Do you hunt in Oregon? Then you may want to check out the latest round of big game regulation changes proposed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). The agency is seeking feedback on proposals that would impact mule deer and elk hunters in 2021.
According to the agency, the proposed changes would switch general deer and elk archery seasons in Eastern Oregon to controlled seasons. Another change proposes moving general Cascade elk season to early November or allow deer hunting to continue during the general Cascade elk season.
ODFW biologists say that the current structure is causing over-crowding and “elk distribution problems” as more elk move to private land, resulting in fewer available on public land during the hunting seasons. By changing the general deer and elk archery seasons to controlled seasons, “total archery tag numbers available for eastern Oregon would be 5 percent less than 2019 current participation numbers.” ODFW would also decrease tags in the highest use units and increase them in less popular units.
“Our challenges with archery season stem from managing archery hunting and rifle hunting differently—40 years ago there was a reason to do so, but those reasons no longer exist,” said Nick Myatt, ODFW Project Lead for the review of big game regulations. “Our goal in this big game review is to improve hunting regulations, allocate hunting opportunity fairly and consistently with hunter preferences, and of course ensure that our hunting seasons are structured in a way that meet our biological objectives for wildlife species.”
Per ODFW, due to the decline in mule deer numbers across the West, many of the units in Oregon are below objective, leading biologists to decide that, perhaps, general season is not the best way to manage them. If the regulation change is approved, the number of tags would “mostly reflect recent numbers on archery participation in the units…except in those units with significant population declines where controlled tags have been decreased,” according to the agency.
Eastern Oregon archery tags for deer and elk would not be valid for general archery seasons in Western Oregon, which would continue as a general season.
ODFW plans to create a formal proposal for the 2021 Big Game Regulations after taking into account comments and opinions. The final proposal will be presented to the Commission and voted on in early September.
“We thank all the hunters who have provided input, and now we’re asking for your opinions again on these latest concepts,” said Myatt.
To view details about the proposals, click HERE.
To comment on the proposals, click HERE.
5 Comments
Kenneth Lukens
8/2/2020, 4:46:04 PM
I think it depends on the Unit. I'm an Oregon resident and I primarily archery hunt those areas. At our camp last year we had this same discussion, and I think at a minimum, Ukiah, Starkey, Imnaha, and Catherine Creek need to be added to controlled hunts for archery. You can still do General Spike tag for archery or use the Mt Emily method and offer out 600 spike tags as a second choice for the unit. That way people stack PPs. Maybe even consider controlling some of the areas with less public land like Sled Springs. Many of the reasons there are so many archery hunters in those areas is because of the elk populations. On the other hand, those elk are very skittish. And I have never seen the same areas in a unit house elk year after year as hunters constantly "bump elk" around the unit. I saw it coming last year when I drove into Starkey mid-September. It felt like 1000s of people were in the woods. We dropped into Ukiah one afternoon and it was the same. I don't know what the best answer is, all I know is that after the last few years, I felt some changes coming down the pipe. I'm sure my opinion will go over like a F@%^ in Church. But we have to be honest with ourselves. Is the current state of general season archery hunting sustainable for Eastern OR? Especially as equipment becomes better and the sport becomes more popular? I mean the #1 Podcaster in the world, gets paid $100s of millions and is an avid Bowhunter who talks about hunting almost every other episode. I wish this was not the case, and as a Pro-public land-Libertarian it sickens me to agree with this article. But I support it.
JUSTIN Miles
7/13/2020, 4:34:33 AM
Archery folks are killing a lot more critters than they were 40 years ago and there is exponentially more of them. They need to be regulated the same as rifle. More people equals inevitably less tags for the general public. This might actually lessen point creep a bit........At Least people have to choose a weapon to hunt. Great idea and will benefit our dwindling mule deer numbers fo sho.
Daniel Sedehi
7/13/2020, 3:07:36 AM
I have friends who are much more eloquent than I, so pardon the blabber, but this proposal scares me as an archery elk hunter in oregon. What i am afraid of is the profound loss of opportunity this will provide for all hunters, current, new, and those who aren’t even hunters yet, but could be if they are given the opportunity. The points and point creep are so bad that i will likely never draw a coveted archery tag in oregon, despite being a resident, unless it is off of the lottery. Many guys like me swing for the fences for the big three, then get points when we dont get it, but can still hunt the OTC archery tag. Completely agree some units get a good deal of pressure, but others dont. If the OTC archery tag becomes a draw, us regular hunters will not be able to build up points, or of we choose to, we wont be able to hunt. I agree, that sounds like I am a petulant little child who just wants to get his cake and eat it too, but there has to be a more equitable way to manage the elk, particularly in below objective units. Idaho, for examples, has quotas of tags for certain elk units. I dont see why this could not be done here. When Nick Myatt was asked why that wouldn’t work, his response was “we tried that. people bought tags and didnt hunt”. So what? That’s why we use modeling to predict things. At least there will be a chance for us east-siders to build points and still get to hunt. If we are to keep our heritage as a great hunting state, where we can support two different subspecies of elk as well as deer, we need to be creative when it comes to animal management. Just shutting down a system that likely a majority of east of the cascades archery elk hunters take advantage of is not creative - it’s destructive. We do have an opportunity to change how we manage elk in oregon, so let’s do it in a positive fashion.