Around the Region

Dakota Rural Action has been busy building support for livestock market reforms in South Dakota. In July, DRA delivered 135 letters from ranchers across the state to Senator John Thune’s office in Rapid City, S.D., urging the senator to support market reforms and to add provisions of the Captive Supply Reform Act into the 2007 Farm Bill. To follow up the letters, DRA ran radio ads in August. The ads asked South Dakotans to call Senator Thune and tell him to support the reforms

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Over 200 people enjoyed a home-grown dinner of local meat, poultry, and produce grown and prepared by members of the Powder River Basin Resource Council at the group’s 2nd Annual Harvest Celebration September 15. Diners feasted on roast pork with wild plum barbeque or apple chokecherry sauce, curry meatballs, harvest vegetables, roasted winter squash, zucchini and bell pepper quiche, an array of salads and side dishes, and dessert. For those who wanted to continue the celebration at home, Powder River auctioned 17 pies.

Oregon Rural Action’s Blue Mountain Chapter held a fundraiser on September 12 for the “Yes on 49 Campaign,” a bi-partisan effort to fix problems in the state’s land use law. In 2004, voters approved Measure 37, which lets property owners whose property value is lowered due to environmental or other land use regulations to claim compensation from state or local government. Since then, more than 7,500 claims have been filed to develop over 750,000 acres of primarily farmland and forestland in all 36 counties in the state. Measure 49 would not repeal Measure 37 but sets reasonable limits on the scope of developments from claims and has provisions to account for the impact of water quality and water supply in an effort to balance development and sustainability of resources. —Chris Perry, ORA staff

The Idaho Rural Council is continuing to work on a huge dairy heifer replacement factory farm near an historic Japanese internment camp, as well as working with Gooding County citizens to cap the number of dairy cows in the county. IRC’s campaign to get setbacks to protect the public and livestock producers from dairy lagoon spray fields is gaining traction. IRC is advocating for the same larger setbacks on dairy lagoons as required for industrial and municipal liquid waste spray fields. —Rich Carlson, IRC staff

The Yellowstone Valley Citizens Council, an affiliate of the Northern Plains Resource Council, launched a Greening Committee of members to identify innovative ways to promote energy conservation and sustainability in Billings. The committee is considering efforts to set up a section in the public library on green topics, encouraging energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the local baseball stadium, educating children about recycling, and promoting incentive programs for employees using alternate transportation to and from work. —Merry Ann Peters, Northern Plains staff

The Dakota Resource Council and two local chapters have conducted two well attended workshops on small-scale biodiesel production. The workshops included presentations on small-scale processing and the effects of biodiesel use on machinery, storage, and emissions. Demonstrations focused on oil seed screw pressing and small-scale production. In total, 110 people participated in the workshops.

Two of the six new members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) have ties to Western Colorado Congress. The appointments come as part of the Commission’s overhaul, which was one of the more monumental accomplishments in the past year’s legislative session. Rich Alward, a WCC of Mesa County member, is a Grand Junction ecologist appointed under the soil science and reclamation qualification. Rich brings a wealth of experience on restoration to the Commission and knowledge of the factors at play in developing western Colorado’s mineral resources. Tresi Houpt, a Garfield County commissioner, is serving as the COGCC’s local government official. Tresi has been active on oil and gas issues in Garfield County, often times being the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance’s (WCC’s local group) only sympathetic ear on the Board of County Commissioners. —Patrick Barker, WCC staff