06/22/06 Water wins

Water Wins Two water issues have produced positive results for domestic livestock. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you about the findings. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has had concerns over feces-related bacteria, mainly E.coli, on the Lower Umpqua River for several years and rumors suggested domestic livestock might be fenced away from one tributary  the Smith River. That seems to be the generic answer to all stream problems from agencies and consultants. Well, the Smith River Watershed Council secured grant money for a technical study on the river enlisting the expertise of an international consulting company, CH2M-Hill, and the Institute of Environmental Health in Seattle for lab work. After a January 2005 storm event on the river the lab genetically traced 8 percent of the bacteria to waterfowl and wildlife and only 5 percent to domestic animals. The other water issue occurred in the northeastern corner of Oregon, where a retired Eastern Oregon University professor, George Venn, filed a compliant with the Oregon Department of Agriculture that cattle were polluting Catherine Creek on land owned by Sherman Hawkins of La Grande and leased to a cattle producer. When all the visits, tests and measurements were taken, the cattle operation was found to be in compliance with state rules. I believe it's my duty to report these outcomes to my watershed planning committee. I'm Jeff Keane Capital Press 6/2/06