It looks as if these will most likely pass but it wouldn't hurt to call/write/email your reps. I'm ecstatic about the 1st two and the 3rd goes without saying. I'm assuming that HB 3164 would prohibit private owners(read timber co.s) from blocking access to public lands as they do in certain areas around here.
HB 2970 HB 3164 HB 3165 OR Hunting Bills 'A bill that would crack down on people who break fish and wildlife laws looks as if it on the fast track to passage.
The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources voted unanimously Thursday to send House Bill 2970 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation.
If it becomes law, the bill would establish when the meter starts running, and how long it ticks, on suspensions of hunting and/or fishing privileges for Oregon violators under the multistate Wildlife Violators Compact.
Oregon is one of 24 states enrolled in the compact.
What it says is that anyone caught violating fish and wildlife laws in one state is suspended in all.
"I personally have had an experience with a violator in Oregon who's suspended, and six months later, I'm chasing the guy again" because of a violation in neighboring Idaho, Lt. Dave Cleary of the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division testified about compact enforcement.
In another case, a person who had his fishing license and tags suspended in Washington for violations on the Columbia, "just went across the river, paid the nonresident fees (in Oregon) and was back on the Columbia," Cleary said.
If it becomes law, HB 2970 allows the Fish and Wildlife Commission to impose the same length of suspension -- two years -- that the person would have received for the same violation, or if it is longer for the length of the remaining suspension in the state in which the incident occurred.
And that, Cleary said, puts a real bite in the compact.
"They'll pay the fine, but they don't want to lose their hunting," he said.
Currently, the suspension runs for the length of time imposed by the state where the violation happened.
So with the lag in time from suspension to notification of Oregon officials, plus an appeals process than can last as long as six months, there might be little, if any, time left when the suspension is imposed here, said Ron Anglin.
"The intent of this bill is to allow the commission to suspend for a full 24 months, or longer," Anglin, the department's Wildlife Division administrator, told the committee members.
Another benefit of the compact is that fish and wildlife enforcement officers are sharing a lot more information over a broader area, giving those suspended fewer and fewer places to go, Cleary said.
"It's been a good tool for us, and I think it's going to be better," he said about the bill.
Two other hunting-related bills had their first hearings Thursday in front of the committee:
HB 3164
Modeled on other states' Hunting Heritage Protection Act laws, it would require that public state lands used for wildlife management purposes (basically, Oregon wildlife areas) be open to hunting, and there be no net loss of huntable acres.
"One of the biggest challenges facing Fish and Wildlife is loss of hunters, and what hunters say is one of the biggest reasons (for dropping out) is lack of opportunity," said Rod Harder, a representative of the National Rifle Association, in support of the bill.
HB 3165
A mentor-hunter bill in which youths as young as 9 could hunt big game with a licensed hunter 21 or older until they are 14 and have to have completed a hunter safety class to take to the field.
It has an "arm's length" provision in which the adult never leaves the youth's side, only one firearm can be in possession for the pair, and that the adult's tag is used for the deer, elk or other animal taken.
"They actually are the safest hunters out there," Rick Williams of Portland, testified, citing statistics from the dozen states that have such programs. "Mentored hunters are 15 times safer than youth hunters alone."
Williams is the vice president of the Oregon Hunters Association in support of the bill.
But Laurel Hines of Salem, a retired psychotherapist and the lone dissenter among the advocates for all three bills at the hearing, said she didn't like the idea.
"I'm not sure it's a very good thing to teach kids to kill animals for fun," she said. I don't like the idea of young kids being out there with guns."
No action was taken on either the no-net loss of huntable land or mentored hunting bills.
In bringing down the gavel, committee chairman Rep. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, said, "I anticipate moving these fairly quickly."
