With archery deer and elk hunting seasons opening this Saturday, Aug. 28 and fire season still in effect, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) is reminding hunters to “Know before you go” and check for access before heading out.
ODFW does not close hunting seasons due to fire danger. But hunters may face fire restrictions and be unable to access certain areas that are closed due to active fires, firefighting activity or post-fire cleanup. Hunters who cannot access a certain area should hunt somewhere else in their unit or hunt area instead — or if they have a controlled hunt tag and there is no reasonable access to their unit, ODFW may provide the option for a point reinstatement/tag refund (more information below).
Currently, major public land closures are in effect due to wildfire and firefighting activity in areas throughout the state. In additional, areas are still closed due to Oregon’s extensive fires last year.
However, other areas that were closed earlier this summer due to extreme fire danger have reopened, including the Umatilla National Forest and Hancock A&H properties in northeast Oregon (reopened for day use only).
It’s a hunter’s responsibility to find out access restrictions before hunting. Some helpful links to find this information are below (find more info at https://myodfw.com/articles/hunting-and-fire-danger-oregon )
- National Forests in Oregon – U.S. Forest Service for national forestland closures
- Bureau of Land Management – Bureau of Land Management closures
- Inciweb—Current fires and fire-related closures in Oregon
