2/9/10 Wolf Management Plan Up for Review

Oregon's Wolf Management Plan was adopted by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in 2005. Now, at their meeting on March 12, 2010 in Salem, the Commission is scheduled to hear a review of the Plan by staff. While major changes to the Plan are unlikely to occur at the meeting, more minor Plan updates are likely.

The original Oregon Wolf Management Plan was pretty well developed in anticipation that wolves would, at some point in time, move into Oregon, most likely from Idaho. Now, wolves obviously have moved into Oregon! Within the past year, for example, two (2) wolves attacked livestock in northeast Oregon and were eventually destroyed after attempts to deter their predation on livestock failed. Also, a "pack" of wolves, including young animals, were observed and videoed in the Imnaha Valley area. Wolves have reportedly also been sighted in other areas of Oregon, including the Cascade Range, although at least some of these sightings are unconfirmed.

If you have interest in or concerns about wolves and their distribution in Oregon, you may want to consider attending the Commission's March 12th meeting to learn more.

Craig Star

 

1/31/2010 Mandatory Reporting Legislation Being Developed

ODF&W has started work to develop a legislative proposal to (finally) make "mandatory" reporting on big game tags really mandatory. The proposal would be submitted to the 2011 Oregon Legislature for consideration and, hopefully, enactment. OBH supports mandatory reporting as being important for ODF&W to generate meaningful information for making effective game management decisions and will back ODF&W's legislative concept if it is aptly crafted to get the needed information.

As most of you know, "mandatory" reporting has been "on the books" since the 2007 seasons. However, early in the process, ODF&W experienced problems getting the reporting system functional so the 2007 season's reporting was essentially lost for all practical purposes. Even once the system became functional, the reporting for the 2008 season was extremely low - only about 17% of hunters reported!! Also, the reporting that was done for 2008 showed that successful hunters were far more likely to report than non-successful hunters so the information that was reported could not be correlated with the random telephone survey data of earlier years.

For 2010, ODF&W has established three (3) special tags as an incentive for hunters to complete their 2009 "mandatory" reporting and it seems to be working to some extent! As of January 15th, 28% of hunters had completed reporting. Unfortunately, the deadline for reporting on the majority of 2009 tags expired on January 31st so even though there is an improvement in reporting frequency the final numbers will, in all likelihood, fall far short of the desired level. ODF&W estimates that a minimum reporting return of something on the order of 70-80% is likely to be necessary for the reporting results to be reasonably correlated with the random phone survey results.

On January 28th, ODF&W Wildlife Division staff met with representatives of OHA, FNAWS and OBH to discuss alternative legislative concepts for making reporting truly mandatory. The concepts that were discussed would prohibit someone who failed to report from purchasing a tag the following year (or, maybe, longer) unless the person pays a reinstatement penalty. Most of the discussion centered on the appropriate amount of a penalty and how it should be applied (at application vs. at tag purchase and per tag basis vs. a yearly basis). There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach that was considered. Based on the discussions at the meeting, ODF&W plans to draft a range of proposals and send it back out to the user groups for review and comment before finalizing their legislative proposal.

Stay tuned to the OBH web site for updates as ODF&W moves their legislative mandatory reporting concept forward. Also, this issue will likely be a topic of discussion with ODF&W at the OBH Convention in late February.

Craig Starr

 

1/21/10 Wildlife Commission to Consider Mandatory Hunter Orange Requirement

At their December meeting, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission directed the ODF&W staff to conduct research the for the purpose of allowing the Commission to consider making the wearing of blaze or “hunter” orange clothing mandatory when hunting in Oregon. This matter came up as a result of the fatality of a 15 year old boy who was apparently mistaken for a game animal and shot to death this past hunting season.

The process for this research and consideration is:

	Immediate – ODF&W staff is currently reviewing what other states are doing with regard to requiring use of hunter orange clothing while hunting. A substantial majority of other states apparently have some kind of mandatory hunter orange requirement although the requirements vary considerably state by state.
	May 2010 – ODF&W staff will review the issue with hunters at District big game meetings in their areas.
	June 2010 – ODF&W staff will report their findings and input from the District big game meetings back to the Commission, including a list of possible options that the Commission  can consider if they wish to pursue making hunter orange mandatory for hunting Oregon.
	September-October 2010 – if the Commission decides to pursue an option making hunter orange mandatory at their June meeting,  the final rule will be presented to the Commission by ODF&W staff. If the process reaches this point, the proposed rule to require hunter orange will likely be adopted.

We should all hope that the Commission is wise enough to exempt bow hunters, turkey hunters, waterfowl hunters and predator hunters if they decide to pursue any mandatory hunter orange requirements, but I wouldn’t count on it unless Oregon ’s hunters make their views known!  If you wish to express your views on this matter, you can contact the Commission and/or ODF&W (odfw.commission@state.or.us) now or at any time in the process. Contacting them now and/or participating in the District big game meetings and making your views known will allow your views to be communicated to the Commission at their June meeting when the ODF&W staff reports back to them.

 Craig Starr

 

10/13/09 Wildlife Commission Approves Controlled-Entry Archery Deer Units for 2010

At their October 2^nd meeting, the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission approved a proposal from the ODF&W staff to create four (4) controlled-entry archery deer units in eastern Oregon beginning next year, 2010. The four (4) units are the Maury, Steens Mountain , and North and South Warner units. Bow hunters will now have to apply for and draw a controlled-entry archery deer tag if we wish to hunt in one of the units.

One good thing is that the ODF&W staff withdrew its proposal to restrict individuals drawing the controlled-entry tags from hunting anywhere else in the state. Now, those hunters who draw one of the controlled-entry tags will receive one tag which will be valid for both the controlled-entry unit drawn and the general archery season. Unfortunately, the proposal adopted by the Commission will prohibit bow hunters who do not draw a controlled-entry deer tag from hunting archery elk in any of the four (4) units in spite of testimony against it by Wayne Endicott and Craig Starr of OBH.  

Craig Starr

 

10/13/09 Mandatory Reporting Updated

At their October 2^nd meeting, the Wildlife Commission heard a report from ODF&W staff on the mandatory reporting system. Reporting has been required since 2008 for big game and turkey tags, but the number of hunters reporting has been low (averaging only 17%).  

Beginning in 2010, as an incentive to encourage hunters to report, hunters who complete mandatory reporting will be entered into a drawing to win one of three tags – deer, elk or antelope – and the hunter gets to choose the species.  ODF&W doesn’t have authority to give tags away so the lucky hunters who win a tag will still have to purchase the tag, but the tag will entitle the hunter to hunt during a long season almost anywhere in the state, similar to tags auctioned and raffled each year.  

The reporting schedule was also changed to established definite deadlines for reporting, as follows:

	January 31, 2010 – deadline for reporting all hunts ending by December 31, 2009.
	April 15, 2010 – deadline for reporting all hunts ending Jan. 1 thru March 31, 2010.
	June 30, 2010 – deadline for reporting 2010 spring bear and spring turkey hunts.

The ODF&W staff is considering future penalties if the reporting remains low. Penalties being considered include not being allowed to obtain a tag for a hunt that wasn’t reported on the previous year or payment of a penalty fee for not reporting. Penalties would not take effect until 2011 at the earliest so the need for penalties may still be avoided if hunters report as required.

Craig Starr

 

9/14/09 ODF&W PROPOSES ARCHERY CONTROLLED HUNTS IN 2010

Did you know that ODF&W is proposing to make three (3) eastern Oregon game management units controlled entry for archery deer hunting beginning in 2010?  I was blissfully unaware of the details of any such proposals until just a couple of weeks ago although I’d been hearing vague rumors for months.  ODF&W is apparently making the proposals as part of their opening “Mule Deer Initiative” (MDI) effort to improve mule deer numbers in areas on the east side of the state.  

If ODF&W’s proposals are adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commission at their October 2^nd meeting, bow hunters will have to apply for and be drawn in order to obtain tags to hunt deer in the Maury, Steens Mountain and Warner Units in 2010 and beyond. The Warner Unit would be split into North and South Warner areas for the tag drawing as is now the case for rifle hunters.  The current estimate for available tags would be:  Maury  100 tags, Steens Mountain  125 tags, North Warner  50 tags and South Warner  85 tags.  In all likelihood, the proposed tag numbers are high enough that only those applying for the Maury and North Warner Units might not be able to draw a tag without a preference point.

Unfortunately, that’s only part of the story!!  Any bow hunter drawing one of the new controlled entry tags would not be allowed to hunt deer anywhere else in Oregon.  And, the only bow hunters who would be allowed to hunt elk in a selected unit would be those who have a controlled entry deer tag for the unit. 

The latter restriction is apparently not based on any elk management concerns related to archery hunting in the units, but seems to be based solely on making enforcement of the deer tag requirements (and resulting harvest) easier for OSP.  While I understand and appreciate that OSP’s game enforcement program is severely understaffed, I don’t think the ease of enforcement counters the loss of hunting opportunity for Oregon ’s bowhunters inherent in the proposal to tie elk hunting to the controlled-entry deer tags.

In fairness to ODF&W, it is important to note that there are major reductions in rifle deer tags in the Maury and North Warner Units for 2009.  Rifle tags in each of those units have been reduced by at least 50 percent from 2008 tag levels.  With that as background, it doesn’t seem too offensive for archers to have to share in the MDI effort to reduce overall hunting pressure in order to increase mule deer numbers in those units.

Rifle tags have not been likewise reduced in the Steens Mountain Unit where rifle hunters already harvest over 12 deer for every deer taken by a bow hunter.  ODF&W argues that the number of tags they are proposing for the Steens Mountain Unit is greater than the number of bow hunters hunting the unit in recent seasons (that is true) and that making the unit controlled entry won’t reduce archery hunting in the unit.  I believe that ODF&W’s conclusion in that regard is wrong!  While some bow hunters may be willing to make the Steens Mountain Unit their only archery deer hunting opportunity in 2010, I think that most archers who currently hunt in the unit will hunt elsewhere rather than be limited to hunting exclusively in the unit.  Since there is no proposed reduction in tags for rifle hunters (with their overwhelming harvest advantage), there seems to be no legitimate game management rationale for making the Steens Mountain Unit controlled entry for archery deer hunting.

I’m sure that many of you know that ODF&W has recently been under considerable pressure from rifle hunters, including some legislators, who feel that bow hunters have an unfair advantage in our lengthy and nearly state-wide general archery season.  I will willingly support any MDI (or other game management) initiatives when they are based on a sound game management foundation and when any necessary tag reductions are shared appropriately by all hunters.  However, I absolutely oppose proposals that seem to be based only on some political objective, like relieving the political pressure on ODF&W, or that make bow hunters a scapegoat with new restrictions while hunters using other weapons continue to be allowed to hunt and harvest at current levels.

I have already contacted ODF&W with my personal opposition to making the Steens Mountain Unit controlled entry for archery deer hunting and to the proposal prohibiting elk hunting in the controlled entry units without a controlled entry deer tag. ODF&W staff has told me that any written comments received before the October 2^nd Commission meeting will be included in the information to be considered by the Commission.  Whether you support or oppose ODF&W’s proposals, I would urge you to let ODF&W know how you feel about the proposals so the Commission can get a sense for how Oregon bow hunters think the proposals will impact us.

Craig Starr

 

02/11/09  Legislative Alert
We have just been informed that OSP Fish and Wildlife Division is being asked to take a $950,000 General Fund cut this biennium with permanent cuts to be made next biennium. If implemented this will have both immediate and long term impacts.

In the short term (beginning March 1) it will result in the immediate layoff of 28 game officers and 6 sergeants as well as the airplane program.  

In the long term (beginning July 1) it will result in an actual loss of 13 game officers and 3 sergeants.  

The two attached documents lay out the specific details of these cuts.  

There is going to be a Ways and Means Budget Hearing on these proposals at 4:30 pm this Thursday (2/12) afternoon in Hearing Room F.  

Obviously cuts to the fish and wildlife enforcement program have an impact on hunting and fishing resources. These officers are the front line contacts for many of the public who are utilizing public and private lands. In tough economic times an enforcement presence can actually become more critical.  

We hope that hunters can find the time to rally at the capital and provide testimony on Thursday afternoon. Hunters from around the state have repeatedly stated we need more fish and wildlife enforcement officers not less.  

Don't forget that if you can't make the hearing you also have the opportunity to contact your Senate or House member to express your feelings on these proposed actions. The two internet addresses below will get you to the respective contact information for both the senate and the house.  

http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/

http://www.leg.state.or.us/house/

Ron Anglin
Wildlife Division Administrator
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
503 947-6312

Attachment 1

Attachment 2

Update 2/18/09

The Co-Chairs on Ways and Means have released their recommended budget this afternoon. OSP took some significant hits in some areas, but was able to maintain most of the core services they offer.

In regards to the F&W budget, the Division was left whole and we will not be looking at any cuts this biennium. If you recall one of the budget cut exercises the Division was asked to put together was a
cut of $950,000 from the Divisions General Fund which was to take effect March 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008 which eliminated 6 Sergeants and 28 Troopers. The bottom line is the mentioned cut is not going to occur.

The Ways and Means Committee will soon start to focus their efforts on how they will balance the 2009-2011 budget. The Division's exercise regarding the 2009-2011 budget was a reduction of 2.3 million dollars from the Division's General Fund Budget which equates to 4 Sergeants and 13 Troopers.

 

Gold Beach Fish & Wildlife Division Troopers Seeking Public's Help in Illegal Killing of Elk

03/14/2008

Senior Trooper Don Frerichs
Fish & Wildlife Division - Roseburg
Office: (541) 440-3334 ext. 4540

A private party who wishes to remain anonymous is offering a reward to help Oregon State Police solve an investigation into the poaching and waste of two bull elk earlier this week in the Glendale area south of Roseburg. This recent elk poaching case occurred in the same general area of an unsolved October 2007 poaching of a 7 point elk.

According to Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Don Frerichs, during the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 11, 2008, an unknown suspect(s) shot and left to waste two bull elk in an open field near A&M Trucking off Azalea-Glen Road.

A reward is offered by a private party of up to $2,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible in this case.

Anyone with information is asked to call Senior Trooper Frerichs.

 

03/05/2008

Senior Trooper Brad Van Prooyen
Fish & Wildlife Division - Gold Beach
Office: (541) 247-6641

Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife troopers are asking for the public's help to solve the killing and waste of a 7x7 bull elk in late February north of Gold Beach.

According to Senior Trooper Brad Van Prooyen, on February 22, 2008 at about 5:30 p.m. a 7x7 bull elk was shot and left to waste during a closed season on Edison Creek Road about five miles north of Gold Beach. Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish & Wildlife Division troopers from the Gold Beach office responded to the area. Following an extensive investigation, troopers determined that two white male adults were observed chasing the elk just after several rifle shots were heard by a witness. An unknown make or model white van was seen in the area.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact Senior Trooper Dan Stinnett or Senior Trooper Brad Van Prooyen.