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.

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 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.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Environmental advocates are calling on environmental managers to apply new Oregon Department of Forestry rules that expand streamside protection rules on Western Oregon’s private and commercial forestlands to southwest Oregon.

The Mail Tribune reports that the wider buffers help shade fish-bearing streams and provide other benefits to wild salmon and other stream-dwelling creatures.

The new rules were approved by the board in November and extend no-cut buffers from 20 feet to 120 feet to ensure that streams meet water-quality standards.

Rogue Riverkeeper program director Forrest English says his group has not decided how to pressure either Gov. Kate Brown or the state Environmental Quality Commission to extend the rules to the Siskiyou Mountains, but that they were improperly left out of the plan.

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

9:05 a.m.

The Burns Paiute Tribe is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to prevent an armed group from moving freely on and off a national wildlife refuge in Oregon.

The small group angry about federal land use policy took over the buildings at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge more than three weeks ago.

Thousands of ancient Native American artifacts and maps to where more antiquities can be found are kept inside the building. Recent videos posted to social media show members of the group going through some of the antiquities and criticizing the way the government stored the items.

Tribal chairwoman Charlotte Roderique said the government should secure the refuge and stop allowing members of the group free passage to and from the site. She said the tribe fears some of the artifacts will go missing.

AgriNorthwest, a farm operator based in the Tri-Cities, has entered into an agreement to buy the Boardman Tree Farm from GreenWood Resources.

Part of the 25,000-acre tree farm already sold to a local dairy that will raise approximately 8,000 cows south of Homestead Lane. The rest will now go to AgriNorthwest, which farms mostly potatoes and other irrigated crops.

The deal is expected to close soon. Terms were not disclosed.

In the meantime, GreenWood Resources will continue to harvest what trees are left under a leaseback agreement. The Collins Companies operates a sawmill at the tree farm, and Columbia Forest Products runs a veneer mill that helps make decorative plywood.

Logs are also sold for pulp and biofuel. ZeaChem, a company located at the nearby Port of Morrow, used sawdust from the tree farm to make ethanol.

The tree farm has also hosted “A Very Poplar Run” since 2011, with 5K and 10K races to benefit the Agape House in Hermiston. Don Rice, director of North American operations for GreenWood Resources, said the decision to sell the property has been met with mixed emotions.

“It has become a community feature,” Rice said. “We have a lot of photographers who come out, especially in the fall, to take pictures.”

The Boardman Tree Farm spans six miles along Interstate 84, and another 13 miles south of the highway. It includes roughly 6 million hybrid poplar trees that can grow to more than 100 feet tall. The trees are harvested in 12-year cycles.

It could take years to finish milling all the remaining trees, Rice said, depending on the market conditions. He is hopeful GreenWood Resources can continue to provide trees from its other locations to keep the local sawmill and veneer mill operating. Together, those businesses employ about 100 people.

The tree farm itself has 20 employees, along with another 50-60 contractors. Rice said they were not actively marketing the property, but AgriNorthwest approached them about acquiring the land.

“We believe they made a fair offer,” he said.

Prior to becoming a tree farm, the area was used for agriculture. The trees came in 1990, and GreenWood Resources bought the property in 2007. But Rice said they won’t be planting again in spring.

“Things change over time,” he said. “This will continue to be a valuable asset to the community and economy.”

Todd Jones, president of AgriNorthwest, said the company has been farming in the Columbia Basin for more than 50 years and is looking forward to adding the Boardman property to its operations.

In December, GreenWood announced it sold roughly one-third of the tree farm — 7,288 acres — to Willow Creek Dairy, which was established in 2002 on land leased by Threemile Canyon Farms located on the other side of the Boardman Bombing Range. That sale closed for $65 million.

The dairy will now be located along the southern boundary of the tree farm, near the Finley Buttes Landfill. AgriNorthwest’s fields will be located more closely to the highway, which marks the property’s northern boundary.

SALEM — Sara Pierson of St. Paul was chosen the 2016 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador at the 57th annual coronation banquet Jan. 23 in Salem.

Gina Atsma of Amity was chosen first alternate.

Both of their families have been in the dairy business five generations.

Passing the crowns to their successors were the 2015 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador, Emma Miller, and last year’s first alternate, Megan Sprute.

Pierson, 20, is the daughter of Steve and Susan Pierson, owners of Sar-Ben Farms of St. Paul. She and her two brothers represent the youngest of three generations actively working the family’s 165-acre, 350-cow organic dairy, along with their parents and grandfather, Marlin. She represented Marion County in this year’s ODPA program.

Her jobs at the dairy still include chores such as moving the cows among different pastures and moving irrigation pipe.

Atsma, 19, represented Polk County, and was raised on her family’s dairy farm, Atsma Dairy of Amity, and still works there between college studies and other activities.

In their speeches, both Pierson and Atsma celebrated their families’ long histories in the dairy industry.

Pierson spoke about her family’s dairy history and her part in it under the theme of “Where I Come From.”

Atsma likewise spoke of the longevity of the Atsma Dairy with a theme of “Cows Come First In Our Family.”

Pierson and Atsma were chosen over a field that included four other young women: Olivia Miller of Independence, representing Linn and Benton counties; Chelsey McFalls of McMinnville, representing Yamhill County; Stephanie Breazile of Cornelius, representing Washington County; and Lucy Kyle-Milward of St. Helens, representing Columbia County.

Pierson is a 2014 graduate of St. Paul High School and currently is a sophomore studying agricultural business management at Oregon State University with the hopes of beginning a career in marketing or business with an agricultural cooperative.

“I’m super excited,” she said after her crowning, “but I’m still sort of in disbelief. I worked really, really hard for this and banked a lot of hours with my adviser to get here. It’s kind of a nerve-wracking event, but I was really ready and my nerves subsided.”

Among Pierson’s first duties as the 2016 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador will be to make an appearance during Dairy Day at the state Capitol in Salem on Feb. 8. She said she would probably take a break from spring term classes at OSU to deal with the crush of events — nearly 110 through the year — that will greet her beginning this April.

Those events include elementary school presentations, public appearances and giving speeches in front of civic and community organizations. According to ODPA State Director Jessica Kliewer, the program last year reached more than 15,000 students.

In another unusual happening at the coronation event, Pierson was also voted the congeniality award. She becomes only the third contestant in the last 42 years to win both honors.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Residents of Southern Oregon stocked up on singed antiques as part of a fundraiser to rebuild a historic grist mill that burned in a holiday fire.

The Mail Tribune in Medford reports that scores of people attended a tent fundraiser Saturday to support rebuilding efforts for the Butte Creek Mill.

The landmark water-powered Butte Creek Mill was deemed a total loss after the Christmas morning fire.

Owner Bob Russell says there are steps to take before rebuilding, such as seeing what pieces of the mill are structurally sound. He says he plans to have his rebuilding plan outlined in May.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — A judge who planned to host a community meeting Monday over the standoff at an Oregon wildlife refuge has canceled it due to safety concerns.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty said in a news release authorities had become aware of plans to protest the meeting and block the entrance to the county senior center, where it was to be held. Earlier Grasty had said that a no-guns policy would be strictly enforced at the meeting.

A spokeswoman for the county said Sunday afternoon she didn’t have further information about the safety concerns or specifically who intended to block the senior center entrance.

An armed group led by Ammon Bundy has been occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since Jan. 2 to protest federal land use policies. Oregon lawmakers have been increasing their pressure on federal authorities to step in and end the occupation.

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say they’ll strictly enforce a no-guns policy at a community meeting Monday over the standoff at an Oregon wildlife refuge.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty said in a news release the meeting will be limited to 150 ticketed attendees, and it will be held at the county senior center — instead of on school grounds. School district officials became upset about the number of firearms at last week’s forum, and they decided they would no longer host the meetings.

An armed group led by Ammon Bundy has been occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since Jan. 2 to protest federal land use policies. Oregon lawmakers have been increasing their pressure on federal authorities to step in and end the occupation.

Grasty said Monday’s community meeting will be recorded for broadcast on Tuesday by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The leader of an armed group occupying a national wildlife refuge in Oregon plans to have a ceremony Saturday for ranchers to renounce federal ownership of public land and tear up their federal grazing contracts.

On Friday, Ammon Bundy met briefly with a federal agent as authorities attempt to resolve the three-week-old standoff over federal land policies, but Bundy left because the agent wouldn’t talk with him in front of the media.

The short meeting occurred as Oregon officials are putting increased pressure on federal authorities to take action against Bundy’s group.

On Thursday, Bundy went to the airport in Burns, where the FBI has set up a staging area, and spoke to an FBI negotiator over the phone. They agreed to speak again Friday, but Bundy left the airport shortly after he arrived because the FBI agent he spoke with said federal authorities wanted any conversation to be private.

Bundy wants face-to-face conversations in front of reporters. “I really don’t think, at this point, even having another phone conversation here without him would be beneficial,” Bundy said before leaving Friday.

He also questioned the FBI’s authority. “If you haven’t got sanction from the sheriff, there’s no reason to be talking to you,” Bundy said.

A crowd of reporters watched the brief exchange, while state troopers and armed federal agents looked on.

Bundy’s group began occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon on Jan. 2. The group plans to open the 300-square-mile refuge for cattle this spring.

The FBI did not immediately comment on Friday’s meeting with Bundy, but the agency said in a statement Thursday that its response “has been deliberate and measured as we seek a peaceful resolution.”

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday that she was angry because federal authorities have not taken action against Bundy’s group. The Democratic governor said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dollars.

Brown sent a letter Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey, urging them “to end the unlawful occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as safely and as quickly as possible.”

Bundy, speaking to The Associated Press late Friday while sitting at a desk inside one of the refuge buildings, dismissed the governor’s request.

“It just again shows the ignorance of some of our elected officials,” he said. “It’s just amazing that she would just disregard the Constitution to the point where she would think it would be OK to give the federal government that authority to come in and take some dynamic action or something like that.”

Bundy said the governor’s comments might have been about politics.

“If they wanted to come get us they would have come got us already,” Bundy said.

The group has recently bolstered a front entrance blockade with timbers and set up another checkpoint at a back entrance. The AP was not allowed to enter the area Friday without an armed escort.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said it was “long past time for this illegal occupation to end and for the people of Harney County to get their lives back.”

The Oregon Democrat said he hopes authorities could peacefully resolve the situation and hold Bundy’s group accountable.

At community meetings, some local residents have asked Bundy and his group to leave.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty said in a statement Friday that many locals “are incredulous about the federal government’s fear of taking action against the lawlessness that we are witnessing on a daily basis.”

Bundy has said he believes his group’s work is appreciated by locals. He said the armed men have been “helping ranchers,” doing maintenance on the refuge because “it’s in a bad shape,” and taking care of fire hazards in the refuge’s firehouse.

Bundy has also asked the FBI to let two ranchers sent to prison for arson go back home.

The Center for Biological Diversity environmentalist group says it plans to hold a rally Saturday afternoon in the refuge to call for Bundy and his supporters to leave.

———

Associated Press writer Gosia Wozniacka in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The leader of an armed group that is occupying a wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon has spoken with the FBI and there are plans to communicate again on Friday as the standoff over federal land policies nears the three-week mark.

Standing outside the municipal airport in Burns, Oregon, Ammon Bundy spoke by phone Thursday to an unnamed FBI negotiator. The federal agency has used the airport, about 30 miles from the refuge, as a staging ground during the occupation.

The conversation happened a day after Oregon’s governor sharply criticized federal authorities for not doing more to remove Bundy’s group from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the state’s high desert.

The FBI did not specifically comment on the Thursday conversation, though it was streamed live online by someone from his group.

Bundy said he went to the airport to meet with FBI officials face-to-face, but they declined to meet him. Bundy said the FBI had called him 14 times in a row earlier this week, but he couldn’t pick up the phone because he was in a meeting.

“We’re not going to escalate nothing, we’re there to work,” Bundy told the FBI official, with reporters and supporters watching. “You guys as the FBI ... you would be the ones to escalate. I’m here to shake your hands ... myself and those with me are not a threat.”

He also told the FBI the agency doesn’t have “the people’s authority” to station at the airport. Earlier this month, officials said the FBI has jurisdiction over the armed takeover of the federal buildings in the refuge, as well as any crimes committed there.

“This occupation has caused tremendous disruption and hardship for the people of Harney County, and our response has been deliberate and measured as we seek a peaceful resolution,” the FBI said Thursday in a statement.

On Wednesday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she was angry because federal authorities have not taken action against Bundy’s group, which began occupying the refuge Jan 2. The Democratic governor said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dollars.

“We’ll be asking federal officials to reimburse the state for these costs,” Brown said.

Bundy did not address concerns about how much the occupation is costing authorities. He did rail against federal land management policies and reiterated that his armed group would not leave the refuge until federal lands — including the refuge — are turned over to local control.

“We will leave there if those buildings are turned over to the proper authorities... and never used again by the federal government to control land and resources unconstitutionally in this county,” Bundy said.

Bundy said that despite some negative sentiments against his group expressed at recent community meetings, he believes his group’s work is appreciated by locals. He said the armed men have been “helping ranchers,” doing maintenance on the refuge because “it’s in a bad shape,” and taking care of fire hazards in the refuge’s fire house.

Bundy also asked the FBI to let two ranchers sent to prison for arson go back home. Bundy agreed to speak with authorities again on Friday. He said he would again come to the airport and hoped to speak with someone from the FBI face-to-face.

Earlier Bundy also said his group plans to have a ceremony Saturday for ranchers to renounce federal ownership of public land and tear up their federal grazing contracts. The armed group plans to open up the 300-square-mile refuge for cattle this spring.

———

Wozniacka reported from Portland, Oregon.

PORTLAND — In the South Waterfront district, where new high-rises mark the convergence of Oregon Health and Science University’s expanding presence and the $1.5 billion Tilikum Crossing bridge and new MAX train Orange Line, the only juniper in sight is a mobile food cart at the base of the aerial tram that whisks riders to the top of “Pill Hill,” as OHSU’s main location is known.

The food cart Juniper — “100% gluten free,” a sign promises — does a brisk business among the doctors, nurses, medical students, visitors and patients who converge here. With a name like Juniper, is there any connection to Eastern Oregon, where juniper trees rob the range and hillsides of scarce water, crowd out native grasses and bedevil ranchers?

The cart operator, a cheerful young woman with a nose ring, says no. The owners once had a drink flavored with juniper berries, and enjoyed it so much they chose that for the business name.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but that illustrates the casual disconnect between urban and rural. It’s a division on display as armed men occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Harney County and demand the federal government release area ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond and turn over all federally managed land to the states, counties or private ranchers.

Many people living in Portland and other urban centers mock the occupiers as “Y’all Qaeda” and ridicule their beliefs. They rail about “welfare cowboys” receiving “subsidized” grazing fees on federal land.

Meanwhile, rural residents, farming and ranching groups and elected officials have criticized the occupiers’ actions. But they say the underlying anger about lost economic opportunity in the rural West is very real.

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, who represents Eastern Oregon in Congress, said the thread tying the Hammond family’s case with the occupiers’ demands is “decades of frustration, arrogance and betrayal that has contributed to the mistrust of the federal government.”

In Portland and other urban centers, that connection isn’t so clear.

“Because it’s not on their radar,” said John Morgan, an economic development, civic and leadership planner and consultant who works with rural communities.

Harney County, where federal and state agencies manage about 75 percent of the land, has 1,200 fewer people and 10 percent fewer jobs than it did in the late 1970s. The number of logging and mill jobs in the county went from 768 in 1978 to just 6 in 2014, according to state figures.

Meanwhile, the state’s urban areas, especially Portland and surrounding Multnomah County, have grown dramatically. With its 14,000 employees, OHSU alone has nearly twice as many people as Harney County. Intel, the computer chip manufacturing company based in Hillsboro, employs about 18,000 people.

Yet the wheat, timber, wine, livestock and other agricultural products pouring out of rural Oregon are crucial to cities, Morgan said. City shipping, trucking, processing, professional service and retail jobs depend on them.

“The resource economy is intrinsically tied to the prosperity of the rest of the state,” he said. “You couldn’t have urban prosperity without the fact that Oregon is still a resource economy. Intel can only take us so far.”

Getting that point across to city dwellers isn’t easy.

“They’re more than happy to try and regulate what happens to the Columbia River Gorge because they see it as their playground, without stopping to understand the (economic) impact,” Morgan said.

But the Hammond case — they were ordered to serve additional prison time for burning BLM land — and the wildlife refuge occupation may have opened the conversation. Walden made an impassioned speech in Congress about “federal overreach in the West” that was well-received and widely shared on social media.

Rancher Keith Nantz, manager and partner of the Dillon Land and Cattle Co. south of The Dalles, Ore., wrote an opinion piece on the issue for the Washington Post that received more than 4,200 reader comments.

In his piece, Nantz said management decisions are being made by people “four to five generations removed from food production” and who “don’t quite understand our industry.”

“In every part of my business, I try to find a balance between economics, mother nature and our culture,” Nantz wrote. “I know that if we don’t treat our land properly, we will go out of business by our own hands.

“But all too often, I’m not given the autonomy to do so. I’m given rules, not a conversation about how ranchers and government officials and environmentalists might be able to work together. That’s an approach that fails everyone.”

Nantz said online comments ranged from “absolute opposite ends of the spectrum.” The issue now has the national stage, he said, and producers should not let the conversation die off. Farmers and ranchers are getting better at networking, he said, and must continue to engage the public and explain what they do without being combative.

“We need to utilize the momentum we have right now,” Nantz said. “We need to capitalize on this movement.”

Nantz said one of the tips in the book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is to “first understand before being understood.”

“We all have to live here in this great state and this great country,” he said. “We need some balance. Try to listen instead of forming a rebuttal. We can actually find answers to conflicting views.”

Portland attorney Tim Bernasek, who heads an agricultural practice group for the Dunn Carney Allen Higgins & Tongue law firm, said he’s seeing increased urban curiosity about rural life.

He said city dwellers should understand farmers and ranchers are intelligent people who are drawn to agriculture because it’s a calling, often a family legacy and a lifestyle preference.

He said their career choice is analogous to that of teachers, who are likewise drawn to their jobs.

“They could make more money doing something else,” he said.

Paul Schwennesen, a Harvard-educated Air Force veteran who raises grass-fed beef in Arizona, wrote a piece for the Huffington Post in which he described Western reaction to the Harney County situation as “deeply American.”

He said “urban elites” at both ends of the political spectrum have dismissed the standoff as ridiculous, and miss the point of it.

“Like good Tories haughtily renouncing tea dumping in Boston ‘Harbour,’ we may be shocked to find that the ragamuffins are not only saying something important, but that their message is striking a chord, Schwennesen wrote.

“What they are saying is that the federal government is too bloated, too heavy-handed, and too corrupt, and that it is most spectacularly evident on the rugged rangelands of the West.”

In a phone interview, Schwennesen said reaction to his piece “split along the urban-rural divide.”

He said the ground level issue is federal management of the overwhelming majority of the resource base in the West. Bureaucratic paralysis is the inevitable result when “one decision maker gets to make the decisions over a gigantic public resource,” he said.

“I think a lot of what’s going on here is that the free market and capitalism really aren’t thriving out West,” Schwennesen said.

“While not all rural blight is the result of federal oversight, it’s a big piece of the puzzle that goes unquestioned today,” he said.

If Cargill or Monsanto owned the majority of the land and people were denied opportunity to make a living, all hell would break loose, he said.

“I am an optimist at the end of the day,” Schwennesen said. “I do think logic prevails. The best I can hope to do is put out facts, and put them out in such a way that it’s not just ideological posturing.

“There’s more to the issue than meets the preconceived eye.”

Online

To see Rep. Greg Walden’s speech on the U.S. House floor, go to www.capitalpress.com.

To read rancher Keith Nantz’s opinion piece, go to https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/08/im-an-oregon-rancher-heres-what-you-dont-understand-about-the-bundy-standoff/

To read rancher Paul Schwennesen’s opinion piece, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-schwennesen/the-stetson-rebellion-and_b_8949070.html

SALEM (AP) — Oregon’s governor said she’s frustrated with the way federal authorities are handling an armed group’s continued occupation of a national wildlife refuge and it’s time to end it.

Exasperated by a tense situation that has caused fear among some southeastern Oregon residents since it began Jan. 2, Gov. Kate Brown said at a news conference Wednesday that federal officials “must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable.”

“The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials’ response thus far. I have conveyed these very grave concerns directly to our leaders at the highest levels of our government: the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House,” Brown said.

The Democratic governor said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. “We’ll be asking federal officials to reimburse the state for these costs,” Brown said.

Brown spokeswoman Melissa Navas said in an email that number is coming from labor costs for an additional law enforcement presence in the area, including overtime, travel reimbursement, lodging and meals for officers.

Federal authorities did not return calls seeking comment.

Brown had scheduled the news conference to discuss her agenda for the upcoming legislative session, but she made it a point to deliver strong words about the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by Ammon Bundy and his armed group.

Federal, state and local law enforcement officers have been sent to the remote area but so far have avoided doing anything that might provoke a confrontation. One occupier was arrested for unauthorized use of a vehicle after driving a vehicle owned by the refuge into the town of Burns, and a Montana man who was stopped by Oregon State Police last week for a lighting violation was arrested on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

While many people in the region sympathize with Bundy’s complaints about federal management of public lands, they have expressed fear as the occupation continues, and there’s been a growing call for the occupiers to go home.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty has been at the forefront of efforts among locals to show Bundy and his followers they are not welcome. Grasty said Bundy — who is not from Oregon — should get the point that he and his followers need to go back to their home states and leave Harney County alone.

“It seems like he’s out of touch with reality,” Grasty told the AP from Burns.

Grasty said he would like law enforcement to turn up the heat on Bundy and his fellow occupiers — perhaps isolate them by closing off roads leading to the refuge.

“I hope they lock it down. People shouldn’t be coming and going. Maybe it’s time,” he said.

Bundy initially took over the refuge to protest prison terms for two local ranchers convicted of setting fires on federal lands. After the ranchers voluntarily reported to prison, Bundy has justified the occupation by saying he wants federal lands in Harney County turned over to local residents, among other demands. He has also said he is obeying a divine command.

The group’s spokesman — LaVoy Finicum — told Oregon Public Broadcasting on Wednesday they have “no plans to leave.”

“We are very strong, very firm. This facility will not go back to the federal government, ever,” Finicum told OPB.

———

Terrence Petty reported from Portland, Oregon.

BANDON — “A major accomplishment,” is how the Bandon Swimming Pool board describes the first hoop cleared for approval for developing the land purchased by the Bandon Community Pool Development Corporation for the Bandon Swimming Pool from grants and donations.

BANDON — “A major accomplishment,” is how the Bandon Swimming Pool board describes the first hoop cleared for approval for developing the land purchased by the Bandon Community Pool Developmen…

SALEM — Besides occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, armed protesters now occupy a place on Gov. Kate Brown’s list of 2016 policy priorities.

During Brown’s unveiling of her agenda Wednesday, the governor said that one of her priorities is to pass a funding package to offset expenses associated with responding to the occupation. The governor said her administration would “scour the budget to make sure that we have the resources at the state level to subsidize the cost for Harney County.”

The cost of responding to the occupation, which started Jan. 2, is running about $100,000 per week, Brown said.

The state would later ask the federal government to reimburse the state for those costs, she said.

Ammon Bundy and his armed followers seized the remote refuge Jan. 2 in a protest against federal public lands policies.

“The situation is absolutely intolerable,” Brown said. “The very fabric of this community is being ripped apart. The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials’ response thus far.”

Brown said she has expressed her concerns to federal officials “at the highest levels of our government, the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House.”

“Federal authorities must act quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable,” she said. “The spectacle of lawlessness must end. Until Harney County is free of it I will not stop insisting federal officials enforce the law.”

Some of Brown’s other 2016 priorities were no surprise. She wants the Legislature to enact her plan to boost minimum wage to $15.52 in the Portland area and $13.50 in the rest of the state by 2022. The plan is intended to thwart two ballot measures that would raise minimum wage in three years instead of six.

She is championing House Speaker Tina Kotek’s omnibus housing bill to increase affordable housing options around the state.

Brown said she plans to use her executive power to create a Council on Educator Advancement. The council will be responsible for coordinating and promoting leadership development, mentorship and best practices.

The governor gave no timeline for establishing council and did not address how what relationship that council would have to the Department of Education and the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, which licenses teachers.

The governor also repeated her plan to hire an education innovation officer to improve the state’s high school graduation rate and a public records ombudsman to help agencies respond more efficiently and consistently to requests.

Her other priorities include:

• Expanding the Office of Small Business Advocate to help small businesses through the labyrinth of government red tape.

• Creating a small business advisory group to develop recommendations to support small businesses in accessing capital and streamlining agency processes.

• Issuing an executive order to force agencies to adopt a public records policy.

• Supporting legislation to tighten deadlines for lobbyists to disclose their clients to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission and to require that information be posted online within two days.

• Launching a college campus safety working group.

• Approving a request from Umqua Community College for funding to enhance safety on campus in the wake of the deadly shooting there Oct. 1.

• Securing funding to respond to drought and the 2015 wildfire season.

Harney County rancher Travis Williams says he’s “riding the fence” on a recent anti-government proposal to stop paying fees for grazing on public lands.

Armed protesters occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Southeast Oregon have urged local ranchers to tear up their grazing contracts with federal agencies to challenge the government’s control over the area.

Williams said he doesn’t support the protesters’ actions, such as removing fences at the refuge, but thinks the grazing fee proposal may be a legitimate form of protest.

“If there’s enough people involved, I think it would work,” he said.

On the other hand, Williams is concerned about how violating grazing contracts with the federal government would affect his two sons and daughter, who hope to run the family ranch someday.

“My actions right now are going to play over to their future,” he said.

The consequences of using federal grazing allotments without paying the required fees can be serious and long-lasting, said Scott Horngren, an attorney with the Western Resources Legal Center who has represented ranchers in grazing lawsuits.

While the penalties would not be criminal, serious breaches of grazing contracts may effectively end a rancher’s ability to release livestock onto public lands. It’s similar to a contractor who has previously defaulted on an agreement and is excluded from bidding on government projects, Horngren said.

“The real risk is they’ll be unable to graze on the allotment for which they’re not paying and it’s possible they could be disqualified from acquiring any allotments in the future,” he said.

Federal agencies may also come after ranchers to collect payments for unpaid grazing fees, he said.

Ranchers and federal agencies usually resolve minor contract disputes without actually voiding such deals, Horngren said. “Breaches happen on both sides.”

Federal officials may not treat one missed payment as a serious issue, but tearing up a contract and refusing to pay at all would probably be considered a material breach, he said.

Members of the armed protest group have cited examples of ranchers refusing to pay grazing fees without consequence, such as Cliven Bundy of Nevada, who continues to graze on public land even though the government claims he owes more than $1 million to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Federal officials backed off from seizing Bundy’s cattle in 2014 after an armed standoff, and his son, Ammon, is currently leading the occupation in Oregon.

Horngren said he’d advise ranchers against relying on that case in their decision-making and instead work through administrative and legal processes if they disagree with restrictions on grazing permits.

“Withholding payment is a risky strategy for a rancher to try to make the point the BLM is not managing the range appropriately,” he said.

Rancher Travis Williams said he’s considering the protesters’ proposal primarily because the money raised by the federal government from grazing fees doesn’t benefit Harney County tax revenues.

If he does withhold grazing fees, Williams said he doesn’t want to “freeload” and instead would make payments into an escrow account, with the money intended for the county.

Though he doesn’t want to jeopardize his ranch, Williams doesn’t believe that ranchers “collaborating” with federal agencies has produced needed changes in land management.

Refusing to pay grazing fees would likely be more effective, he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to get anything done.”

Shawn Mace, president of the Harney County Stockgrowers Association, said his organization does not endorse illegal activity against the federal government, which reflects the view of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.

Some ranchers may feel a need to stand against the federal government to protect their way of life, but Mace said it’s unclear what purpose refusing to pay grazing fees would achieve.

Mace said he prefers to concentrate on his job of ranching.

“Public grazing is vital to the survival of Harney County ranchers,” he said. “I don’t see this as a real issue. Why would we bite the hand that feeds us?”

SOUTH COAST — The South Coast Education Service District Board of Directors announces an opening on its board for position No. 4, Zone 1A (Curry County and the portion of Port Orford/Langlois that lies in Coos County) for a term…

SOUTH COAST — The South Coast Education Service District Board of Directors announces an opening on its board for position No. 4, Zone 1A (Curry County and the portion of Port Orford/Langlois …