PHOTO COURTESY OF OSU
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today testified in support of his bill to place the 240 acres of land currently home to Oregon State University’s Hermiston Agriculture Research and Experiment Center (HAREC) fully under local control.
“For the growing community, H.R. 3366 provides an opportunity for economic and job growth into the future,” Walden said. “For the Columbia Basin’s strong agriculture economy, it is a way for valuable, local agriculture research to continue. And for Oregon State University it provides the flexibility they need to continue providing that research to the area, as they have for the last 60 years.”
In 1954, the 240 acres near Hermiston was conveyed by the federal government to the state of Oregon for the creation of an agricultural experiment station. The federal government still holds mineral and reversionary interest in the property. Should any portion of the current HAREC property be no longer used for agricultural research purposes, the property would return to federal ownership.
Walden said this clause provides management challenges for the station and denies the flexibility needed for the university to generate revenue from portions unsuited for agriculture research. For example, said Walden, it denies OSU the ability to sell the property and relocate the station out beyond city limit to an area better located for agriculture research as needed in the future. The clause also denies the local community the flexibility it needs to build the economy and provide jobs to meet the demands of the growing region.
Local leaders praised the plan when it was introduced.
“We appreciate Congressman Walden working with growers here locally to make sure an arcane federal law does not endanger the future of the OSU Hermiston experiment station,” said Bryan Wolfe, a local farmer and chairman of the HAREC Advisory Committee. “The station is a valuable asset, and the continued viability this legislation provides will ensure area farmers have the latest research on their crops so they can remain competitive into the future.”
“This legislation allows OSU the flexibility to make decisions about how to manage the Hermiston site to best maximize the financial and scientific value of the property,” said Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann. “The revisionary interest denies OSU any incentive to sell its property, which prevents higher-value development from taking place on the land, and at the same time locks the station into a location which is becoming less ideal for their needs as the city continues to rapidly grow around it.”
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