An Oregon ranch is challenging federal management plans for a 63.5-mile stretch of the Rogue river, arguing they’ll impede stabilization of the volatile river channel.

The Double R Ranch of Eagle Point, Ore., filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for adopting plans to protectively manage the segment, which is eligible for designation as a “Wild and Scenic River.”

Aside from hindering permits needed to fortify the river, BLM’s decision will complicate changes to irrigation diversions and the development of water rights, the complaint said.

The lawsuit is joined by the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, which worries other ranchers will encounter such problems, as well as the Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association, which fears barriers to erosion control efforts.

Capital Press was unable to reach a representative of BLM as of press time.

In 2016, BLM determined the 63.5-mile segment is “suitable” for protection as a Wild and Scenic River, which is the final administrative step before Congress can make that designation.

However, this particular stretch has a long history of human manipulation, disqualifying it from designation because it’s not “free-flowing” as required by federal law, the complaint said.

“Throughout the proposed segment, streambanks have been extensively modified, armored, and engineered to stabilize the river channel,” the complaint said.

This segment of the Rogue river is prone to “extreme flood events” and channel migration, so further work will be needed to reinforce its streambanks with rip-rap rock and otherwise avoid undesirable upland impacts, the complaint said.

Gravel pits near the channel are susceptible to being inundated or “captured” by the river, which has occurred in the past, polluting the water with massive amounts of sediment, according to plaintiffs.

A coalition of landowners, government agencies and conservationists has rectified past problems, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would “almost certainly deny” future permits for such projects due to restrictions associated with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the complaint said.

“Thus designation of the proposed segment would effectively halt future bank and channel protection activities,” the lawsuit said. “That could result in further pit captures, severely degrading downstream fish habitat and frustrating the very purposes and policies the WSR Act was created to protect.”

The plaintiffs claim BLM’s own analysis found that state and county governments are already protecting the river, so leaving the segment undesignated wouldn’t threaten its wild and scenic values.

“Designation would duplicate local management and could easily undermine it,” the complaint said.

Upper and lower reaches of the Rogue river are already designated under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, but those sections flow mostly through public land, according to the plaintiffs.

“In contrast, the proposed segment comprises almost entirely private property, with insignificant land ownership by federal agencies,” the complaint said.

NYSSA, Ore. — The onion growing industry in Eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho has revamped how it promotes the 1.5 billion pounds of Spanish big bulb onions grown here each year.

Promotion and marketing of those onions has traditionally fallen mostly to the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee, which administers the federal marketing order that covers this region.

But the committee in 2015 opted to cut the region’s onion assessment in half, sharply reduce its promotions budget and let onion shippers use the resulting savings, if they chose, to do more of their own direct promotions and marketing.

The assessment was trimmed from 10 cents for each 100 pounds of onions produced to 5 cents. Growers pay 60 percent of that assessment and handlers the rest.

The assessment fee cut did not impact the committee’s research and export budgets.

But the IEOOC slashed the budget for its promotion committee from $635,000 to $250,000.

The 300 growers and 30 onion shippers in the region were left with the option of using the savings realized from the assessment reduction to do their own marketing.

The industry’s customer base has consolidated heavily over the years and because customer lists are much shorter now, it makes sense for individual shippers to more aggressively go after customers themselves, said promotions committee board member Grant Kitamura.

“This gives people more money to promote their own business,” said Kitamura, general manager of Murakami Produce in Ontario, Ore.

At the same time, the IEOCC still maintains a strong industry presence, including at trade shows and industry events, and continues to promote the famous Spanish bulb onions grown here as a regional brand.

The committee spent $61,000 on advertising last year, as well as $7,000 to print 1,000 glossy shippers directories.

“We think we’ve been successful in maintaining our visibility in the industry (even) with the reduced budget,” Kitamura said.

The promotions committee has also turned to the internet and social media more, a tactic designed to reach millennials.

“We are trying to reach out to the next generation of consumers and customers,” Kitamura said.

Malheur County farmer Paul Skeen, a member of the promotions committee board, believes reducing the committee’s budget and allowing shippers and growers to use the savings to do more of their own marketing was a wise move.

“I think we’re still getting the bang for our buck,” he said of the committee’s reduced budget. “We just cut the frills out and went with what’s working.”

Other industry members contacted by Capital Press agreed.

“We’re in favor of that decision and feel it’s working well for our company and our growers,” said John Wong, president of Champion Produce in Parma, Idaho.

Shay Myers, general manager of Owyhee Produce in Nyssa, Ore., was skeptical of the move at first because he worried having shippers do their own promotions and marketing could fragment the industry.

But he has since changed his mind and now believes the new direction is working well.