Fish & Wildlife Commission adopts 2023 Big Game Regulations

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted 2023 Big Game Regulations during a meeting Tuesday in Burns.

Beginning next year, controlled hunt draw results will be available eight days earlier (on June 12 rather than June 20). Efficiencies from the Electronic Licensing System allow the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) to make results available sooner. The deadline to change controlled hunt applications will also shift to May 25 (from June 1). The deadline to apply for a hunt remains the same – May 15.

Several new hunting opportunities will also be available next year including a new controlled youth archery tag providing the opportunity to hunt with a “one elk” bag limit in all but five units, a late general season traditional archery deer opportunity in southwest Oregon, and two controlled any legal weapon late deer hunts in western Oregon.

Go online for the full list of Big Game Regulations changes adopted Tuesday. The Commission adopted all regulations proposed by staff unanimously.

In other business, the Commission:

• Appointed Jeff McNerney of Hood River as Landowner Representative to the Access and Habitat Board, which funds projects that provide public hunting access or improve wildlife habitat on private land.
• Approved the acquisition of 9.25 acres of land in the Southgate area of Pendleton on S.W. 27th Street for the future home of a new watershed district office as the current building (an early 1900s house converted to office space) is inadequate for agency needs
• Amended Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund rules to reduce the time required between grant submission and review.
• Approved the Director’s recommendation of Eduardo Contreras from the Klamath Falls area to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board as the fish and wildlife habitat member appointment to the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Commission.

The Commission also heard from ODFW staff on Chronic Wasting Disease and efforts to model streamflow and temperature to advance understanding of climate change effects, and from Harney County organization, the High Desert Partnership, on collaborative efforts to conserve fish and wildlife in the region.

A recording of the meeting will be available at ODFW’s YouTube channel.