Youth Spring Turkey Hunt is April 7-9, 2012

Salem, OR– This year’s youth spring turkey season will be April 7, 8 and 9, 2012 (Saturday, Sunday and Monday). The season dates are misprinted in the current 2011-12 Oregon Game Bird Regulations (page 15).

Due to an ODFW staff error, the regulations list April 8-9, 2012 (Sunday-Monday) as the season dates. Youth turkey season is always the weekend before the general spring turkey season which begins on April 15. The Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a rule that will begin the season on Saturday, April 7 and extend it by one day this year due to the error.

The youth spring turkey season is open to licensed hunters age 17 and under. Youth that don’t fill their tag during the youth season can go on to hunt the general season April 15-May 31.

The youth turkey season is one of several youth-only hunts in Oregon.

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Oregon DFW HQ, Updates on Wolves and White Sturgeon on Jan. 6

Salem, OR—The Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet Friday, Jan. 6 at ODFW Headquarters, 3406 Cherry Ave NE, Salem.

The meeting begins at 8 am and proceeds through this agenda.

The Commission is expected to take action on plans to purchase a new ODFW headquarters building in Salem. The lease on ODFW’s current location runs out Aug. 31, 2013.  With assistance from the Department of Administrative Services over the last year, ODFW has conducted a search for suitable properties in Salem. Criteria for reviewing properties included cost, public access, building size and configuration, and availability of parking.

The proposed new building is located at 4030 Fairview Industrial Drive SE in Salem. The purchase will be financed by $16 million in bonds approved by the 2011 Oregon State Legislature. At the full bonding amount, the debt service on the 25-year bonds will be roughly equal to what ODFW now pays to lease its headquarters plus property taxes on the leased space. At the end of 25 years, ODFW will have full equity in the property and reduced operating costs. Like current lease payments, the bond will be repaid using hunting and fishing license and tag revenues.

The Commission will be briefed on the Governor’s 2013-15 budget process and the 2011 Oregon Wolf Management Report summarizing ODFW’s wolf management activities since January 2011.

Finally, the Commission will consider issues related to the white sturgeon fisheries in the Columbia and Willamette rivers.

On the Columbia, ODFW staff will ask for authorization to re-open negotiations with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in order to consider reducing the sturgeon harvest guideline for the upcoming season. The current Joint Accord calls for a harvest guideline of 14,625 sturgeon for 2012. However, Oregon and Washington staffs are estimating the number of legal-sized sturgeon in the Columbia in 2012 will be about 20 percent fewer than in 2011, continuing a downward trend that began in 2008. In response, managers are discussing reducing the harvest rate used to calculate the harvest guideline in 2012 and 2013, two years earlier than called for in Oregon’s conservation plan for white sturgeon in the lower Columbia River. Under one possible scenario, the harvest guideline in 2012 would be reduced to 12,514 which is 15 percent less than what the current Joint Accord calls for and over 25 percent less than the 2011 harvest guideline.

On the Willamette, staff will be asking the Commission to re-affirm the guidance it provided last year to allocate the available harvest to the spring fishing season.  Under the current Joint Accord, the harvest guideline in 2012 would be 2,200 fish. Based on 2011 catches, when the harvest topped 300 sturgeon per retention day, the full guideline would be used up in only 6-8 days of fishing.

Sturgeon seasons for both rivers will be set later in January.

The Commission is the policy-making body for fish and wildlife issues in the state. The seven-member panel meets monthly. Agenda item exhibits are available online or at the meeting.

Public testimony will be held Friday morning immediately following the expenditure report. Persons seeking to testify on issues not on the formal agenda may do so by making arrangements with the ODFW Director’s Office, at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, by calling 800-720-6339 or 503-947-6044.

Reasonable accommodations will be provided as needed for individuals requesting assistive hearing devices, sign language interpreters or large-print materials. Individuals needing these types of accommodations may call the ODFW Director’s Office at 800-720-6339 or 503-947-6044 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

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Oregon Cougar Hunting Closed in Coast/North Cascade Region for Rest of Year

Salem, OR—ODFW is closing cougar hunting through the end of this year in the Coast/North Cascades region, after reaching the zone’s quota of 120 cougars.

Since Jan. 1, 2011, 120 cougars have been killed by sporthunters or in response to damage or public safety concerns in Zone A (Coast/North Cascade). ODFW closes sport hunting if a zone’s quota is reached.

The closure only applies to sport hunting. Cougars may still be killed if they are threatening livestock, pets or human safety.

This is only the third year that cougar sport hunting has been closed in Oregon. Previous closures occurred in 2001, with one zone closed, and 2002, when two zones closed.

Most of the increased take of cougars in Zone A this year is from “non-hunter” kill, or cougars taken due to damage, public safety concerns, roadkill or other reasons. So far, 59 cougars were killed in this category in 2011, compared to 48 in 2010 and 38 in 2009. Sporthunter harvest of cougars was 61 in 2011, 55 in 2010 and 61 in 2009.

ODFW closely tracks the take of cougars. Sporthunters and any landowner that kills a cougar due to damage or public safety issues must check in the cougar’s skull and hide (with proof of sex) at an ODFW office within 10 days of harvest. During the check-in, ODFW collects data to estimate the cougar’s age.

The data is used to estimate the overall cougar population in Oregon, which is about 5,700 cougars today. To keep the cougar population healthy, ODFW closes sporthunting zones when a certain quota is reached as it was today in the Coast/North Cascades.

Cougar sport hunting in the Coast/North Cascade region will resume on Jan. 1, 2012, when the 2012 season begins with the same quota for the new year.

Find a map of zones and each zone’s quota at the link below:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/big_game/cougar/quota.asp

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Hunters Can Now Donate to Predatory Animal Control: Program Created by Oregon State Legislature

Salem, OR—Hunters may now donate to predatory animal control, with proceeds going to Oregon counties to help fund their local predator control programs.

The Oregon State Legislature created this new program with the passage of HB3636 earlier this year.

Hunters purchasing a license, tag or permit at a license sales agent or online will be asked if they would like to make a predatory animal control donation through a $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100 contribution.

Any donation received will be split among counties with a predatory animal control program where the license, tag or permit is valid. For example, if the donation is made with the purchase of a general hunting license, it would be evenly distributed among all counties with predatory animal control programs because these licenses are valid statewide. If the donation is made with the purchase of a controlled big game tag for a particular wildlife management unit, the donation would go to the county (or counties) where that unit is based, provided the county has a predatory animal control program.

Customers may also choose to donate to the program without actually purchasing a license, tag or permit. To designate a specific county for a donation, the purchase must be made at an ODFW office that sells licenses.

ODFW will track all donations and provide monies to the appropriate counties on a quarterly basis.

The following counties work with USDA Wildlife Services to control predators and are eligible for the program: Baker, Benton, Clackamas, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Jackson, Jefferson, Harney, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Polk, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco and Washington. Other counties may have their own predator control programs and could also qualify, or become eligible for funds once they start their own program.

HB3636 designated the following animals to be covered by the fund, “to the extent allowable under state and federal law.” Most current predator control programs target coyotes, cougars and bears.

• “Predatory animals” or feral swine, coyotes, rabbits, rodents, and some birds which are or may be destructive to agricultural crops.
• “Fur-bearing mammals” or beaver, bobcat, fisher, marten, mink, muskrat, otter, raccoon, red fox and gray fox.
• Black bears, cougars, and gray wolves. Special rules guide any take of gray wolves, which are a special status game mammal and are currently considered endangered throughout the state of Oregon.

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Another Oregon Cow Killed by the Imnaha Wolf Pack

La Grande, OR — ODFW confirmed that another cow was killed by wolves from the Imnaha pack over the weekend. The yearling heifer was found dead on private land in Wallowa County.

This brings the total number of confirmed livestock losses by Imnaha pack wolves to 19 since spring 2010. It is the fifth confirmed livestock loss to wolves since an Oct. 5, 2011 court-ordered stay ended ODFW plans to kill two wolves from the Imnaha pack in an attempt to stop further livestock losses.

While the pack is continuing a pattern of chronic livestock depredation begun in spring 2010, ODFW wolf coordinator Russ Morgan characterizes the recent kills as a “significant” change in the pack’s behavior. Previously the pack killed mostly smaller calves, but now it has shifted to larger-sized yearling and adult cows. The timing is also new, as depredation by this pack has not been previously confirmed during the period October through December.

“The latest incident reaffirms that the pack is in a pattern of chronic depredation, which we expect to continue,” said Morgan. “While we believe the appropriate response is lethal removal of these problem wolves under the chronic depredation rule, that option is off the table due to litigation.”

The wolves targeted the ranch twice over two days. The cattle involved had recently been gathered and placed into a holding pasture near the main ranch house, as they were scheduled to be hauled on Monday. On Sunday morning, the landowner discovered that the cattle had been run through the fence and the yearling heifer was found dead a half mile away. The cattle were returned to the pasture, only to be scattered again by Monday morning. GPS radio-collar data shows that the alpha male of the Imnaha wolf pack was present at the site of the depredation and was also in the area when the cows were scattered the next day. Other wolves from the pack were likely with the alpha male, but their VHF radio-collars don’t allow such close location tracking.

The alpha male wolf was in remote country about five miles from the pasture the evening before the Sunday morning attack, yet by 2 a.m. he was only about 300 yards from the main ranch house, on the way to the pasture with cattle.

This rancher had taken a variety of non-lethal measures on different areas of his large ranch over the past two years. He had installed barrier fences with fladry (flagged fencing that can deter wolves) on parts of his ranch and has used a radio-activated guard device that makes noise when a radio-collared wolf approaches. The rancher had also increased monitoring of his livestock and has used a radio receiver to detect when a collared wolf was nearby.

“This is a good example of a situation where the landowner had done everything right,” said Morgan. “I don’t think there are other measures that could have been reasonably taken in this case, so it is a very frustrating situation for livestock producers and wildlife managers.”

ODFW continues to work with area landowners on non-lethal ways to avoid wolf-livestock problems. For example, ODFW sends twice-daily text messages about wolves’ locations to area livestock producers. A range rider funded by ODFW and Defenders of Wildlife has monitored the wolves’ location in relation to livestock.

Besides non-lethal measures, ODFW has also provided some ranchers with permits to kill a wolf they catch “in the act of biting, wounding or killing” livestock or with permits that allow them to haze wolves. The chance to use these permits is rare because wolves typically avoid people and usually attack livestock at night. None of these permits issued by ODFW has ever been used, again because it is very rare for a person to actually be present when a wolf is “in the act” of attacking livestock.

This landowner and others that have lost livestock animals to wolves are likely to be compensated for their losses. Earlier this year, the Oregon State Legislature and Governor Kitzhaber directed the Oregon Department of Agriculture to create a wolf compensation program. The program is expected to be in effect in early 2012. Ranchers that lost livestock since early September 2011 (when a compensation program funded by Defenders of Wildlife ended) will be eligible for retroactive compensation.

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Oregon DFW Seeks Hunter, Landowner to Serve on Advisory Councils

Bend, Ore., November 8, 2011 — ODFW is looking for people with experience in hunting and/or wildlife conservation to serve as a Hunter Representative or Landowner Representative on the Access and Habitat Program’s Deschutes-Klamath Advisory Council.

Individuals living in central Oregon from The Dalles to Klamath/Lakeview area (Hood River, western Sherman, Wasco, Jefferson, Crook, Deschutes, Klamath, and Lake counties) are eligible to apply.

Applications are available online and due at the Bend ODFW office by Dec. 2, 2011. For more information or for application materials by mail, contact Larry Pecenka at 541-633-1117.

This is a volunteer position and duties include participation in up to four public meetings per year to review A&H project proposals and conduct other council business. Meetings may require some travel to various central Oregon communities. Applicants should be willing and able to work collaboratively with landowners, sports groups, ODFW staff, and representatives of other government agencies to facilitate the A&H Program.

Created by the Oregon Legislature in 1993, the A&H Program is funded primarily by a $4 surcharge on hunting licenses. Funds raised by the program are distributed through grants awarded to individual and corporate landowners, conservation organizations, and others to cooperatively fund wildlife habitat improvement and hunter access projects in the state.

There are six regional A&H advisory councils within Oregon that serve as the initial review body for A&H grant proposals submitted within their region. The state A&H Board provides the next level of review, taking into account the advisory council’s recommendations. Approved projects are then forwarded to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission for final review and funding approval. Each advisory council is composed of seven members, including three Landowner Representatives, three Hunter Representatives and one public-at-large representative, who also serves as the council Chair.

For additional information on the A&H Program visit the program website or contact Matt Keenan at (503) 947-6087.

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A Warning To Outdoor Users About Echinococcus, From Worms

by

Tom Remington

This is a warning to outdoor users about a potentially deadly biological event that could result from one’s curiosity to poke at and kick through scat from wolves, coyotes and foxes. Of course not everyone knowingly does this but many hunters, trappers and simply the curious, want to know what these animals have been eating. Read more

Picture This!

With all the great stories, equipment, adventures and people out there I thought it would be great to get some pictures.  If you have any pictures from a hunt, your gear or best of all you geared up that would be great.  If you send in pictures I will post on our site as well as putting some of the best pictures on all our sites.  Things I am looking for, but not limited to.

•    Gear: Clothes, utility tools, ATV’s…
•    Favorite weapons: guns, bows, sticks, stones…
•    Best Duck Blind or Hide…
•    You, family or friends dressed for the hunt…
•    Where you hunt

All I need is a digital picture in any PC compatible format and a description of the picture.  You can make the description as long or short as you would like.  If there is a story behind the picture we would love to hear about it.

Send Pictures to:

Todd Krater
U.S. Hunting Today
Managing Editor
todd@ushuntingtoday.com

Note: If you want a picture posted and do not have a digital copy I would be willing to scan it for you.  Please contact me for details.

US Hunting Today reserves the right to refuse any picture for any reason as well as edit it where appropriate.

The Peasant Wars

(Republished by permission)

Opinion by George Dovel

George Dovel is Editor and Publisher of The Outdoorsman.

In 2003, North America’s foremost wildlife scientist, Dr. Valerius Geist, made the following observations:

“The miracle of North American conservation is that it is basically a blue-collar system, grounded in the political and financial support and the active participation of large numbers of middle-class citizens who bring their basic honesty and decency to bear on important issues. This is just the opposite of the elitist system that has existed throughout Europe for centuries and is spreading like cancer around the world today, even right here at home. Read more

Can We Conclude There Are More Wolves?

What a confusing mess! I guess this is another classic example of government making shambles out of anything they touch. Idaho Department of Fish and Game in their most recent wolf report shows they have confirmed wolf kills on livestock outnumbering last year. The same report shows more wolves have been killed than last year but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in September that wolf populations were on the decline in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. So what gives?

According to IDFG, since January 1, 2008 until November 24, 2008, they have 325 confirmed kills by wolves – 100 cattle, 212 sheep and 13 dogs. For all of last year, there were 278 confirmed kills – 57 cattle, 211 sheep and 10 dogs. Can we conclude that there are more wolves? Read more

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