The deadline for hunters to apply for a spring bear hunt in Oregon is Feb. 10, including the S.W. Oregon tag which is now controlled like all other spring bear hunts.
Hunters can apply using Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s new online licensing system or at a license sales agent or ODFW office that sells licenses.
If applying online, hunters need to:
- Verify/Look Up their account on ODFW’s new licensing page and complete set up of online account if not done already.
- Go to Product Catalog / Product Categories / Big Game Hunting / Controlled Hunts and choose the 700 series spring bear controlled hunt application.
- Proceed to checkout to make your hunt choices.
If you are applying on a mobile phone, a drop down menu will cover view of the spring bear application. Just click the arrow next to Product Categories to lift the drop down menu and see the spring bear application to add to your cart.
Remember that while the electronic licensing system is new, any hunter who has preference points already has an account in ODFW’s new system (as does any hunter/angler who purchased an annual license in the last three years or has Pioneer License, Disability Status or other certifications). Only “new” hunters/anglers who don’t meet these criteria should choose the “I am a new customer…” option to create a new customer account.
Hunters who apply at a license sale agent will also be asked to provide their Hunter/Angler (ODFW) ID number, email, phone number or other information to verify their account.
Fall big game controlled hunt applications are also available for purchase now, either online or at license sale agents. Hunters are encouraged to avoid the last minute rush and apply well before the May 15 deadline this year.
“ODFW customer call volumes are higher than normal due to people reporting their hunts through the new April 15 reporting deadline, or with questions about the new licensing system,” said Linda Lytle, ODFW licensing manager. “Get your fall big game application in early this year so if you have any problems there is time to correct it.”
Currently, the ability to change a controlled hunt application after purchase is unavailable due to a system bug. This bug will be fixed early the week of Feb. 4 and spring bear hunters may change their application through the Feb. 10 application deadline.
More about spring bear hunt changes changing for 2019
The S.W. Spring Bear hunt has been changed from a first-come, first-serve hunt back to a controlled hunt like all other spring bear hunts in Oregon. This change was made as part of ODFW’s regulation simplification process and to better distribute hunting pressure (more than half of the hunters who bought the SW tag did not hunt). The change also means all spring bear hunters will now get a point saver if they don’t draw their first choice hunt.
The Starkey WMU has been added to what was formerly the W. Blue Mountains hunt and the area has been split into two new hunts (752A Starkey-Ukiah and 754A Mt Emily-Walla Walla), also to better distribute hunting pressure.
For more information on black bear hunting regulations including hunt numbers visit http://www.eregulations.com/oregon/19orhd/black-bear-seasons/.
