Comment by Matthew Wilson

February 1, 2008 @ 7:46 pm

Oregon Hunters Association helping legislate away your hunting Rights

The Oregon cougar population and the average sportsman who enjoys the outdoors and hunting find themselves stuck right in the middle of a argument between the Oregon Hunters Association and Anti hunting groups. Thanks to legislature which was introduced by the OHA, cougars are once again in the spotlight. This “agent bill”, which supports the government killing of one big game species so that OHA members may have abundant numbers of another big game species to kill, is the last of the attacks on lions; which, does little to help predator hunters in Oregon to regain there hunting rights. The Oregon cougar plan and the “agent plan” will set precedent for how big game species can be managed. Never before have population numbers been controlled by Government Agents. The tool used prior to this has always been Public hunting. The Anti hunting camp WILL rebut with attempt to outlaw ALL lion and bear hunting by the public. Who can blame them? When Government agencies are managing the populations why do you then need inhumane public hunters out killing wildlife? As a licensed hunter in Oregon, I can’t say I disagree!

Let me take a moment to tell you about myself. I am a outdoorsman. I love nature, being out in it either working or playing. I have grown up hunting in Oregon and have seen bag limit numbers go up and down. I remember the days before Permits and tag drawings. I was taught to bobcat hunt with hounds by a retired Gov. trapper. He was never proud of what he had done in his days as a Gov. trapper. He wished he could forget “gaffing” coyote pups out of dens. Dragging them out by there intestines and stomping them to death. He knew the difference between hunting and Killing for money. It seemed as though he tried harder in his twilight years to make up for his lack of respect for wildlife as a government trapper. It made an impression on me. I have also been to numerous “public input” meetings on the cougar plan. I was in Baker City when they spoke of the pilot programs that were denied. This was before the “plan”. I have watched the Anti’s and the ” Hunters” fight for what they want, not what is best for wildlife.

It is becoming clear to me, that when politicians and agency try and accomplish ill conceived ideas and push forward with their goals that are less than honest, they weave a web of deceit that unravels in the light of reason. One such covert scheme is the Oregon Cougar Plan. This is the 120 page legistical ramblings of what the states Governor controlled biologists call sound game management. After over a year of public input ,which was overwhelmingly negative , the plan now includes bears and has a new House Bill law which allows the use of “volunteers” to manage cougar and bear. You see “manage” in biological terms means: kill.

As of the First of the year 2008, this “plan” is now underway. The agents who currently are employed by the state will be out doing there best to reduce populations of lions in many of the “best” deer and elk hunting units in the state. This is the first time that a big game population is to be “managed” by agents of the state. In the past the tool used to manage big game species in Oregon was public hunters, who funded the budget of the ODFW. The cougar plan, which was drafted by anti hunting groups in contact with ODFW allowed a clause for the use of Dogs to manage lions and bears, but only by state employees. Only after adoption of the “plan” , despite public inquiry, did ODFW realize that they lacked the resources to implement the “management” first hand. So the House Bill 2971 was introduced and fought for by The Oregon Hunters Association and employees of the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. This is the law which makes it acceptable to use “public” agents or contractors. Scott Learn of the Oregonian reports as of Jan.12, 2008 that the standards for volunteer acceptance will be tough. Lets take a look at some of the issues:

Does the use of volunteer agents snub the voters of Oregon? I would have to say Yes. The ballot measure 18 which outlawed the use of hounds and baiting did contain the wording to allow “STATE” employees to manage said big game species with Dogs, traps or baits. This was not enough ; hence, the passing of House Bill 2971. Now the ODFW and OHA are looking to select from the pool of now illegal hunters who once hunted bear and lion legitimately in well controlled seasons.

This brings me to the tighter restrictions concerning Wildlife violations, Domestic and Animal Abuse. It is rhetorical at this point the facade of concern with integrity in volunteering agents. The individuals they are seeking must have hounds and equipment to be successful at reaching the Departments goals. They need to have hounds experienced in the trailing and treeing of Lions and Bears. I myself have these resources. I admittedly catch bears for example and ,at times, kill them. I am not an agent of the state and do not hold any special permits in Oregon. Then surely, if I am doing so, I must be breaking the Laws of Oregon even though I have not been convicted. I am guilty of using an illegal method and acting in an Inhumane and unsporting manner. This should exclude me from consideration. But no, I am guilty of no crime at all. I hunt bears in the state of California. There I am considered a sportsman and conservationist who is a valuable tool in wildlife management. To top it off, my license and tag fees fund further wildlife management in the state of California. Perfect, you may say; an experienced houndsman who follows state regulations and is effective. The trouble is I will not be in consideration. According to Scott Learn, one commissioner states “We’re not talking about an ordinary hunter,” Commissioner Skip Klarquist said. “We’re talking about someone representing us.” This is exactly the reason I will not be killing bears and lions in Oregon for the ODFW. I will not represent them. I will not kill all the Lions and Bears I catch with my hounds. I will not shoot mothers and kittens, or 80 pound bear cubs. So as it stands today I am legal for consideration. But if this morning I was to load my dogs and purposely catch a lion for only photographic reasons I would be breaking the law. After conviction I would be tainted and of lesser character than the requirements to slaughter these big game species for the ODFW. ?

Now to address the number of lions. The state says they believe there are 5,100 cougars in the state. That extra 100 sounds really convincing. Almost like they really know. ODFW respectively admitted in public meetings that they infact did not know the true numbers of lions in Oregon. They would not tell you this, you had to ask the right question to get the answer. The truth is these numbers are based on a model which takes habitat types into consideration, and then the total of lions that the state KNOWS are dead is taken from that models’ estimated population. The state truly does not know how vast the mortality is or isn’t with lions. They do not know of the current “Shoot ,Shovel, and Shut up” which is occurring wide spread in the rural community. They do not know of road kills, of shot but unrecovered animals, OR of the disease which is running thru overpopulated lion numbers. To make this even more interesting is the fact that the killing will continue past the 3,000 marker. Craig Foster, Biologist from Lakeview stated in Bend at the public meeting , that the killing would continue IF they still received damage complaints which were not congruent with pre - ballot measure 18. So what is the magic number to manage lions with?

So lets take a look at why the state wants to use volunteers and why this plan will fail. The ODFW has sent out information concerning the plan and agent selection. In this information is the dollar amounts of what was estimated, and spent, in only three target areas. The ODFW claims that the cost of removal of a single cougar by traps or snares is $15,ooo.oo compared to $2,ooo.oo per lion killed with dogs. The state also shows that $121,770 .00 was estimated for budget with ONLY $109,524.00 being spent to implement the plan in the three target areas of the state. If we assume that the state only used dogs ,which is far more cost effective, then the math concludes that the state killed about 58 cougars last year. One question that comes to mind is, Then what accounts for the other 165 cougars that were not killed by sport hunters or the state? In this year of 2008 the state is budgeting $144,000 dollars to use for agent recruitment, background checks, and equipment. If the state holds true to its estimation of only 20 volunteers that means they will spend approx. $7,200 dollars on each agent. That breaks down to about four dead lions each. It is NOW that we see the reason for the OHA and ODFW’s support for this House Bill 2971. If the state only killed lions with the use of hounds, at $2,000/dead cougar, it would cost the state $4 million dollars to remove the 2,000 lions from the now assumed 5,100 believed to be roaming our public lands. Yet you see that according to the information they are supplying this plan still will not work. With the figures the state provides, the agents will only kill about 80 lions. Let’s assume the agents can do it cheaper. I ask you to remember these are displaced sport hunters, not professionals who kill for money like wildlife services. If they kill 100 lions, this is still far from the goals of exterminating 2,000. One possible method to help ODFW accomplish this goal would be to allow the public to kill spotted kittens, and mothers with spotted kittens. After all it IS acceptable for the state agents to do so! So whether you agree with the population reduction or not, this plan will not work. Another last ditch method the state could employ if this plan does not reach “removal” goals, would be to remove the bear and lion from the big game species list; therefore, making them predators and not applicable to wildlife laws at al, or they could manage them responsively like they did before ballot measure 18.

Lastly, what of the Bears? They were not spoke of in any public hearings. I have seen no proposed “Bear Management Plan”.

There is no budget for Bear. How did they get lumped into this agent scheme? If it has already been laid out in Ballot Measure 18, Then why did we need have public input and a management plan for lions? What is going on in our state? I ask you who read this, take an evening and find out. Start asking questions.

Thankyou, Matt Wilson

Comment by backgroundcheck

February 9, 2008 @ 10:43 pm

Has anyone heard about the proposed legislation in California requiring a background check on anyone applying for a hunting permit?

Comment by Dan Taylor

February 10, 2008 @ 6:02 pm

this is addressed specifically to the bleeding heart that wrote this article. For one, one CANNOT “bag” a cat for the price of a couple six packs of bud. If you had any inkling of the rising cost of the hunt, you would have not stated this. you obvioulsy have never planned or paid for a hunt of any kind. this shows your lack of intelligence. we have had a cat in our neighborhood now for three years. he is seen on a regular basis, and just in the last two days, he has crapped in my dad’s rose garden. the sign present indicates that this is a large cat, as eyewitness accounts verify also. we live within the city limits of sweet home oregon. he has been reported to fish and game, but nobody comes to trap him. there are a lot of kids in this neighborhood, and a 12 gauge by the door. will this cat in a second and leave him lay for the fish and game. they were killed off for a reason a long time ago…..thx, Dan

Comment by Matt Wilson

February 21, 2008 @ 7:45 am

They were not killed off for a reason. They were protected as big game species in the early 70’s and there population has increased since. Due to pursuit seasons and selective harvest there was far fewer damage complaints in comparison to what we now have to deal with as a result of Ballot measure 18 and groups like Peta, HSUS and the Sierra club and the likes. They are false enviromentalist, who wish to put nature under glass rather than live in and with it.
You have every right to protect yourself, and understand that you are not alone in receiving no help from the ODFW.
Unfortunately this law BM 18 which is based on feelings instead of fact, has created people just like yourself, which have reacted with the shoot, shovel and shut up mentality, This also is wrong, yet one can only understand it if they live with lions in there back yards. If that cat had been caught by hunters(with dogs) as a juvenile or kitten with its mother, It would have been protected under game laws. IT would have been conditioned that dogs and humans are to be avoided. NOW with the new “plan” and attitude towards lions,IT WILL JUST BE KILLED. Great you say, But another will soon take its place, Another cat which has no respect for humans because it has not been conditioned to do so. So it also will just be killed. I hope you and your neighbors stay safe, And I hope you express to others the importance of understanding ballot measures before voting to pass them into law.
In closing I ask you and others, WHO PAYS FOR THE ODFW ACTIONS ? Good and Bad. Who funds All programs to enhance wildlife by the ODFW. Hunters and Fishermen, thats who, not peta members, not Sierra club members, Not HSUS members. HUNTERS
By the way Dan , dont use anything smaller than BB’s in that shotgun. Lions are not supposed to be roaming in towns.