2/1/12 Legislative
Report
Nearly 300 bills were introduced even before the 2012
legislative session began on February 1st.
The 2012 session is the first even-year regular session under a new law
providing for annual legislative sessions.
The law limits even-year sessions to 35 days and the legislative
leadership is aiming for a February 29th adjournment date for the
session. Since much of the 2012
session will no doubt be taken up in addressing declining revenue and
associated budget issues, any attention paid to the myriad of submitted bills
addressing other issues will have to occur in a fast and furious manner if
they are to become law.
Following are some of the bills that have been introduced prior to the start
of session:
HB 4005 – Wolf Kill Income Tax Credit
Establishes credit against income taxes in compensation for livestock
killed by predators. Applies to
tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2012.
HB 4119 – Hunting Cougars with Dogs
Requires ODF&W to recommend rules to the Commission regarding
creation of a pilot program that allows persons to use dogs to hunt or pursue
cougars. Allows Commission to
adopt rules to create and implement pilot program.
Requires persons to possess certain permits or tags to use dogs to hunt
or pursue cougars. Allows county governing bodies to request inclusion in
pilot program. Requires ODF&W
to report to Legislature. Sunsets
January 2, 2020.
HB 4158 – Killing of Wolves for Depredation of Livestock
Allows killing of wolves to address depredation of livestock.
Several bills have been introduced in both the House and
Senate dealing with various provisions related to firearms and especially
related to concealed firearms licenses. Of
particular interest, one bill (HB 4045) would address an issue recently in the
news and prevent public bodies from disclosing information identifying
applicants for or holders of concealed firearms licenses.
Also, this is an early reminder that ODF&W will soon
be taking their proposals for changes to the 2013 hunting regulations out for
review in public meetings. As in
the past, the public meetings will be held in several communities around the
state. These meetings are your
opportunity to hear what may be coming at us in the way of regulatory changes
and to offer comments in either support or opposition to the proposed changes.
Keep an eye out on the OBH web site for the next month or so for the
proposed changes and public meeting schedule.
Craig
Starr, President
Oregon
Bow Hunters
06/14/2011 Last Ditch Effort for HB2337 Cougar Bill
In
a somewhat unusual legislative step, Senator Frank Girod (R-Stayton)
recently tried to get the Oregon Senate to pull HB-2337 out of the
Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee for a vote by the
full Senate membership. Although
the effort failed, the rest of the story is very interesting!
Senator
Girod made the unusual effort after his sister-in-law came
face-to-face with a cougar in her driveway near
Mill
City
. She was awakened at about 3:30
AM by a ruckus outside her home. When
she got up and went outside, she saw something under a Jeep parked in
the driveway and went to investigate. As
she bent down to look, the cougar came out from under the vehicle and
faced her at hand (paw??) shaking distance.
After a lengthy face-off, the cougar turned and moved away.
The
Girod’s were awakened again the very next night and found the cougar
on their front porch. Then, the
Girod’s installed a heat-sensing alarm system and saw the cougar
again the following night walking across their pasture after the alarm
sounded. The cougar was back the
next morning and the following night.
Unfortunately,
Senator Girod’s effort to breathe life into HB-2337 failed along
party lines in the Oregon Senate.
Every Senate Democrat voted to let HB-2337 die in Committee
while every Senate Republican voted to move the bill out of Committee
for a floor vote. With the
Democrats holding a slim 16-14 edge in the Senate, the effort to bring
HB-2337 out of Committee for a floor vote failed.
A
change of only two (2) positions in the Senate could have completely
reversed the dynamics of the 2011 Legislature, especially regarding
HB-2337 but also on a number of other bills significant to outdoorsmen
and outdoorswomen. It’s
something to remember the next time you have an opportunity to vote
for your State Senator!
Craig
Starr, President
Oregon
Bow Hunters
06/08/2011 HB2337 Cougar Bill Received
"Kiss of Death"
House Bill 2337 (HB-2337) which would have
allowed Oregon counties to authorize hunting of cougars using dogs
died an unfortunate death in the Oregon Senate Environment and Natural
Resources Committee. HB-2337 was the brainchild of State
Representative Brian Clem (D-Salem), Chair of the House Agriculture
and Natural Resources Committee, who had the bill drafted prior to the
session based on the system now in place in Washington state. At least
two (2) other cougar bills were also considered by the House
Committee. OBH and several other sportsmen's organizations supported
HB-2337, as well as the other bills, in hearings before HB-2337 was
passed out of the Committee. HB-2337 was presented on the House floor
by Representative Sherrie Sprenger (R-Lebanon) and passed the House by
a vote of 45-14.
Unfortunately, HB-2337 was assigned to the
Senate Committee chaired by State Senator Jackie Dingfelder
(D-Portland) and thus received its "kiss of death". Senator
Dingfelder and her Democratic cohorts on the Senate Committee; Floyd
Prozanski (D-Eugene) and Mark Hass (D-Beaverton), were able to kill
the bill without even allowing it a hearing in spite of the efforts of
OBH, other sportsmen's groups and livestock interests. Once again, the
liberal urban interests of the Portland and Eugene areas were clearly
allowed to take precedence over the interests of most of Oregon.
HB-2337 was probably the best chance in well
over a decade for the Oregon Legislature to do something constructive
to correct the mistake Oregon voters made in 1994 by approving Ballot
Measure 18 (BM-18) to ban use of dogs for hunting cougars and bears,
and use of bait for hunting bears. Even though HB-2337 didn't get all
the way through the 2011 legislative process, the good news is that
the resounding passage of HB-2337 by the Oregon house is a sign that
people are finally beginning to wake up to the impacts of excessive
predation, both on game and on livestock, by Oregon's apex predators
in the absence of effective population management. It seems likely
that the momentum from HB-2337 before it ran into Senator Dingfelder's
roadblock will give rise to whole new efforts to undo the damage
caused by BM-18. Stay tuned in!!
Craig
Starr, President
Oregon
Bow Hunters
04/21/2011 HB2337 Cougar Bill Receives
Approval!
To all,
See the following
message regarding the Oregon House’s approval today of HB-2337, a
bill allowing resumption of cougar hunting with dogs on a
county-by-county basis, by a vote of 45-14. Now it goes to the Senate
for consideration where its chances are more uncertain. I imagine
we’ll hear something whenever the bill gets scheduled for
consideration in the Senate and we’ll need to contact our State
Senators to ask for their support. Stay tuned!!
To any of you who
contacted your State Representative asking him/her to support the bill
– THANK YOU!
Craig Starr,
President
Oregon
Bow Hunters
Update
- 5/5/2011
I
attended one of the ODF&W meetings last evening and there was
quite a bit of concern expressed regarding cougar predation on deer
and elk as you might well imagine. Wayne Endicott said that there is
some indication that the Chair of the Senate Environment and Natural
Resources Committee to which HB-2337 (the cougar bill) has been
assigned may not even allow the bill to receive a hearing.
We
need to mount all of the pressure we can to try to get HB-2337 to the
floor of the Senate for a vote. The Chair of the Committee is
Senator Jackie Dingfelder. Please send her an E-mail urging her to
conduct a hearing on the bill and pass it to the full Senate for a
vote. Her E-mail address is: sen.jackiedingfelder@state.or.us
Also,
please send an E-mail to your local State Senator asking them to
support HB-2337 and to urge that they contact Senator Dingfelder to
get her to move the bill out Committee.
HB-2337
offers the best chance hunters have had in years to overcome the
adverse impacts of BM-18 and allow resumption of managed cougar
hunting using dogs. However, it isn’t going to happen unless we work
to make it happen! I hope you will all assist in trying to get
HB-2337 moving in the Oregon Senate. And, if you have the
chance, urge others to do the same.
Craig
Starr, President
Oregon
Bow Hunters
Sports Group
Hears Cougar Study Report
Darren Clark, a PhD candidate from Oregon State
University (OSU), recently gave an interim report on a study that he is
conducting on cougars in the
Mt.
Emily
unit. This report was given to the leaders of a variety of outdoor sports
groups, including Oregon Bow Hunters (OBH). The
study is a joint effort by OSU and ODF&W.
The study was initiated in the 2008-9 winter because
of concerns that elk populations were decreasing in northeast
Oregon
, largely due to poor calf recruitment. A
previous study had generally concluded that the problem with calf recruitment
was, in large part, due to predation, especially by, but not limited to
cougars. The purpose of the current
study was to try to better quantify the extent of cougar predation on mule
deer and elk.
From 2008-9 to now, a total of 32 cougars were
collared in the
Mt.
Emily
unit – 22 females and 10 males. Because
of subsequent mortality, movement out of the study area and other factors, a
total of only 14 collared cougars are currently being actively monitored in
the unit. However, some of the cougars
no longer being monitored were able to be monitored for some portion of the
study period and provided important information before going “off line”.
The study has monitored a total of 20 cougars for
about 4,900 total days. When a cougar is
monitored more than once within 200 meters of one location over a relatively
short period of time (this situation is called a “cluster”), the study
team visits the location and searches for a kill site.
So far, the study team has located 772 kill sites in their search of
clusters. A few kill sites (about 20
total) actually involved multiple kills, such as both a doe and her fawn.
Non-ungulate remains were found at about 5 percent of
the kill sites. Such prey included
badgers, coyotes, domestic sheep, domestic dogs and other animals.
Deer were the prey located at about 67 percent of the kill sites and
elk were the prey located at about 28 percent of the kill sites.
About half of the deer killed by cougars were fawns – about the same
proportion as in the general deer population on an annual average.
On the other hand, over ¾ of the elk killed by cougars were calves –
a much higher proportion than in the general elk population.
The remains of only four (4) branched bull elk were found at kill sites
– all killed by adult male cougars.
The old “rule of thumb” has it that a cougar
makes a kill on an average of once a week and that kill rate has been borne
out in the Mt. Emily study with cougars in the study making a kill each 6.96
days on average. Interesting, the study
indicates that adult male cougars kill the least frequently – on average
about every 9 days or so. Since adult
male cougars tend to take the larger prey animals, a kill lasts longer and
they apparently need to kill less often in order to sustain themselves.
On the other hand, females with older kittens (older than 6 months of
age) kill the most often – an average of one kill each 5.6 days or so.
In this case, the female has to feed herself and young cats that may be
nearly as large as she is. Since she
typically kills smaller prey and has more mouths to feed, she must kill more
often than other cougars.
Until recently, locating kills required humans
searching “cluster” areas on foot to locate kill sites which was very
time-consuming. However, the study team
now has two dogs that have been specially trained to find prey remains and
cougar scat. Use of the dogs has made it
much less time-consuming to locate kill sites once a cluster has been
established. The dogs have located kill
sites this winter even under 2-3 feet of snow whereas location of the kill
site would likely have had to await the snow melting off in previous years.
The dogs are also going to be used to locate and
sample cougar scat beginning later this year in an effort to estimate the
total population of cougars in the
Mt.
Emily
unit. Samples from the scats will be
tested for cougar DNA and the expectation is that the total population of
cougars in the unit will be able to be individually identified in that matter.
If the approach works as anticipated, the technique could be used in
other locales to closely determine resident cougar populations.
The study is still on-going, but the results to date
have already provided some interesting and important information on predation
of deer and elk by cougars in northeast
Oregon
. Hopefully, the rest of the study
effort will prove equally beneficial.
Craig Starr, President
Oregon
Bow Hunters
OBH
Supports House Cougar Bills
On Monday, March 7th, OBH President Craig Starr testified before
the Oregon House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in favor of three
(3) bills that would resume managed use of dogs for hunting cougars.
On behalf of OBH, Starr joined representatives of the Oregon Hunters
Association (OHA), Federation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS), Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and other hunters’ organizations in
supporting the bills. Other OBH
members also attended the hearing to support the bills.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the Oregon Cougar Coalition
and other anti-hunting groups and individuals opposed the bills.
As usual, the individuals representing these groups made emotional, if
not factually based arguments against the use of dogs and, in fact, any
killing of cougars. They
essentially argued that the more cougars, the better!
(NOTE:
they almost certainly weren’t reflecting the viewpoint of all the
deer, elk and other prey animals that have been killed by cougars as the
cougar population has burgeoned since BM-18 was approved by
Oregon
’s voters!!)
The three (3) bills considered at the hearing were:
·
HB 2337 – requires State Department of Fish and
Wildlife to recommend rules to State Fish and Wildlife Commission regarding
creation of pilot program that allows persons to use dogs to hunt or pursue
cougars. Allows commission to
adopt rules to create and implement pilot program. Allows county governing
body to request inclusion in pilot program.
·
HB 3326 – allows the use of dogs to hunt cougars during
the final three months of general cougar hunting season if the state Fish and
Wildlife Commission determines that harvest quota for particular hunt zone
might not be met.
·
HB 3428 – directs the state Department of Fish and
Wildlife to create pilot program that allows persons hunting or pursuing
cougars to use dogs. The
department is to designate game management areas of the following counties as
areas in which the use of dogs in the hunting and in the non-lethal pursuit of
cougars is allowed: Umatilla, Wallowa, Union, Baker, Grant, Douglas, Coos,
Curry, Josephine,
Jackson
, Linn and
Marion
. Any county not specified can on or after June 30, 2014, adopt a resolution
requesting inclusion in the pilot program.
As this is written, no further consideration of the bills has been
scheduled. There will likely be at
least one work session scheduled at some point to select one of the bills or
combine aspects of all three (3) into a new bill for approval by the
Committee. It seems likely that a
cougar bill will pass the House this session, but, if so, its fate in the
Senate and before the Governor is less certain.
If you support allowing managed use of dogs for controlling the cougar
population in
Oregon
, be sure to communicate that to your elected Representatives, Senator and the
Governor!
ODF&W Bills Receive Legislative Hearing
Four (4) legislative bills introduced on behalf of
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODF&W) recently received an
initial hearing at the Oregon Legislature in the House Agriculture and Natural
Resources Committee. The bills are:
" HB-2125: would allow ODF&W to establish a
penalty of up to $50 for individuals who fail to report under the mandatory
reporting system.
" HB-2126: would allow ODF&W to provide free big game tags as an
incentive for mandatory reporting.
" HB-2127: would allow ODF&W to create a "Habitat Conservation
Stamp", similar to an "Upland Bird Stamp" or "Waterfowl
Stamp", to provide a way for non-hunters to support wildlife management
and viewing sites.
" HB-2128: would eliminate a "loophole" in existing law and
require individuals convicted of game law violations to satisfy all
requirements of the conviction before qualifying to obtain hunting privileges
again.
Reports are that some members of the House Committee
were not supportive of mandatory reporting (which is already required by law)
or the idea of establishing a penalty for failing to report. Mandatory
reporting has long been urged by OBH and most other hunters' organizations in
Oregon so that ODF&W has good, accurate harvest data on which to base game
management decisions. Even with the incentive of possibly winning a special
statewide tag similar to the highly desirable "auction tags",
reporting compliance has yet to reach 40 percent after four (4) seasons under
the current (voluntary) mandatory reporting system. A reporting compliance
rate of at least 85 percent (and, preferably, higher) is necessary to have
reliable game management information. At our 2010 Convention, the OBH
membership supported actions necessary to obtain that compliance rate.
In addition to the ODF&W bills, HB-2175 also
received an initial hearing in the same Committee. HB-2175 would address
feeding of "potentially habituated wildlife", including bear,
coyotes, deer, elk, feral swine, raccoons and wild turkeys. The intent of
HB-2175 is to prevent habituating animals (that is, making them dependent on
feeding) such that they pose a nuisance, like occurred in Lincoln County with
bear in the story that was in the news last year.
Finally, there are several bills in the legislature
(with a likelihood of more yet to come) that would try to address cougar
control in one way or another. HB-2337 is one such bill that OBH will try to
track as the legislative process continues.
OBH will try to keep updated information available on
the web site regarding the status of bills involving hunting and other
wildlife. Please contact the legislators from your local area on bills that
you think are important - whether to support or oppose them. If legislators
don't hear from you, they have no way to know what bills you think are
important or how you would like them to vote on bills!
In the big game public meetings in May and at the
June 4th Commission meeting, ODF&W staff rolled out a proposal to
establish late-season controlled hunts for antlerless elk in the Alsea, Stott
Mountain, Santiam, McKenzie and Indigo units beginning in 2011. The proposal
is for these controlled hunts to replace the general late archery antlerless
elk season that has been in place in these same units for years.
PROPOSALS FOR ANNUAL MEETINGS - February 27, 2011
The following proposals will be discussed and voted on at the annual
General Membership and Field Governor meeting or the annual Hunt Program
meeting, to be held February 27, 2011 at Chinook Winds Convention Center in
Lincoln City, OR. According to the Oregon Bow Hunter organization By-Laws,
every OBH chartered club should have a Field Governor and a Hunt Program
officer to represent their Club at the annual meetings to discuss and vote on
any proposals presented.. The Club President can attend in their place. Each
OBH chartered club has one vote at each meeting per proposal, and that vote
can be sent with the person attending the meeting. Each OBH member has one
vote, so if only one person is attending from any one OBH chartered club, and
representing that club, that person could possibly have two (2) votes per
proposal.
An emergency proposal can be submitted at either of the annual meetings by
Title only. The membership present at the meeting votes whether or not to hear
the entire proposal from the Title given. If the proposal is heard in it's
entirety and a motion is made, then the proposal can be discussed and voted
upon by the membership present. This works the same for both the Field
Governor's meeting and the Hunt Program Committee meeting. There may or may
not be emergency proposals to submit at either of the meetings. PLEASE attend
both of these meetings to show your support for OBH. The annual Field Governor
meeting also doubles as the Annual Membership Meeting. Thank you for your time
and see you at the Events Weekend/State Indoor shoot the weekend of February
25, 2011- February 27, 2011.
Proposal #1-General Membership & Field Governor Meeting
TITLE: OBH BY-LAWS, ARTICLE XI, SECTION 3-b
SUBMITTED BY DICK MAXSON
WHEREAS, as the members of Oregon Bow Hunters through a democratic
procedure of voting at the annual meeting of members and field governors,
decide the adding or changing of rules or procedures with-in OBH's By-Laws;
and
WHEREAS, as Article XI, Section 3-b is not clear cut if one fourteen unit or
one twenty-eight round will be shot at State Field; and
WHEREAS, a polling of the archers at the 2009 State Indoor and again at the
State Field shoot at Sylvan Archers clearly and strongly showed support for
the three twenty-eights;
THEREFORE BE IT PROPOSED to the OBH membership & Field Governor annual
meeting on February 27, 2011 at Chinook Winds Convention Center in Lincoln
City, Oregon that Article XI, Section b-3 that now reads:
Official tournament round shall be: Official N.F.A.A. 14 or 28 Field,
Official 14 or 28 Hunter round and Official 14 or 28 Animal round. Two rounds
to be shot on Saturday, and one round to be shot on Sunday.
Be changed to read: Official tournament round shall be Official N.F.A.A. 28
field round, Official N.F.A.A. 28 hunter round and Official N.F.A.A. Animal
round. Two rounds to be shot on Saturday, and one round to be shot on Sunday.
VOTE:
Yes-11 No-8
Proposal #2-General Membership & Field Governor Meeting
TITLE: Allow 2010 OBH State Field Animal scores in record book.
SUBMITTED BY DICK MAXSON
WHEREAS, The record breaking scores that were shot on the field round
Saturday; and
WHEREAS, The record breaking scores that were shot on the hunter round Sunday
were allowed to go into the record book even though the wrong target was used
on both field and hunter rounds;
THEREFORE BE IT PROPOSED to the OBH Membership & Field Governor annual
meeting on February 27, 2011 in Lincoln City, Oregon that the record breaking
scores that were shot on the animal round, Saturday, also be allowed to go
into the record book, even though the wrong target was also used on that
round.
VOTE:
Yes-5 No-15
Proposal #3-General Membership & Field Governor Meeting
TITLE: Establishing New Article VI in OBH By-Laws
SUBMITTED BY OBH Executive board
WHEREAS, Article V of the By-Laws of Oregon Bow Hunters (OBH) establishes
the duties and responsibilities of the OBH officers; and
WHEREAS, the OBH By-Laws establish eight (8) District Committeeman positions
representing defined regions of Oregon on the OBH Executive Board; and
WHEREAS, the OBH By-Laws currently do not define the duties and
responsibilities of the District Committeeman positions to any significant
extent;
THEREFORE BE IT PROPOSED to the OBH membership and Field Governor annual
meeting at the 2011 OBH Convention at the Chinook Winds Convention Center in
Lincoln City on February 27, 2011 that a new Article VI be added to the OBH
By-Laws as follows and further that any needed renumbering of subsequent
provisions of the By-Laws resulting from such adoption, but not specifically
shown in the changes be accomplished:
ARTICLE VI. DISTRICT COMMITTEEMEN
Section 1. Area and Scope of Representation. Each membership district of OBH
shall be represented by a District Committeeman who resides in and is
nominated and elected by members residing within the membership district. The
District Committeeman for a membership district shall represent the members
residing in that membership district on the Executive Board and in Committee
assignments.
Section 2. Membership Recruitment. District Committeemen shall actively
recruit new members to OBH from within his or her membership district.
District Committeemen should attend such events as 3-D trail shoots, archery
competitions, sportsmen's shows and other, similar events where archers may
congregate or attend in significant numbers to conduct specific membership
recruitment activities such as establishing and staffing an OBH table or
booth. When authorized by the Executive Board or these By-Laws, a District
Committeeman may offer a discounted rate for OBH membership when the
application for membership occurs at a Chartered Club activity, an Affiliate
Shop special event, a sportmen's show or other, similar event where the
District Committeeman has established an OBH table or booth for membership
recruitment.
Section 3. Liaison with Chartered Clubs. District Committeemen shall develop
and maintain cooperative and construction working relationships with all
Chartered Clubs existing within his or her membership district. District
Committeemen shall regularly provide the Chartered Clubs with information
regarding OBH and its activities, and shall report information from Chartered
Clubs to the Executive Board as needed. District Committeemen shall attend at
least one and preferably more general membership meeting(s) of each Chartered
Club existing within his or her membership district each year. Whenever
possible, District Committeemen shall attend the annual banquet and/or other
special activities of the Chartered Clubs within his or her membership
district. District Committeemen shall work with Chartered Clubs which conduct
3-D trail shoots and/or other organized archery shoots to try to have them
establish entry fees which provide a financial incentive for OBH membership.
Section 4. Liaison with Affiliate Shops. District Committeemen shall develop
and maintain cooperative and construction working relationships with all
Affiliate Shops existing within his or her membership district. District
Committeemen shall regularly contact other archery pro shops within his or her
membership district and encourage them to affiliate with OBH. District
Committeemen shall work with the owners or managers of Affiliate Shops to
place OBH information, membership applications and other materials where it is
readily visible and available to the shop's customers. If an Affiliate Shop
holds any special events where archers will congregate in significant numbers,
District Committeemen shall work with the owner or manager of the shop to
establish and maintain an OBH presence at such events in order to publicize
OBH and recruit new members. District Committeemen shall work with the owners
or managers of Affiliate Shops to try to have them establish membership
incentives such as a contribution toward OBH membership when a customer
purchases a new bow and/or other archery equipment of substantial value.
Section 5. Liaison Between Chartered Archery Clubs and Affiliate Shops.
District Committeemen shall assist in developing cooperative and constructive
relationships between Chartered Clubs and Affiliate Shops serving the same
area(s). District Committeemen shall try to facilitate the working together of
the Clubs and Shops to further both membership in the clubs and business for
the Shops. District Committeemen shall try to have the Clubs and Shops
establish mutual incentives for improving membership in the Clubs and business
for the Shops.
Section 6. Media Relations, Publicity and Outreach. District Committeemen
shall actively develop and maintain cooperative and constructive relationships
with representatives of the news media (newspapers, radio and television)
within his or her membership district. District Committeemen shall distribute
any OBH news releases or other news materials to the news media within his or
her membership district, and actively encourage that it be printed or
broadcast. District Committeemen may prepare and distribute news releases or
other news materials on OBH interests or activities of local interest to the
news media within his or her membership district, and shall, whenever
possible, provide supplemental information to generic, state-wide OBH news
releases when local members or other local archers are involved in an OBH
activity which is the subject of a news release. District Committeemen shall
assist in and/or reinforce OBH's efforts to reach out to and inform the clubs,
pro shops and all bow hunters regarding legislative and/or regulatory issues
that will adversely impact bow hunters and/or other archers.
Section 7. Other Duties and Responsibilities. District Committeemen are the
primary local contact point for OBH within his or her membership district.
Except as certain duties and responsibilities are reserved to officers by
these By-Laws, District Committeemen shall perform such other duties and
responsibilities as needed to effectively represent OBH's interests within his
or her membership district.
VOTE:
Yes-22 No-1
Proposal #4-General Membership & Field Governor Meeting
TITLE: Revising Article X of the OBH By-Laws
SUBMITTED BY OBH Executive Board
WHEREAS, Oregon Bow Hunters (OBH) currently has single membership dues that
are the same ($25 per year) for both adults and youths; and
WHEREAS, a major purpose of OBH is to foster, expand and perpetuate the
practice of archery in cooperation with national associations; and
WHEREAS, most national associations and local archery clubs have reduced youth
rates to encourage the introduction of youths into archery; and
WHEREAS, introducing youths to archery is crucial to perpetuating the
practice of archery in Oregon; and
WHEREAS, the Executive Board of the Oregon Bow Hunters (OBH) established a
temporary new membership policy at their October 2009 meeting in Bend, Oregon;
and
WHEREAS, the temporary policy was scheduled to sunset in one (1) year unless
extended by the Executive Board to allow further consideration of a new
membership policy at the 2011 OBH Convention; and
WHEREAS, on October 2, 2010, the OBH Executive Board voted to extend the
temporary policy until the 2011 OBH Convention; and
WHEREAS, the OBH Executive Board further voted to recommend continuation of a
new membership policy which would sunset annually unless extended by action of
the OBH Executive Board; and
WHEREAS, the OBH Executive Board further voted to establish a single annual
date for renewal of club and pro shop charter fees or dues to reduce the
amount of work and confusion associated with annual renewals based on date of
initial affiliation;
THEREFORE BE IT PROPOSED to the OBH membership and Field Governor annual
meeting at the 2011 OBH Convention at the Chinook Winds Convention Center in
Lincoln City on February 27, 2011 that Article X of the OBH By-Laws should be
revised as follows and further that any needed renumbering of subsequent
provisions of the By-Laws resulting from such adoption, but not specifically
shown in the changes be accomplished:
ARTICLE X. DUES
Section 1. Annual Dues. The annual dues of OBH shall be:
(a) Single membership adult or youth is $25.00 per year. Single membership is
$10.00 per year for youths age seventeen (17) or younger. Family membership,
two (2) people or more is $35.00 per year, with a family maximum of $35.00 per
year. This includes one year subscription to the official publication of OBH
and all members eighteen (18) years of age or older have the right to vote on
all field Governor and Hunting Program Committee proposals. Optional five-year
renewal: five year term for individual adult or youth member is $120.00. Five
year term for family maximum membership is $155.00.
Section 6. New Membership Discounts. The OBH Executive Board may establish
a program of new membership discounts for encouraging and assisting with
recruitment of new OBH members. Any such program shall be adopted as a policy
of the OBH Executive Board and shall sunset annually unless extended by
specific action of the OBH Executive Board.
Section 67. Club Charter Fees.
(a) There shall be an annual club charter fee of $25.00.
(b) Club charters shall be granted for one (1) year, renewal on the
anniversary month of joining. on an annual basis. Initial membership shall be
prorated from the time of joining through December 31st of that year. The
renewal date for all club charter fees except those handled through NFAA shall
be January 1st of each year.
(c) Renewal notices shall be mailed out two (2) months before charter
expiration.
(d) Any club chartering with the NFAA will pay the amount stated on the
renewal application form at the same time as the OBH renewal and shall renew
OBH membership on the schedule established by NFAA.
(e) ……
New Membership Discount Policy
9. a. Any OBH officer or District Committeeman, or any OBH member being
directly supervised by an individual in one of the previously mentioned
positions, may give a discount when a new member joins OBH at an event where
OBH has established a booth or table specifically for the purpose of
recruiting for new members. The amount of the discount shall be:
1. $5 at 3-D shoots and similar OBH-affiliated club events, or
2. $10 at Sportsmen's Shows and special events at OBH-affiliated archery pro
shops.
b. OBH shall provide a new member discount that will apply when OBH has
established an understanding with an OBH-affiliated archery pro shop that the
shop will provide a "free" OBH membership when a customer purchases
a new bow and/or other archery equipment valued at $500 or more. The
affiliated shop may purchase the new membership from OBH for a $10 discount
when the membership application is accompanied with a cash register receipt or
other acceptable proof of the required customer purchase.
c. Membership discounts are intended to be one-time only for recruitment of
new members to OBH. This should be a matter of honor between OBH and its
members.
d. This policy shall sunset annually on the final day of the annual OBH
Convention unless extended by specific vote of the OBH Executive Board on or
before December 31, 2011 and annually thereafter.
VOTE:
Yes-24 NO-0 (zero)
Proposal #5-General Membership & Field Governor Meeting
TITLE: Updating Hunting Contest Rules
SUBMITTED BY OBH Executive Board
WHEREAS, Oregon Bow Hunters (OBH) conducts a hunting awards contest; and
WHEREAS, some of the animals currently listed as eligible for OBH's hunting
awards program may no longer be legally taken or require special licenses
and/or tags; and
WHEREAS, OBH wishes to be certain that its hunting awards program does not
inadvertently cause any OBH member to violate any applicable license, tag or
season harvest requirements;
THEREFORE BE IT PROPOSED to the OBH membership and Field Governor annual
meeting at the 2011 OBH Convention at the Chinook Winds Convention Center in
Lincoln City on February 27, 2011 that following changes to OBH's hunting
awards contest rules be adopted and further that any needed numbering
revisions resulting from such adoption, but not specifically shown in the
changes be accomplished:
General Hunting Contest Rules
E. Any animal entered for OBH awards must be taken legally with a bow and
arrow in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations for the location
in which it is taken. Some animals, especially but not limited to fur bearers,
listed as eligible for hunting contest awards may require special licensing
and/or tag requirements in addition to general hunting licenses and/or tags.
Individuals submitting animals for OBH awards are solely responsible for
determining and complying with all applicable harvest rules and regulations.
F. Only animals legally taken in the state of Oregon shall be eligible for
the Bow Hunter of the Year (BOHTY), Husband and Wife Bow Hunter of the Year
and Trophy Contests. Entries for the Big Game Awards and Small Game Awards may
be taken in any state, province or country provided they are taken according
to the laws, rules and regulations of the locality(ies) where they are taken.
Big Game Awards
3. Definition of Big Game: Alligator, Antelope, Bear, Bison, Bobcat,
Caribou, Cougar,…
4. Fur bearer: Bobcat. Legal taking of Bobcat in Oregon requires either a
trapping license or fur bearer hunting license, and special tags.
Small Game Awards
d. Definition of Small Game: Armadillo, Badger, Beaver, Carp, Coot,
Cottontail Rabbit, Crab, Crow, Duck, Eel, Fox, Frog, Gar, Goose, Gopher,
Ground Hog, Ground Squirrel, Grouse, Jack Rabbit, Jay, Lemming, Magpie, Marmot
(Rock Chuck), Mink, Mole, Mouse, Mountain Beaver, Muskrat, Nutria, Opossum,
Partridge, Pheasant, Porcupine, Prairie Dog, Quail, Raccoon, Rat, Raven,
Ringtail Cat, Scavenger Fish, Skunk, Squirrel, Stingray, Turtle, and Weasel.
e. The following small game are fur bearers and may only be taken in Oregon
under a trapping or fur bearer hunting license: Beaver, Fox, Mink, Muskrat,
and Raccoon.
f. Protected species in Oregon: Bats, Chickaree (Pine Squirrel), Chipmunks,
Fisher, Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel, Northern Flying Squirrel, Pika (Cony),
Pygmy Rabbit, Ringtail Cat, Washington Ground Squirrel, White-footed Vole,
White-tailed Antelope Squirrel, and White-tailed Jackrabbit. All marine
mammals. All non-game birds except English (House) Sparrow, Rock Dove (Common
Pigeon) and Starling. Western Painted Turtle and Western Pond Turtle.
F D. Points shall NOT be given for any Federal or State protected species such
as the following: Golden-mantled ground squirrel, Pica, amphibians, lizards
and snakes other than poisonous.
G E. The miscellaneous division shall be established with a limit of six
(6) points in aggregate. The following animals to be included in the
miscellaneous division: Mouse, Bull Frog, English (House) Sparrow, Redwing
Blackbird, Starling, Mole, Stellar Jay, and Rock Dove (Common Pigeon).
VOTE:
Yes-26 No-0 (zero)
Proposal #1-OBH Hunt Program
TITLE: Splitting the General Elk Hunting Season
Submitted By John Erickson
Whereas, Oregon is experiencing severe overcrowding in most units during
the general archery elk season; and
Whereas, overcrowding is forcing many elk off accessible lands; and
Whereas, ODF&W has been adding more and more units for controlled hunting
only, exacerbating overcrowding in other areas; and
Whereas, ODF&W permits over the counter sales of bow elk tags to all
customers, residents and non-residents alike, for most units in Oregon through
the day before the bow elk season starts; and
Whereas, unlike other options such as expanded controlled hunting, this
proposal does not eliminate any person's bow hunting opportunity, and only
shortens the time available to hunt elk; and
Whereas, cow elk have young calves still nursing during the early part of the
current general bow elk season, which are still getting nourishment to provide
reserves for the upcoming winter;
THEREFORE BE IT PROPOSED to the OBH Hunt Program annual meeting at the Chinook
Winds Convention Center on February 27, 2011 that OBH request ODF&W change
the general bow elk season as follows:
5. Split the general bow elk season into two parts.
6. Hunters would be required to choose which part of the season to participate
in when purchasing a tag.
7. The first bow season would begin the next to last Saturday of August and
would last for twenty-three (23) days.
8. The second season would begin the following Wednesday and would continue
through the last Saturday in September.
9. The bag limit would be bulls only through August 31st of the first season.
The bag limits during the remainder of the first season and the entire second
season would be any elk, except in units where ODF&W does not allow
harvest of antlerless elk.
John
made a motion to table the proposal and President Craig Starr set up a
committee to study and attain more information, and come back to the 2012 Game
Committee Meeting with the proposal and any amendments. Second. Motion passed
unanimously.
Call
for emergency proposals. Available votes in room: 37. Need three-fourths (27)
to hear rest of proposal.
Emergency
Proposal #1. Lighted knocks. Vote to hear rest of proposal: Yes-25, No-6. Did
not pass to hear proposal.
Emergency
proposal #2. Extending Cooperative Road Closure Periods To Include The General
Archery Season. Vote to hear rest of proposal: Yes-8, No-20+. Did not pass to
hear proposal.
ODF&W Establishing Archery Technology Advisory Committee
ODF&W is currently in the process of putting together an advisory
committee of archery representatives to reviewing archery hunting technology,
particularly (but not exclusively) the use of electronic devices on bows and
arrows. The committee, to be known as the Archery Technology Advisory
Committee, will consider some of the equipment types that are currently
prohibited for use in Oregon for hunting in archery-only seasons. The advisory
committee may propose that ODF&W change its regulations to allow some of
the new equipment while hunting in Oregon. Some of the technology to be
discussed is listed below: " Lighted nocks " Lighted sights "
Red/Green dot sights " Rangefinders " Cameras " Expandable
broadheads " Scopes " Crossbows Oregon Bow Hunters (OBH), Oregon
Hunters Association (OHA) and Traditional Archers of Oregon (TAO) will be
represented on the advisory committee. OBH will be represented by Wayne
Endicott, OBH's VP for Bowhunting, and Craig Starr, OBH's President. If you
have interests or concerns regarding equipment that is currently prohibited
for hunting in Oregon, please contact Wayne or Craig with your comments.
Craig Starr, President Oregon Bow Hunters
ODF&W Proposes Controlled Late Archery
Antlerless Elk Hunts to Replace General Late Season in Western Oregon
In the big game public meetings in May and at the
June 4th Commission meeting, ODF&W staff rolled out a proposal to
establish late-season controlled hunts for antlerless elk in the Alsea, Stott
Mountain, Santiam, McKenzie and Indigo units beginning in 2011. The proposal
is for these controlled hunts to replace the general late archery antlerless
elk season that has been in place in these same units for years.
ODF&W's rationale for establishing the controlled
hunts is that elk populations in the Alsea and Stott Mountain units are
significantly below management objectives (MO) "despite years of reducing
controlled rifle (cow elk) tags." The proposal includes controlling
archery tags in the three (3) Cascade units because of vague concerns about
lack of hunter success in the general rifle and muzzleloader hunts in those
units, and because there is a concern that archers who don't draw tags in the
Alsea or Stott Mountain hunts would simply shift to hunting the Cascade units.
ODF&W's conclusion in proposing the change to
controlled archery hunts is: "To gain better control of the antlerless
harvest a reduction in the harvest by bow hunters is necessary." Simply
put, ODF&W's conclusion is BALONEY!!!!!!!!
First, during the last six (6) hunting seasons (2004
through 2009), rifle hunters harvested 1,695 cow elk in the Alsea and Stott
Mountain units combined while bowhunters harvested 455 cow elk. Rifle hunters
harvested 3.7 cow elk in the units for every cow elk taken by a bow hunter.
Second, rifle cow harvests through the 2004-2009 seasons averaged nearly 45
percent while the success rate for bowhunters over the same period averaged
less than 3 percent.
ODF&W makes a great deal of the fact that they
have gradually been reducing rifle cow elk tags in recent years while the
number of bowhunters hunting in the Alsea and Stott Mountain units has
increased substantially. However, they fail to note that rifle success rate
has maintained while the success rate for archers has generally trended down
as the bowhunter numbers have increased. During the 2004 - 2008 seasons, there
was no statistical increase in the actual archery cow elk harvest in the Alsea
and Stott Mountain units even though bowhunter numbers increased by almost 42
percent. ODF&W's proposal appears to be based entirely on the single
exception of the 2009 data, which appears to be a statistical anomaly that
defies the trend of harvest success rates. As a bowhunter, it is interesting
that ODF&W chose to submit their proposal following the first year when
the data would finally show some modest improvement for bowhunters rather than
all of the previous years when the harvest trends clearly favored rifle
hunters.
ODF&W has proposed to reduce rifle cow tags in
the Alsea and Stott Mountain units to 377 tags for 2010. This will be a 47
percent reduction from the 711 rifle cow tags in 2004 and a 17 percent
reduction from the 453 tags in 2009. On the other hand, ODF&W proposes to
limit late-season archery antlerless elk tags in the same units in 2011 to 750
tags. This would be a 64 percent reduction from the 2,068 bowhunters using the
units in 2004 and a 78 percent reduction from the 3,436 bowhunters in 2009. In
other words, even though rifle hunters have harvested far more cow elk in the
units than bowhunters, ODF&W proposes to impact bowhunters' opportunities
to a much greater extent in one (1) action than rifle hunters have been
cumulatively impacted over the past six (6) seasons.
Using the tag numbers proposed so far by ODF&W
and the historic success rates for rifle hunters and bowhunters, ODF&W's
proposal is likely to increase the relative harvest of cow elk in the Alsea
and Stott Mountain units from 3.7:1 to 8.0:1 - more than doubling the historic
advantage which already greatly favored rifle hunters. How can ODF&W see
this as being fair to bowhunters?
I have focused on the Alsea and Stott Mountain units
because the concern over elk populations being below MO in those units seems
to be driving the entire proposal. However, many of the same arguments
applicable to those units can also be made with respect to the three (3)
Cascade units that are part of the proposal even though the proposed impacts
on bowhunters would be less severe in those units. ODF&W's proposal would
reduce the number of bowhunters in the Cascade units by about 320 hunters per
year from existing effort levels even though rifle hunters also harvest many
more cow elk in those units than do bowhunters.
I don't have any problem with ODF&W limiting the
harvest of antlerless elk when the elk population is below MO and needs help.
However, I strenuously object to them doing it in the manner of the ODF&W
proposal which is clearly and substantially biased against bowhunters and in
favor of rifle hunters. I want to see a proposal from ODF&W that maintains
the historic balance between rifle and archery harvests. If you agree, I
encourage you to write or E-mail the Fish and Wildlife Commission on this
matter prior to their October 1st meeting in Bend when they will consider the
ODF&W proposal for adoption.
Craig Starr, President Oregon Bow Hunters
ODF&W Proposes Antlerless Elk Controlled Hunts
ODF&W’s staff
biologists are proposing changing the rules regarding the late antlerless
archery elk hunt in a portion of the
Coast
Range
and the Cascades. The Alsea,
Stott
Mountain
, Santiam, McKenzie and northern Indigo units that have been open for the late
general season would become controlled hunts under the proposal being made by
ODF&W.
The initial information
from ODF&W indicates the following likely tag numbers:
Alsea (500),
Stott
Mountain
(250), Santiam (800), McKenzie (800) and Indigo (600).
Hunters applying for and drawing tags for the proposed controlled hunts
would also be able to hunt elk during the early general archery elk season,
but those not drawing a tag would be excluded from hunting the late season.
The following information
is based on reviewing two of the last five years of ODF&W’s big game
hunting statistics:
