The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking people to tell them how they are doing with their management of Washington Resources. Please take the time to let Dept of Fish and Wildlife know that Washington needs to ran using common sense. Link below.
Author Archives
MANAGING LIVESTOCK TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY
October 22, 2015, 10-3
Fairfield Community Center, Fairfield, Washington
The role of domestic livestock as an influence in natural stream systems is complex. Livestock activities directly influence plant species composition and soil surface characteristics; distribution of manure further influences these characteristics as well as others. At the watershed scale, most problems associated with livestock, including water quality problems, are a function of animal distribution rather than an excessive stocking rate. Net effects of livestock grazing may be positive or negative; the challenge of the stockman is to manage for the positive. This planning begins at the ridgeline, not at the greenline, or water’s edge.
Beneficial, regenerative riparian management requires understanding characteristics of healthy rangeland, tame pasture, and riparian ecosystems. Riparian systems are more complex and support a broader suite of ecological functions, such as providing clean water, healthy fisheries, etc. These functions are not mutually exclusive with livestock grazing but they do require forethought and planning and adaptive management.
This producer-oriented seminar will answer the following critical questions:
1. How does riparian function affect water quality?
2. How does livestock grazing affect riparian function?
3. What kinds of grazing management promote healthy streams? What kinds of grazing damage riparian zones and stream function?
4. What are indicators that a grazed stream reach is impaired by improper grazing?
5. Under what circumstances is livestock exclusion a good option to maintain stream health and protect the livestock operation?
6. Does water quality testing have value to an individual landowner/producer? If so, what can be tested? How? By whom?
7. How can one properly graze a riparian pasture, i.e., a stream zone and its vegetation managed as a separate grazing unit?
This event is provided by WSU Extension, with support from the following sponsors, listed alphabetically: 195 Industries, 5-Star Watershed Stewardship Group, Clearwater Seed, Cattle Producers of Washington, Gingersnap Farm and Seed, Spokane County Cattlemen, Spokane Conservation District, Spokane County Farm Bureau, Stevens County Cattlemen, Triple E Angus, Whitman Conservation District, Whitman County Cattlemen’s Association, Whitman County Farm Bureau.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Kenneth Tate, a watershed specialist with the University of California at Davis and a researcher at the Sierra Foothills Research & Extension Center. Dr. Tate is a leading researcher in non-point source water quality and livestock grazing; you can learn more about his work here:http://rangelandwatersheds.ucdavis.edu/main/tate.htm. Also speaking is Tip Hudson, a rangeland and livestock management specialist with WSU Extension.
Thanks to generous sponsors, registration, a catered lunch, drinks and snacks are free, but space is limited to the first 150 registrants. Call the Kittitas County Extension office at 509-962-7507 or email amorse@wsu.edu to reserve your spot.
Musser Brothers Auction- September 15, 2015
EPA Press conference on Animas River
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said at a press conference on the Animas River and about the contamination caused by EPA, “The very good news is that we see that this river is restoring itself. That we see those numbers shifting. That we are working with local communities to make sure that they are looking at the science and making the right decisions on reopening. We will continue to do that as we, long-term, look at the sediment issues. But the major risk issue, relative to this spill, is what’s in that water column and how do I continue to make sure that that water column is beginning to restore itself. We are seeing that happening already. So our challenge is to continue to do what we’ve done with the Animas, the upper Animas’, to just to keep rolling out that data for those segments; working with local communities moving forward.”
The take home message from this is that nature does restore itself when able. The Animas had actual pollution, not a substantial potential to pollute, but actual pollution. EPA has allowed the river to restore itself. The question becomes, if a private citizen had polluted the Animas River, would there be a different spin on this? And if so, what would EPA have required that person to do?
Sactions of $100,000 per day on Education for Washington
State faces Supreme Court sanctions
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Supreme Court is ordering the state to pay $100,000 a day, beginning immediately, because it hasn’t shown enough progress in funding education. Gov. Jay Inslee says the court has spoken, and he’s considering the options.
“The court made it very clear that bolder and more aggressive action is needed to support Washington students and teachers,” he said after the ruling was handed down yesterday.
Inslee says he plans meetings with legislative leaders, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and others to discuss what can be done and consider calling a special session. The court stated Washington will not have to pay the fines on days the Legislature may spend in a special session trying to rework the funding.
“The detailed plan the court demands in order to fulfill our Constitutional obligation will be more complex and expensive than the significant steps we’ve already taken,” he said.
Several legislators tweeted reactions to the ruling. One Republican suggested the Supreme Court had gone rogue and suggested a recall effort.
The Legislature’s four caucus leaders will meet with Inslee on the issue Monday.
Wolves attack again- guard dog killed
Please see http://stevenscountycattlemen.com/
Huckleberry Wolf Pack attacks guard dog near Hunters
August 13, 2015
Huckleberry wolf pack continues to haunt Hunters area rancher
Wolves attack, nearly kill guard dog on Aug. 12
The Huckleberry Wolf pack is continuing to haunt a cattle and sheep rancher in southern Stevens County, with the wolves attacking and nearly killing a guard dog on Aug. 12. Johnsey, Marama-Akbash guard dog, was protecting a small group of sheep on the Dashiell ranch near Hunters when he was attacked and mutilated by wolves. The attack is another blow to the Dashiells who were forced to leave their private grazing ground in 2014 after chronic wolf attacks killed over 33 sheep and left over 300 unaccounted for. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife removed one wolf from the Huckleberry wolf pack, but it did not stop the attacks. With the ranch losing animals on a daily basis, the Dashiells were forced to drive the over 1,800 head of sheep down from their forested grazing area to pastures where the ranch was forced to feed hay. In 2015, the ranch was unable to go back to their summer grazing due to ongoing wolf activity and is now feeding the majority of the sheep hay on pastures near the Tri-Cities. A small group of replacement ewes is still being kept at the Hunters ranch. Moving most of the sheep from the summer grazing pastures is costing the ranch over $10,000 a month in hay costs alone. Unable to absorb the high overhead, the Dashiells have put their sheep up for sale. By being forced out of Stevens County, the area is losing a business that grossed over $100,000 a year.
“This will be the fate of every ranch in Stevens County if we don’t change something right now,” said Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Hedrick. “When offending wolves are not quickly removed, they will come back again and again to feed on and attack livestock and domestic animals.”
Hedrick noted that the challenges to his own ranch, the Diamond M, only stopped after most of Wedge Pack was removed in 2012.
Due to the unbreakable nature of the behavior of wolves that start killing livestock, multiple kills by the Dirty Shirt pack near Chewelah also this summer indicate that pack should be removed immediately, said Hedrick. So far, the pack has killed three adult cattle and one calf.
“We have asked WDFW to be specific about how many cattle have to be killed before removal action will be taken and by their own documents, four is the number,” said Hedrick. “So the time for removal of the Dirty Shirt pack is now.”
The Corps of Engineers and EPA want to federalize the “Waters of the United States”
Pacific Legal has a great article on the far reaching impacts of WOTUS. For people that don’t understand WOTUS, it takes the jurisdiction of the Federal government over navigable waters and expands it. Many see WOTUS as a land grab as it allows more government oversight over private property. The link to the Pacific Legal article is below:
Loosing a Water Right- yes it can happen.
Washington’s water law includes a principle that a water right is perfected, defined, and maintained through beneficial use. The expression “use it or lose it” is sometimes applied to describe this western water law principle. Put simply, a water right may be wholly or partially lost through extended periods of non-use. The return of unused water to the state is called relinquishment. The purpose of relinquishment is to ensure that Washington’s limited water sources are put to maximum beneficial use for all of Washington’s citizens. To keep it simple, 5 or more successive years of non-use causes relinquishment unless you have good cause for said non-use. There are several categories described in RCW 90.14.140 that forgive the non-use.
Ag Water Strategy Meetings
I got to have a meeting with this guy this morning on the DOE watershed evaluation letters. Now we are enjoying apricot pie that mom made. Sonny Riley has been a client of mine since I became a lawyer.
Fun Reading
Dept of Ecology has produced their Nonpoint Source Plan- if anyone wants to read 157 pages- here it is:
Toni Meacham Attorney At Law 