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Bundy to followers: ‘Please stand down’

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The latest on an armed group that took over buildings at a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon (all times local):

4:20 p.m.

The attorney for the leader of an armed group occupying an Oregon wildlife refuge says the man wants those remaining at the refuge to “please stand down” and go home.

Ammon Bundy and seven others were arrested Tuesday. Bundy made an initial appearance in federal court in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday.

Mike Arnold, Bundy’s attorney, read a statement afterward in which Bundy urged those still at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to leave.

In the statement, Bundy asked the federal government to allow the people remaining at the refuge to depart without being prosecuted. Addressing those still holding out, Bundy’s statement said: “Please stand down. Go home and hug your families. This fight is now in the courts. Please go home.”

Federal agents have surrounded the refuge where the remnants of Bundy’s group were still refusing to give up on the occupation that began Jan. 2 to protest federal land policies.

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4:10 p.m.

An Oregon man who was on his way to California tells a Portland television station that he witnessed gunfire between authorities and militants who had been occupying a national wildlife refuge.

Raymond Doherty, of Pilot Rock, told KOIN-TV http://is.gd/AgNSdm that when he arrived at the scene on Highway 395 between Burns and John Day on Tuesday afternoon “there was a shootout going on.” He says he heard about a half-dozen shots but didn’t see anyone get hit, and that the shooting happened quickly — over maybe 12 or 15 seconds.

He said he was about 100 feet back and couldn’t see who specifically was shooting. But, he added, “I saw them shooting at each other.”

One man was killed, and several people were arrested, including militant leader Ammon Bundy.

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3:40 p.m.

A judge has ordered Ammon Bundy and six others arrested for occupying a national wildlife refuge to remain in jail until at least Friday.

At Wednesday’s initial court appearance in Portland, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman said they are a danger to the community and, with no ties to Oregon, flight risks.

Beckerman set a detention hearing for Friday, giving the defendants a chance to argue for their release pending trial.

Public defender Lisa Hay pressed for the immediate release of her client, Ryan Payne. Hay says Payne has no criminal record, and prosecutors have not alleged he did anything violent.

Prosecutor Geoff Barrow said the risk is that he returns to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to “bunker with his co-conspirators.”

The defendants said little Wednesday. The most expressive was Ryan Bundy, who looked at the press and asked “How are you guys?” when he entered the courtroom.

Security was tighter than usual at the federal courthouse in Portland. Armed guards were stationed near the entrance, and cellphones were banned from the packed courtroom.

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3 p.m.

A federal criminal complaint against eight people arrested for occupying a national wildlife refuge says that the armed group had explosives and night-vision goggles and was prepared to fight.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman in Portland unsealed the complaint Wednesday, which lists reasons for the arrests Tuesday night during a traffic stop that left one man dead.

The document says a source told authorities about the equipment on Jan. 2, when the group took over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It’s not clear if officials found explosives or if that’s the reason they moved to make the arrests.

The complaint says refuge employees were unable to report to work because of threats of violence from the group.

It includes photos of social media posts by the defendants during the occupation.

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11:40 a.m.

A local sheriff got emotional as he urged the armed activists still occupying a national wildlife preserve in Oregon to move on, saying the standoff “has been tearing our community apart.”

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, who polices the region where the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located, said at a news conference Wednesday that “there doesn’t have to be bloodshed in our community.”

A traffic stop outside the refuge Tuesday night ended with eight arrests and the death of one man.

He says law enforcement worked hard to create a plan to peacefully end the occupation of more than three weeks. The group is protesting federal land policy.

Ward says the death didn’t have to happen. He called on people to work through appropriate channels to air their grievances, saying, “We don’t arm up and rebel.”

———

11:25 a.m.

Authorities say the armed group occupying the national wildlife preserve in Oregon was given “ample opportunity” to leave peacefully.

Greg Bretzing, the FBI’s Portland special agent in charge, said at a news conference Wednesday that authorities took a deliberate and measured response to those who took over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2. He says they’re working to safely remove those who are still occupying the site.

Bretzing says authorities tried to conduct a traffic stop safely and away from local residents Tuesday night, which ended with eight arrests and the death of one man.

He wouldn’t release specifics about the death, saying only that the man died as authorities tried to take him into custody.

Bretzing says the activists “have chosen to threaten and intimidate the America they profess to love.”

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10:45 a.m.

Some witnesses say a man killed by police had charged at authorities during the arrests of armed activists occupying an Oregon wildlife refuge and others say he complied with orders.

Authorities say a man died when officers opened fire during a traffic stop Tuesday. The daughter of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum tells the Oregonian it was the Arizona rancher.

Police have not detailed what led to the shooting or if Finicum or any of the other ranchers exchanged gunfire with officers.

Mark McConnell says he drove one of the vehicles stopped by authorities and that Finicum was in another and “charged” at officers.

McConnell said in a video posted to Facebook that the rancher took off and authorities pursued.

He says he didn’t see the shooting, but others in the group said he charged after law enforcement.

A message was left Wednesday at a phone number believed to belong to McConnell.

Briana Bundy, group leader Ammon Bundy’s sister-in-law, said Finicum and others “did everything they asked, and they murdered him.”

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7:35 a.m.

The FBI has established checkpoints around a national wildlife preserve in Oregon where some armed activists still are believed to be holed up, saying the decision came out of “an abundance of caution.”

Authorities arrested the leaders of the small group that has been occupying Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for more than three weeks during a traffic stop where gunfire erupted and one man was killed late Tuesday.

Jason Patrick, a new leader of the occupation, told Oregon Public Broadcasting that five or six members of the group agreed to continue the standoff.

The FBI said early Wednesday that anyone leaving the refuge will have to show identification and submit to a vehicle search. Only ranchers who live in the area surrounding the preserve will be allowed to pass the checkpoints.

Rancher killed in standoff vowed to die before going to jail

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

BURNS, Oregon (AP) — A member of an armed anti-government group who was killed in a traffic stop in Oregon vowed a few weeks ago that he would die before spending his life behind bars.

LaVoy Finicum, a 55-year-old rancher from Cane Beds, Arizona, died Tuesday after law enforcement officers initiated the stop near the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Finicum was a leader of the armed group that took over the southeast Oregon refuge Jan. 2 to protest federal land restrictions and object to the prison sentences of two local ranchers convicted of setting fires.

He and other occupiers were heading to a community meeting in the town of John Day, about 70 miles north of Burns.

It’s unclear what happened in the moments before his death. Authorities said shots were fired but have declined to say how many, or if Finicum or any of the other activists exchanged gunfire with officers.

Eight occupiers were arrested, including group leader Ammon Bundy. On Wednesday, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said the traffic stop initiated on a stretch of road away from populated areas was a tactical decision that officials hoped would bring a peaceful end to the standoff.

Finicum was a prominent presence at the refuge and frequently talked with reporters. His affable but passionate demeanor made him a popular subject for on-camera interviews.

Finicum seemed to have made up his mind about how his role in the occupation was likely to end — with his death.

Just a few days into the occupation, he came barreling to the refuge entrance in a federal truck.

Rifle in hand, Finicum sat in the middle of the driveway, telling the reporters gathered around him that he learned there was a warrant for his arrest and he wanted to make it easy for federal agents to find him.

At the time, he said he didn’t know what the warrant charged him with, but he believed agents would try to arrest him soon.

“I don’t think it really matters. There’s enough things they could make a warrant for us, I believe,” he said.

Finicum said he had neither threatened nor harmed anyone during the occupation.

“I have grown up loving the fresh air. I love the elements. And this is where I’m going to breathe my last breath,” he said. “... I’m not going to spend my last days in a cell. This world is too beautiful to spend it in a cell.”

He then gave a message to his family: “And kids, if I don’t come, you know I love you and I’m proud of every damn one of you.”

The rancher was media-savvy and tried to popularize and monetize his political beliefs on his website, www.onecowboystandforfreedom.com. He used the site to sell his book, a 252-page paperback titled “Only by Blood and Suffering,” as well as T-shirts, bumper stickers and posters emblazoned with slogans like “Let Freedom Ring” and “Defend the Constitution Original Intent.”

He described himself as a longtime friend of Ammon Bundy’s father, Cliven Bundy, and he participated in the standoff with federal authorities over grazing fees at the elder Bundy’s Nevada ranch in 2014.

Finicum and his wife, Jeanette, raised dozens of foster children, though social workers removed the kids from the couple’s home a few days after the occupation began.

Finicum said the foster kids were the family’s main source of income.

Catholic Charities paid the family more than $115,000 in 2009 to foster children, according to tax filings. Foster parents are generally paid a small per-child amount by the government. It’s intended to reimburse them for the costs incurred in fostering. The money sometimes is disbursed through nonprofit partners.

Authorities surround nature preserve after arrests, shooting

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon nature preserve being occupied by an armed anti-government group was surrounded by law-enforcement agents Wednesday, a day after one of the occupiers was killed by officers during a traffic stop and eight others, including group leader Ammon Bundy, were arrested.

The confrontation came amid increasing calls for authorities to take action against Bundy for the illegal occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which was seized by the group on Jan. 2 in a bid to force the government to turn federal lands over to local officials.

The traffic stop was supposed to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation but ended badly, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said, expressing disappointment.

“Multiple law enforcement agencies put a lot of work putting together the best tactical plan they could to take these guys down peacefully,” Ward said at a news conference Wednesday.

The death didn’t have to happen, he said.

Details of the fatal encounter were sparse. It occurred as Bundy and his followers were heading to a community meeting late Tuesday afternoon in the town of John Day, about 70 miles north of Burns.

Arianna Finicum Brown confirmed that her father, Arizona rancher Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, was the man killed, the Oregonian reported. The 55-year-old was a frequent and public presence at the refuge, often speaking for the group at news conferences.

It was unclear what led to the shooting, or if Finicum or any of the other ranchers exchanged gunfire with officers. Authorities would not say how many shots were fired.

“This is where I’m going to breathe my last breath, whether I’m 90, 95 or 55,” Finicum told The Associated Press on Jan. 5. “ ... I’m going to not spend my days in a cell.”

The FBI and Oregon State Police would say only that the dead man was wanted by federal authorities. They said no more specifics would be released pending formal identification by the medical examiner.

Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge for the FBI in Oregon, said authorities took a deliberate and measured response to the occupiers and tried to conduct the traffic stop safely and away from local residents.

The armed activists were given ample opportunity to leave the refuge peacefully and have their grievances heard through legal means, he said.

“They chose, instead, to threaten the very America they profess to love, with violence, intimidation and criminal acts,” Bretzing said.

He and the sheriff urged the remaining group members to leave.

“This has been tearing our community apart. It’s time for everybody in this illegal occupation to move on,” Ward said. “There doesn’t have to be bloodshed in our community.”

Jason Patrick, one of the leaders of the occupation, told Oregon Public Broadcasting that five or six group members remained inside the refuge.

For weeks, law-enforcement vehicles have been noticeably absent from the roads around the refuge. On Wednesday, however, marked law-enforcement cars were parked throughout the region. The FBI and state police said they were setting up checkpoints and only allowing ranchers who own property in specific areas to pass.

“If the people on the refuge want to leave, they are free to do so through the checkpoints, where they will be identified,” Bretzing said.

About 13 miles from the refuge headquarters, a sign warned drivers to turn around because a roadblock is ahead. Reporters and others who approached the vehicles blocking the road were met by FBI agents wearing camouflage body armor and helmets and carrying assault rifles. A spike strip, designed to puncture tires, was laid across the pavement just beyond the roadblock.

Police and news media have converged on the nearby town of Burns, where most hotels are booked to capacity.

Brand Thornton, one of Bundy’s supporters, said he left the refuge Monday and was not sure what those remaining would do.

“The entire leadership is gone,” he told the AP in a telephone interview. “I wouldn’t blame any of them for leaving.”

Thornton called the arrests “a dirty trick” by law enforcement.

In addition to Ammon Bundy, those arrested were: his brother Ryan Bundy, 43; Brian Cavalier, 44; Shawna Cox, 59; and Ryan Payne, 32 - apprehended during the traffic stop on U.S. Highway 395 Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said two others — Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, 45, and Peter Santilli, 50 — were arrested separately in Burns, while FBI agents in Arizona arrested another, Jon Eric Ritzheimer, 32.

Each will face a federal felony charge of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats, authorities said.

Law enforcement previously had taken a hands-off approach, reflecting lessons learned during bloody standoffs at Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho, during the 1990s.

Many residents of Harney County, where the refuge is located, have been among those demanding that Bundy leave. Many sympathize with his criticism of federal land management policies but opposed the refuge takeover.

“I am pleased that the FBI has listened to the concerns of the local community and responded to the illegal activity occurring in Harney County by outside extremists,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley said in a statement.

The Bundys are the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights.

The group, which has included people from as far away as Michigan, calls itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. It came to the frozen high desert of eastern Oregon to decry what it calls onerous federal land restrictions and to object to the prison sentences of two local ranchers convicted of setting fires.

———

Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, Gene Johnson and Lisa Baumann in Seattle and Terrence Petty and Kristena Hansen in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.

Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness proposal unresolved

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge may have been broken, but a divisive wilderness proposal remains unresolved in Southeast Oregon.

The underlying issues are familiar: Anger over federal land management and government “over-reach,” and frustration over loss of economic opportunity in the rural West.

The Bend-based environmental group Oregon Natural Desert Association, backed by the Keen Footwear company of Portland, has proposed a 2.5 million acre Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness and conservation area.

Ranchers and other Malheur County residents are dead set against it. “Not only no, but hell no,” prominent rancher Bob Skinner said.

The Obama administration, which could establish the canyonlands area by presidential proclamation, has given no sign what it will do. Many people speculate the administration did not want to throw gas on the fire while the wildlife refuge occupation was going on.

“We don’t know where it is in the process, there’s nobody who knows that,” Skinner said.

The proposed area is bigger than either the Yellowstone, Yosemite or Grand Canyon national parks, critics point out, and would cover 40 percent of Malheur County. Residents believe designation would be accompanied by restrictions and regulations that would prohibit or severely complicate grazing, mining, hunting and recreation.

While proponents say traditional uses of the land will be allowed, a local group called Citizens in Opposition to the Owyhee Canyonlands Monument does not believe them.

Skinner, a fifth-generation rancher who leads the opposition group, said one faction believes ranchers and other landowners should “settle” with those pushing for establishment of the canyonlands.

But Skinner said agreements with “radical environmental groups” always turn out bad. While they say traditional land uses such as cattle grazing could continue, such assurances soon fall apart, Skinner said.

“Historically, every single solid time,” he said. “It starts collapsing on the uses. That’s historic, I can tell you.”

Skinner said his contacts among Oregon’s congressional delegation and others in Washington, D.C. indicate Obama will establish the wilderness and conservation area under the Antiquities Act, which can be done by presidential order and does not require approval of Congress.

A White House media staffer said the administration has “no announcement to make at this time” and did not respond to detailed questions.

Jessica Kershaw, senior adviser and press secretary with the Department of Interior, said in an email that the department has not made a recommendation to the White House, “but we know that this is an important issue to many, and we will carefully consider all input about how to best manage these lands for current and future generations.”

Brent Fenty, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association, did not respond to a telephone call and email seeking comment.

A press secretary for U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, who represents Eastern Oregon in Congress, said Walden has repeatedly called upon the administration to say what it plans to do. Early in the wildlife refuge occupation, Walden said Obama could ease some of the tension by backing away from the canyonlands proposal.

“If they don’t plan to do it, they should just come out and say so,” press secretary Andrew Malcolm said in an email.

Skinner, the rancher, consistently distances his cause from the case made by the refuge occupiers.

“I don’t agree with the Bundys at all, period,” he said. “I don’t agree with their methods, especially with grazing issues. But nobody can help but say, ‘I can understand.’ “Greg Walden said it: You understand why people have reached the end of their rope. That’s why they’ve got followers.”

Town hall carries on in John Day

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

JOHN DAY, Ore. — Grant County residents filled the John Day Senior Center beyond capacity Tuesday evening for a community meeting that was supposed to feature Ammon Bundy and leaders of the armed militia group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Instead, Bundy and four other militants were arrested by the FBI on Highway 395 north of Burns before they could arrive. A sixth member of the group was shot and killed during the encounter. The news drew tears and anger from militia supporters at the meeting, who described it as an “ambush.”

Yet the gathering pressed on, evolving into a town hall with the majority of speakers siding with Bundy and venting their frustrations on the federal government. Organizer Tad Houpt, of Canyon City, promised the crowd there would be another meeting in the very near future.

“We’re not going to stop,” Houpt said. “We’re not going to take this anymore.”

Bundy and the militia leaders had been occupying the wildlife refuge near Burns since Jan. 2. They demanded the 187,757-acre bird sanctuary be returned to the county for ranching, while criticizing the federal government’s overall ownership and management of public lands.

The militia also protested the sentences of two Harney County ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, who were convicted of arson and given five years in prison for setting fires on federal land. Bundy and supporters have called for the Hammonds’ immediate release.

In John Day, the majority of people who approached the microphone during the town hall were supportive of Bundy and the armed protest. A smaller counter-protest was held outside the senior center, with roughly 30 people holding signs directing their ire at both the militia and Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer.

Palmer, who appeared in uniform at the beginning of the meeting, declined to speak with media. When it became clear Bundy would not arrive, Houpt told the crowd it appeared there had been an altercation somewhere between John Day and Burns. News later circulated about the arrests and gunfight.

One by one, residents came to the front of the room to speak their minds. Larry Lent, of John Day, argued the militants had every right to be in Oregon and said government overreach has been going on for a long time.

“I support the Hammonds and the Bundys 100 percent,” Lent said. “To hell with the FBI. They don’t belong here.”

Jerry Larkin, of Canyon City, said he spent a day with the militia on the refuge, describing them as “just like you and I.”

“The federal government has taken away ground that doesn’t belong to them. It belongs to the people,” Larkin said. “These people are genuinely trying to look out for these United States, just like the rest of us.”

Outside, counter-protesters held signs that read, “John Day does not support criminal action,” and “Bundy Bunch — not in Grant County.” Hans Magden, of John Day, held a sign that simply read “Impeach Palmer.”

“He’s not doing his job,” Magden said of the county sheriff. “He’s not abiding by the laws. He’s integrating his own personal beliefs ... I believe he should be removed from office.”

In particular, Magden said it was irresponsible to invite the militia to John Day. He said he believes Palmer sympathizes with their cause.

Kay Steele, who lives in Grant County near the community of Ritter, said she and her husband do nature photography on the Malheur refuge. She said they see the militia as law-breakers.

“These people do not speak for Grant County,” Steele said. “We want the world to know that Grant County people don’t support this. This is a very vocal minority.”

Back inside, militia supporters sat near the front of the room, with counter-protesters mostly in the back of the room. Jim Sproul, a fifth-generation resident of John Day, brought up the recent Canyon Creek Complex of wildfires that burned more than 100,000 acres last summer.

“That wasn’t an act of God. It was an act of negligence,” Sproul said.

Odalis Sharp, of Auburn, Kansas, got up with her children to sing songs during the meeting. She described Bundy and the militia as good people, and urged the crowd to defend their cause.

“You all are going to have to step up right now,” Sharp said. “Somebody was shot on the way here. They were coming over here to tell you the truth ... We’ll stand for you as long as we can.”

Bundys, four other protesters arrested, one killed by FBI, OSP

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

Associated Press

Authorities say shots were fired Tuesday during the arrest of members of an armed group that has occupied a national wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than three weeks.

In a statement, the FBI said one individual “who was a subject of a federal probable cause arrest is deceased.” No other information about the deceased was immediately released.

The FBI said authorities arrested Ammon Bundy, 40, his brother Ryan Bundy, 43, Brian Cavalier, 44, Shawna Cox, 59, and Ryan Payne, 32, during a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 395 Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said another person, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, 45, was arrested in Burns.

Bundy’s group, which has included people from as far away as Arizona and Michigan, seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 as part of a long-running dispute over public lands in the West.

Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights.

The FBI said the people arrested Tuesday face a federal felony charge of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats.

Federal law enforcement officers converged on the wildlife refuge after the arrests and were expected to remain at the site throughout the night. It was unclear how many members of the armed group, if any, were at the refuge when the law enforcement officers arrived.

Bundy’s group, calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, came to the frozen high desert of eastern Oregon to decry what it calls onerous federal land restrictions and to object to the prison sentences of two local ranchers convicted of setting fires.

Specifically, the group wanted federal lands turned over to local authorities. The U.S. government controls about half of all land in the West,

Local and state authorities had criticized the FBI recently for not taking action against Bundy’s group.

Local authorities and residents had urged Bundy’s group to leave peacefully. Many locals feared the group would bring problems to the area.

Governor calls for more engagement on federal land issues

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown said during on Tuesday the federal government should do more to engage with people about how to manage federal lands.

Armed, mostly out-of-state protesters have occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County since Jan. 2. They have demanded that federal lands be turned over to state and county governments, and that two ranchers serving five-year prison sentences for burning Bureau of Land Management property.

While many local residents, farming and ranching groups and elected officials have criticized the occupiers’ actions, they say the underlying anger over federal land management policies and their impact on local communities throughout the West is real.

“I certainly believe that there needs to be a higher level of federal engagement around federal management of public land,” Brown said. “I do think our first priority is to end this occupation swiftly and peacefully. I think it’s extremely important that wrongdoers be held accountable to the full extent of the law.”

The governor spoke during a press briefing, where she also announced her plan to seek $3.8 million from the Legislature to pay for drought assistance targeted at Harney County.

It was not immediately clear why Brown was targeting Harney County when drought has affected much of the state for several years. In 2015, Brown issued drought declarations in 25 counties and the federal government declared a drought in the remaining 11 Oregon counties.

“It is just near coincidence, the package was in development before this incident occurred,” Brown said, referring to the occupation by armed activists of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County. Brown said her funding plan would call for a “roughly $3.8 million package, both emergency funding and staff to make sure that we are prepared for a drought this coming year and in the years to come.”

Brown said roughly $3 million would be “emergency funding” and the balance would pay for staff to assist a task force that would “prepare for drought resiliency.”

Most of the money — $3 million — would go to drought emergency assistance so the state could help municipal water systems, agricultural water users and others, according to a document from the Oregon Water Resources Department. The agency noted that Washington set aside $16 million for emergency assistance during the current biennium, while Oregon has not identified any such assistance.

The governor also wants to pay for a study of groundwater in Harney County, where state regulators mostly stopped issuing agricultural well permits in 2015 pending further study because they were worried about depleting the water.

Finally, a small portion of the funding would pay for a staffer to assist with the creation of a Drought Emergency Response and Resiliency task force to study how the state “anticipates and responds to drought,” according to the Oregon Water Resources Department.

Labor official offers paid sick leave advice

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

A top Oregon labor official recently outlined how farmers can compensate piece-rate workers under new paid sick time regulations, but the Oregon Farm Bureau still hopes to change the rules.

Last year, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill requiring employers with 10 or more workers to pay for 40 hours of sick leave per year, concerning farmers who pay based on harvested crop amounts and similar piece rates rather than per-hour wages.

The Oregon Farm Bureau criticized regulations enacted by Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries for insufficiently explaining how employers should calculate the regular rate of compensation for piece rate workers who take sick time.

If a regular rate of pay can’t be established, employers can pay workers the minimum wage during paid leave.

Gerhard Taeubel, administrator of BOLI’S Wage and Hour Division, said farmers should calculate the regular rate of pay using the same method as employers who must pay overtime to piece-rate workers.

The total amount of money earned by an employee during the most recent week should be divided by the number of hours worked, Taeubel said at the recent Ag Summit conference in Salem, Ore., organized by the Dunn Carney law firm.

While it’s “helpful to know” how BOLI will interpret the piece-rate provision, the agency’s view may not be shared by workers who can file lawsuits against employers over alleged violations of the paid leave statute, said Jenny Dresler, state public policy director for the Oregon Farm Bureau.

BOLI’s explanation doesn’t account for some scenarios encountered by farmworkers who are expected to switch between tasks that pay different rates, Dresler said.

For example, a worker may be compensated at an hourly wage for pruning but then paid a piece rate for harvesting, she said.

During the upcoming legislative session, Oregon Farm Bureau will support Senate Bill 1581, which proposes to clarify and fix confusing provisions of the paid sick leave rules, Dresler said.

Under the bill, farmers would simply pay the minimum wage to piece rate workers on sick leave rather than have to calculate the regular rate of pay.

“Otherwise, you will have every group interpreting that a different way,” Dresler said.

BOLI has said it won’t take enforcement action against employers during the first year of the paid sick leave rules, and the bill would similarly stay private lawsuits over the law for a year.

The threshold for providing paid leave would also be increased from 10 to 25 employees and workers would have to wait 120 days, rather than 90, to use their sick leave. Farmers also wouldn’t be jointly liable for workers employed by labor contractors or have them counted toward the worker threshold.

When asked about the Farm Bureau’s continued concerns, Taeubel of BOLI said farmers will be expected to make a “reasonable effort” to calculate the regular rate of pay.

Taeubel acknowledged that farmers who opt to pay the minimum wage will do so at their own risk, as workers can complaint to BOLI or file a lawsuit alleging that a regular rate could be established.

Onion, cabbage insurance deadline Feb. 1

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

Feb. 1 is the deadline for Northwest farmers who produce onions and cabbage to buy crop insurance.

According to the USDA Risk Management Agency, growers must apply for coverage for spring-planted onions in Idaho, Oregon and Washington and cabbage in Oregon and Washington before the end of January.

For the 2015 crop, roughly 93 percent of onions in Washington were insured, with comparable coverage in Idaho and Oregon, Jo Lynne Seufer of the RMA’s Spokane office said.

No cabbage was insured. Seufer said the risk may not be significant for growers who raise cabbage in Eastern Washington and the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Policyholders who wish to make changes in their coverage also have until the sales closing date.

In the meantime, the final date to apply for whole-farm revenue protection and insurance coverage on all other spring crops is March 15, except for wheat in counties with fall and spring-planted types.

According to an agency press release, RMA changed the whole-farm revenue protection to include improvements for beginning farmers and ranchers, livestock producers and producers whose operations are expanding. More beginning farmers and ranchers can participate because the agency requires three historical years and farming records from the past year.

Any beginning farmer and rancher may qualify by using a former farm operator’s federal farm tax records if they have assumed at least 90 percent of the farm operation.

Producers can now insure up to $1 million worth of animals and animal products, according to RMA. The agency also increased the cap on historical revenue for expanding operations to 35 percent so growing farms can better cover growth in the insurance guarantee.

Seufer said the agency is fielding inquiries from farmers curious about whole-farm revenue protection, wondering whether protection against down-side price risk is what they need. She encouraged farmers to speak with their crop insurance agent as soon as possible.

“The more time they have to work with their agent, the better,” she said.

Oregon begins wolf plan review accompanied by lawsuit and legislation

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

Oregon’s wildlife officials begin a required review of the state’s controversial wolf management plan with three months of stakeholder meetings starting in February, followed by a revision, draft and final adoption process expected to last into October.

The process might seem like overkill for managing a wolf population that might reach 100 to 120 animals this year, but it is likely to be heated and lengthy as environmental, hunting and ranching groups have their say.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted in November 2015 to remove gray wolves from the state endangered species list. In a 4-2 vote, commissioners agreed with an ODFW staff report that said wolves have expanded in number and range to the point that they no longer need protection under the state Endangered Species Act.

A trio of environmental groups — the Center for Biological Diversity, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild — sought a judicial review a month later, claiming the commission hadn’t used the best available science on wolf recovery. Among other things, the groups believe ODFW should have gone through the management plan review before taking any action on de-listing.

Oregon’s wolves remain covered under the federal ESA in the western two-thirds of the state. ODFW officials say the state wolf management plan remains in effect and will protect wolves from illegal hunting.

The political and legal fight over wolves took another turn recently when state Sen. Bill Hansell and state Rep. Greg Barreto, both Republicans, backed legislation that would ratify the commission’s action and make a lawsuit moot, the Associated Press reported. Hansell and Barreto plan to introduce bills when the Legislature convenes in February. The bills also would prohibit re-listing wolves as threatened or endangered unless the population falls below a certain level, the AP reported.

Oregon’s wolf population has grown from 14 in 2009 to a minimum of 85 in July 2015. Three have died since then, leaving the confirmed population at 82. State wildlife biologists believe there are more; the population count represents only documented wolves. An updated population survey will be completed in March.

In other wolf news, ODFW designated a new Wallowa County pack, the Shamrock Pack, which denned up, produced an unknown number of pups in April 2015 and carved out territory in ODFW’s Chesnimnus Unit north of Wallowa Lake.

The new pack previously was designated only a male-female pair. It operates in a wildlife unit adjacent to where the Sled Springs pair was found dead of unknown cause in late August. Oregon State Police investigated and said there was not sufficient probable cause to believe humans caused the deaths.

Another wolf, wearing a tracking collar and designated OR-22, was shot and killed in Grant County last fall. A hunter, Brennon D. Witty, notified ODFW and state police Oct. 6 that he’d shot the wolf while hunting coyotes on private property south of Prairie City.

Witty is charged with two Class A misdemeanors: Killing an endangered species and hunting with a centerfire rifle without a big game tag. Each is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine.

Witty is scheduled to enter a plea Feb. 3 in Grant County Justice Court, Canyon City.

The wolf had worn a tracking collar since October 2013 and dispersed from the Umatilla Pack in February 2015. He was in Malheur County for awhile, then traveled into Grant County. Young adult wolves typically leave the pack they were born into and strike out on their own.

Oregon’s best known wandering wolf, OR-7, left Wallowa County, traversed the state on a diagonal and ventured into California before settling into Southwest Oregon’s Cascades and starting his own pack with an unknown female.

Although Oregon wolves occupy only 12 percent of the habitat suitable to them in the state, they continue to show signs of dispersing from Northeast Oregon, where they first migrated from Idaho.

ODFW said OR-28, a female, and at least one other unknown wolf are using territory in Klamath and Lake counties. Another wolf, OR-25, traveled south into California before returning to Klamath County. It was blamed for killing and eating a calf and injuring two others in a Klamath County attack in early November.

On Jan. 19, a Union County resident reported his 6-year-old Border Collie died of injuries and asked ODFW to conduct a wolf attack investigation. Based on the size of bite wounds, ODFW determined the dog had been attacked by coyotes.

Newton named Nut Grower of the Year

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

Hazelnut farmer Jeff Newton of Amity, Ore., has been honored as the Nut Grower’s Society Grower of the Year for 2015 in recognition of his innovative production practices and contributions to the industry.

Newton has equipped his newest hazelnut orchard with drip irrigation lines that can supply fertilizer to the trees, allowing him to experiment with nutrient-to-water ratios, according to the NGS.

As he seeks to replace orchards infected with Eastern Filbert Blight, a fungal pathogen, with disease-resistant varieties, Newton is also undertaking nursery production and has likely generated enough trees to plant 500 acres this year.

He has also been involved in educating farmers who are new to the hazelnut industry and has worked to improve food safety measures at receiving stations and elsewhere in the supply chain.

Hazelnut acreage grows as farmers salvage old orchards

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon -

Hazelnut acreage is growing in Oregon as farmers plant new trees but are reluctant to remove orchards that are slowly succumbing to Eastern filbert blight.

Michael McDaniel, who operates Pacific Ag Survey and is tracking hazelnut acreage, said the high prices paid for hazelnuts in recent years has discouraged growers from replacing older varieties, such as Barcelona, with new varieties that are resistant to the fungal pathogen.

“People are doing what they can to make the Barcelona and other varieties really last,” he said. “I was surprised by how much mature acreage is still hanging on.”

In 2015, Oregon had more than 45,000 acres of hazelnuts in the ground, with about two-thirds of the orchards being 11 years or older, McDaniel said at the recent Nut Growers Society meeting in Corvallis, Ore.

Roughly 25 percent of the hazelnut acreage consisted of trees younger than five years, and another nine percent consisted of trees between five and 10 years, he said.

According to USDA’s Ag Census, Oregon had about 37,000 acres of hazelnuts in 2012, which means the acreage has grown 22 percent since then, which translates to an additional 2,700 new acres a year.

Of the new acreage, farmers have planted more than half at double-density, McDaniel said. This method speeds up the profitability of orchards but eventually requires the removal of trees.

It’s unclear how quickly orchards of Barcelona — the traditional cultivar grown in Oregon’s Willamette Valley — will be replaced by new plantings of Jefferson, a popular EFB-resistant variety released in 2009 by Oregon State University, said Garry Rodakowski, chairman of the Oregon Hazelnut Commission.

However, it’s certain that the hazelnut industry will need to ramp up production to compete on the global market, he said. In the past, for example, a food manufacturer canceled plans for a cereal that prominently featured hazelnuts due to insufficient supplies of the crop.

Production was particularly problematic in 2015, when Oregon farms harvested fewer than 31,000 tons of hazelnuts even though USDA estimated a crop of 39,000 tons.

That shortfall has put the squeeze on processors, said Rodakowski. “They promised people they’d have nuts they can’t deliver now.”

In some cases, farmers are planting annual crops between the rows of new orchards to keep generating revenue on their properties before trees mature.

“Inter-cropping can significantly cushion the drain of establishing a new orchard,” said Dan Keeley, a farmer from St. Paul, Ore.

Keeley said he’s had luck growing wheat, clover and grass between rows, though he urged growers not to jeopardize the welfare of newly-planted hazelnut orchards for the benefit of shorter-term crops.

“The trees are the priority, not the intercrop,” he said.

Aside from financial incentives, inter-cropping can improve soil conditions, said Kevin Coleman of Dayton.

Coleman has planted radish to break up “hard pans” in the soil prior to putting hazelnut trees in the ground and used alfalfa and clover to enhance nitrogen levels, microbe activity and worm populations.

However, John Brentano of St. Paul offered farmers a cautionary tale about inter-cropping.

After planting hazelnut trees in an existing grass seed field, Brentano experienced tremendous damage from voles in 2015.

Voles used the grassy areas for habitat and ate tree bark, likely due to low moisture during the summer, he said.

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