SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown said that Oregon will focus on helping the community of Burns to recover, after the remaining four occupiers at a nearby national wildlife refuge surrendered to FBI agents on Thursday.

Brown said she continues to seek federal reimbursement of state and local government costs associated with the occupation, and she is also talking to federal officials about federal land management issues.

“I’ll certainly be having conversations with our Congressional delegation, and will continue the conversations that I’ve started with folks at the federal level, for example the Department of Interior, (Secretary of the Interior) Sally Jewell,” Brown said. “So we’re just beginning those conversations now, but we’ll be working closely with our federal delegation.”

In late January Brown said the federal government should do more to engage with people on how to manage federal lands. On Thursday, Brown declined to provide any specifics on what she hopes to achieve through discussions about federal land management.

Brown said Oregon has work to do, now that the occupation has ended.

“For the Harney County residents, this has been very traumatic,” Brown said. “The level of harassment and intimidation by folks who were staying in the Burns community has been horrific and the healing will take a lot of time. And I think that is our first mission is to support the Harney County community as they heal, and provide them with the resources and the tools they need to recover.”

Brown also noted that the incident affected the Burns Paiute Tribe.

“This entire incident has been extremely devastating to them,” Brown said. “We will be working with them to provide them with the support and assistance they need as well.”

In January, Brown said Oregon’s response to the occupation had cost roughly half a million dollars. On Thursday, the governor did not have an updated cost figure but said she expects the state will pick up the tab in the short term.

“I think in total costs for Harney County, as well as the local sheriff’s association, will run probably higher than that,” Brown said. “But I’m confident there is bipartisan support in the building for reimbursing those costs.”

Brown said her administration is working with the staffs of U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to seek federal reimbursement for Oregon’s costs.

The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Hillary Borrud can be reached at 503-364-4431 or hborrud@eomediagroup.com.

SALEM — Oregon hemp growers would be free to propagate the crop from cuttings and propagate it from cuttings under a bill that’s headed for a vote in the House.

Under current law, hemp can only be seeded directly outdoors in fields at least 2.5 acres in size, which was intended to facilitate industrial production but proved too inflexible for growers.

At the time Oregon lawmakers originally legalized hemp production in 2009, they enacted these restrictions with the expectation the crop would be used for oilseed and fiber instead of human consumption.

Since then, the Oregon Department of Agriculture found that many hemp producers were more interested in growing the crop for cannabidiol, a compound used for medicinal purposes, than for such traditional products.

To this end, they wanted to use greenhouses, clone desirable plants and produce the crop on a smaller scale.

Under House Bill 4060, which was passed by a key legislative committee, the minimum 2.5 acre field requirement would be scrapped and hemp farmers would be given the same flexibility in production and propagation methods as growers of other crops.

The Oregon Farm Bureau is supporting HB 4060 because it wants hemp treated like other crops.

The bill was approved 8-1 by the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Feb. 11 after a last-minute amendment that clarified hemp would be subject to the same Oregon Department of Agriculture water and pesticide regulations as other crops.

The amended version of the bill, which will soon be subject to a vote on the House floor, also clarifies that growers can cultivate all varieties of hemp and that the crop won’t be considered a food adulterant, among other provisions.

Growers can also send crop samples to accredited laboratories for required testing, which is expected to be cheaper than using ODA staff and facilities.

During the Feb. 11 hearing, the committee also unanimously approved House Bill 4007, which creates a new way to form rangeland protection association, which fight wildfires.

Landowners must currently win approval from the Oregon Board of Forestry to create such associations, but HB 4007 would also allow them to be approved by county governments.

Currently, 20 rangeland protection associations staffed by volunteers protect 4.6 million acres in Eastern Oregon.

New associations organized by counties would still have to submit annual budgets to the Oregon Board of Forestry and enter into cooperative agreements with the Oregon Department of Forestry.

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — A live stream of a telephone call indicates three of the four remaining occupiers of an Oregon wildlife refuge have surrendered, but one is refusing to budge.

The surrender is playing out over a phone call on an open line streamed live on the Internet by an acquaintance of occupier David Fry, who delayed leaving Malheur National Wildlife Refuge after he said the other three walked out.

They are the last remnants of armed group that seized the refuge on Jan. 2 to oppose federal land use policies.

The FBI hasn’t confirmed that the three surrendered, and the area was too far away for reporters at the scene to see.

Fry is on the call with his acquaintance and a Nevada legislator who drove to the site to aid in the surrender. Fry said Jeff Banta of Nevada and married couple Sean and Sandy Anderson of Idaho have left.

Fry says he “declares war against the federal government.” The holdouts have been indicted with conspiracy to interfere with federal workers and have previously said they wanted assurances they won’t face arrest.

Local leaders say they are dismayed with the renewed effort to demolish four Klamath River dams, three of which are in California.

Siskiyou County Supervisor Grace Bennett, District 4, said she feels like Siskiyou County, Calif., leaders were left behind in the decision-making process. Bennett said she believes lawmakers prioritize the needs of upper Klamath Basin communities and the downstream Basin tribes before Siskiyou County.

Bennett said she believes taking the dams out will have a negative impact on the county’s economy, especially in the summer months when the reservoirs attract recreationists from around the region.

“Siskiyou County has been working since 1986 to improve water quality and quantity. For them to take out the dams would be a shame. It would be devastating to Siskiyou County. It would impact us greatly,” Bennett said.

Bennett’s comments came on the heels of an announcement last week by the Department of Interior, stating the agency will work with Oregon, California and the dams owner, PacifiCorp, to amend the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement — known by the initials KHSA — and move forward with plans to remove the J.C. Boyle, Copco 1 and Copco 2 and Iron Gate dams from the Klamath River.

The renewed effort will rely on administrative processes governed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a news release said.

Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela, District 2, said he is concerned about property values declining after the reservoirs created by the dams disappear. He said although to him the benefits of dam removal are not obvious, he isn’t altogether contesting dam removal.

“I’ve always said it’s a private party matter. It’s not like it’s a government entity, where the county has a lot of say,” Valenzuela said.

Klamath County Commissioner Jim Bellet said he opposes dam removal, but supports private property rights.

“I don’t like tearing out infrastructure I think is important to the Klamath River, but a private company owns the dams and if they want to tear them out, it’s sure their right to do that,” Bellet said.

Malin Irrigation District Manager Luke Robison said his district supported the KHSA when it was being proposed as a joint agreement with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which is known by the initials KBRA.

“We were never in support of the KHSA as a stand-alone agreement,” Robison said. “The agreement (the KBRA) that benefited the irrigators expired on Dec. 31.”

Tulelake Irrigation District Manager Brad Kirby said the biggest concern shared by project irrigators is getting left behind without a path to water certainty and having the dam removal move forward. Kirby said like other irrigators, he does not support dam removal as a stand-alone effort.

“All the things that were part of the KBRA were a package deal,” Kirby said.

District 1 Siskiyou County Supervisor Brandon Criss agreed.

“There’s no need for the dams to be removed,” Criss said. “I see no benefit to Klamath Basin agriculture because it takes away water storage and replaces it with no water storage.”

Oregon Rep. Gail Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, said she believes the decision about whether the dams should be removed belongs with FERC.

“I typically am not in support of removing dams, but I think to go through the FERC process is the way to go if we’re going to do it so it’s not a political decision.”

“FERC has traditionally decided if dams come out or if don’t dams come out. … Hopefully they will base it on the science,” she said. “To turn it over to FERC is the right path, versus deciding politically whether to do that.”

BANDON -- The Bite of Bandon Culinary Showcase and Auction will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Bandon Community Center/The Barn, 1200 11th St. SW.

BANDON -- The Bite of Bandon Culinary Showcase and Auction will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Bandon Community Center/The Barn, 1200 11th St. SW. Fifteen local restaurants donate their time and "bites" in support of…

LANGLOIS -- Margaret Grundstein returns to Langlois at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, to talk about her experience living on a commune up Floras Creek in the 1970s.

LANGLOIS -- Shannon Applegate, descendant of a prominent Oregon pioneer family, will speak of her family's history at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in Langlois at the old Cheese Factory.

LANGLOIS -- The Friends of the Langlois Library will hold their annual book sale from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Langlois Lions Club, Floras Lake Loop, in Langlois. Coffee, tea and goodies are available while you browse.

LANGLOIS -- Margaret Grundstein returns to Langlois at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, to talk about her experience living on a commune up Floras Creek in the 1970s.

LANGLOIS -- Shannon Applegate, descendant of a prominent Oregon pioneer family, will speak of her family's history at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in Langlois at the old Cheese Factory.

LANGLOIS -- The Friends of the Langlois Library will hold their annual book sale from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Langlois Lions Club, Floras Lake Loop, in Langlois. Coffee, tea an…

Cliven Bundy, the father of the jailed leader of the Oregon refuge occupation and who was the center of a standoff with federal officials in Nevada in 2014, was arrested in Portland, the FBI said.

Authorities arrested the 74-year-old Nevada rancher after he arrived at Portland International Airport from Las Vegas Wednesday night. He was booked into the lockup just before 11 p.m., according to Multnomah County Jail records. No charges were listed and his projected release date was listed as unknown.

The FBI confirmed Bundy was taken into federal custody but declined to provide a reason or other details, saying further information would be released by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Las Vegas, which did not respond to a phone call early Thursday.

The Oregonian reported Bundy will face a conspiracy charge of interfering with a federal officer related to the stalemate at his ranch in 2014.

In March of that year, Bundy clashed with federal officials over grazing rights on government land. Federal officials eventually backed away from seizing his cattle, but the dispute remains unresolved.

The Bureau of Land Management says the family has not made payments toward a $1.1 million grazing fee and penalty bill.

Armed group leader Ammon Bundy had been demanding that the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon be handed over to local control for ranching, mining, logging and other uses and that that two jailed ranchers in the area be freed.

Authorities arrested Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and other group leaders as they traveled to a community meeting Jan. 26 north of the refuge when authorities set up a road block.

Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, the group’s spokesman, was killed in a confrontation with the FBI and Oregon State Police on the remote road.

Bundy and others arrested in conjunction with the standoff face felony charges of conspiracy to impede federal officials in their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The FBI surrounded the last four occupiers of a wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon on Wednesday night as the holdouts argued with a negotiator and yelled at law enforcement officers in armored vehicles to back off.

The tense standoff between law enforcement officers and the four occupiers was being played out on the Internet via an open phone line being livestreamed by an acquaintance of one of the occupiers, David Fry.

Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio, sounded increasingly unraveled as he continually yelled, at times hysterically, at what he said was an FBI negotiator.

“You’re going to hell. Kill me. Get it over with,” he said. “We’re innocent people camping at a public facility, and you’re going to murder us.”

“The only way we’re leaving here is dead or without charges,” Fry said, who told the FBI to “get the hell out of Oregon.”

Fry said the group was surrounded by armored vehicles.

A Nevada legislator, Michele Fiore, called in to try to get the occupiers to calm down. Fiore said she could help them only if they stayed alive.

“I need you guys alive,” said the Republican member of the Nevada Assembly who was in Portland earlier in the day to show support for Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the occupation.

Fry and the three others are the last remnants of an armed group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 to oppose federal land-use policies. The three others are Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and married couple Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho

Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said in a statement that the situation had reached a point where it “became necessary to take action” to ensure the safety of all involved.

The four remained despite the arrests of group leader Ammon Bundy and others Jan. 26 on a remote road outside the refuge.

Sandy Anderson said after the group was surrounded: “They’re threatening us. They’re getting closer. I pray that there’s a revolution if we die here tonight.”

Her husband, Sean Anderson, said in the livestream: “We will not fire until fired upon. We haven’t broken any laws, came here to recognize our constitutional rights. Help us.”

The occupiers said they saw snipers on a hill and a drone.

The standoff was occurring on the 40th day of the occupation, launched by Ammon Bundy and his followers to protest prison terms for two local ranchers on arson charges and federal management of public lands.

Bundy was arrested on Jan. 26 on a remote road as he and other main figures of the occupation were traveling to the town of John Day. Four others were also arrested in that confrontation, which resulted in the shooting death of the group’s spokesman, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum. The FBI said Finicum was reaching for a gun.

Most of the occupiers fled the refuge after that. Authorities then surrounded the property and later got the holdouts added to an indictment charging 16 people with conspiracy to interfere with federal workers. The four recently posted a series of defiant videos in which Fry shows a defensive perimeter they have built and takes a joyride in a government vehicle. Fry says the FBI told him he faces additional charges because of the barricades.

At first, Bundy urged the last holdouts to go home. But in response to the grand jury indictment, he took a more defiant tone from jail.

“Taking over the refuge was not only right, it was the duty of the people to do,” Bundy said in a recording released by his family on Feb. 4.

AP writer Lisa Baumann contributed to this report from Seattle.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Lee and Glenda Stilwell of Country Inn Cattle Co. were surprised and pleased after their success in last weekend’s 56th annual Klamath Bull & Select Ranch Horse Sale at the Klamath County Fairgrounds.

The Stilwells, who have a small ranch in nearby Algoma, had the sale’s supreme bull that sold for $12,500, the champion halter Limousin bull that sold for $7,500, and the top judged pen of replacement heifers that sold for $10,250.

“We had an outstanding day,” said Glenda Stilwell, a fourth-generation rancher, who said the showing was unexpected because of the sale’s many outstanding bulls and heifers. “It’s always a surprise — and always a good surprise.”

Pleased, too, was Jolene Moxon, the sale’s cattle manager, who said 90 bulls were sold for a total price of $403,850, an average price of $4,487.22. Eight pens of replacement heifers, including the Stilwells’, were sold for $62,300, an average price of $7,787.50. Four horses were sold in the select horse sale for a total of $22,550, an average of $5,637.50.

In comparison, last year’s sale price for 56 bulls averaged $5,397, the select ranch horse sale averaged $6,090 for five horses while replacement heifers sale averaged $2,480 per head on six pens. She said this year’s sale will have nine pens of heifers.

Jason Chapman, a bull sale committee member, said he expected prices would be lower this year but noted the overall total sale prices, because of the volume of bulls, was up over 2015. “I expected it would be lower than it was,” he said of the decreased sale prices.

“We had a great turnout,” Moxon said, noting there were 114 registered buyers and strong participation in a variety of sale-related events, including a ranch rodeo she said drew thousands of spectators.

Other activities included stock dog trials, a Beef N Brews, brandings, Klamath County Cattlewomen’s dinner and dance, an “amazing” trade show and several kids functions, including goat roping and a stick horse boot race.

Erin Daughtery of Bly was named the contributor of the year for the four-day sale that began last Thursday and ended Sunday.

“People really seemed to enjoy the variety of activities,” Moxon said.

“The whole event ran really well,” Chapman agreed, who credited bull sale chairman Stan Gorden and other committee members. “We had great participation in all the events. It was really a well-run, smooth sale.”

Glenda Stilwell, who said her family has participated in sales for many years, shared Chapman’s and Moxon’s enthusiasm.

“We’ve participating in the bull sale as long as I can remember,” she said, giving credit to event organizers with the Klamath Cattlemen’s Association. “I think this year’s sale was an outstanding event with all the activities. I think the committee really stepped up. It’s a good event for the entire community.”

Winners in the ranch rodeo was Gorden Ranches of Bonanza with team members Clay and Steve Gorden and Flint Lee.

In the stock dog finals, Kathy Garner took first in the open and nursery divisions with Rango and Vaquero while Gayle Hybarger and her dog Zeva won the intermediate category.

The Stilwells’ supreme bull was bought by Don-Lo Ranch of Macdoel, Calif., which also bought their champion halter bull limousin. A third bull, another limousin, was bought by Jimmy Lyman of Tulelake, Calif. Drost Ranch of Klamath Falls bought the Stilwell’s pen of replacement heifers.

“We’re a small operation so we try to have good ones,” Stilwell said of Country Inn Cattle, which has about 60 cows.

Nicholas Sheridan, 15, of Yamhill, Ore., who was featured in a previous bull sale story and was the sale’s youngest ever consigner when entered and sold a reserve champion bull in 2014, again did well. One of Sheridan’s Angus bulls sold for $5,500 to Matt Merkley of Bly, Ore., while a second bull sold for $4,500 to Bryan Penterman of Santa Helena, Calif.

Stilwell had praise for Sheridan and other young participants in the various events, noting, “There were lots of young kids, lots of young families. It made my heart happy.”

Periodically it seems there can be a disconnect between the Oregon Department of Transportation and cities, counties or school districts.

Sundays

Sundays

Periodically it seems there can be a disconnect between the Oregon Department of Transportation and cities, counties or school districts.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture proposes to spray 8,674 acres in North Portland this spring to head off a potential infestation of destructive gypsy moths.

Aerial sprayings tend to cause public scrutiny and worry, however, even when it involves a biological insecticide that’s been successfully used against gypsy moths for more than 30 years. For that reason, the department is hosting a pair of meetings to explain the project. The first is Wednesday, Feb. 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at James John Elementary School, 7439 N. Charleston Ave., Portland. The second is Saturday, Feb. 20, from 9 a.m. to noon at the same place.

Gypsy moths are voracious eaters and multiply rapidly. Unchecked, they could kill trees and or heavily damage Pacific Northwest forests and crops such as Christmas trees. Agencies monitor their presence with traps and spray from time to time to control them.

Two Asian gypsy moths were found in North Portland traps this past summer and another was found across the Columbia River in Washington. Asian gypsy moths are more mobile than the European variety sometimes trapped in the Northwest.

The area proposed for spraying includes Hayden Island, St. Johns, and Forest Park in Portland. ODA proposes three aerial applications in late April and early May, using Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, commonly known as Btk.

An environmental assessment of the project will be available Feb. 12 from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. It can be seen at www.aphis.usda.gov/planthealth/ea/. A comment period ends March 14. Comments should be directed to Christopher.Deegan@aphis.usda.gov or gypsymoth@oda.state.or.us.

Btk kills gypsy moths in their caterpillar stage. A publication from Purdue University said the product has several advantages over other means. First, caterpillars killed or sickened by Btk aren’t dangerous to birds or other animals that feed on them. The product breaks down within three to five days after application, so it doesn’t multiply or accumulate in the environment, according to the Purdue bulletin. Btk does not appear to pose a significant threat to humans or pets, according to Purdue.