Online Edition | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | Friday, January 11, 2002

A Delicate Balance:
Cranberries, oysters and Willapa Bay
By Robert Frank, WSU Today


Kim Patten, researcher and director 
of the Long Beach Research and Extension Unit

Kim Patten runs a one-man research and extension office located about as far from Washington State University’s main campus as one can get and still be within state boundaries — about nine hours by car.

Despite the distance, Patten remains connected, undeterred and flexible. Research efforts by Patten and fellow scientists promise to impact the entire Long Beach, Wash., region and its economy, and save an important 25-mile long estuary. His three main goals are to:

• help struggling cranberry growers find affordable and effective means of pest, disease and weed control that are environmentally acceptable,

• find a way to eliminate an aquatic, invasive species of grass, called Spartina, that is rapidly taking over Willapa Bay, and

• develop programs that preserve the watershed health of the region.

In addition to research, he runs the Long Beach Research and Extension Unit, which conducts a variety of outreach programs to the agriculture and natural resources industries throughout the region.

Personal, professional
For Patten, the incentives and rewards for his work are personal and professional.

Spartina, spreading at a rate of about 20 percent per year, has taken over approximately one third of the 60,000 acres in Willapa Bay — one of the largest pristine estuaries in the United States, producing more than 15 percent of the nation’s oysters.

At the same time, the cranberry industry, which employs most local farmers in a 100-mile region along the coast, is going through a huge shakeout. Over production and weak prices (dropping from 60 cents a pound to 10 cents) are driving some growers out of business and plunging others into bankruptcy.

"It’s very hard for me do deal with, seeing some of my best friends going bankrupt or working two to three jobs just to save the farm," Patten said. "It’s tough. I sometimes get teary eyed just talking about it.

"Reality is, what worked five years ago in terms of extension and outreach, doesn’t work today. In addition to being a researcher, you sometimes need to be a counselor, psychologist, educator or sociologist."

Patten’s educational training includes a bachelor of science degree in plant science from UC Davis, a master’s degree in horticulture and agronomy from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in horticulture from WSU in 1983. He was employed as a researcher by Texas A&M for about five years, then started at Long Beach in 1990.

"I like the area and climate of the coastal northwest," he said. "But there are some disadvantages to being an isolated scientist. The closest university colleagues are a three-hour drive away (at WSU Vancouver)."

So, he’s adapted. He shares information and partners with people in government agencies, industry, and other universities and extension offices scattered throughout the nation and Canada.

"It’s certainly a different perspective than working on campus at a traditional university," he said.

"A lot of people wouldn’t do well out here. It requires being very flexible, working on a broad range of issues, and enjoying partnering with others to get things done."

"Technically, I’m 50 percent researcher and 50 percent extension specialist. I work principally on cranberries, but when you are the only research scientist in the area, it is hard to ignore critical needs that aren’t being addressed by anyone else.

"It’s a great job in terms of variety, challenge and importance. And the WSU extension office has tremendous community support.

"What’s rewarding is that you can have a significant impact on both the community and ecosystem. It’s not just science for science sake. If we can develop better controls for one of the major cranberry pests or an aquatic weed (Spartina), it will provide enormous benefits to both the region and the state. That in itself is enough reward for me."

Cranberry glut
The biggest segment of Patten’s work focuses on cranberries, an agricultural crop that has been cultivated in southwestern Washington for more than 120 years. Cranberries thrive in the coastal climate, with 15 million pounds harvested annually.

"To survive you must have high yield and farm cost-effectively. There’s not a lot of margin any more. It’s bare-bones survival, and almost 100% of the growers are working one or more jobs to keep their farms.

"My role is working on priority issues that they need addressed in order to survive."

Partnering with industry
WSU’s Long Beach Research and Extension Unit is no newcomer to the region or to industry. Founded in 1924, it was originally known as the Cranberry-Blueberry Experiment Station of the State College of Washington.

In the early 1990s, the university announced that it was planning to close the Long Beach station. Knowing the importance of the work performed there, growers from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia formed a nonprofit group called The Pacific Coast Cranberry Research Foundation, bought the buildings from the university and allows the extension office to use them without charge. In addition, the foundation established a gift shop, museum and tour, and took over management of the cranberry research farm. Proceeds from these efforts help support Patten’s research. Other financial supporters include The Cranberry Institute, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Washington State Commission on Pesticide Registration, USDA Northwest Center for Small Fruits, Washington Department of Ecology, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Cranberry Commission.

The arrangement has been described as a model partnership benefiting everyone involved.

"As far as the cranberry farming goes, it’s vital that we have the WSU station here," said Malcolm McPhail, an Ocean Spray grower, "particularly in the Pacific and Grays Harbor county region."

Delicate balance
Cranberry farmers are looking for help in a number of areas, including weed and fungus control, integrated pest management, pollination and general management practices.

One of Patten’s toughest challenges is finding herbicides, pesticides and natural solutions that won’t damage water quality and are acceptable to state and federal environmental agencies. Simple geography makes this a rigorous challenge. The water from the cranberry beds feeds into nearby streams and the Willapa River, which flows into Willapa Bay. The bay is home to the largest industry in the region — oyster and clam production — as well as Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, which shelters more than 180 species of migratory birds.

"Broad-spectrum insecticides that used to work well are now being phased out," Patten said. "We have to find ecologically friendly pesticides that still control the (disease and insect) problems. Our efforts are under a lot of scrutiny from regulatory agencies. These are serious issues, and we need to find sustainable solutions that are affordable and effective."

McPhail agrees. "We’re on the brink of losing a number of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides that we rely on heavily. One of the big things we’re struggling with is developing some acceptable herbicides to help control broadleaf weeds like silver leaf, purple aster and several others. It’s a constant struggle to keep weeds out of the bogs. Some of it is done by hand, but without these (herbicides), the weeds would take over.

"One of the real scary things," said McPhail, "is that several of the more effective chemicals are under attack by environmentalists or on the schedule to be phased out. Some environmentalists would like us to not use any pesticides. So we’re always working to get newer and safer products."

Similarly, Patten is trying to develop a cost-effective chemical control program that will eliminate the Spartina grass and not impact the aquatic life in Willapa Bay.

"It’s not glamorous research, but old-fashioned pest management work — screening compounds, testing efficacy, mapping out strategies, collecting nontarget impact data, conducting environmental fate data, and persistent research. We’ve been working on it in one fashion or another for seven years," he said.

Due to the delicate environmental balance, Patten often finds himself working with a multitude of agencies. One recent project included representatives from Ducks Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture.

"Working with a herbicide in an aquatic environment, especially an estuary, is extremely complicated. First you do the science to make sure it doesn’t impact the environment, then you move ahead with testing.

"The last thing you want to do is impact the oysters, clams and wildlife. The process involves miles and miles of paperwork," he said.

"I may be naively optimistic but I think within 18 to 24 months we’ll have an effective solution. If we are correct, the state or federal government will no longer spend several thousand dollars per acre to control this problem, but only a few hundred dollars an acre."

Patten’s one-man extension and research office is an ideal example of how WSU scientists are changing, serving and improving the world around us in tangible ways.