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ODFW News Release
For Immediate Release
June 6, 2003
Tag Numbers Approved for Limited Entry Big Game Hunts
Wolf Advisory Committee Appointed
PENDLETON — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday allocated 167,281 tags for this fall’s limited entry hunts for deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and rocky mountain goat.
The approved tag numbers represent a 3 percent overall decline compared to last fall. However, the number of tags increased slightly for bighorn, pronghorn and Roosevelt elk. A drop in antlerless tags for Rocky Mountain elk and black-tailed deer account for the bulk of the tag reductions. The reductions were necessary because agricultural damage situations have been resolved with elk in eastern Oregon and black-tailed deer populations have declined in western Oregon.
The Commission is the rule-making body for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The seven-member panel meets monthly to establish policies and administrative regulations for the agency to implement.
Today’s step was the final one in a process that began in the spring of 2002, when staff biologists first presented the Commissioners with a conceptual look at their general 2003 season recommendations. In the fall of 2002, the Commission formally adopted regulations to select the season dates, locations and other specific information for the 2003 regulations. Today’s commission action incorporated the most recent biological data to establish 2003 controlled hunt tag numbers, which were adopted as Oregon Administrative Rules, for many deer and elk hunts and all bighorn sheep, rocky mountain goat and pronghorn hunts.
The process now begins to award controlled hunt tags to those hunters who applied by May 15. Results will be available June 20. Hunters who were not drawn in a lottery to award the limited number of tags may choose to hunt the general seasons for western Oregon deer and/or elk. There is no limit on the number of general season tags sold to hunters. Cougar and fall bear hunting seasons also are managed as general seasons.
Two permanent rule changes were made that will take effect this fall. One was to address some confusion expressed by Oregon hunters about last year’s change in the ‘evidence of sex’ rules. Rules adopted today now provide hunters the option of following either the old rules requiring the scalp with the eyes and antlers attached, or new rules, described in the 2003 Oregon Big Game Regulations, where either the head or reproductive organs must remain attached.
In addition, the Commission adopted a permanent rule that aims to prevent the importation of chronic wasting disease to Oregon. Hunters bringing meat back from states with CWD and cannot import any portion of the head or spinal column unless it has been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue. Allowed carcass parts include: cut and wrapped meat, quarters or other portions without the spinal column or head, boned out meat, hides and/or capes without head, skull plates with antlers attached and no tissue attached, upper canine teeth and finished taxidermy heads.
The following summarizes the Commission’s actions Friday:
Pronghorn (Antelope):
The Commission approved a 4 percent increase in pronghorn tags for 2003 compared to 2002 because of continued increases in doe to fawn ratios and overall pronghorn numbers in south central Oregon. The total number of tags approved is 2,706 for 55 hunts.
The Commission gave preliminary approval to a bag limit change for 2004 to those hunts currently with a ‘horns shorter than the ears’ bag limit. In 2004, the bag limit would be ‘one doe or fawn pronghorn.’ Biologists recommended the change because of the number of bucks inadvertently harvested in hunts established to target does. The Commission also preliminarily approved season dates for 2004 and the addition of a second hunt period in the Warner Unit.
For Immediate Release
June 6, 2003
Tag Numbers Approved for Limited Entry Big Game Hunts
Wolf Advisory Committee Appointed
PENDLETON — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday allocated 167,281 tags for this fall’s limited entry hunts for deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and rocky mountain goat.
The approved tag numbers represent a 3 percent overall decline compared to last fall. However, the number of tags increased slightly for bighorn, pronghorn and Roosevelt elk. A drop in antlerless tags for Rocky Mountain elk and black-tailed deer account for the bulk of the tag reductions. The reductions were necessary because agricultural damage situations have been resolved with elk in eastern Oregon and black-tailed deer populations have declined in western Oregon.
The Commission is the rule-making body for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The seven-member panel meets monthly to establish policies and administrative regulations for the agency to implement.
Today’s step was the final one in a process that began in the spring of 2002, when staff biologists first presented the Commissioners with a conceptual look at their general 2003 season recommendations. In the fall of 2002, the Commission formally adopted regulations to select the season dates, locations and other specific information for the 2003 regulations. Today’s commission action incorporated the most recent biological data to establish 2003 controlled hunt tag numbers, which were adopted as Oregon Administrative Rules, for many deer and elk hunts and all bighorn sheep, rocky mountain goat and pronghorn hunts.
The process now begins to award controlled hunt tags to those hunters who applied by May 15. Results will be available June 20. Hunters who were not drawn in a lottery to award the limited number of tags may choose to hunt the general seasons for western Oregon deer and/or elk. There is no limit on the number of general season tags sold to hunters. Cougar and fall bear hunting seasons also are managed as general seasons.
Two permanent rule changes were made that will take effect this fall. One was to address some confusion expressed by Oregon hunters about last year’s change in the ‘evidence of sex’ rules. Rules adopted today now provide hunters the option of following either the old rules requiring the scalp with the eyes and antlers attached, or new rules, described in the 2003 Oregon Big Game Regulations, where either the head or reproductive organs must remain attached.
In addition, the Commission adopted a permanent rule that aims to prevent the importation of chronic wasting disease to Oregon. Hunters bringing meat back from states with CWD and cannot import any portion of the head or spinal column unless it has been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue. Allowed carcass parts include: cut and wrapped meat, quarters or other portions without the spinal column or head, boned out meat, hides and/or capes without head, skull plates with antlers attached and no tissue attached, upper canine teeth and finished taxidermy heads.
The following summarizes the Commission’s actions Friday:
Pronghorn (Antelope):
The Commission approved a 4 percent increase in pronghorn tags for 2003 compared to 2002 because of continued increases in doe to fawn ratios and overall pronghorn numbers in south central Oregon. The total number of tags approved is 2,706 for 55 hunts.
The Commission gave preliminary approval to a bag limit change for 2004 to those hunts currently with a ‘horns shorter than the ears’ bag limit. In 2004, the bag limit would be ‘one doe or fawn pronghorn.’ Biologists recommended the change because of the number of bucks inadvertently harvested in hunts established to target does. The Commission also preliminarily approved season dates for 2004 and the addition of a second hunt period in the Warner Unit.
