST WEEK THAT SETTING HIGH WATER LEVELS FOR Upper Klamath Lake – which led to the government withholding water from farmers for irrigation this summer – was only a short-term approach to helping suckerfish listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. (San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 6) Long-term solutions include reducing run-off from cattle pastures in the upper Klamath Basin, which can lead to algae blooms that can kill fish. Farmers, meanwhile, told a panel commissioned by Interior Secretary Gale Norton that fish kills have come in high-water years, not when water levels are low.

THE WESTERN WATERSHED PROJECTS HEADED BY ANTI-GRAZING ACTIVIST JOHN Marvel sponsored a conference at Arizona State University over the weekend to kick off a national campaign to force livestock off public lands. (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 12) Marvel told conferees, "It is only by government intervention of the federal government that much of agriculture exists in the United States." He added that most ranches that use public lands for grazing are not profitable, and the only reason owners hang on is they enjoy the lifestyle. Larry Walker, a former range conservationist with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management who now operates an anti-grazing web site, said his goal is to end open-range grazing within 10 years.

A FORMER GREENPEACE SUPPORTER HAS WRITTEN A BOOK, "THE SKEPTICAL Environmentalist," that challenges the "sky is falling" mentality of environmental activists. (Knight-Ridder/Spokesman-Review, Nov. 10) Bjorn Lomborg, an associate professor of statistics at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, once believed warnings of global warming. But while studies indicate the Earth is in a cyclical warming phase, he now says there is no evidence that the pace of warming will increase, or that human activities are at fault. He notes that in the 1970s many scientists warned of a coming ice age that never materialized. They also predicted widespread famine and other disasters that never occurred. "That doesn’t mean there are no problems, but things are getting better and better despite what media and environmental organizations say," Lomborg said.

FARM BUREAU NEWSWATCH WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED NEXT WEEK DURING THE Washington Farm Bureau annual meeting. 

APPLE GROWERS WILL GET $75 MILLION IN AID THIS YEAR UNDER A COMPROMISE reached Thursday between the U.S. House and Senate. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Nov. 9) The Republican-controlled House included $150 million for apple growers in its ag-spending bill approved earlier this year. But the Democrat-controlled Senate failed to provide anything for apple growers, even though Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. A House-Senate conference committee to resolve differences in the two versions of the bill decided on $75 million. "You are starting from a tough position when the other chamber is at zero," said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco. Murray, however, blamed House Republicans for short-changing a federal nutrition program for women and children. Money initially earmarked by the House for apple growers will go instead to the nutrition program. Washington growers will get about $35 million in aid.

A NORTHWEST ECONOMIC CONSULTING FIRM RELEASED A STUDY THURSDAY suggesting that wasteful irrigation practices were one of the primary causes of a drought this summer in the Klamath Basin. (Greenwire, Nov. 9) The study, paid for by the Brainerd Foundation, concluded that "63 percent of the water withdrawn from streams and lakes for irrigation (in the Klamath Basin) is used inefficiently." Elsewhere in the West, according to the study, inefficiency has been reduced to less than 20 percent through conservation. ECONorthwest also said that farming, which once accounted for 8 percent of the Klamath County income, had fallen to just .5 percent. The firm recommended farmers focus on specialty markets, such as pesticide-free crops, to increase profits and have the financial means to reduce their use of water during dry years.

THE FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION HAS GRANTED NATIONAL COMMITTEE status to the Green Party of the United States, which means the party can accept contributions up to $20,000 per year from individuals. (Greenwire, Nov. 9) It does not, however, mean the Green Party will get matching federal funds. Nor does it give the Greens access to all ballots in all elections, which is still subject to individual state requirements.

DELEGATES FROM THE 142 MEMBERS OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION began meeting in Qatar today, the first effort to launch a new round of trade negotiations since the Seattle ministerial meeting collapsed two years ago amid street rioting by protestors. (Greenwire, Nov. 9) To avoid a repeat of the Seattle riots, Qatar limited non-governmental organizations to one visa each. Instead, environmental groups and other critics of global trade were planning protests in more than 100 cities around the world today and Saturday, including Seattle and Washington, D.C.

VETERAN FARM BROADCASTER ORION SAMUELSON IS URGING FARMERS AND ranchers to reach out and communicate with their urban neighbors. During a National Farm-City meeting in Chicago, Samuelson said, "I always tell my farm friends, ‘Just because you live in a rural area with a small town close by, don’t assume the people on Main Street in that small town know what’s happening out there in the fields.’ Don't back away from any opportunity you might have to tell the story of agriculture and to help people understand." National Farm-City Week, traditionally the seven days leading up to Thanksgiving Day, was started in 1955 to foster better understanding between rural and urban residents.

VOTERS IN SNOHOMISH COUNTY TUESDAY APPROVED A LOCAL ‘RIGHT TO PLOW’ initiative, sponsored by the Snohomish County Farm Bureau, that exempts many traditional farming activities from county regulations designed to control development. With all precincts reporting, the county’s web site put the vote at 54,849 in favor (57.2 percent) to 41,082 against (42.8 percent).

DEMOCRATS APPEAR TO HAVE CAPTURED CONTROL OF THE STATE HOUSE WITH legislative victories in two Snohomish County districts. (Seattle Times, Nov. 7) In the 21^st District, former Mukilteo mayor Brian Sullivan, a Democrat, defeated GOP incumbent Joe Marine, while Democrat incumbent Jean Berkey had a solid lead over Republican challenger Erv Hoglund. If Berkey’s lead holds, Democrats will take a 50-48 edge in the House. They already control the state Senate and the governorship. Both Berkey and Marine were appointed to their seats, necessitating the off-year elections.

STATE REP. GARY CHANDLER, R-MOSES LAKE, ANNOUNCED TUESDAY THAT HE IS resigning from the Legislature, and will become the chief lobbyist for the Association of Washington Business. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 7) Chandler, 49, who served 11 years in the House, was considered a champion for agriculture and water rights. With the House evenly split between Republicans and Democrats in the past two legislative sessions, he served as co-chair of the Agriculture and Ecology Committee. The Republican Party will name a replacement.

THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE HAS AUTHORIZED STEELHEAD FISHING on the Okanogan River, even though the fish remain listed under the Endangered Species Act. (Wenatchee World, Nov. 6) Anglers are allowed to keep only fin-clipped hatchery fish. It is the first steelhead season since 1997, when NMFS listed both hatchery and wild steelhead as "endangered." The state Department of Fish & Wildlife urged NMFS to allow fishing for steelhead because of this year’s strong return of an estimated 630,000 fish. Fishing for steelhead is also allowed on the Hanford Reach below Priest Rapids Dam and, beginning Nov. 15, on the Similkameen River west of Oroville. NMFS spokesman Bill Robinson said there is a "strong possibility" that the Methow River will be opened for steelhead fishing next year.

A NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE COMMITTEE IS MEETING IN SACRAMENTO TO evaluate the scientific data that led to the federal government denying water this summer to irrigators in the Klamath Basin. (Klamath Falls Herald and News, Nov. 6) The 12-member committee held a public hearing Tuesday to hear presentations from government, tribes, and agricultural interests, and was meeting in private today and Thursday to begin working on a preliminary report due in January.

ECO-TERRORISTS HAVE CONTINUED THEIR ATTACKS, EVEN AFTER THE TERRORIST attacks of Sept. 11. (Fox News, Nov. 6) In the past six weeks, "guerrilla greens" have set fire to a maintenance building at a primate research center in New Mexico, released minks from an Iowa fur farm twice, and firebombed a federal corral for wild horses in Nevada. The FBI is also investigating where eco-terrorists planted two bombs at a forestry building at Michigan Tech University. The bombs were discovered before they exploded.

FISHERIES BIOLOGISTS MEETING THIS WEEK IN PORTLAND SAID THE OUTLOOK FOR wild salmon in the North Pacific is bleak – especially in the Russian Far East. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Nov. 7) "In many areas, you just don’t have fish to catch," said Mikhail Skopets, with the Russian Academy of Sciences. The loss of salmon is blamed on poaching, over fishing, and the loss of habitat from logging and mining.

THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU WILL HOLD ITS 82^ND ANNUAL MEETING NOV. 13-15 at the Yakima Convention Center. Roger Marzulla, the property-rights attorney who is representing Klamath Basin irrigators whose water was shut off this spring by federal regulators, will be the keynote speaker at noon on Tuesday. Marzulla also represented irrigators in a landmark California case in which the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that the government might have the right to take water under the Endangered Species Act, but it must pay farmers for taking their property. Cowboy poet-philosopher Baxter Black will perform Tuesday evening. To register, or for more information, go to www.wsfb.com on the Internet, or call 1-800-331-3276.

A BIOLOGIST FROM THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE OPENED A TWO- day conference on salmon Monday by declaring the Pacific Northwest is "experiencing an aquatic diversity crisis." (AP/Olympian, Nov. 6) Dan Bottom, who worked for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for 20 years before going to NMFS, said more than 200 salmon stocks are at risk of extinction. Jack Stanford, a biologist at the University of Montana, blamed dams for disrupting "the way rivers do their work," and said the Corps of Engineers should restore natural flood plains, even if that means rerouting parts of Interstate 5 in lowland areas of Western Washington. The conference, which drew scientists from Russia, Japan and Canada, along with the United States, was sponsored by the Wild Salmon Center in Portland.

A COALITION OF FISHERMEN AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS FILED SUIT MONDAY IN the 9^TH Circuit Court of Appeals accusing the Bonneville Power Administration of violating the Northwest Power Act by not spilling enough water through Columbia River dams this summer to flush juvenile salmon to the ocean. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nov. 6) Sierra Club spokesman Bill Arthur said the BPA should have bought more power on the open market, rather than using river flows to generate electricity, even though that would have resulted in more rate increases. While acknowledging that spills were about one-fifth the target level, the BPA noted that most juvenile salmon are barged around the dams, so they are unaffected by water flow over or through the dams.

[Editor’s note: In reporting the story above, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer said, "Among the casualties" of the BPA actions, "were about 1.6 million young salmon hatched in the undammed portion of the Columbia near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation – meaning that one of the region’s strongest salmon runs will likely falter, at least temporarily, in coming years." What The Post-Intelligencer failed to report was that the state Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that 23.8 million salmon hatched this year in the Hanford Reach study area, compared to 17.8 million last year, so even with the higher than usual mortality, about 4.5 million more salmon survived this summer than last year.]

THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP, A CRITIC OF FARM SUBSIDY PAYMENTS, said Monday it would post a database on its Internet web site listing how much every farm-subsidy recipient received since 1996. (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 6) The information is considered a public record, but often requires a Freedom of Information request. EWG said the database could be searched by recipient’s name, ZIP code, city or county.

THE CLARK COUNTY TOWN OF YACOLT, POPULATION 1,065, IS CONSIDERING AN ordinance that would ban livestock and fowl within town limits. Up to eight chickens would be allowed, but no roosters, ducks, geese, swans, pheasants, quail or pigeons. (The Columbian, Nov. 5) City workers would be expected to count of the chickens and determine their sex.

THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE MUST DECIDE BY FRIDAY WHETHER to appeal a U.S. District Court decision that it cannot list "wild" salmon for protection under the Endangered Species Act without including hatchery fish of the same stock or "evolutionarily significant unit." (Skagit Valley Herald, Nov. 5) The decision is expected to be made by Solicitor General Ted Olson. Regardless of the decision, a NMFS spokesman said the agency would review the listings of several salmon ESUs now listed as threatened or endangered, including Puget Sound chinook.

THE PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERS FOR THEIR CROPS FELL 9.5 PERCENT IN September, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the largest one-month decline since the government began tracking prices in 1910. The USDA said the drop in prices was led by milk, soybeans, hogs, corn, broilers, cattle and lettuce, along with seasonal changes in commodity marketing. The September plunge erased some of the improvement in farm prices over the past few months, but prices for the year were still 9.3 percent higher in September than they were a year ago.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE IS HIRING 17 VETERINARIANS WHO WILL be assigned to district offices around the country to monitor whether slaughterhouses are treating animals humanely before killing them. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Nov. 3) Animal-rights groups have accused slaughterhouses of ignoring a 1978 law that requires livestock to be rendered unconscious before slaughtering. The USDA said it believes slaughterhouses are following the law, but hiring the veterinarians "will provide extra insurance."

THE RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES ORGANIZATION IN YAKIMA has received a $221,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help Hispanic farm workers become farm owners. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Nov. 3) The program, which is aimed especially at longtime farm foremen, will offer training in accounting, marketing, and farm management, and will direct aspiring farm owners to other USDA services. According to the USDA, the number of farms owned by Hispanics increased 32 percent between 1992 and 1996.

THE WOODEN STEPS USED BY PROTESTERS TO GET OVER A FENCE SURROUNDING the Klamath Irrigation Project headgates this summer have become the centerpiece of a new exhibit at the Klamath County Museum. (Klamath Basin Herald and News, Oct. 29) Museum curator Judith Hassen said the museum is "documenting a major event, including civil disobedience, in Klamath Falls." The exhibit also includes an American flag, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and other items from parades and demonstrations against the government shutting off water to local farmers. The Bureau of Reclamation spent about $750,000 to provide security at the headgates, with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Police and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service all providing agents at different times. (Herald and News, Oct. 31) California has allocated $8 million to help Klamath Basin communities hurt by the federal denial of water. (Herald and News, Oct. 30) The Klamath Falls Irrigation Project straddles the Oregon-California border.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HAS RELEASED THE LATEST EDITION of "Regulations for Direct Farm Marketing," a 64-page booklet that explains the basics of food safety, health and labor regulations, and tax issues involved in selling direct to the consumer at farm stands. The booklet is available from the Department of Agricultureby mail or on the Internet.

ABBIE KAMMERZELL, A WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT FROM A FARM Bureau family in Colfax, was selected Western Region vice president this week at the National FFA Organization’s 74^th annual convention in Louisville, Ky. Kammerzell, the daughter of Barb Schluneger and Tom Kammerzell, is majoring in agricultural communications. As a vice president of the 457,000-member FFA, the 20-year-old sophomore will spend the next year meeting with FFA chapters across the United States and with top agricultural leaders here and abroad.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ANNOUNCED NEW RESTRICTIONS Wednesday on two organophosphate pesticides, azinphos-methyl and phosmet. (Greenwire, Nov. 2) For azinphos-methyl, one of the most widely used pesticides, 28 crop uses are being cancelled and seven others will be phased out over the next four years, including tart cherries, cranberries and peaches. However, azinphos-methyl was approved for use on apples, blueberries, and sweet cherries for the next four years. A spokesman for the U.S. Apple Association said growers "can probably live with" the agreement, which included some changes in how the pesticide is applied. For phosmet, most agricultural uses were approved, including use on apples, apricots, blueberries, grapes, peaches, pears and plums.

BIO-TERRORISTS COULD EASILY INFECT FARM CROPS OR LIVESTOCK, BUT HEALTH officials say it is highly unlikely that a pathogen introduced into crops or animals would ever reach consumers. (Newhouse News Service/Seattle Times, Nov. 2) A "farm-level" biological attack could hurt the economy, but the country produces so much food that "there is little worry of empty plates or drastic price increases." Although there have been no specific threats to agriculture, the industry is on high alert, and the USDA is beefing up inspection services and "firewalls" to limit the spread of any crop or livestock diseases.

IN A RECENT SPEECH TO WASHINGTON CONSERVATION VOTERS, GOV. GARY LOCKE pledged that he would "not allow the weakening of the Shoreline Management Act," and would "continue to press forward with the protection and recovery of our wild salmon and salmon habitat." Acknowledging the "hundreds of faces" at the Oct. 23 breakfast, Locke said opposing protections for wild salmon would be like standing "with one foot on a political ‘third rail’." Locke also said that not too long ago, "we" were able to stop "an aggressive anti-environmental agenda, much under the guise of the misnamed ‘property-rights’ movement." But, Locke said, "the threats remain." The governor bragged that enforcement would continue at the state Department of Ecology, "where more than $2.6 million in penalties were assessed over the last year."

A COALITION OF FARM GROUPS THAT SUPPORT TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY for President Bush, including the American Farm Bureau, is sponsoring a five-day radio advertising campaign targeting 30 to 40 farm-state lawmakers who are undecided. (Planet Ark, Nov. 1) Trade Promotion Authority, or "fast-track" legislation, would give the president authority to negotiate trade agreements that Congress could then either approve or reject, but not amend. Countries are often reluctant to negotiate trade agreements with the United States, because Congress can undo what the negotiators have agreed to. Supporters of Trade Promotion Authority contend passage would send a strong message to the World Trade Organization, which meets this month in an effort to launch a new round of negotiations that would include agriculture. Labor and environmental groups oppose the bill, because they contend it doesn’t go far enough in addressing the impact of trade on workers and the environment.

THE SKAGIT COUNTY COMMISSION WEDNESDAY EXTENDED THE DEADLINE FOR farmers to receive a bonus for enrolling land for salmon buffers in the federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program until Nov. 27. (Skagit Valley Herald, Oct. 31) The deadline had been Nov. 7, but Commissioner Don Munks said many farmers were still unsure whether they are required to put in buffers, or which of four options under the county plan is best for them. The county is offering a bonus of $40 an acre for up to 15 years for farmers who sign up for CREP. Ric Boge, the county’s natural resources program manager, said about 45 farmers have signed up for the federal plan, while just one has signed up for a county plan that offers less compensation. Two others have submitted custom plans that must be approved by a science advisory panel. The county buffer ordinance affects about 300 farms. Farmers who don’t opt for one of the first three options by Nov. 27 will fall under a default provision that requires 200-foot buffers without compensation.

A WET OCTOBER HAS EASED CONCERNS THAT THE DROUGHT WILL EXTEND INTO next year, but weather watchers are still cautious. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 1) The Northeast corner of the state had 154 percent of normal precipitation for October, and already has a substantial covering of snow. North-central Washington had 142 percent of normal precipitation, and has also received above average snowfall. The National Weather Service is predicting above-average precipitation and near-normal temperatures for the next 10 days.

THE DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE COULD CLOSE AT LEAST THREE FISH hatcheries and cut back on salmon-recovery efforts to help trim $578 million from the state budget, according to proposals released Wednesday by Gov. Locke’s budget office. (AP/Seattle Times, Nov. 1) The state is facing a projected $1 billion deficit next year. Also among the proposals: reduce the prison population by 1,900 through early release for drug offenders and other inmates considered nonviolent, and providing less community supervision for those whose offenses are considered less serious, which would save about $74 million.

THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT RULED WEDNESDAY THAT CANADIAN COMPANIES are illegally flooding the U.S. market with below-cost lumber. (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 1) The ruling adds a preliminary 12.6 percent "anti-dumping" tariff to a 19.3 percent import duty imposed in August. Canadian producers will be required to post an assurance bond in the amount of the tariffs until a final ruling in March.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS GIVING THE UNITED NATIONS $6 MILLION TO BUY ABOUT 15,000 metric tons of wheat from Kazakstan for neighboring Afghanistan. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Nov. 1) The U.S. Agency for International Development will give another $5.2 million to other organizations for local purchase of about 13,500 tons of other commodities. The president of U.S. Wheat Associates, the export arm for the U.S. wheat industry, said the organization supported the decision. "The needs of starving people and support for our efforts in Afghanistan come before any parochial concerns," Alan Tracy said. The government is already sending about 165,000 tons of U.S. wheat to Afghanistan, and plans to buy another $72 million worth of U.S. food for the relief effort.

THE U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE TUESDAY ADDED SEVEN MORE NORTHWEST species to a candidate list for protection under the Endangered Species Act. (Tacoma News Tribune, Oct. 31) Under consideration are the Mazama pocket gopher, the streaked horned lark, the Whulge checkerspot butterfly, the slender moonwort plant, the yellow-billed cuckoo, the Southern Idaho ground squirrel, and the Western sage grouse.

U. S DISTRICT COURT JUDGE MICHAEL HOGAN TUESDAY REFUSED A REQUEST BY several environmental groups to stay his earlier ruling that overturned the listing of Oregon coastal coho salmon under the Endangered Species Act. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Oct. 31) Hogan said he would decide later whether the environmental groups could formally intervene in the case. Hogan also said the coho were in no imminent danger of extinction and he did not want to interfere with the National Marine Fisheries Service as it decides how to respond to his original ruling.

MORE THAN 600 FIELDWORKERS HAVE RECEIVED $374,000 IN BACK WAGES UNDER a court settlement that allowed Yakima County grower Jerrie Vander Houwen to harvest and sell his cherries and apples this year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Oct. 31) The Department of Labor sued Vander Houwen in U.S. District Court this summer to stop him from shipping his cherries after receiving complaints about workers not getting paid. Under the court settlement, Stadelman Fruit, a Yakima packer and seller, agreed to take Vander Houwen’s fruit and put money in advance in a court registry account to pay the workers.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS PLAN TO FLOOD THE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY WITH 10,000 postcards calling for the state to beef up water quality standards. (Olympian, Oct. 31) At a news conference Tuesday, the Washington Public Interest Research Group accused the state of failing to complete a comprehensive review of water quality standards for nine years, despite the federal Clean Water Act that requires states to review standards every three years. A DOE spokesman said some standards for metals and nutrients were revised in 1997, and the department plans to propose "anti-degradation" standards for pristine streams in 2002.

A BOYCOTT BY MUSLIM COUNTRIES COULD HURT U.S. GROWERS, ACCORDING TO Washington State University economist Desmond O’Rourke. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Oct. 31) Addressing an Economic Outlook Conference at Central Washington University, O’Rourke said "given a choice between New Zealand apples or American apples," Muslim countries will "buy New Zealand." Last year, Washington shipped about 3.2 million boxes – 3.2 percent of the crop – to Middle Eastern and African nations. O’Rourke also said tighter security measures at U.S. ports could slow trade, further hurting the ag industry.

THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT TUESDAY CLAIMED CREDIT FOR FIREBOMBING A Bureau of Land Management wild-horse facility in Litchfield, Nev., on Oct. 15. (AP/ Reno Gazette-Journal, Oct. 31) The firebombing destroyed two barns and caused about $85,000 worth of damage. Three other bombs at a corral were disarmed before they exploded. The ELF communiqué, released by another radical environmental group, the Animal Liberation Front, said the bombing was to protest the BLM roundup of wild horses. The BLM estimates there are about 48,000 wild horses and burros running free in parts of 10 Western states, about half of them in Nevada.

THE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY IS HONORING FIVE WASHINGTON DAIRIES FOR efforts to protect water quality. Receiving Contribution to Clean Water awards are the Styger Dairy in Lewis County, Callahan Dairy in Grant County, Olympic View Dairy in Grays Harbor County, Pride & Joy Dairy in Yakima County, and Youngren Farms in Snohomish County.

THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY HAS GIVEN THE CONFEDERATED Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation authority to establish and enforce water quality standards for all Indian and non-Indian lands in the 172,000-acre reservation in Eastern Oregon. (Columbia Basin Bulletin, Oct. 26) The EPA said tribal members eat about 10 times the amount of fish the agency uses to develop health-based standards, making it necessary for the tribe to set its own water-quality standards. About 76,000 acres of the reservation are farmed, primarily by non-tribal members.

OREGON MAY START BILLING ANTI-LOGGING ACTIVISTS FOR TREES THAT CAN’T be cut because they are too close to the tree-sitters’ aerial platforms. (AP/Spokesman Review, Oct. 26) The Oregon Department of Forestry also wants to know if the state can assess damages against people who supply food and water to protesters living in the trees.

MEETING WITH REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS LAST WEEK, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Ann Veneman assured them the nation’s food supply is safe. (AP/Olympian, Oct. 26) She said, however, that she is concerned that terrorists could contaminate large feedlots with foot-and-mouth disease, which is harmless to humans, but could devastate the livestock industry. The Department of Agriculture has put veterinarians on alert. The government also considers fruits and vegetables that people eat uncooked to be potential targets. A food safety expert at the University of Georgia said the best defense against such bioterrorism is to peel or wash uncooked foods.

THE SKOKOMISH TRIBE IN MASON COUNTY IS OFFERING COHO AND CHUM SALMON to south Puget Sound food banks, but is finding few takers. (Olympian, Oct. 26) With salmon so plentiful this year, prices are too low for the tribe to make money selling the fish, which they harvest primarily for their eggs.

SEATTLE RESIDENTS WERE SO EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING THEIR WATER USAGE THIS summer that the city-owned water company may be forced to raise rates next spring to make up for an $8 million shortfall in revenues. (Seattle Times, Oct. 29) Seattle reduced its water usage about 15 percent, and instead of projected revenues of $109 million, actual revenues were $101 million.

AN ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR HAS LIFTED temporarily a Sept. 7 ban that prohibited grazing on 500,000 acres on the Mojave Desert. (AP/ Contra Costa Times, Oct. 26) The order affects eight ranchers with grazing leases who had been ordered to remove their cattle to protect the desert tortoise, which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Bureau of Land Management negotiated the ban with environmental groups to settle a lawsuit.

KLAMATH BASIN FARMERS DENIED WATER BY THE U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION this summer have begun receiving government relief checks amounting to about $129 per acre. (Klamath Falls Herald and News, Oct. 25) More than 1,100 farmers signed up 160,116 acres for relief payments. In an editorial, the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Oct. 15) said actual crop losses in the Klamath Basin could total $250 million, "dwarfing" the $20 million in emergency aid from the government. The Review-Journal noted: "Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 with assurances it would be used primarily to make sure the continent’s last grizzly bear, last bison, or last bald eagle wasn’t shot as a pest and sold for dog food. Instead, the law has been widely used by the green extreme to identify a ‘marker’ subspecies in virtually any ecosystem … even invisible blue butterflies that ‘might’ someday visit the coastal grasslands of central California … thus using the act to block virtually any kind of proposed new progress or development."

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY HAS PURCHASED RAINBOW VALLEY, A 42-ACRE SITE in Thurston County best known for the rock festivals and "hippie" gatherings sponsored by former owner Gideon Israel in the 1980s and ‘90s. The property is considered prime habitat for salmon and other wildlife. Israel was arrested in 1997 by the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force and later pleaded guilty to drug charges. The county, which gained control of the land as part of its agreement with Israel, sold the land to the Nature Conservancy for $125,000, with most of the money coming from state salmon-recovery funds. After paying off liens and cleaning up the site, Israel and the task force are expected to split about $13,500. (The Olympian, Oct. 23)

A THURSTON COUNTY LANDOWNER HAS GRANTED THE COUNTY A CONSERVATION easement protecting a 70-acre farm west of Rochester from future development. In return, Felix Blubaugh received 14 development-right certificates – one for every five acres – which he can sell to builders in urban areas who want to increase the density of their housing developments. The easement marks the first use of a development-rights transfer program launched by Thurston County six years ago to preserve farmland in rural areas. (The Olympian, Oct. 23)

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT GIVES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY TO ACTIVIST groups that often use the money to lobby Congress or sue the agencies that gave them the money. (Sacramento Bee, Oct. 21) For example, on July 1, 1997, the National Wildlife Federation sued the Environmental Protection Agency over water quality. The same day, the environmental group applied for a $70,000 clean-water grant from the EPA, which it received a few weeks later. When the group won its lawsuit, it also recovered $14,000 in legal fees from the EPA. In 2000, the U.S. government distributed about $137 million in grants – an average of $377,000 a day -- to 20 major environmental groups. The Sacramento Bee found that at least some government money is used for lobbying and other advocacy efforts. "When the federal government subsidizes one side of a public policy debate, it undermines the very essence of democracy," said Randal O’Toole with The Thoreau Institute in Oregon.

THE WORLD TRADE ASSOCIATION PLANS TO GO AHEAD WITH A MEETING NOV. 9-13 in the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar, despite U.S. military action in Afghanistan. (Greenwire, Oct. 23) The ministerial meeting will be the first effort to launch a new round of global trade talks since the 1999 meeting in Seattle that resulted in rioting in the streets. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman met recently with WTO Director-General Mike Moore and urged the WTO to begin a broad round of trade negotiations that includes agriculture.

METHOW VALLEY RESIDENTS, MANY OF WHOM HAVE BEEN WAITING UP TO 10 years for the Department of Ecology to process applications to change or transfer their water rights, are first in line in the agency’s seven-county central region, now that DOE has begun working on a statewide backlog. (Wenatchee World, Oct. 19) Although the Legislature approved additional funding in July, DOE said getting started on the backlog was delayed so it could process emergency drought applications. DOE now has 39 employees processing water-right changes, nine working on new applications, and three assigned to work with local conservancy boards. After the Methow Basin, the DOE central region plans to address backlogs in the upper Yakima River Basin, followed by the Okanogan River Basin.

THE WASHINGTON AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE REPORTS A RECORD WINE-grape harvest this year of 105,000 tons, up 17 percent from last season.

IN A MEETING WITH THE NORTHWEST POWER PLANNING COUNCIL, BOB LOHN, newly appointed Northwest regional director for the National Marine Fisheries Service, "hinted that NMFS may soon make some significant changes" in the listing of salmon under the Endangered Species Act as a result of the Oregon court decision tossing out protections for wild coastal coho. (NW Fishletter, Oct. 19) In that case, federal District Judge Michael Hogan said NMFS could not list wild fish without extending protections to hatchery fish that are part of the same distinct population or "evolutionarily significant unit." The ruling could affect most of the salmon and steelhead listings in the Northwest.

COMMON SENSE SALMON RECOVERY, A COALITION THAT INCLUDES WASHINGTON Farm Bureau, has offered to settle its two-year-old lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service over the listing of Puget Sound and Columbia Basin chinook under the Endangered Species Act, based on a recent U.S. District Court decision in Oregon. The CSSR lawsuit contends that NMFS should have counted hatchery fish in its assessment of salmon stocks, and if hatchery fish were included there would be no justification for the listings. In the Oregon case, Judge Michael Hogan ruled that NMFS could not list wild coastal coho without extending the same protections to identical hatchery fish. In a settlement letter to the fisheries agency and the Department of Justice, CSSR offered to dismiss claims that NMFS violated the Magnuson-Stevens Act by allowing the continued harvest of threatened or endangered salmon, if the agency revokes the listings of Puget Sound chinook, lower Columbia chinook, upper Columbia spring chinook, and upper Willamette spring chinook. In those cases, NMFS included various hatchery stocks in the same "evolutionarily significant units," but only listed wild fish for protection. CSSR attorney Jim Johnson said de-listing would immediately lessen "the severe detrimental effects on citizens of the Northwest" that resulted "in large part from these erroneous ESA listings."

THE NORTHWEST POWER PLANNING COUNCIL ESTIMATES THERE IS LESS THAN A 1 percent chance of power shortages this winter because of reduced consumer demand, additional generating capacity, greater water storage behind Canadian dams, and an improving water-supply forecast. (Columbia Basin Bulletin, Oct. 19) Last May, the council predicted a 17 percent chance of winter power shortages. The council is also predicting near-normal hydroelectric operations next spring and summer, including normal spills and river flow.

CONGRESS LAST WEEK APPROVED A 2001-2002 SPENDING BILL FOR THE INTERIOR Department that includes $26 million toward the removal of two dams on the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha River and $14 million for Northwest salmon-recovery projects. (Columbia Basin Bulletin, Oct. 19) The final $19.1 billion bill, a compromise version of bills passed earlier by the House and Senate, provides "record funding" for parks, land and wildlife conservation, federal and state land acquisition, coastal and ocean protection, historic preservation, and payments to states and counties in lieu of property taxes.

THE KING/PIERCE COUNTY FARM BUREAU WILL HOST A PANEL DISCUSSION Wednesday on the merits of conservation easements, or the selling of development rights, as a way to preserve farmland in areas of urban growth. The forum is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Thoroughbred Breeders Pavilion at the Emerald Downs racetrack in Auburn, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Washington Farm Bureau project manager Dave Winckler at (509) 899-1795.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY ELECTION PAMPHLETS, WHICH WERE MAILED TO VOTERS this week, contain the wrong ballot title for the "Right to Plow" initiative sponsored by the Snohomish County Farm Bureau. (Everett Herald, Oct. 18) The pamphlets were printed using the original title, a one-paragraph description of the initiative, written by the county attorney’s office. But the county Farm Bureau went to court in June to force a change in the ballot title, which it felt was misleading. County Farm Bureau President John Postema, who notified county officials about the error Wednesday, said the new title made clear the measure was designed to distinguish between agriculture and development, and to exempt agriculture from some development regulations. County Auditor Bob Terwilliger said a page with the correct title and statements for and against the initiative would be mailed to registered voters by Friday. The county is also scrapping about 165,000 absentee ballots, also printed with the wrong title, that were scheduled to go to the post office today. Postema said he does not believe the mistake was intentional.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WEDNESDAY ASKED CONGRESS FOR $1.5 BILLION TO combat bioterrorism, including $61 million to increase inspections of imported food. (Washington Post, Oct. 18) The money would allow the Food and Drug Administration to hire 410 additional inspectors, labor specialists and compliance experts, and to invest in new detection technology.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, R-KANSAS, HAS INTRODUCED A BILL THAT WOULD PROVIDE $1.1 billion next year, and $3.8 billion over the next 10 years, to protect America’s food supply from a biological terrorist attack. (Greenwire, Oct. 18) Money for the Bio-Security for Agriculture Act would come from the $73.5 billion earmarked for the farm bill now being debated in the Senate. It would go to update U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection facilities, develop a rapid-response strategy, and fund research at agricultural universities. An analyst with Rand, a public policy institute, told Congress last week that a biological attack on agriculture would create "a tidal wave effect" that would affect every segment of the economy and potentially cause a public panic, yet agriculture has been largely ignored in the country’s defenses against terrorism. The American Farm Bureau has called for an agricultural specialist to be added to the new Office of Homeland Security.

THERE ARE SO MANY STEELHEAD RETURNING TO THE UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER this year that the National Marine Fisheries Service may declare a fishing season for the federally protected species. (AP/The Olympian, Oct. 18) Jeff Koenings, director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, sent a letter to NMFS Oct. 3 urging the agency to allow steelhead fishing "based on the extraordinary and unexpected abundance" of returning fish. More than 32,000 steelhead are expected to pass upstream through Priest River Dam by the end of the month, the largest return since 1986. NMFS listed both hatchery and wild steelhead as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act in 1997. Earlier this year, NMFS allowed fishermen to catch endangered chinook salmon on the Imnaha River in Eastern Oregon because of large numbers of returning fish.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY THIS WEEK AGREED TO WAIVE FEES FOR FARMERS WHO apply for special-use permits to host weddings, birthday parties, anniversary celebrations or similar events by Jan. 1. (Seattle Times, Oct. 18) The County Council also said issuing the conditional-use permits would no longer require a public hearing, saving as much as $5,000 in fees. Farmers must still meet county health and safety regulations. Dave Remlinger, who has been hosting weddings at his Lord Hill Farm outside Snohomish, told the council Wednesday he has spent about $80,000 on consulting, including $12,000 in traffic studies, and $250,000 to meet fire and safety codes, since being cited for operating without a permit.

Oct. 17, 2001

THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU AND A COALITION OF 230 OTHER BUSINESS AND trade associations and individual employers filed suit today to stop the state Department of Labor and Industries from imposing costly and unproven ergonomics standards. The suit, filed in Thurston County Superior Court, contends that L&I exceeded its statutory authority in adopting the rules, failed to follow proper procedures under the Regulatory Reform Act, and acted in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner by ignoring medical and scientific findings. Jon Warling, former Washington Farm Bureau vice president and chair of Washington Employers Concerned About Regulating Ergonomics, said the regulations would "carry staggering costs for businesses both large and small in Washington" without any "credible scientific data" that the rules would reduce repetitive-motion stress injuries. The suit asks the court to invalidate the rules, which are scheduled to take effect in 2002.

THE WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU TODAY FILED A PETITION WITH THE NATIONAL Marine Fisheries Service to de-list 12 stocks, or "evolutionarily significant units," of Puget Sound and Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead protected under the Endangered Species Act, based on a recent U.S. District Court ruling in Oregon that wild salmon cannot be listed without extending the same protections to hatchery fish that are part of the same ESU. The petition argues that if hatchery fish are counted along with wild fish, "the justification for listing may be greatly reduced or eliminated." The Kitsap Property Owners and the Skagit County Cattlemen’s Association have also petitioned NMFS to de-list two Puget Sound ESUs, based on the Alsea Alliance case in Oregon, while the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association has filed to de-list seven ESUs on the Snake and Columbia rivers.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY HAS RENEWED REGISTRATIONS FOR biotech Bt corn that produces its own toxins to kill the European corn borer. (AP/Washington Post, Oct. 17) "Bt corn has been evaluated thoroughly by EPA and we are confident that it does not pose risks to human health or to the environment," according to Steve Johnson, assistant administrator in EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta AG and Dow Chemical all hold registrations for Bt corn. The renewed registrations are for a seven-year period.

THE KING/PIERCE COUNTY FARM BUREAU WILL HOST A PANEL DISCUSSION OCT. 24 on the merits of conservation easements, or the selling of development rights, as a way to preserve farmland in areas of urban growth. "Some farmers who have sold conservation easements are very happy with the outcome. Others later come to regret making that decision," said county Farm Bureau President Lucy Cerqui. "We want to offer farmers an opportunity to hear both sides of the debate and make up their own minds." The forum will be held at the Thoroughbred Breeders Pavilion at the Emerald Downs racetrack in Auburn, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Washington Farm Bureau project manager Dave Winckler at (509) 269-4953.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS MONDAY ASKED A PANEL OF THE 9^TH CIRCUIT COURT OF Appeals to lift a U.S. District Court injunction against a Clinton administration rule that would ban most road-building and logging in national forests. (Reuters/Planet Ark, Oct. 16) A decision could take weeks or months, but two of the three panel members questioned whether the environmental groups have standing to appeal the lower court decision since the Bush administration has chosen not to.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE THIS WEEK EXPANDED THE 52 PERCENT anti-dumping duties it applied a year ago to non-frozen Chinese apple juice concentrate to include semi-frozen concentrate. The U.S. apple industry complained in April that Chinese suppliers and U.S. importers were circumventing the duties on juice concentrate by chilling it and shipping it to the United States as a duty-free product. According to the U.S. Customs Service, the volume of imported Chinese apple juice concentrate dropped by only 7 percent between June 2000, when the duty was first imposed, and June 2001. In a news release, American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman praised the Department of Commerce for closing a loophole that was hurting U.S. apple growers.

ONLY ABOUT A THIRD OF THE TIMOTHY HAY GROWERS IN KITTITAS COUNTY HAD enough water this year for a second cutting, according to Ward Rugh Inc., which buys, processes and sells hay. (Ellensburg Daily Record, Oct. 9) In addition, about 30 percent of the high-quality first cutting was on the ground and damaged by late June rainstorms. In a normal water year, about 225 growers produce more than $30 million worth of timothy hay in Kittitas County, with most of it sold to Japanese racehorse tracks and dairies.

THE FOREST PRACTICES BOARD MAY EXEMPT MORE TIMBER OWNERS FROM rules designed to protect fish and water quality to avoid potential lawsuits. (Olympian, Oct. 10) The Forest and Fish Act, passed by the Legislature in 1999 and adopted by the Forest Practices Board in July, exempts owners of 20 acres or less from expanded buffers along waterways. But the forestry board is concerned that other landowners could sue if the rules deny them almost all reasonable economic use of their property. Last year, a Klickitat County Superior Court awarded SDS Lumber $2.25 million because state rules to protect the northern spotted owl prevented the company from harvesting timber on 232 acres of land. The state has appealed the SDS ruling. The forestry board will consider a broader exemption to the buffer rules at a retreat Oct. 24.

PINK SALMON ARE RETURNING TO THE SNOHOMISH RIVER BASIN IN RECORD numbers. (Seattle Times, Oct. 10) The state Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates as many as 500,000 pink salmon, or "humpies" may return to the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers, compared to the previous high of 280,000 in 1985. In the Stillaguamish River Basin, the pinks could equal the record of 640,000 set in 1963. The catch limit is four pinks per fisherman, but The Times reported that "some people are catching up to 25 just for the thrill of it, then releasing the extras."

BIOTECH FOODS MAY BE EVEN SAFER TO EAT THAN CONVENTIONAL FOODS, according to a European Union report issued Tuesday. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 10) The report said 81 research projects over the past 15 years had not found "any new risks to human health or the environment, beyond the usual uncertainties of conventional plant breeding." "Indeed," the report concluded, "the use of more precise technology and the greater regulatory scrutiny probably makes them even safer than conventional plants and foods." Consumer Health Commissioner David Byrne said the EU could resume approving new biotech foods and other products early next year, ending a three-year moratorium. (Reuters/Planet Ark, Oct. 10) The EU will meet next week to consider an approval process and consumer labeling of biotech products.

THE KITSAP PROPERTY OWNERS ALLIANCE AND SKAGIT COUNTY CATTLEMEN’S Association have petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to "delist" Puget Sound chinook and Hood River summer-run chum salmon under the Endangered Species Act. The petition, filed by Portland attorney James Buchal, notes that salmon runs this year have been the largest since dam counts began in 1938. It relies on the recent U.S. District Court decision in Oregon that NMFS can not exclude hatchery fish from ESA protections if they were initially considered part of the "distinct population" or "evolutionarily significant unit," and makes the argument that Pacific salmon are not threatened or endangered if both hatchery raised and naturally spawning fish are counted. Buchal has also filed a petition on behalf of the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association to delist seven Columbia River salmon and steelhead ESUs, also based on the U.S. District Court ruling.

FEWER KLAMATH BASIN FARMERS THAN EXPECTED SIGNED UP FOR $20 MILLION in federal aid for growers whose water for irrigation was cut off this spring by the Bureau of Reclamation. (AP/The Olympian, Oct. 6) "Some people just don’t want to deal with the government is our best guess," said Denise Martin, with the U.S. Farm Service Agency. Sign-ups cover about 159,000 acres, instead of the anticipated 200,000 acres. Those who signed up will get about $129 per acre. Meanwhile, senators from Oregon and California are pushing for another $148 million in federal assistance, including $110 million in direct aid to Klamath Basin farmers and $38 million for fish screens, wells for irrigation, wetlands restoration, water studies, and other improvements.

IN AN EDITORIAL TODAY, THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER URGES CONGRESS TO restore food stamps for legal immigrants in the next farm bill. Immigrants were declared ineligible for food stamps as part of federal welfare reform in 1996, but Washington picked up the slack with a state-funded program that provides $5 million to $6 million in foods stamps to about 40,000 legal immigrants annually. The newspaper argues, "Every legal resident who is poor and hungry should be fed."

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN, D-ILL., HAS INTRODUCED A BILL TO CREATE A SINGLE federal agency to ensure the safety of the American food supply in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and worries about bioterrorism. (AP/Seattle Times, Oct. 9) "The time couldn’t be better to move this forward because we’ve now moved our focus from food safety to food security," Durbin said. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for about 80 percent of the nation’s food supply, has 750 inspectors and a budget of $260 million to safeguard about 55,000 different foods. It now inspects less than 1 percent of the food and ingredients imported from other countries. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees about 6,000 foods, has twice the budget and thousands more inspectors.

WASHINGTON FARMERS RECEIVED ABOUT $64 MILLION FROM THE FEDERAL government this year for land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, according to the Farm Service Agency. (Spokesman-Review, Oct. 9) That’s up from $45.5 million last year. Statewide, about 1.27 million acres were enrolled in the program, led by Adams County with 213,014 acres. Douglas County was second with 187,713 acres. Payments ranged from $45.85 an acre in Douglas to $333.81 an acre in Whatcom County. Nationwide, 33.5 million acres of land were enrolled in CRP; 355,910 farms received an average of $4,307 in CRP payments for a total of $1.5 billion.

THE HOUSE TODAY PASSED THE FARM SECURITY ACT OF 2001, A REWRITE OF THE federal farm bill that would provide $170 billion for conservation and agricultural programs over the next 10 years. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, passed 291 to 120. Passage came a day after the House narrowly rejected an effort by lawmakers from Eastern and Western states, which receive a relatively small share of federal crop subsidies, to divert an additional $19 billion to conservation programs. (New York Times, Oct. 5) Nevertheless, Rep. Charles Stenholm of Texas, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, called it "the greenest farm bill that has ever passed Congress." The bill would increase spending on conservation, wetlands protection and other environmental programs by $16 billion – a 78 percent increase over current funding. (Washington Post, Oct. 5) Spending on commodity programs would increase by $49 billion, or about 63 percent. (Spokesman-Review, Oct. 5)

ELLENSBURG AND KITTITAS COUNTY AGREED THIS WEEK TO JOIN A YAKIMA River Basin umbrella group created to apply for salmon-recovery funding from the state. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Oct. 5) The state requires geographic areas to create "lead entities" before they are eligible to receive money from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. The Yakima River Basin group, which also includes the Yakama Nation,Yakima and Benton counties, and their cities, is the 26^th lead entity formed under the Salmon Recovery Act.

THE KING/PIERCE COUNTY FARM BUREAU WILL HOST A PANEL DISCUSSION OCT. 24 on the merits of conservation easements, or the selling of development rights, as a way to preserve farmland in areas of urban growth. "Some farmers who have sold conservation easements are very happy with the outcome. Others later come to regret making that decision," said county Farm Bureau President Lucy Cerqui. "We want to offer farmers an opportunity to hear both sides of the debate and make up their own minds." Conservation easements have become increasingly popular as urban areas try to preserve farmland and open space. But property owners who sell or confer a conservation easement to a public or private entity give up partial ownership and control of their land. The forum will be held at the Thoroughbred Breeders Pavilion at the Emerald Downs racetrack in Auburn, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Washington Farm Bureau project manager Dave Winckler at (509) 269-4953.

THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION THIS WEEK URGED PRESIDENT BUSH to appoint an agricultural specialist to serve in the new Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "An attack aimed at the safety of our food supply and agricultural infrastructure could cause widespread and long-term damage," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "We must continue to increase surveillance and ensure that adequate Department of Agriculture resources are available to combat any posed biological threat or mobilize against any occurrences."

THURSTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT LAST WEEK THREW OUT NEW RULES FROM the state Department of Labor and Industries that had forced the Washington Farm Bureau and other organizations to change the way they manage their "retrospective" workers’ compensation programs. (Capital Press, Oct. 5) The new rules limited the amount organizations could withhold from retro program refunds to administer the programs, which forced most retro programs to charge higher upfront fees. The rules also required groups to disclose their membership lists to L&I, even if the members were not enrolled in a retro program. In his ruling, the judge said L&I had perceived a problem where none existed and had overstepped its statutory authority in issuing the rules.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WEDNESDAY FAILED IN AN EFFORT TO DELAY HOUSE action on a proposed $170 million farm bill, and final passage could come today. (AP/Spokesman-Review, Oct. 4) The White House issued a statement Wednesday that it was not "timely" to commit so much money to agriculture while the country is recovering from the economic impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The administration also criticized the proposed farm bill for continuing subsidies for grain and cotton growers, saying they would continue to encourage overproduction and benefit the country’s largest farms. The White House urged lawmakers to put more money into conservation programs that reward farmers for environmental stewardship. An amendment that would have placed a $150,000-per-person cap on crop subsidies was defeated 238-187.

THE EARTHJUSTICE LEGAL DEFENSE FUND HAS FILED A REQUEST TO INTERVENE IN the Alsea Valley Alliance case in which U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan threw out the listing of Oregon coastal coho salmon under the Endangered Species Act. The legal foundation, representing seven environmental organizations, said Wednesday it doesn’t trust the Bush administration to appeal the ruling, which could also affect 20 other listings of salmon and steelhead in the Northwest. The groups have also asked the judge to stay his ruling so that "wild" coastal coho remain protected under the ESA while the case works its way through possible appeals.

THE QUAD CITIES OF KENNEWICK, PASCO, RICHLAND AND WEST RICHLAND ARE objecting to conservation standards that the state Department of Ecology has included in a proposed water-right agreement designed to meet the cities’ needs for the next 50 years. (Tri-City Herald, Oct. 4) Among the requirements: residents replace 10 percent of all pre-1993 plumbing fixtures every six years; that "individual landscape water users achieve a reasonable irrigation efficiency;" and that the cities adopt water rates that penalize heavy users. "We are going to be very leery of accepting something that … somebody just sat around a table and said this is a good idea," said Pasco Public Works Director Bob Alberts. "Where did these (standards) come from and why did somebody think they were fair."

INTERIOR SECRETARY GALE NORTON SAID WEDNESDAY THAT THE NATIONAL Academy of Sciences will review the scientific and technical data on suckerfish and coho salmon that led to shutting down the Klamath Irrigation Project this year. (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 3) Farmers, however, said the review would be too late to ensure water for next year.

REP. BUTCH OTTER, R-IDAHO, WEDNESDAY DENOUNCED THE ENVIRONMENTAL Protection Agency for victimizing U.S. citizens during a House subcommittee hearing on wetlands policies. (Spokesman-Review, Oct. 3) "The government of this country has been lost to the muck, mire and sludge of many bureaus who have decided that the perpetuation of their existence is more important than … any portion of the Constitution," said Otter, who has been fined three times for federal wetlands violations. Otter is a member of the House water resources committee, which is reviewing the law he allegedly violated when he was fined $50,000 in June.

THERE ARE 2,000 FEWER ACRES OF APPLES IN CHELAN, DOUGLAS AND OKANOGAN counties today than there were seven years ago, but statewide acreage has increased 12 percent to 192,000, according to the Washington State Agricultural Statistics Service. (Wenatchee World, Oct. 3) Other findings of the first statewide survey since 1993: Sweet cherries increased by 76 percent, to 29,000 acres. Pears, including Bartlett and winter varieties, increased by 500 acres, to 28,000. Total tree fruit increased by 14 percent, to more than 256,000 acres.

WASHINGTON IS AMONG THE TOP 10 STATES IN INTERNET ACCESS AND COMPUTER use on farms, according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Half of all farms nationwide own or lease a computer; in Washington, that figure is 56 percent. Nationwide, 43 percent of all farms have Internet access; in Washington, it’s 54 percent. Nationwide, 29 percent of farmers use computers in their business operations; in Washington, it’s 37 percent. Washington, however, still lags behind its Northwest neighbors. (Tri-City Herald, Oct. 3) More farmers in Oregon, Idaho and Montana use computers and the Internet than anywhere else. The report is available at http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/other/computer/empc0701.txt.

DRIVEN BY ABOVE-AVERAGE SEPTEMBER TEMPERATURES, WASHINGTON GRAPES are ripening seven to 10 days ahead of normal. (Tri-City Herald, Oct. 3) The harvest is also likely to be less than the pre-season projection of 97,500 tons.

THE DOWNTURN IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, INCLUDING LAYOFFS AT BOEING, and the general economic slowdown in the wake of terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York could force the state to cut its budget by $1 billion. (AP/Seattle Times, Oct. 3) Gov. Locke has directed state agencies not to fill vacancies. He has also frozen spending on about $400 million worth on construction projects, mostly in education.

BOTH DEMAND AND PRICES ARE UP FOR WASHINGTON APPLES IN THE EARLY DAYS of the 2001 marketing year. (Yakima Herald-Republic, Oct. 3) On Monday, the average price paid to growers for all varieties was $16.21 a box, up 75 cents from a year ago. Golden Delicious led the way at $16.89 a box, up $1.05. The apple harvest this year is expected to be about 76 million boxes, the smallest in nearly a decade.

THE WALLA WALLA COUNTY COMMISSION HAS FORMED AN A COMMITTEE TO help guide development of the area’s growing wine industry. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Oct. 2) The seven-member advisory panel includes three industry representatives: Berle Figgins, Glen Fiona Winery; Darcey Fugman-Small, Woodward Canyon Winery, and Duane Wollmuth, Three Rivers Winery.

CHELAN COUNTY THIS YEAR RECEIVED MORE THAN $1 MILLION FROM THE U.S. government in lieu of property taxes on federally owned land. (Wenatchee World, Oct. 2) About 88 percent of the land in Chelan is under federal ownership. Chelan received $1,036.813. Okanogan County received the second-highest payment in Washington: $998,239.

SKAGIT COUNTY IS OFFERING A $40 PER ACRE ANNUAL BONUS TO FARMERS WHO enroll streamside property in the federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program before Nov. 7. (Skagit Valley Herald, Sept. 27) Skagit is encouraging farmers to voluntarily agree to the county’s 75-foot buffer program. Farmers outside Skagit’s delta area who don’t agree to a buffer plan will have to abide by the county’s 200-foot default buffers with no compensation.

WHEAT GROWERS ARE WORRIED THAT THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM COULD hurt exports to Islamic countries, especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Indonesia. (Spokane Spokesman-Review, Sept. 30) Most Washington-grown wheat is exported to Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Spokane, who worked to eliminate unilateral sanctions on food and medicine as an element of U.S. foreign policy, said the United States should bomb the terrorists while providing food and other aid to innocent people. 

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