PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two weeks after the signing of new legislation that upholds in state law the delisting of the gray wolf as endangered, Oregon’s top attorney has now launched an effort to end wolf advocates’ lawsuit once and for all.

Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a notice with the state appellate court on Monday, using an attached copy of the new law, House Bill 4040, as justification for why wolf advocates’ complaint against the state is likely no longer relevant.

This is what conservative lawmakers hoped to accomplish with HB 4040 and what environmentalists had feared. In December environmentalists sued state wildlife officials over their decision to remove the gray wolf from the state’s Endangered Species Act list, saying the decision was premature.

Nothing is settled yet and the judge will have the final say. But parties on both sides agree the situation is gloomy for the wolf advocates’ case.

“We don’t have a next step yet,” said Arran Robertson, a spokesman for Oregon Wild, adding they’ll be discussing a game-plan this week with the other environmentalists that are part of the suit.

The issue dates back to November, when the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission determined the gray wolf’s population was robust enough to remove the species from the state’s endangered list. Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands and the Center for Biological Diversity followed with their lawsuit, arguing the commission used flawed scientific evidence and the delisting decision should therefore be independently re-examined.

That’s where HB 4040 — backed by the Oregon Cattleman’s Association and others concerned with wolves’ attacks on livestock — comes into play.

HB 4040 essentially says the commission did everything it was supposed to do by law in reaching its final decision to delist. That’s the very thing wolf advocates want re-examined, but with the Legislature’s seal of approval now established in state law, their “challenge is likely moot,” Rosenblum wrote in Monday’s court filing.

Rosenblum’s filing — submitted about a week after the wildlife commission began revising its wolf management plan — stands in contrast to the way HB 4040 was initially portrayed at the Legislature in early February.

In hearings, GOP lawmakers in the Oregon House repeatedly denied claims that the intent was to end the lawsuit.

“Does this basically prevent litigation? ... and the answer that I have come up with, or the answer that I could find was, no it doesn’t,” Rep. Greg Baretto, a Republican who helped sponsor HB 4040, said during a Feb. 12 House floor session when the bill was up for vote.

“They can still have their day in court. But what this does is it’ll allow the Legislature to affirm or agree with this commission, this Fish and Wildlife Commission, that has basically approved delisting, and that is what this bill does.”

Rep. Chris Gorsek, a Democrat, was among the first vocal critics, who followed Baretto’s comments during that February floor session by saying, “I’m concerned that the Legislature is being asked to step in a process that could involve any endangered species ... it’s not about the wolf, it’s about due process.”

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon farm regulators are objecting to USDA’s proposed deregulation of a genetically engineered grass variety that escaped field trials more than a decade ago.

Last year, USDA reached an agreement with Scotts Miracle-Gro, which developed the glyphosate-resistant biotech creeping bentgrass, to lift federal regulations on the crop as long as it’s not commercialized.

Scotts would also conduct a 10-year management plan to control the grass, but some farmers have complained that the proposal will allow the company to eventually wash its hands of the problem while leaving them with spray costs and potential export barriers.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has come out against the proposal, arguing it’s inappropriate to deregulate the bentgrass while it’s still infesting areas of Central and Eastern Oregon.

“We think it needs to be eradicated,” said Lisa Hanson, ODA’s deputy director, during the March 29 meeting of the Oregon Board of Agriculture.

The ODA claims the biotech bentgrass doesn’t meet the federal requirements for deregulation because it “clearly falls into the category of a plant pest and noxious weed,” according to a letter sent to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

“It is invading irrigation canals and displacing native species in riparian areas in the affected Oregon counties,” the ODA letter said, noting that the crop should remain regulated until “a means to eradicate this pest becomes available.”

ODA also recommends that USDA convene a task force to evaluate the impacts of deregulation.

Biotech bentgrass is of particular concern near waterways because they can allow the crop to spread to new areas and potentially get out of control, said Helmuth Rogg, ODA’s plant program director.

There are also limited chemical methods for treating the bentgrass, he said. Not only is it resistant to glyphosate, but other herbicides often can’t be used in irrigation canals without potentially harming crops.

Canals can be treated with herbicides before they’re used to convey summer irrigation water, but that time window poses another challenge, Rogg said.

“The problem in early spring is it’s not easy to identify,” Rogg said.

At that point, the variety looks much like any other grass, he said. The crop is more distinctive in late summer.

Scotts developed the bentgrass for golf courses and began testing it with USDA’s consent in a “control area” in Central Oregon designated by ODA, but the cultivar escaped field trials in 2003 and continues to be found in Jefferson and Malheur counties.

TANGENT, Ore. — From Oregon 34, cutting west off Interstate 5 toward Corvallis, it looks like a tractor graveyard. Skeletons of old International, Case and John Deere tractors, combines and other farm and construction equipment sit in neat rows. Most have been plucked of parts.

That was Randy Raschein Sr.’s original vision for Farmland Tractor Supply when he started the business in 1980. A recession was draining the country’s economic life, and Raschein figured a tractor salvage yard would find a market with farmers who were patching old equipment instead of buying new.

“There was a need here, for sure,” Raschein said.

His instinct was on the money, and the business has grown steadily over the past 36 years. The view of the original salvage yard from the highway is misleading, because Farmland Tractor Supply now covers 30 acres and has two acres of covered parts storage plus a machine shop and other manufacturing, storage and office space. Individual parts are tagged and tracked by computer.

“A lot of people think it’s an old junkyard, but it’s not,” Raschein Sr. said.

The business still carries used parts, from crankshafts to radiators and rims, but in many cases they were salvaged from newer equipment that was damaged in a fire or accident. Farmland also carries after-market parts made by other manufacturers to fit various equipment lines. The business also overhauls and sells engines.

A significant number of customers are small or beginning farmers. For them, a business such as Farmland could fill an important niche, said Garry Stephenson, director of Oregon State University’s Center for Small Farms and Community Food Systems.

New and small farmers are interested in used equipment for the cost savings and because older equipment is often smaller and a better fit for the scale of their farms, Stephenson said by email.

Fellow OSU Extension small farms specialist Heidi Noordijk agreed, noting that new farmers who don’t inherit family gear struggle to buy new equipment. A tractor is the biggest need for most farmers, she said.

Thanks to the Internet, new farmers and even international customers find their way to Farmland Tractor Supply.

“We’ve sent parts to Africa, Greenland, Australia — we had a guy in here from New Zealand,” Raschein Sr. said. His son, Randy Raschein Jr., has traveled to China to meet with suppliers. He’s also introduced a new line of LED lighting systems called Tiger Lights that can be plugged into existing equipment and provides more light, for longer periods, with less demand on the tractor’s electrical system.

Farmland remains a family business. Randy Raschein Sr.’s grandsons, Ty and Dustin, also work in the business, as does his daughter, Suzy Klein. His 9-year-old great-grandson, Wyatt Eastman, spends time at the business as well.

The family worked together to pull off a surprise for Raschein Sr.

In 1963, when he was farming in California, he bought an unusual narrow-tracked 1941 International Harvester from the U.S. Forest Service. He sold it when he quit farming, but always retained a fondness for International equipment. He sold parts for them at dealerships, including one that brought him to work at a store in the Willamette Valley before he started his own business.

About a decade ago, his son, Randy Jr., came across his father’s paperwork from the sale. He tracked down the buyer, convinced him to sell back the International and set about restoring it in secret. “I didn’t want to let it get away,” he said.

The family hauled the restored tractor to a show in Brooks, Ore., and took Raschein Sr. to look around. Coming across the tractor, and not yet knowing it was his, he expressed surprise because he’d never seen another one. “It’s not even in the parts book,” he said. A sign at the display told the story, and he happily realized he’d been had.

“They rebuilt it under my nose,” he said with a laugh.

He’s low-key about it, but Raschein takes pride in seeing how the business has expanded and adapted over the years. The business has only a handful of competitor in the Pacific Northwest.

“We started from scratch, one tractor at a time,” he said. “Anyway, it worked out fine.”

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials say a 62-year-old man has died after the semitrailer he was driving crashed and caused roughly 7,000 gallons of milk to spill on Interstate 84 near Boardman.

The Oregonian reports that Oregon State Police say in a news release that James Crow had been driving a 2016 Freightliner Monday when it drifted off the highway and rolled onto its side. Rescuers worked for two hours to pull Crow from the wreckage. He was taken to a Portland hospital and later died.

Officials say the spilled milk ended up in a ditch near the crash site and had flowed into the state-managed Coyote Springs Wildlife area.

The release says officials found no immediate loss of fish or wildlife, and are in the process of cleaning up the site.

———

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

EUGENE, Ore. — Environmentalists don’t want a federal judge to issue an official written ruling denying their motion to radically change water management in several Central Oregon reservoirs.

During a recent court hearing, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken told environmental groups they failed to convince her that a preliminary injunction was necessary to protect the threatened Oregon spotted frog.

The plaintiffs — WaterWatch of Oregon and the Center for Biological Diversity — claimed that water flows from the Wickiup, Crane Prairie and Crescent Lake dams must be significantly modified to avoid harming the protected species.

However, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and irrigation districts argued the operational changes sought by environmentalists would be disruptive to the frogs, which have adapted to stream flows since the structures were built 70 years ago.

The federal agency and three irrigation districts — Central Oregon, North Unit and Tumalo — are named as defendants in litigation that alleges the reservoirs are managed in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Rather than appeal the denial of their injunction request, the environmentalists have requested that Aiken postpone filing an official written version of the ruling.

The plaintiffs say that an “appealable final, formal opinion is not required to move the matter forward,” claiming it would instead be “more productive and efficient” to send the case into mediation.

Irrigation districts involved in the case have objected to the request, noting that environmentalists opted to move forward with their injunction motion instead of mediation.

The irrigators agree that mediation is the next appropriate step in the lawsuit but argue that such negotiations aren’t precluded by an official ruling.

A written opinion would “provide useful guidance to the mediator” and “certainly aid in setting reasonable expectations for settlement and future proceedings in this case.”

It’s likely that the plaintiffs want to avoid a written ruling because they don’t want the denial of their injunction to later be cited as legal precedent, said Scott Horngren, an attorney with the Western Resources Legal Center, a nonprofit that helps farmers, ranchers and timber companies in legal disputes.

The irrigation districts, on the other hand, would benefit from an official ruling in future litigation over the frog or other species, Horngren said.

Environmentalists may recognize they were “shooting for the moon” in their preliminary injunction request and now want lesser restrictions imposed on the reservoirs, he said. “They might be willing to settle for less.”

Aside from issue of the ruling, environmentalists also want a “bifurcated” trial, under which the court would first consider whether the irrigators violated the law and only later consider a potential remedy, such as an injunction.

The irrigation districts oppose that proposal because it’s possible the case may be resolved or dismissed without a need for such a proceeding.

The plaintiffs may want the judge to solely consider legal issues without immediately taking into account the impact on irrigators, said Horngren.

The defendants, on the other hand, may want to avoid the ordeal of an expensive trial and fight the environmentalist claims through other legal procedures, he said.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ammon Bundy and three co-defendants who are jailed in Oregon for the occupation of a national wildlife refuge have appealed an order that requires them to fly to Nevada next month to face charges in a federal case there.

Assistant federal public defender Rich Federico sent notice Monday that the four men are appealing to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal judge in Portland last week ordered the defendants to be flown to Nevada on April 13 and returned to Oregon on April 25. During that window, they would make their first court appearances on charges stemming from a 2014 standoff at Cliven Bundy’s ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada.

Defense attorneys say the clock shouldn’t start on the Nevada case until the Oregon one is finished, because it could violate their clients’ right to effective counsel.

A dead sheep found March 25 in Wallowa County was killed by wolves, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A range rider found a dead adult ram in a private pasture in the county’s Upper Swamp Creek area.

The sheep appeared to have been killed that morning, according to an ODFW depredation report. A “significant portion” of the sheep had been eaten, but bite marks and other signs confirmed that wolves were responsible, according to the report. Signals from two GPS collars showed that Imnaha Pack wolves OR-4 and OR-39 were within 500 yards of the carcass site at 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., according to the report.

The Imnaha Pack is a busy one.

On March 9, also on private pasture in the Upper Swamp Creek area, a calf was found dead with all of its internal organs and most of its muscle tissue consumed. Only the skull and hide were intact of what was estimated to be a 500-pound steer. It was estimated to have been killed March 7 or 8. ODFW confirmed the wolf kill based on bite mark size and location, tracks, scat and other kill site evidence, according to a depredation report.

The livestock owner saw two wolves about 400 yards from the carcass, leaving the site. ODFW staff in a plane later in the day saw four members of the Imnaha Pack about 3 miles away.

A calf was found injured in Wallowa County March 16, but ODFW decided coyotes were responsible in that case.

A final Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Boardman, Ore., to Hemingway, Idaho, transmission line won’t be released until later this summer, but at least one potential route shows the Bureau of Land Management is heeding local concerns in Oregon’s Umatilla and Morrow counties.

The BLM updated its preliminary preferred alternative for the 300-mile line, which reflects two major changes sought by the counties: first, the line in Morrow County was shifted onto the west side of Bombing Range Road south of Boardman, onto Navy land as opposed to high-value farms across the road. Second, the alignment was pushed farther south through Umatilla County in order to avoid impacting additional farmland where growers worried the line could take acres of crops out of production.

Tamara Gertsch, national project manager for the BLM, said they are continuing to work with all agencies, including the counties, and haven’t made any final decisions yet. But the preliminary preferred alternative does provide a glimpse into the route analysis so far.

“There’s no such thing as a route without impacts. That’s just the way it is,” Gertsch said. “It’s a balancing act to do the best thing that we can to eliminate most impacts with our cooperating agencies.”

Boardman to Hemingway, proposed by Idaho Power, is a 500-kilovolt line that would run from just outside Boardman to Melba, Idaho, near Boise. It would allow the two regions to share electricity during times of peak demand. Estimates for the project have ranged between $890-$940 million.

A draft EIS was released in 2014, and the BLM continues to analyze comments that were submitted from the public. The final EIS will include analysis of the agency preferred route and alternatives. Once it is issued the public will have 30 days to review and provide additional comments.

“We’re looking at technical considerations, environmental considerations and economic considerations,” Gertsch said.

Idaho Power estimates the project won’t come online until 2022 or later. In a recent editorial, Mitch Colburn, who’s in charge of 500-kilovolt projects for the company, said the need for Boardman to Hemingway is still strong.

“When finished, the project will help provide low-cost energy to Idaho Power’s customers in southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon,” Colburn said.

Project maps and a time line are available to view at www.boardmantohemingway.com.

ATHENA, Ore. — If you ask Tim Kennedy, Frito-Lay pretty much ruined potato chips in the mid-1980s.

“Flat and flavorless” says Kennedy, who in 1986 started his own company to make a thicker, crunchier style of chip. Thirty years later, Tim’s Cascade Snacks is an iconic Northwest brand distributed in 13 states, parts of Canada, Mexico and overseas to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

Kennedy, 68, was born in Pendleton and raised in Athena, where he lives with his wife, Lori.

Though Kennedy retired in 2005, he remains an ambassador for Tim’s Chips and a local celebrity. He recently visited the Seattle Food and Wine Experience in February, signing bags of chips for fans who just had to ask, “Are you THE Tim?”

“I take it with good humor,” Kennedy said. “I get asked a lot how did you get started with chips.”

Before he was “THE Tim,” Kennedy was an electrical engineer who worked in packaging plants for potato processors. He graduated from McEwen High School in 1966 and Blue Mountain College in 1968 before landing his first job doing electrical and maintenance work at Lamb Weston in Hermiston.

Years later, Kennedy moved to Tacoma, Wash., and got a job with a company called Mira-Pak, which at the time was installing state-of-the-art potato chip packaging equipment for Frito-Lay and other facilities along the West Coast. It was there he met Jay and Don Poore, who convinced Kennedy to partner up on a chip enterprise of their own.

They joined a man named Horace Groff, who had made potato chips in Pennsylvania and decided to branch out into Houston. Together, they launched Groff’s of Texas in 1983 and began thinking of ways they could distinguish themselves from Frito-Lay.

“Here we came, just with blinders on, to start a potato plant and compete against the giant,” Kennedy said.

For starters, Kennedy said they used peanut oil instead of lard, which gave their chips a better crunch. They were also the first in the country to introduce a jalapeño flavor, Kennedy said, which took off and gave them a 10 percent share of the market in Houston. Jalapeño remains the highest selling flavor of Tim’s Chips to this day.

“They just went nuts for it,” he said.

After three years, Kennedy decided to strike out on his own and return to the Seattle area, where he established Tim’s Chips. As for the Poore Brothers, they launched their own successful chip brand in Arizona, which is still produced today by Inventure Foods.

Tim’s Chips are kettle-cooked in relatively small 400-pound batches, made from potatoes grown in Oregon and Washington. The company marks it’s 30th anniversary this month.

“There’s not everybody who can start a business from scratch and have it last 30 years,” Kennedy said. “It’s a small business, but it’s something to be proud of.”

When Kennedy retired in 2005, he handed the reins over to his brother-in-law, Jeff Leichleiter, who was one of the first people he hired. The company has about 80 employees working out at the plant.

In 2007, Tim and Lori Kennedy moved back to Athena and transitioned from the chip business to the wine business. They own Don Carlo Vineyard — named after Lori’s grandfather — which is part of the new Rocks District of Milton-Freewater American Viticultural Area. Of course, Tim’s Chips are served with glasses of wine in the tasting room. Kennedy recommends jalapeño with the Chardonnay, and Parmesan and garlic with red wines.

Breaking into the wine business has been difficult, with competition from 120 other vineyards in the Walla Walla area alone. But, as with any other local business, it’s all about putting yourself out there, he said.

“When we started Tim’s Chips, we couldn’t get into any of the major stores,” he said. “It’s all about having people taste it, and hearing your story.”

Richard Roseberg, a soil scientist with 26 years experience at Oregon State University, has been named director of OSU’s Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point.

The center, one of 12 OSU ag experiment stations statewide, is situated in one of the state’s more diverse agricultural regions, and Roseberg brings his own unusual research projects to the position as well.

The Rogue Valley region grows tree fruit, especially pears, plus multiple types of vegetables, melons, livestock, dairy, forage and other crops. The area’s vineyards have emerged as strong producers over the past decade, and the station has developed a busy small farms program to meet the needs of alternative and beginning producers.

The center, known as SOREC, has 34 faculty and staff and an annual budget of nearly $2 million. Roseberg worked at the station for the first 14 years of his OSU career, then spent 12 years at the ag station in Klamath Falls, 85 miles away but with a much higher elevation, colder winters and a shorter growing season.

Roseberg said one of his first tasks is to hire a viticulturist to work with the region’s wine grape growers. SOREC also has a position open for a plant pathologist to work on diseases in orchards, vineyards and post-harvest crops, he said.

The area’s wine industry has grown dramatically, Roseberg said. He was at SOREC in the late 1990s when the first vineyards were coming on. With the valley’s long, warm growing season, wine grapes seemed to hold potential if the demand kept pace, he said. That’s come to pass, and wine has proven to be a good fit because it provides high-value on the valley’s small acreages.

“The Rogue Valley is not large,” Roseberg said. “There will never be 100,000 acres of anything in the Rogue Valley. So what can you fit?”

In addition to his administrative role, Roseberg said he hopes to work with station staff on soil-related aspects of their research. He also plans to keep his hand in on a couple projects of his own.

Roseberg and other researchers have been working the past 10 years on Russian dandelion, which produces rubber in its roots. Natural rubber is a strategic material of interest to the military, Roseberg said, because synthetic rubber doesn’t hold up in modern aircraft tires. Outside Brazil, only five Southeast Asian countries, including China, produce natural rubber. “We don’t want to get into a situation where the supply is cut off,” Roseberg said.

Russian dandelion grows fairly well in the Klamath Falls area, he said, and researchers are working through the usual agronomic questions of how to fine tune production. Roseberg is working on the project in cooperation with counterparts at Ohio State University and in Canada.

“It’s promising, but like any new crop it takes time,” he said.

Roseberg also is interested in teff, an Ethiopian plant grown there for grain and seeds. Bread made from teff has no gluten, which is important to some consumers.

In its immature state, teff is high protein forage and some U.S. farmers are growing it for hay and as a rotational crop. It’s a warm season grass with good yields that does well in mid-summer but has no frost tolerance, he said. It grows better in the Medford area than in Klamath Falls, he said.

About 150,000 acres of teff is being grown in the U.S. now, Roseberg said, with two-thirds of that grown for hay. Oregon and Washington combined have about 10,000 acres of teff, he said.

Steve Norberg of Washington State University is working with Roseberg on the project.

Traditional crops remain a big part of research programs, Roseberg said, “But as a university, we’re also obliged to look at unusual things. Is there a fit?”

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will spend roughly $4 million to clean, repair and upgrade the Oregon wildlife refuge that was the site of a 41-day armed occupation by ranchers earlier this year.

The Oregonian reports that Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe says he wants the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns to become a symbol to the rest of the country that collaboration, not confrontation, endures. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made similar statements during her visit to the refuge earlier this week.

Photos of the refuge shared by federal officials show that the ranchers left a mess inside the building.

The compound is undergoing a giant spring cleaning, with the use of industrial vacuums and cargo trailers filled with cleaning supplies.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — If the 1,400 students attending the Oregon FFA state convention had some questions about career prospects, Alexzandra “Alex” Murphy was offering some answers.

Murphy teaches a new precision irrigated agriculture program at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, and she said ag employers are clamoring to hire people trained in new technology.

“People have been asking me for students,” she said while stationed at a college information booth. “There is a huge demand for workers. Everywhere I go, they say, ‘We want more good workers.’”

Students with FFA experience are particularly attractive to employers, she said, because they’re already tuned into multiple facets of agriculture. And it hasn’t been difficult recruiting students to study precision ag applications, Murphy added.

“I don’t know too many kids who don’t get excited about technology,” she said with a laugh. “Turning off your (irrigation) pivot with a cell phone is awesome.”

Blue Mountain Community College was among the career vendors participating in the convention, held March 18-21 at Oregon State University. Students from Future Farmers of America chapters across the state attended. Among many activities, they took part in public speaking and parliamentary procedure competitions, heard from guest speakers and had a little fun on the side, such as a session on western dancing.

State officers for 2016-17 were selected as well. They are: President Shea Booster, of Bend; Vice President Hailee Patterson, of Imbler; Secretary Liberty Greenlund, of Yamhill-Carlton; Treasurer Raymond Seal, of Joseph; Reporter Zanden Unger, of Dallas; and Sentinel Bryson Price, of Sutherlin.

While advisers such as Murphy of BMCC were available to offer career advice, other convention speakers had something to say about life in general.

Kelly Barnes, a motivational speaker from Oklahoma, used a fast-paced presentation to suggest students should examine their lives and make changes.

Barnes, who grew up on family dairy and beef operations, said he found his calling during an FFA leadership conference and now spends his time talking to corporate and educational groups.

To the Oregon FFA students, Barnes listed three areas for consideration.

He asked them to realize they have ingrained habits or daily routines, things they do without thinking that may be wasting time or even holding them back.

“When we do things a certain way, what happens when someone asks you to change?” he asked. “The answer is no.”

Barnes said students should review what he called their “inputs,” the music, movies, books or organizations such as FFA that influence their lives. While many students will say they don’t act badly because of coarse entertainment, for example, they will acknowledge that other inputs make them feel sad, happy, excited or inspired.

“You put good things in, good things come out,” Barnes said.

Last, Barnes talked about the “rule of five.” He asked students to think of their interactions with five friends. Of that group, he said, who is the smartest, has the most goals, makes the best decisions and is looked at as a leader.

“The rule of five says you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” he said. “If you’re the smartest, who’s pushing you to be smarter?

“Find people who are going to push you,” Barnes concluded. “Surround yourself with people who are better than you.”

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Opponents of a proposed Nestlé water bottling plant in the Columbia River Gorge are now facing an organized group of project supporters.

The Oregonian reports the Coalition for a Strong Gorge Economy registered with the Oregon Secretary of State earlier this month as the group in favor of the plant while the Local Water Alliance continues pushing against the project.

Hood River County voters will decide a ballot measure in May banning water bottling operations that produce over 1,000 gallons daily. Nestlé plans on packaging 11 times that amount in an hour, on average.

Nestlé released a video on Twitter supporting the project as an economic driver.

Opponents released their own characterizing Nestlé as a bully exploiting resources.

Both sides are using airwaves and phones to spread their message.

PORTLAND — A survey of this city’s CSA operations shows they maintain a small but solid niche with consumers wanting direct connection to the farmers growing their food.

In 2015, 51 farms reported gross sales of $2.4 million within the city. The farms managed 6,000 shares, as the Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions are known.

Portland CSA sales were estimated at about $900,000 in 2008. Nationally, CSA sales in 2015 were estimated at $36 million, with an average CSA box value of $47.21.

In CSA operations, customers agree to buy a certain amount of food — most commonly vegetables but in some cases eggs, meat, fish and dairy products — which is delivered to a drop-off site on a weekly basis. The arrangement gives farmers stability in the form of a pre-determined market and gives consumers fresh, seasonal, local food with no middleman.

The arrangement is especially popular in cities such as Portland, where many residents are intensely interested in knowing where their food comes from and who’s growing it.

No one is under the illusion that CSAs can feed everyone in Portland, said Steve Cohen, Food Policy and Programs manager in the city’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

But it has become city policy to support small, urban, alternative operations. In 2002, Portland established a Food Policy Council with the expressed desire to create a “vibrant, sustainable and equitable food system.”

In 2012, the city revised its zoning regulations to specifically allow and encourage community gardens, farmers markets, CSA distribution sites and related activities.

The zoning revisions gave official approval to what was already happening in the city and was likely to increase, Cohen said.

The benefits of such policy changes go beyond increased CSA sales figures, he said. They reconnect city residents, especially children, with how real food is grown and what it tastes like.

“We want young kids to know where food comes from,” Cohen said. “But the main thing is that they realize just how hard it is for farmers to do what they do.”

Six defendants in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation are headed to Nevada.

District Judge Anna Brown ruled Tuesday that U.S. marshals must transfer occupation leaders Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, Ryan Payne, Blaine Cooper, Brian Cavalier and Pete Santilli to Nevada on April 13.

They’ll face arraignment on charges related to an April 2014 armed standoff near Cliven Bundy’s ranch.

The judge said she wanted federal agents to return the six to Oregon a week later.

However, one of the occupiers’ Nevada-based defense attorneys said she will fight to keep the men in Nevada. The lawyer said the occupiers face far more serious charges in the Nevada standoff. She also said attorneys there can’t prepare an adequate defense if the men remain in Oregon.

ONTARIO, Ore. — The Owyhee Irrigation District board of directors has set the 2016 allotment for OID patrons at 3 acre-feet.

That’s significantly more than irrigators have received the past three years and the allotment is expected to increase as more water flows into the Owyhee Reservoir.

Board members opted to be conservative and set the allotment based only on what is currently in the reservoir, OID Manager Jay Chamberlin said March 22 during the group’s annual meeting.

“We know there is 3 acre-feet in the reservoir today and we can deliver that to you,” he said.

The reservoir provides irrigation water for 1,800 farms and 118,000 acres in Malheur County in Eastern Oregon and around Homedale and Marsing in southwestern Idaho.

Significantly more water is forecast to flow into the reservoir and “as that water becomes available, that allotment will be increased,” Chamberlin said. “I feel very comfortable saying the allotment is going to go up from that 3 acre-feet. How far, we can’t say.”

OID patrons are entitled to up to 4 acre-feet in a normal water year but only received 1.7 acre-feet in 2015 and 1.6 acre-feet in 2014 because of lingering drought conditions.

Based on the past 30 years, total reservoir in-flows average 534,000 acre-feet a year, but only 96,000 acre-feet reached the reservoir in 2015 and 106,000 in 2014, said Brian Sauer, a water operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

But the bureau is forecasting that total Owyhee Reservoir in-flows will reach 862,000 acre-feet this year,

“Things look a lot better than where they were last year,” Sauer said. “There’s a fair amount of snow still up in the basin (to) come into the reservoir.”

Snowpack levels were up significantly this year, said Chamberlin, who flew over the basin on Feb. 26.

“It was refreshing to see how much snow we had over the whole basin,” he said. “We’ve got a good start here.”

Based on the snowpack levels and the Bureau of Reclamation total reservoir in-flow forecast for 2016, a lot more water is headed for the reservoir, Chamberlin said.

He said he is confident OID patrons will end up with their full 4 acre-foot allotment this year.

“But until we get that, we’re going to be very cautious,” he said.

The target date to start the OID system is April 11 but the board will meet again next week and that could change depending on weather conditions, Chamberlin said.

There was no storage water left in the reservoir at the end of the 2015 season, the fourth straight year that happened. That was the longest such stretch since at least 1966, Sauer said.

“This has been an unprecedented string of bad water years,” he said.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The last named defendant in the armed occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge was still at large Tuesday, drawing calls for supporters to flock to his Montana hometown and a local sheriff to urge outsiders to stay out of it.

Supporters of the 41-day standoff this winter over U.S. land restrictions used social media to rally behind Jake Ryan, urging the sheriff to resist federal efforts to apprehend him and for people to head to the small northwestern town of Plains to pray with Ryan’s family.

Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel, trying to head off any new armed conflicts, warned standoff supporters to stay away during negotiations for Ryan’s arrest.

“There is no standoff, and I want to keep it that way,” Rummel told The Associated Press. “I don’t need anybody showing up in my county that’s only going to add tension to the situation.”

A federal judge released Ryan’s name Monday as the 26th defendant charged in connection with the occupation at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Ryan and another man are accused of using heavy equipment to dig a trench through a Native American archaeological site at the refuge.

He and Travis Cox were the only people facing charges who had not been arrested by Tuesday morning.

The sheriff, like the occupation supporters, is wary of federal officials. Rummel once gave his support to failed legislation in Montana that would have required any federal agent to get written permission from a sheriff before making an arrest or conducting a search in that sheriff’s jurisdiction.

However, he has sought to be a facilitator in this case. In response to Ryan’s supporters, Rummel released a statement Monday saying he intends to provide for Ryan’s safety and rights. He said an attorney hired by Ryan’s family is working with the FBI on the charges.

Ryan’s mother, Roxsanna Ryan, said she does not know where her son is. A few of Ryan’s friends have shown up at their home to wait with the family, but she declined to give details during a brief interview with the AP.

“We’re just waiting and waiting on something to happen,” she said. “Until that happens, we’re not going to reveal a lot.”

Ryan participated in the armed standoff that launched Jan. 2 to demand the government to turn over public lands to local control and oppose prison terms for two ranchers convicted of setting fires. The occupation ended Feb. 11 with the surrender of four holdouts.

Ryan faces charges of depredation of government property, conspiracy to impede officers and possession of weapons in a federal facility.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We can’t flip it to Lewis and Clark days overnight,” said Beth Ginsberg, attorney for the irrigation districts.

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

Frogs actually benefit from a wetter habitat in some areas in late spring and summer, said Mike Eitel, attorney for the government.

“What the plaintiffs proposal does is takes those good conditions and ratchets them back,” said Eitel. “The current conditions are enhancing the quality of the downstream sites.”

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

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

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

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

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

“If they continue dropping to these low water flows, these frogs are going to keep dying,” said Lauren Rule, attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.

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

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

“It’s not going to have the effect the plaintiffs think it’s going to have,” said Eitel. “You could have very drastic consequences for this frog population.”

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

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

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

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

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

Rule, the environmentalists’ attorney, said the habitat conservation plan has already taken eight years so far and frogs cannot wait “eons” for it to be completed.

Beth Ginsberg, attorney for the irrigation districts, said the habitat conservation plan will be based on the best science and input from multiple groups and agencies, including Waterwatch of Oregon.

“They’ve become impatient with it, but the solution is not to throw the baby out with the bath water,” she said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We got input from everyone,” Rao said.