After 41 days, 25 indictments and one man killed, the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge near Burns has come to an end.

The underlying issues of rangeland management, however, won’t be going away anytime soon.

John O’Keeffe, president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said things are far from perfect between ranchers across the West, the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. Environmental regulations are making it harder to get rangeland improvement projects done quickly. Wildfires are getting bigger and hotter, scorching hundreds of thousands of acres. Noxious weeds continue to spread, choking out native vegetation for grazing.

Yet O’Keeffe was quick to condemn the militants who came mostly from out of state to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where they protested the sentences of Harney County ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond and called for federal land to be returned to private citizens.

“What happened in Burns is outsiders coming in and occupying a refuge illegally,” O’Keeffe said. “We have a lot of issues to sort out with the agencies, but we absolutely intend to do it through legal channels.”

O’Keeffe runs cattle on about 75,000 acres of public land near the tiny community of Adel in isolated south-central Oregon — an average size family ranch, he says. His operation includes grazing permits with both the BLM and Fremont-Winema National Forest.

Ranchers understand the need to support multiple uses on public land, such as recreation and wildlife habitat, O’Keeffe said. But he worries further restrictions might become too much to take.

“There’s no guarantees,” O’Keeffe said. “Should these government regulations become too burdensome, ranchers could go away. That would create a whole new set of problems.”

The BLM manages grazing permits and leases on roughly 14 million acres in Oregon and Washington. That breaks down to a total of 951,000 permits for the region.

Of those, about 20 belong to Jacob Ferguson.

Ferguson is a rangeland management specialist for BLM Vale District in southeast Oregon. His area encompasses 850,000 acres south of Jordan Valley and east of the Owyhee River. From May through October, he travels usually once per week to visit his permittees and monitor conditions on the ground.

“We try to see it all,” Ferguson said.

Despite only being on the job for two years, Ferguson said he’s developed good relationships with ranchers around the area. He knows most of his permittees on a first-name basis, and they meet regularly in the field to review grazing plans and check forage conditions.

It’s around this time of year when Ferguson said he meets with ranchers to set grazing schedules and add up fees for the coming season. The BLM uses what are known as animal unit months, or AUMs, to determine its grazing fees. AUMs are measured by the amount of forage animals need for one month, and Ferguson said the limits are very strict.

“You can’t authorize more AUMs without (environmental) analysis,” he said.

The BLM recently adjusted its fees to $2.11 per AUM. The Forest Service, which is under the Department of Agriculture as opposed to the Department of the Interior, charges $1.69 per month per cow-calf pair.

Ranchers must also follow specific conditions laid out in their permits, which might include rotating pastures, maintaining fences and protecting vegetative cover for sensitive species like sage grouse.

“Orderly management of the range is our goal,” Ferguson said.

The problem, according to Mark Mackenzie, is not with local rangeland managers like Ferguson. Rather, it’s mismanagement and political pressure up the chain of command.

Mackenzie, who runs 900 head of cattle south of Jordan Valley, is largely dependent on federal AUMs. But with so many layers of new protections, he said local land management is becoming cumbersome. And when a change is needed on the range, he said the agency will likely be taken to court.

“It’s all driven by special interest groups,” Mackenzie said. “We’ve let the management of these resources become commandeered by the courts.”

Mackenzie figures grazing has fallen by about 40 percent since 1960 in the Vale District. Those losses create an economic ripple in small towns like Jordan Valley — population 180 — that threatens their very existence.

Grazing is also a management tool itself, Mackenzie said. Without grazing, grasses can become overgrown and increase the fuel load for large wildfires — like the Soda Fire that spilled over into Oregon from Idaho last year.

The occupation of the wildlife refuge was unfortunate, Mackenzie said, but the militants’ message of local control resonates strongly.

“We need the control of natural resources management back at the local level,” he said. “Let local people have a say in what goes on in their communities and counties.”

Ferguson did say the BLM is trying to be more proactive with fighting rangeland fires in the West. Oregon, Idaho and Nevada are collaborating on a program creating strategic fuel breaks where firefighters can safely fight fires before they get too big and destructive.

“The whole goal is to reduce the size of these fires,” he said.

Andy Bentz, a former Malheur County sheriff and owner of Bentz Solutions in Ontario, agrees the BLM doesn’t have enough flexibility to do proper management. He pointed to lawsuits from environmental groups as what’s hobbling the agency.

“Yelling at the BLM is like yelling at a fireman when your house is on fire,” Bentz said. “They can’t make on-the-ground annual changes, because it opens them up to challenges and litigation.”

Bentz, whose family has ranched in southeast Oregon since 1916, said there is enough local expertise to manage the lands for multiple use. But when the agency tries to adapt to Mother Nature, adjusting seasons or stocking rates, Bentz said it faces another lawsuit. He blamed the Equal Access to Justice Act, which compensates attorney fees if groups can prove their litigation is justified.

“They have to find a way to get flexibility back into management,” Bentz said. “The land continues to deteriorate because the land managers don’t have the flexibility to manage it properly.”

George Wuerthner, Oregon state director for the Western Watersheds Project, said most environmental groups don’t actually have a lot of money to spend on lawsuits, and therefore only the most egregious violations are challenged in court. Just as many others are left ignored, he said.

Wuerthner, who previously worked with the BLM as a botanist in Idaho, said many public lands are negatively impacted by domestic livestock. Water is limited in the desert country of southeast Oregon, yet cattle gravitate toward springs and streams, harming the ecosystem for other animals and fish.

Summer grazing can also put stress on native grasses and allow invasive species like cheat grass to take over, Wuerthner said.

“That’s one of the things squeezing ranchers, in fact,” he said.

Wuerthner said the BLM actually depends on some of these lawsuits to ensure they are following the laws passed by Congress, and not overly influenced by local pressure.

“They’re keeping the agencies honest,” he said.

The Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests have just shy of 2 million acres of rangeland deemed suitable for grazing. Those forests are also in the midst of 15-year updates to their respective land management plans.

Maura Laverty, range program manager for the two forests, said they have 135 active grazing allotments. She said they have good relationships with their permittees that have helped them come a long way in managing the land responsibly.

“We don’t graze like we use to,” she said. “We’re a lot more conscientious now.”

Currently, the Forest Service is working on environmental reviews for each allotment, which it hopes to finish by 2025. The reviews must take into account endangered fish on each site, as well as wolves which are becoming increasingly established in the northeast corner of the state.

Karl Jensen, a Pilot Rock rancher, runs about 80 of his 300 head of cattle on the Umatilla forest near Ukiah. He said the biggest challenge he’s faced is fencing off his cows away from nearby Five Mile Creek and Sugarbowl Creek, which are home to endangered bull trout and salmon.

Jensen said the Forest Service has been great to work with in both Heppner and Ukiah.

“There’s always regulations that come down from higher up,” he said. “We’re able to work those out and come up with a good management plan.”

O’Keeffe, president of the cattlemen’s association, said good rangeland management must include adequate grazing and a stable supply of forage. Funding and workload remain huge challenges for the BLM, The whole issue has him on edge.

“So far, we’re here and ranching. But the potential is there for it to no longer be workable,” he said. “If that happens, these communities will be trouble, These fires will be uncontrollable. It’s kind of a cumulative effect.”

Ferguson said there are areas they’d like to improve, but it’s not going to happen overnight.

“It’s a slow process,” he said. “We do the best we can.”

Work in the Northwest’s rangelands and forests has been reshaped in recent decades by the environmental laws that ranchers and loggers must navigate.

The changes are often propelled by conflicts decided in federal court, an arena where attorney Scott Horngren has made his mark as a defender of natural resource industries.

Important legal opinions can arise from lawsuits over relatively minor projects that affect endangered species and public lands — major subjects of litigation in the West.

For this reason, Horngren sees certain battles as worthwhile even if they don’t involve enormous timber tracts or grazing allotments, since losing one fight can have a domino effect.

“That precedent is going to hurt you in the next case,” he said.

The general thrust of major U.S. environmental statutes is set by Congress, and their enforcement is carried out by federal agencies, but key questions about how these laws should function are often answered by judges.

“It’s up to the courts to decide what (statutes) mean in the absence of clear direction,” Horngren said. “Those interpretations are a huge part of natural resource law.”

In nearly three decades of legal practice, Horngren has represented private companies — often when they’re caught in the middle of disputes between environmentalists and the government — and influenced federal policy as an attorney for the American Forest Resource Council, a nonprofit industry group.

Now, he’s turned his attention to educating the next crop of natural resource attorneys while continuing to litigate cases that impact agriculture, timber and mining at the Western Resources Legal Center, which is affiliated with Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland.

Unlike most nonprofit environmental law centers, WRLC is dedicated to helping natural resource industries rather than thwarting them.

The program represents parties in select lawsuits that have the potential to set legal precedent and provide an educational experience for law students.

Horngren is a natural fit for this role as a teacher-litigator, as he’s well-versed in a variety of industries affected by environmental laws, said Caroline Lobdell, executive director of WRLC.

“We can’t let all that talent just walk out the door,” she said. “He’s the true definition of a natural resources lawyer.”

New lawyers have long turned to Horngren for advice as a “wise sage” of natural resource law, said Tim Bernasek, chair of the agriculture, food and natural resources team at the Dunn Carney law firm.

After retiring from a successful private practice, Horngren is still contributing to the field instead of devoting himself to golf or other pastimes, he said.

“It’s a testament to his character and devotion to this industry,” Bernasek said. “There are not a lot of people who are willing to do that.”

During his career, Horngren has noticed subtle shifts in the effect of environmental litigation on natural resource industries.

While the public’s attention is often drawn to pivotal cases, the profusion of environmental litigation has also had a more gradual effect: Federal agencies have become more gun-shy about making decisions.

For example, due to pressure from environmentalists, the government is often persuaded to scale back watershed-scale thinning projects until they’re a fraction of their original scope, Horngren said.

“The agencies continue to be scared of litigation and the environmental groups,” he said.

The legal landscape facing natural resource users isn’t all doom and gloom. Horngren said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where many Western environmental cases end up, has grown more even-handed in recent years.

In the early days of Horngren’s career, the 9th Circuit was “stacked” with judges who weren’t sympathetic to federal management policies, he said. More recent 9th Circuit appointees, though, are less biased in favor of environmental plaintiffs.

A key 2008 opinion by a broad “en banc” panel of 9th Circuit judges, known as Lands Council v. McNair, has also helped level the playing field.

Horngren represented logging companies and local governments in that case, which pitted environmentalists against a 3,800-acre selective logging project in Idaho’s Panhandle National Forest.

In its ruling resolving the dispute, the 9th Circuit overturned two of its own previous decisions because they misconstrued federal forest management law.

The 9th Circuit held that it’s “not a proper role for a federal appellate court” to “act as a panel of scientists” that scrutinizes federal decisions and orders agencies to “explain every possible scientific uncertainty.”

“Since McNair, the pendulum has swung back more toward the middle,” Horngren said.

Though much of his work life has been spent in the courtroom, it was a love of the outdoors that started Horngren on his career path.

Long bicycle trips through the woods convinced him to pursue a career in forestry, he said. “I figured I’d be a forester and sit it a lookout tower all day and life would be good.”

After graduating from Oregon State University, however, the timber economy was depressed while the controversies over forest management were heating up.

In this climate, Horngren became a lobbyist for timber industry groups. However, he soon realized lawsuits were influencing forest managers more than reasoned arguments and he began studying for his law degree.

“I saw that the future of public lands management is all this litigation,” he said.

Scott Horngren

Occupation: Natural resource attorney

Age: 61

Hometown: Portland, Ore.

Family: Wife, Yona McNally, and a grown son

Education: Bachelor of science in Forestry from Oregon State University in 1977, juris doctor from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1988.

CAVE JUNCTION, Ore. (AP) — A southwest Oregon lumber mill is shutting down for the second time in three years due to a log shortage.

Rough & Ready Lumber co-owner Jennifer Phillippi tells the Grants Pass Daily Courier that she told the sawmill crew on Saturday.

She says 20 sawmill workers are out of work and another 40 working in other areas could be gradually phased out over the coming weeks.

The lumber mill has about 70 full-time workers. It’s one of the largest employers in Cave Junction.

Phillippi says it’s not clear when the mill can reopen at full strength.

The mill shut down for a year in 2013-2014 but reopened with $5 million in upgrades.

Phillippi and other mill owners say federal agencies are to blame for lagging timber supplies.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The electricity needs of Northwest states can be met in the next 20 years mostly through conservation efforts, with little need to construct new power plants, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council predicted.

The Portland, Oregon,-based council recently issued its 20-year plan for meeting the energy needs of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

“By investing in energy efficiency at the levels recommended in the plan, we’ll be able to grow without initiating an aggressive program to build new generating resources, and we’ll keep Northwest electricity rates low,” Council Chairman Henry Lorenzen said in a statement last week.

However, some utilities might have to build new power plants to help integrate inconsistent natural resources such as wind power into the grid, the council said.

The council recommended programs that would pay some electricity consumers to voluntarily refrain from power use during times when power is in short supply. The 20-year plan accounts for planned closures of coal-powered plants in Washington, Oregon and Nevada that help supply power to the region. It also seeks to reduce carbon emissions by 33 percent from historical levels.

The Northwest Energy Coalition lauded the plan, saying conservation is “the region’s second-largest energy resource after hydropower.”

“Calling for no new natural gas plants for at least the next decade and beginning to acknowledge the full extent and expense of coal power consumed in the region ... are important victories,” the coalition said.

But the power council failed to properly study removing four dams on the Snake River to benefit wild salmon runs, the coalition said.

Members of the power council, two from each state, are appointed by the governors. They unanimously approved the latest power plan after conducting a 60-day public comment period.

“The new plan positions the Northwest to compete economically in a low-carbon 21st Century,” the council said.

The plan assumes that Northwest industrial output over the 20-year period will increase by 36 percent, from $125 billion to $170 billion.

The plan projects that the region’s electricity loads can be maintained at the current level of about 20,000 average megawatts. Since 1995, annual energy loads grew at an average rate of only 0.40 percent, thanks to the region’s investment in efficiency.

That’s even though the region has seen some huge energy users appear. For instance, “cloud-based” computer farms like the Google, Apple, and Facebook facilities in the Northwest consume as much electricity as the power production of Germany and Japan combined.

Maintaining the region’s low-cost, low-carbon power system will help attract desirable industries, academic institutions and medical research, sources of high paying jobs and magnets for skilled, educated workers, the plan said.

Hydroelectric power generated in the Columbia River Basin will continue as the region’s core, carbon-free source of energy.

Energy efficiency is the region’s second largest resource, saving consumers about $3.75 billion per year on electricity bills, and lowering annual carbon dioxide emissions by 22.2 million tons per year, the plan said.

.

PORTLAND — After showing intense emotion during hours of FBI negotiations and live Internet broadcasts from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the last four occupants to surrender showed little of it when they were arraigned in U.S. District Court in Portland.

They have been indicted, along with more than 20 others, on a charge of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States.

Appearing Feb. 12 before Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta, Sandy and Sean Anderson of Riggins, Idaho, said nothing, instead nodding and letting their court-appointed attorneys speak as they pleaded not guilty and asked for a jury trial. Jeff Banta, of Nevada, did the same.

David Fry, a 27-year-old from Ohio who has been the most vocal of the four and set up several live streams from the refuge, said nothing more than “Yes, I do” when asked if he understood the charges and his rights. Fry, too, pleaded not guilty and asked for a jury trial.

Fry wore a padded anti-suicide smock. In the final moments of the occupation, Fry threatened to die by suicide if his demands weren’t met. He eventually surrendered peacefully.

On his way out of court Friday, Fry smiled and exchanged waves with Nevada state Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, who spent Wednesday involved in negotiations between militants and the FBI.

All four have a detention hearing this week and will be held in the meantime. Trials are scheduled to begin in April.

Two others also appeared in court Friday in connection with the occupation of the wildlife refuge.

Darryl William Thorn of Marysville, Washington, pleaded not guilty and asked for a detention hearing next week. He will be held in the meantime.

Geoffrey Stanek, a 26-year-old from Cornelius, Oregon, pleaded not guilty and was released Friday.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Moriah Jefferson had 25 points, eight assists and eight steals to help No. 1 UConn beat scrappy Temple 85-60 on Sunday for the Huskies' 61st straight victory.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Moriah Jefferson had 25 points, eight assists and eight steals to help No. 1 UConn beat scrappy Temple 85-60 on Sunday for the Huskies' 61st straight victory.

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Chanise Jenkins and Jessica January scored 17 points apiece and No. 23 DePaul rolled to its fifth straight victory on Sunday, 102-63 over Butler.

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Chanise Jenkins and Jessica January scored 17 points apiece and No. 23 DePaul rolled to its fifth straight victory on Sunday, 102-63 over Butler.

RICKREALL, Ore. — The first Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest is the product of a labor of love for its organizers, who see agriculture as an integral part of the Willamette Valley’s past — and its future.

Deb Thomas has coordinated the Polk County Home and Garden Show — held each year at the end of February — since 2000. Last year, she started thinking about a larger event that would build on “this exciting time in agriculture with the resurgence of the family farm and Saturday markets.”

“The interest in the proposal for a February Ag Fest has been overwhelmingly positive,” Thomas said. The event will be held in the Main Building of the Polk County Fairgrounds, with agricultural seminars taking place at the adjacent Polk County Museum.

“The local 4-H Horse Club will bring horses and show tack and do riding demonstrations,” Thomas said.

Proceeds will benefit local 4-H and FFA chapters.

Some of the events featured over the two days:

• The 9th Annual Home and Garden Show will be held concurrently in another area of the Main Building and feature a Farmers’ Bounty Market.

• The 4-H will host a petting zoo from noon to 4 p.m. each day in the fairgrounds’ swine barn, along with a Favorite Foods contest.

• Artisan vendors will be in the Main Building.

• Antique Powerland volunteers will display old-time tractors and implements.

• An agricultural drone will be on display.

• An authentic covered wagon will be displayed by the Yamhill Historical Society.

• Representatives from the Chemeketa Community College Viticulture Center will talk about winemaking.

• Representatives from Two Towns hard cider and Rogue Brewery will be on hand.

• Eola Hills Winery will host an ag-themed brunch on Feb. 28.

A full slate of seminars will also be offered at the two-day Ag Fest:

Museum seminars

10:30 a.m.: John Burt, Farmers Ending Hunger, “Farm to Food Bank to Solve Things.”

11 a.m.: Sherri Noxel, Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business Program, “Planning for a Productive Family Farm Transfer.”

Noon: Stephanie Wood, “Native American Natural Harvesting.”

2 p.m.: Tiah Edmundson-Morton, OSU Hops and Beer History Archive, and Makaela Kroin, University of Oregon Folk Life Network, “History and Hop Lore in the Mid-Willamette Valley.”

3 p.m.: Amy Garrett, OSU Extension Small Farms Program, “Farming without Irrigation.”

Main Building Seminars

11 a.m.: Gretchen Anderson, “Secrets of the Lazy Urban Chicken Keeper.”

1 p.m. Dr. Ryan Scholz, district veterinarian for Western Oregon, “Avian Influenza.”

2 p.m.: Domenica Protheroe of MI Chicken Revolution, “Tips for the Winter Chicken Coop.”

Museum Seminars

11 a.m. Local authors forum.

2 p.m.: Robert Faust of Bio-Ag, “Restoring Soil Health.”

Main Building Seminars

1 p.m. Gretchen Anderson, “Other Tips on Raising a Flock from Chick to Hen.”

Information

What: Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest

Where: Polk County Fairgrounds, Rickreall, Ore.

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28.

Admission: $5 for adults and free for those under the age of 18.

Parking: Free at the fairgrounds.

Website: www.mvwagfest.com

Email: mvwagfest@gmail.com

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — With the FBI tightening its ring around them, the last four holdouts in the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon surrendered Thursday, ending a 41-day standoff that left one man dead and exposed simmering anger over the government’s control of vast expanses of Western land.

Federal authorities in six states also arrested seven other people accused of being involved in the occupation and brought charges against a leader of the movement who organized a 2014 standoff. Two more suspects remained at large.

The last occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge gave up without incident a day after federal agents surrounded the site.

Nearby residents were relieved.

“I just posted hallelujah on my Facebook,” said Julie Weikel, who lives next to the nature preserve. “And I think that says it all. I am so glad this is over.”

At least 25 people have now been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to impede employees at the wildlife refuge from performing their duties.

Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in Portland after encouraging the occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation.

The elder Bundy appeared in federal court Thursday in Portland to hear the charges against him, all of which stem from the 2014 confrontation with federal authorities in Nevada.

He’s accused of leading supporters who pointed military-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland. The charges include conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction of justice and weapons charges.

Federal authorities have not said why they chose to arrest the 69-year-old now. They may have feared Bundy’s presence would draw sympathizers to defend the holdouts.

At the court hearing, the elder Bundy asked for a court-appointed attorney. U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart said she wanted to see financial documents first. She set a detention hearing for next Tuesday, and Bundy will stay in jail until then.

Bomb squads planned to go through the refuge’s buildings to make sure no explosives were left behind, said Greg Bretzing, the agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland division.

The refuge will remain closed for weeks as specialists collect evidence and try to determine whether the occupiers damaged any tribal artifacts and burial grounds sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe, he said.

Videos posted online showed members of the armed group exploring buildings at the site and criticizing the way tribal artifacts were stored there.

The last four occupiers had been living in a rough encampment on refuge grounds. The videos sometimes showed group members living in tents or gathered around a campfire, driving vehicles and setting up barricades. They erected a canopy next to a pickup truck and an old car and put camping chairs and coolers around it. The area appeared strewn with plastic water bottles, cardboard boxes, clothes, packages of bullets and beer cans.

The last four occupiers were scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Portland. They are 27-year-old David Fry of Blanchester, Ohio; Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and married couple Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho.

The FBI began moving in Wednesday evening, surrounding their encampment with armored vehicles. Over the next several hours, the occupiers’ panic and their negotiation with FBI agents could be heard live on the Internet, broadcast by a sympathizer of the occupiers who established phone contact with them.

The Andersons and Banta surrendered first on Thursday. Fry initially refused to join them.

“I’m making sure I’m not coming out of here alive,” he said at one point Thursday, threatening to kill himself. “Liberty or death, I take that stance.”

After ranting for a while, he too gave up.

Federal authorities were criticized during the occupation for not acting sooner to end it. But some experts said the FBI’s strategy of letting tensions die down before moving in ensured there would be no bloodshed.

“This was beautifully executed,” said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor at California State University-San Bernardino. “This siege and the way it was handled will go down in law enforcement textbooks.”

The standoff began when Ammon Bundy and his followers took over the refuge south of Burns, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires.

Federal agents, Oregon state troopers and sheriff’s deputies monitored the occupation to avoid a confrontation. As the weeks passed, there were growing calls for the FBI to act, including from Oregon’s governor.

They did, on Jan. 26. On that day, Ammon Bundy and other occupation leaders were heading for the town of John Day to give a talk on federal overreach. FBI agents and Oregon state troopers stopped the group’s two-vehicle convoy. Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was shot dead in that confrontation. The FBI said he was reaching for a pistol inside his jacket pocket.

A total of 12 people were arrested that week, including Ammon Bundy. Most of the occupiers fled the refuge after hearing they would not be arrested if they left quickly. Four stayed behind, saying they feared they would be arrested if they left.

Oregon elected officials rejoiced at the end of the long occupation but said it will take a while for the rural area to recover. Gov. Kate Brown called the episode “very traumatic.”

“The level of harassment and intimidation by folks who were staying in the Burns community was horrific,” she said. “And the healing will take a long time.”

———

Bellisle reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Terrence Petty in Portland, Oregon, and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and AP videographer Manuel Valdes in Burns contributed to this report.

SALEM — A proposal to give local governments in Oregon the power to regulate biotech crops has been scrapped in favor of a labeling requirement for genetically engineered fish.

Lawmakers recently considered overturning the state’s prohibition against local restrictions on genetically modified crops, which was passed in 2013.

Biotech critics claim that local ordinances are necessary to prevent cross-pollination between transgenic, conventional and organic crops because the state and federal governments have failed to act on the issue.

Opponents of the proposal, House Bill 4122, argued that it would complicate farming across county lines, reduce crop options and put a strain on local governments that would have to enforce such ordinances.

The House Committee on Consumer Protection and Government Effectiveness heard extensive testimony from both sides during a Feb. 9 hearing but ultimately decided to “gut and stuff” the bill with language that requires labeling for genetically engineered fish sold at retail.

On Feb. 11, the amended bill was approved 5-3 and is headed to the House floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

Prior to the amendment’s approval, Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Dallas, said it would be unfortunate if the current system of voluntary cooperation among farmers were replaced with a “bureaucratic solution” for cross-pollination concerns.

“They try to solve their problems by talking with each other and working with each other,” Nearman said.

Rep. Susan McLain, D-Hillsboro, said she agreed that an ideal solution would allow all types of farmers to co-exist.

“Let’s not pre-empt that possible pathway,” she said.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, said he also wishes such problems could be worked out amicably, but farmers who fear cross-pollination from biotech crops don’t currently have a system to prevent economic losses.

After the legislature pre-empted local regulation of seeds — including biotech crops — in 2013, their concern hasn’t been addressed, he said.

“I think they have a legitimate issue that needs to be solved,” Holvey said. “I hope the Department of Agriculture solves it or the legislature does in the future.”

Committee Chair Shemia Fagan, D-Clackamas, said she hopes the recent discussions in the legislature will pressure the Oregon Department of Agriculture to come up with a solution.

Fagan noted that heirloom crop varieties cannot be replaced once they’re lost, so she hopes to give farmers some method to protect such cultivars.

“There is some urgency to this issue,” she said.

A similar bill that would have more broadly reversed Oregon’s seed pre-emption law, House Bill 4041, recently failed to clear the committee.

As for labeling of genetically engineered fish, Holvey said the proposal will likely be subject to further revisions in the Senate if it’s approved in the House.

Transgenic salmon received regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year but its sale is on hold until the agency devises possible labeling rules.

If the FDA does require such labeling, those regulations would likely pre-empt any rules enacted in Oregon, Holvey said.

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.