Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences has named David Stimpson, who has spent the past 20 years working in seed science and technology for Dow AgroSciences, as its new Seed Laboratory manager.

Stimpson will start in his new position July 29.

He replaces Adriel Garay, who retired Dec. 31 after 19 years as the lab’s manager.

Dan Curry, director of seed services for OSU, said he has known Stimpson for 15 years through their participation in the society of Commercial Seed Technologists. Stimpson currently is vice president of the organization and is in line to be its president next year.

“He is a good guy,” Curry said. “A lot of people are telling me, ‘You picked the right person.’ We feel pretty good about it.”

“Dave has extensive experience in seeds, seed industry development, seed physiology, seed analysis and commercial seed quality and compliance,” said Jay Noller, head of the college’s Crop and Soil Science Department.

Curry, who has been serving as interim director of the lab since Garay’s retirement, said he is anxiously awaiting Stimpson’s arrival.

“My arms are open for Dave to get here,” Curry said. “We need a full-time manager, and we are really happy that Dave has decided to take the job.

“He is the right person, and we are anxious for him to get started,” Curry said.

Curry said the college conducted an international search to fill the position.

PORTLAND — Love it or despise it, this quirky city can make or break the fortunes of Oregon’s farmers and ranchers.

With 610,000 people living within the city limits, and 1.7 million in the three counties that make up the greater metro area, Portland is the chief consumer, shipper, marketer and brander of the state’s agricultural production.

What happens here ripples far beyond the city, which makes Portland politics important from Pendleton to Prineville and from Powell Butte to Paisley.

When current state Treasurer Ted Wheeler decided to run for Portland mayor and won enough votes in the May primary to avoid a runoff in November, rural producers took notice.

He won’t take office until January, but some in agriculture believe Wheeler’s ascendancy could improve urban-rural relations.

Wheeler lives in Portland, but he’s a sixth generation Oregonian with rural roots. His family was in the timber business; the Tillamook County town of Wheeler, on the Oregon Coast, was named after his great-grandfather, who started a mill there. His mother’s side comes from the Fossil area, in Eastern Oregon.

Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said Wheeler has a “very strong affinity” for Oregon ag due to his background.

“Because of his experience, he has that statewide perspective,” she said. “He’s very sensitive to the fact that Portland does have a big influence on the rest of the state.”

Coba knows Wheeler; among other encounters, he stood in for then-Gov. Ted Kulongoski to accompany Coba on an Oregon ag trade mission to Asia several years ago.

“He hasn’t consulted me (on ag issues),” Coba said, “but if he had a question I think he would be very comfortable calling on me.”

For his part, Wheeler said he’s fully aware of both the urban-rural divide and urban-rural interdependence.

“You can’t talk about success in the agricultural industry without talking about the role urban areas play,” he said. “Urban communities in America are increasingly clueless about the challenges facing rural communities.”

But he said urban and rural areas also have issues in common. During a visit to Roseburg, he heard people express concern about the homeless, just as they do in Portland. In Klamath Falls, there was worry about escalating housing costs, another Portland concern.

“If we just assume urban and rural communities are so different that we have nothing in common, then we’re losing an opportunity to collaborate, share ideas and find common solutions,” he said.

Wheeler said he has interacted with the Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and nursery groups in the past.

“The urban-rural divide has been around a long time,” Wheeler said. “It’s not new, and it’s not unique to Oregon. There’s always been people who exploit it for political gain. You won’t see me do that.”

He’ll take office in a city that decides every election and can swamp statewide discussions of pesticides, labor, GMOs, wages or regulatory issues. Its land-use, water use and traffic patterns can affect what farmers grow, how they grow it, how they get it to market and how they use and move equipment.

“Land and transportation are the two things he can make a difference in,” said Jeff Fairchild, produce director for 18 New Seasons grocery stores in the Portland area. He deals with about 50 growers who sell to New Seasons, and must find ways to deliver their products to the city.

Dan Arp, dean of Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, said he would remind Wheeler that agriculture is the state’s second largest economic driver. Oregon ag produces $5 billion in annual farm-gate value and is a major source of jobs, Arp said.

The state produces more than 200 commodities and is equally diverse in terms of acreage and farming methods, he said. Portland’s celebrated “foodie” culture is supported by an agricultural sector that provides high-quality foods and beverages, with an emphasis on sustainability, Arp said.

Coba, the state ag director, said development of the proposed James Beard Public Market, named for a renowned chef from the city, could showcase Oregon agriculture in downtown Portland.

“Clearly there’s a passion around food in Portland, we all know that,” she said.

Others in agriculture note Portland’s influence on issues ranging from gas taxes to the minimum wage. Another said Portland ought to take greater advantage of nearby agricultural production to eliminate the city’s food “deserts,” the areas where poor people don’t have ready access to fresh, healthy food.

Many in ag hope the new mayor realizes the Port of Portland and Portland International Airport are agriculture’s pipeline to world markets, whether it’s hazelnuts to China, wheat to Japan or blueberries to South Korea. Port delays, labor strife and an inadequate transportation infrastructure cost producers time and money, and they believe fixing those problems should be a priority.

Wheeler agrees, and said it is a statewide issue.

“A lot of the future success of the agricultural industry hinges on partnering with the urban area and the Port of Portland,” he said.

“I think there’s a general lack of understanding about what it takes to make agricultural enterprises successful from an economic standpoint,” he said. “That’s an area where I have a lot to learn and to share with my constituents, and I look forward to those opportunities.”

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal court judge has allowed an Oregon standoff defendant Kenneth Medenbach to be released from jail while awaiting trial, but he will keep the last holdout in the armed takeover in custody.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones said Wednesday he remained concerned about David Fry’s mental instability and threats of “suicide by cop” before his surrender to FBI agents.

Jones also said a psychological report on Fry states that Fry is concerned about invasions from outer space and has spoken of a wish to be reincarnated as a woman.

Fry objected to the judge’s characterization of those statements. The 27-year-old has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to impede federal officers from doing their work at the refuge.

Fry was the last occupier to surrender at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Feb. 11.

BANDON -- The 38th annual Oregon Coast Music Festival will kick off with a free picnic concert at noon Saturday, July 16, in Mingus Park in Coos Bay. The festival will continue with 12 concerts in 12 days in various…

LANGLOIS -- The Friends of World Famous Langlois (formerly the Langlois Sign Committee), an ad hoc volunteer committee, would like to report on the progress and completion of certain projects that had been suggested as way to make Langlois more…

A combination of old friendships and new technology resulted this summer in about 80,000 pounds of fresh cherries being distributed to food banks that help hungry Oregonians.

John Burt, executive director of Farmers Ending Hunger, said he approached prominent orchardist Ken Bailey a couple times in the past and said, “Ken, we need to talk about cherries.”

Farmers Ending Hunger is a non-profit that lines up donations of fruit, vegetables and meat from Oregon farmers and ranchers — 4 million pounds last year. Burt, a retired OSU Extension supervisor in the Mid Willamette Valley, works his connections to reach producers. The donations flow through Oregon Food Bank, which distributes to local food banks that give food boxes to needy families.

Burt said it wasn’t a hard sell with Bailey, part of the multi-generational family that operates Orchard View Farms in The Dalles. “Great operation, great farm, great family,” Burt said. “He already knew what he wanted to do.”

Orchard View is providing about 14 1,000-pound totes per week, about 55,000 pounds through mid-July. The original target was 100,000 pounds, but Burt said the donation will probably reach 80,000 pounds.

The donated dark cherries are culls that the commercial market doesn’t want because they are perhaps under-sized, off color, or slightly bruised. Burt said the cherries are fine. “The fruit is gorgeous,” he said. “What we’re getting is just beautiful.”

As it turned out, Orchard View put in a new optical scan sorting system over the winter that made the donation process even easier. The system essentially photographs each cherry 25 to 30 times, working at a rate of 1,000 cherries per second, and automatically routes each cherry to cull or market totes. The system practically eliminates hand-sorting labor costs and results in a product of uniform quality, size and color.

But even the culls are good cherries, Bailey said.

“Generally it looks good,” he said. “It may be a little soft, but as long as it gets moved in a couple few days, it’s a very good product.”

Orchard View Farms and other producers can claim tax credits for the crop donations.

Farmers Ending Hunger bought pallets of plastic clamshell containers. Volunteers with Oregon Food Bank fill the containers with 4-pounds of cherries, and they’re included in food boxes given away by various organizations.

The value of the donation is undetermined at this point. Burt said he recently saw a similar 4-pound clamshell container of cherries on sale at a Costco store for $9.95.

Bailey said providing the cherries doesn’t slow down his processing line, as they flow into the same type of totes he uses otherwise and Oregon Food Bank handles the transport.

“This seems to be working out very well this year,” he said.

A dispute is brewing between an Oregon farmer and an irrigation district over the ownership of land underlying a canal.

Farmer Jim Gordon and his company, Kodiak Ventures, claimed ownership of the land beneath the canal through the “quiet title” process, under which property ownership uncertainties are resolved.

The previous owners of the property deeded all the land to Gordon, but mistakenly excluded the land beneath the irrigation canal and laterals, said Paul Sumner, his attorney.

After Gordon issued a public notice of the legal action, the North Unit Irrigation District — which operates the canal — filed a motion to intervene in the case.

The irrigation district claims to actually own the land beneath the canal, which it has operated since 1948, and has requested a state judge to reject Gordon’s claim.

Capital Press was unable to reach the NUID’s manager, Mike Britton, or its attorney, Alan Stewart, for comment as of press time.

Sumner said the implications of the NUID’s claim are “very troubling” because it would effectively mean that irrigation districts own the land beneath canals.

“If this argument is correct, it would be correct for every canal,” he said.

Sumner said the irrigation district simply has the right to operate the canal, but Gordon should have the right to own the underlying property.

Otherwise, he and other farmers could face land use restrictions based on parcel size or be denied access across property owned by irrigation districts, Sumner said.

It’s likely that NUID wants ownership of the property underling the canal to build hydroelectric facilities without having to buy the land, he said.

AMITY, Ore. (AP) — A fire has destroyed a building near Amity in Western Oregon.

John Stock with Amity Fire told KOIN the building housed a machine shop and antique farm equipment such as tractors and cars inside.

Fifty firefighters were battling the Wednesday morning blaze at one point. The building and its contents were destroyed. No one was injured.

LANGLOIS -- Experience the hospitality of Langlois at the first Langlois Music Fest on Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23, at the Old Langlois Cheese Factory, 94179 Allen Boice Drive.

LANGLOIS -- Experience the hospitality of Langlois at the first Langlois Music Fest on Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23, at the Old Langlois Cheese Factory, 94179 Allen Boice Drive.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ammon and Ryan Bundy will be reunited at a downtown Portland jail.

The men who are awaiting trial on charges related to the armed occupation of an Oregon bird sanctuary were recently separated, with Ammon Bundy shipped to a jail in outer northeast Portland.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Robert Jones granted Ryan Bundy’s request to have them housed in the same jail as they prepare their legal defense ahead of the September trial.

Though jail officials prefer to have co-defendants separated, the judge said this is “an exceptional case and an exceptional relationship.”

Also Monday, the judge allowed standoff defendant Jason Patrick to be released from custody before trial.

ALBANY, Ore. — The State of Oregon is urging the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleges state forest management prioritizes environmental concerns to the detriment of logging.

Earlier this year, Linn County filed a complaint against Oregon for allegedly depriving multiple counties of more than $1.4 billion due to a forestry rule that emphasizes wildlife, water quality and recreation over timber harvest.

During oral arguments Monday in Albany, attorneys for Oregon said the case should be thrown out because the forests are meant to be managed for the greatest permanent value to the state, not to the counties.

This “greatest permanent value” is allowed to include many factors beyond timber production under laws that allowed counties to donate their burned and logged forests to the state government, said Sarah Weston, an attorney for the state.

“The statute does not require revenue maximization,” she said. “The statutes have always provided for multiple values and multiple uses.”

Counties acquired these forest lands by foreclosing on property tax liens during the Great Depression but turned them over to state ownership in exchange for a portion of future logging revenues.

Oregon’s attorneys claim that Linn County cannot sue the state to receive compensation for breach of contract, and that the county’s challenge to the “greatest permanent value” rule can only be heard by the Oregon Court of Appeals, rather than in a county court.

Because the lawsuit seeks to recover damages for insufficient logging in the future, it clearly intends to alter the meaning of “greatest permanent value,” said Scott Kaplan, another attorney for the state.

Either the state changes its definition or it’s potentially liable for hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.

“This is absolutely a challenge of state policies of forest management,” Kaplan said.

Linn County argued that contracts between the counties and the state government are enforceable.

“The counties gave up assets in exchange for promises,” said John DiLorenzo, attorney for Linn County.

Counties would not have donated vast tracts of land if they’d known the state would change the terms of the deal at will, he said.

“We believe that’s precisely what the state has done in this case,” DiLorenzo said. “Counties must have a way to enforce their bargains.”

More than 650,000 acres in Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Douglas, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Polk, Tillamook, and Washington counties were given to Oregon based on “promises and assurances” on which the state government has since fallen short, the lawsuit claims.

The law that lays out Oregon’s forest management obligations was written when the United States was preparing to enter World War II and must be understood in that context, DiLorenzo said.

At the time, the greatest value of the land was to produce a large amount of timber for the war effort, rather than to preserve wildlife habitat or aesthetic beauty, DiLorenzo said.

Legal precedents also indicate that Oregon was obligated to maximize revenue from those lands, he said.

Several environmental and fishing organizations claim this interpretation is erroneous.

The optimum management of state forests was bound to be contentious and so that question was left to the discretion of the Oregon Department of Forestry, said Ralph Bloemers, an attorney representing the groups.

“It’s not up to the county, or the timber industry, or the conservation community, what that should be,” he said.

There’s also nothing in the law stating that revenues take priority over other uses, Bloemers said. “It continues to be a huge gaping hole in their complaint.”

Linn County also argues the lawsuit should be certified as a class action, which would allow other counties to participate in the litigation.

There are numerous potential plaintiffs with common legal arguments that would be more efficiently resolved as part of a single case, Linn County claims.

The issue of class certification will be heard at another hearing that’s scheduled for Aug. 17 in Albany.

Hermiston, Ore. — Hermiston watermelons, savored by Northwesterners for their distinctive sweetness, are back in season.

Growers began harvesting last week, and Finley’s Fresh Produce of Hermiston was the first to arrive with melons in tow at the Pendleton, Ore., Farmers’ Market.

“I tried them yesterday. They’re so sweet and good,” said Naomi Sanchez, who owns Finley’s Fresh Produce with her husband, Ildefonso Zuniga. “We plan on selling out.”

While early season watermelons might be a little smaller than average, Sanchez said the quality remains consistent. She credits Zuniga for knowing when they’re ripe for the picking.

“I don’t know how, but he always picks them when they’re perfect,” she said.

Hermiston watermelons have earned their reputation thanks to the Columbia Basin’s unique combination of climate and soil. Watermelons are desert plants, which take in heat during the day to produce sugar as a source of energy.

Not only are the days hot enough for melons around Hermiston, but cooler nights slow down the respiration process, which allows the plants to retain all that sugar. Light, sandy soils also allow water to filter down deep to plant’s roots. The result is a sweet and juicy summertime treat.

“What isn’t good about watermelon?” Sanchez said, with a smile. “They’re so good.”

Jack Bellinger, of Bellinger Farms in Hermiston, said they started cutting melons off the vine last week. He said they’ll start shipping to stores across the Northwest this week, including the Portland and Seattle metro areas.

The growing season this year has been hit-and-miss, Bellinger said, with some weeks topping out around 65 degrees and others reaching triple digits. That type of variation can interrupt watermelons while they’re growing, but he anticipates the crop will fare well over the next couple months.

“The quality looks really good,” Bellinger said. “We’re cutting really solid watermelons right now.”

LANGLOIS — Ginger Pearson, from Coast Community Health Center, will be at the Langlois Public Library 3-6 p.m. the third Wednesday of every month (July 20). She will be introducing individuals in Curry County to self-sufficiency programs. June is Men’s…

SATURDAY, JULY 9

An Oregon pesticide applicator could face reduced penalties for allegedly ignoring the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s order to stop spraying herbicides.

The ODA originally wanted to revoke the pesticide-spraying licenses of Applebee Aviation and its owner, Mike Applebee, for five years in addition to levying $160,000 in fines.

Applebee admitted that his company carried out multiple herbicide operations after ODA suspended its license in September 2015, but claimed he wasn’t timely notified of the order. He also claimed it wasn’t clear the state agency had the jurisdiction to prohibit spraying on federal property.

Senior Administrative Law Judge Jennifer Rackstraw has now found that Applebee Aviation and its owner violated Oregon pesticide law, but has recommended suspending their pesticide-spraying licenses for one year and imposing fines of less than $55,000.

While the company shouldn’t have sprayed without a license and “engaged in a pattern of misconduct,” Rackstraw found that a five-year revocation would be “an excessively harsh sanction” for Applebee Aviation’s violations.

The ODA suspended Applebee’s pesticide license when he was on an out-of-state hunting trip and had limited means to respond to the order, which meant that several operations carried out directly after it was issued weren’t “willful or grossly negligent,” the judge said.

However, Applebee and his company could have done more to shut down spraying once they had “reasonable knowledge” of the emergency suspension order, Rackstraw said.

He also “recklessly disregarded” the ODA’s opinion that the company wouldn’t be able to spray on federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, she said.

Applebee proceeded with the operations with the “hope” it was outside ODA’s jurisdiction but without contacting an attorney or BLM for advice, she said.

As for previous incidents in which Applebee’s company allowed herbicide drift and sprayed a pesticide on a prohibited site, Rackstraw said the violations were relatively isolated and “should not weigh heavily” on the penalty analysis.

The ODA did properly consider the impact of insufficient “personal protective equipment” being provided to Applebee employees, the judge said.

While the agency initially sought $160,000 in fines against Applebee and his company, it has since revised that number to roughly $60,000.

In light of her findings, Rackstraw further adjusted it to about $55,000.

Capital Press was unable to reach an attorney for Applebee as of press time.

Bruce Pokarney, ODA’s communications director, said the agency can amend Rackstraw’s proposal and will likely issue a final order by the end of the month.

Applebee may then challenge the final order before the Oregon Court of Appeals.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Arizona man pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his role in the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon and was nearing a resolution to charges he faces from a 2014 standoff with federal agents at Cliven Bundy’s Nevada ranch.

Blaine Cooper, 37, of Humboldt, Arizona, admitted to a federal judge in Portland on Thursday that he appeared in a video with occupation leader Ammon Bundy, urging patriots to show up at the refuge with firearms, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

“I could see how calling people out to a refuge armed could be intimidating,” Cooper said.

Federal prosecutors had no evidence that Cooper carried a gun at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said the man was part of the first convoy of people to arrive there on Jan. 2, starting an occupation that lasted nearly six weeks.

The group had been in Burns, Oregon, protesting the return to federal prison of two ranchers convicted of setting fires.

Court records show Cooper will be sentenced Nov. 18. He’s expected to receive six months in prison, with credit for time served, and six months in a either a halfway house or home detention.

He’s the seventh defendant to plead guilty in the case. Another 19, including Ammon Bundy, are awaiting trial.

Meanwhile, it was revealed in court that Cooper has reached a tentative deal in the Nevada case, likely pleading guilty to two charges.

Krista Shipsey, Cooper’s defense lawyer, asked Cooper’s co-defendants and others to respect his choice.

“It’s incredibly hard for him to be here today,” Shipsey said. “He felt he needed to take care of this, but I hope they respect this is what’s best for him.”

Cooper had wanted to resolve the cases for a long time, she said.

“He is very apologetic about his behavior,” Shipsey said. “He felt like a nobody, and this movement gave him a purpose in his life. ...The fame took over his senses.”

AURORA — Blueberry Field Day at Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center included the expected technical discussions of fertilizers, pesticides and cultivars, but then a bird swooped in and stole the show.

That would be Copper, a fierce-eyed falcon trained to scare the bejeebers out of pest birds that damage blueberries, wine grapes or orchard crops. Falconer Kort Clayton, owner of Integrated Avian Solutions, let Copper loose for a demonstration flight during a field day presentation on bird control options. Compared to Copper’s buzz bomb performance, discussions of humic acid and boron applications barely stood a chance.

Copper, a 4-year-old Red-naped Shaheen, is one of Clayton’s five falcons and the one that usually accompanies him to field demonstrations. “He’s super reliable,” Clayton said. “He’s a flashy flier, he’s not really bothered by crowds.”

There was more to Copper’s appearance than show, because bird damage is a major problem for fruit and berry producers. Growers across the country use chemical repellents, netting, noisemakers and pulsating lasers to keep birds out of fields, with mixed results.

Cornell University estimated that 10 percent of the U.S. blueberry crop is lost to bird damage. In Oregon’s blueberries, a crop worth $102 million annually, the loss can be significant.

A 2013 USDA study estimated birds cause $189 million damage annually to Honeycrisp apples, wine grapes, blueberries and tart and sweet cherries in just five states: Oregon, Washington, California, Michigan and New York.

The USDA study also said bird damage costs per hectare (2.47 acres) ranged from $104 in Oregon tart cherries to $7,267 in Washington Honeycrisp apples.

To scare or discourage bird, growers use such things as propane cannons, flagging or netting. During the field day bird abatement presentation, company representative Rick Willis described the Bird Gard system, which is in place at the OSU research plots. The system’s microprocessor, which can be powered by a solar panel, plays robin and starling distress calls, and the call of predatory red-tailed hawks — all of which unnerve pest birds.

Another presenter, Marc Gaffrey of Bird Control U.S., explained how the company’s Agrilaser scares birds by shooting harmless laser beams across fields.

The system, mounted on a swiveling tripod, can be moved from place to place, and a hand-held model is available.

Clayton’s falcon, however, was the hit of the presentation. Copper, released from his perch on Clayton’s gloved hand, immediately swooped low over the OSU blueberry plots, then ascended in a corkscrew pattern until he was nearly out of sight. Clayton said falcons’ vision is 10 times better than humans’, and he’s called birds in from 3 miles away by swinging a lure. The birds wear a GPS transmitter, enabling Clayton to know where they’ve been.

The problem with other bird abatement systems, he said, is that pest birds eventually learn they won’t be harmed and are no longer frightened away. But they immediately recognize and react in terror to predators such as falcons, Clayton said.

“Habituation is the Achilles’ heel of traditional bird control techniques,” he said. “Pest birds do not habituate to natural predators.”

Clayton said falcons work best in fields of 80 acres or more. Falcons occasionally kill birds they’re chasing, but primarily deter pests by hazing them. The service typically costs $20,000 to $30,000 per season, he said.

Bernadine Strik, OSU berry crops professor and research program leader, said growers should install bird abatement systems before berries begin to turn color.

“Once the birds get a taste, it’s impossible to get them out,” she said

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected Ammon and Ryan Bundy’s request for a trial delay.

The Bundys and more than a dozen other defendants are scheduled for trial in September on charges stemming from the January takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Ammon Bundy’s lawyer, Marcus Mumford, seeks both the delay and his client’s pretrial release, contending he and Bundy have been unable to watch hours of video evidence with his client still jailed.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Bundy was recently moved from the jail in downtown Portland to one on the outskirts of the city.

In arguing against a delay, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said the September date allows the Bundys to have a fair and speedy trial in Oregon and time to prepare for a February trial on a different matter in Nevada.

A renewed move by Oregon’s Clackamas County to designate more land for future industrial and commercial development prompted an unusual response from the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District.

Usually, the district’s board isn’t very political, General Manager Tom Salzer said. But the county’s decision to review the status of 1,625 acres got the conservation district’s attention. The county commissioners want to know if land in three areas south and southeast of the Portland urban center, now set aside as 50-year “rural reserves” and thus open to farming, would be more beneficial as “employment lands.”

The commissioners want to review the status of 800 acres south of the city of Wilsonville; 400 acres adjacent to the urban growth boundary of the city of Canby; and 425 acres south of the Clackamas River along Springwater Road. County officials believe the land should revert to “undesignated” rather than rural reserves.

Board members of the Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District decided they should speak up. On June 29, Salzer delivered a letter to the five-member county commission. The primary point was succinct: “The District believes the County’s current initiative to create employment lands may not adequately consider the long-term value of high-value farmland. A significant amount of the land proposed for reconsideration as employment land is high-value farmland, an irreplaceable natural resource.”

Salzer said the conservation district’s board is concerned about the longterm future of farmland in Clackamas County, which despite being adjacent to Portland remains one of Oregon’s top five agricultural counties. The county is particularly known for growing Christmas trees, nursery crops and berries.

But it’s also known for political contention — some Portlanders derisively call it “Clackastan” — and for opposition to Metro, the land-use planning agency for the tri-county Portland area. The current county commission chair and vice chair, John Ludlow and Tootie Smith, are generally viewed as favoring job growth and development over land-use restrictions.

The commissioners point to an economic study by a consulting firm, Johnson Economics and Mackenzie, that said the county is short between 329 and 934 acres of industrial land and up to 246 acres of commercial land, an overall shortage of up to 1,180 acres over the next 20 years.

The conservation district, however, has some concerns. The acreage south of Wilsonville involves land adjacent to the Aurora Airport and Langdon Farms golf course. It has long been proposed for development by its owners, while farm groups and land-use watchdogs oppose development spreading into prime Willamette Valley farmland.

The acreage next to the city of Canby is Class 1 agricultural soil, some of the best farmland in the valley, said Jim Johnson, the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s land-use specialist.

The conservation district is alarmed at the prospect of losing more farmland, said Salzer, the general manager.

“This is remarkable,” he said. “It’s the first time this board has stood up as a unanimous body and said, ‘Wait a minute. Farmland is being threatened and we need to do something about it.”

Jeff Becker, the conservation district’s board chair, said the board doesn’t want to antagonize the county commissioners but simply wants to promote discussion of the issue.

“We don’t want to fire darts,” Becker said. “We don’t want to attack their policies. I know they get pressure (from all sides).”

But Becker said issues such as food supply need to be considered when development is discussed.

“If you get rid of farmland, it’s gone forever,” he said.

The county commissioners had questions and comments for Salzer when he delivered the conservation district’s letter.

Commissioner Ludlow said any development on the land in question would be years out. “We’re 1,100 acres short of job-producing land,” he said. Commissioner Smith said farming requires a “whole host of behaviors” that young people don’t want to engage in, and said much of the land under consideration is “fallow,” not actively farmed.

“It may be fallow at this time, but if you build on it, it’s gone,” Salzer responded.

The current development proposal covers familiar ground about a lack of land for economic development. A bill introduced in the 2015 Oregon Legislature would have allowed Clackamas, Washington and Columbia counties to designate industrial reserves of up to 500 acres outside of established urban growth boundaries, but it died in committee.

This time, Clackamas County is going it alone and apparently will work through Metro.

Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah counties, which include the greater Portland area, agreed in 2010 to designate urban and rural reserves. Urban reserves will be considered first when the urban growth boundary is expanded for houses, stores and industries. More than 265,000 acres in the three counties were designated as rural reserves, meaning they would remain as farms, forests or natural areas until 2060.

“The facts on the ground have changed dramatically since the original reserves adoption,” the Clackamas commissioners said in a letter to Metro, “prompting the need for corresponding changes to reserve designations. We cannot pretend that those changes didn’t happen, or allow the matter to be dismissed as simply a change in leadership.”