See Examples of Recent OHA State Grants

Applying for OHA Grants

Oregon Hunters Association

P.O. Box 1706

Medford OR. 97501

Click below to apply:

Oregon Hunters Association

Policy and Procedure

OHA funds will be disbursed only with a budget balance for the purpose, receipt of a written grant application in the prescribed format, review and recommendation by the local chapter and regional state board member, review and recommendation by the Grant Review Committee, and approval by the Board.

PURPOSE:

1. To assist the state Board of Directors in exercising its fiduciary responsibilities to the membership for the management of OHA funds.

2. To guide the Board of Directors in making reasonable and prudent decisions regarding whether or not to expend OHA funds in the form of grant for a specific purpose.

3. To provide a format for grant applications which, when completed by grant applicants, will provide the Board of Directors a clear understanding of the purpose and objectives of the project or activity for which the grant application has been presented.

4. To provide Board Chair flexibility and control of board agenda to handle OHA business, applications will only be considered at the regular March and September board meetings.

PROCEDURE:

1. For a grant of funds to be made, the funds must have been budgeted for the purpose for which the grant application proposes to use them.

2. The grant applicant must make the application using the format prescribed by this policy and procedure. All grants must be received at the OHA office prior to Feb. 1 to be considered at the March board meeting, and prior to Aug. 1 to be considered at the September board meeting.

3. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide complete details of the proposal, to complete the review process at the chapter and regional level timely, and to be present at the hearing of the proposal to answer questions. The applicant is encouraged to answer anticipated questions in the written application. Time constraints preclude lengthy "dog and pony shows" during the review process. The applicant is encouraged to provide phone and e-mail addresses. Though applications will be heard twice per year they will be received at the OHA office at any time. Applications not received timely will be heard at the next regularly scheduled date.

4. The Grant Review Committee, consisting of the vice president and two board members selected by the state board chair, shall review all applications and either deny or make recommendations to the board.

5. The Board of Directors will consider the grant.

6. When reviewing the grant application, the objective is for the board members:

a) To consider whether the application is for a purpose that is part of the OHA missions supporting enhancement or restoration of wildlife habitat, management of game animals or game birds (huntable wildlife), or sportsmen’s rights;

b) To obtain a complete understanding of the purpose and objectives of the grant, make a judgment on the basis of the written application, whether the project is an effective and efficient one that has a very high probability of being successfully executed. The written application must be fully complete and sufficient to stand on its own.

c) To determine, if approved, how and who will monitor the progress and success of the project.

d) To insure that the applicant has a means of providing OHA public recognition for its support of the project.

e) To hear a brief presentation of the grant application from the applicant. This presentation is for the purpose of clarifying the application, but is not considered part of the application.

f) To make a decision to accept the application, to reject the application, or to table the application pending receipt of a revised or amended grant application form containing information that was not present in the original written application and found necessary by the Board to reach a reasonable and prudent decision regarding the application.

7. At the hearing of the grant application the Board will review the application and entertain a motion to approve the grant application.

8. Once the board has reached its decision the state office will:

a) Write a letter to grant applicant informing them of the decision.

b) Create a file for the specific grant in the permanent files in which the grant application and all correspondence related to the grant will be filed.

c) Write a brief informative notice about the grant to the membership, and furnish it to the editor of Oregon Hunter for publication in the next issue.

9. The president will review quarterly the progress of all approved and outstanding grants, January, April, June and September, and report project status to the Board of Directors at its regularly scheduled meetings.

OHA approves project funding aimed at improving habitat and hunting in the Columbia Basin 

            The Oregon Hunters Association has recently awarded two grants totaling $27,400 for wildlife research and habitat improvement projects.

            The Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District will use a $25,000 grant to improve upland bird and mule deer habitat primarily on private agricultural lands in Morrow, Umatilla and Gilliam counties.

            North-central Oregon has long been a favorite destination for pheasant and other upland bird hunting. Bird populations have declined in the region over the years due, in part, to more intensive farming techniques that make less habitat available. Habitat technician Dennis Newman has been working with landowners in those three counties to help them develop and implement habitat projects such as planting forbs, shrubs and trees to provide food, cover and nesting sites and water development projects such as wildlife guzzlers, spring development and fencing riparian areas. As of April 2008, 65 landowners had inquired about developing projects on their lands and 11 contracts for projects had been signed.

            Says Newman, “There has been a tremendous amount of interest in project involvement from landowners.”

            Currently, there are about 124,000 acres of private lands open to public hunting in Morrow and Gilliam counties through the ODFW Upland Cooperative Access Program and the Access and Habitat Program.

            The A&H Program and Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation have also contributed funds to the project.

            OHA has also provided a  $2,400 grant to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for the purchase of dart guns for a study within the White River Wildlife Area to determine the summer range of a herd of about 4,000 black-tailed deer and their migration routes. The Mid-Columbia Chapter of OHA has also contributed $950 to the project.

            The 40,877-acre White River Wildlife Area, located near Tygh Valley in north-central Oregon, is managed by ODFW. It provides important deer winter range as well as a variety of big game and upland bird hunting opportunities.

            The study involves using the dart guns to tranquilize six mature bucks and fitting them with radio collars so their seasonal movements can be tracked.

            Currently, these animals are not typically available to hunters because their whereabouts during hunting seasons are not known. Determining the herd’s migration routes and patterns will help ODFW better manage deer tag numbers in the White River Wildlife Management Unit and assess the potential for creating a new late season White River buck hunt.

            OHA’s statewide organization and local chapters regularly contribute funding for a variety of projects that benefit wildlife and hunting opportunities. Other recent donations include $3,700 for a moose population survey in northeast Oregon, $18,475 for a bighorn sheep survival study in the lower Deschutes River canyon, $20,000 to improve waterfowl hunting access to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and $33,500 for pronghorn migration research in southeast Oregon.

A road that was washed out in the Harney County floods in the mid-1980s that provided access to one of the best waterfowl hunting areas within the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is slated for repair with some help from a $20,000 grant from the Oregon Hunters Association. East Saddle Butte Road, off State Highway 78, once provided excellent public access to about 18,000 acres of high-quality waterfowl hunting habitat at Malheur Lake. Hunters could drive the road along the railroad tracks to a parking area and launch a canoe or boat into the marsh. But the road was put out of commission during the heavy flooding of 1984 and 1985. In addition to the OHA grant, the railroad’s owner, Genesee and Wyoming Railroad, is allowing the group to take gravel from the adjacent railroad bed to create the new all-weather access road. An additional grant is still being sought to provide the rest of the funds needed to complete the project. Total cost for the project is $60,500.

OHA contributes $18,475 to ODFW for Deschutes Canyon bighorn sheep survival study

An $18,475 grant from the Oregon Hunters Association will be used by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to help fund a five-year project to research factors that affect the survival of bighorn sheep in the lower Deschutes River canyon. Funding includes $11,900 from the state organization, $2,975 from the Capitol Chapter of OHA, $2,000 from the Portland Chapter, $1,000 from the Emerald Valley Chapter and $600 from the Redmond Chapter. This study is a continuation of several past research projects investigating bighorn sheep survival on Steens Mountain, Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and in the Leslie Gulch area of southeast Oregon. Beginning in early December, ODFW will capture 35 bighorn sheep in the lower canyon and fit them with radio collars so their movements can be tracked. As animals die over time, they will be located and the cause of death determined. This will help researchers to identify mortality trends and any specific causes or patterns. For example, other bighorn sheep survival studies have found that predation by mountains lions is an important factor and Kohl notes that the lower Deschutes River Canyon has a growing population of the big cats. About 300 to 400 bighorn sheep are estimated to currently roam the lower Deschutes River canyon.

OHA grants $33,500 for Owyhee Pronghorn Research

The Oregon Hunters Association has awarded $33,500 to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to help fund a study to track the movements and behavior of pronghorn in the Owyhee area in southeastern Oregon. The grant includes $30,00 from the state organization, $1,000 from the Klamath OHA Chapter, $1,000 from the Josephine County Chapter and $1,500 from the Lake County Chapter. The funds are being used to purchase 10 Global Positioning System units and towards the cost of capturing the antelope. The study is slated to begin in December and will involve capturing 65 pronghorn in the Owyhee Wildlife Management Unit and fitting them with radio collars so the ODFW researchers can track their movements. The study will be conducted over a two and a half year period. Pronghorn, also called pronghorn antelope, are unique to North America and roam the grasslands and other open areas of the western U.S., Mexico and Canada. Capable of speeds up to 40 miles per hour, they are the fastest land animals in North America. Oregon’s pronghorn population is estimated at 25,000 to 27,000. According to Don Whittaker, who manages ODFW’s pronghorn program, pronghorn are among Oregon’s most desirable big game animals. However, because they travel large distances in remote parts of the state, not a great deal is known about their movements and population dynamics, which make managing the herds more difficult.

OHA Provides Water for High Desert Wildlife

            The Oregon Hunters Association has completed a wildlife guzzler  project in the Potato Hills area of Harney County. This project joins the West Sagehen Guzzler built in 2006 to add much-needed water for wildlife in arid reaches of the Silvies Unit.

            Each guzzler complex holds 3,600 gallons of water and will allow big game to remain dispersed during dry periods and increase utilization of arid habitats. This dispersal will aid in keeping big game animals off of valuable agricultural crops on private lands.

            The two-guzzler project was funded in part by Statewide OHA ($5,500) and the Harney County Chapter of OHA ($4,600). These funds were used primarily for the water tanks and materials for building catchment aprons. The total cost of the two guzzlers was $29,500. Volunteer labor from Harney County OHA members greatly decreased the cost of construction, and provided local hunters an opportunity to "give something back to the resource."

            The Potato Hills Guzzler was completed on May 11, 2007 by a crew of 21 workers who built two aprons and an exclosure fence. The two water tanks had been installed by a BLM crew earlier, so plumbing attachment was all that was needed. The projects were completed with the cooperation of Burns District BLM, ODFW, RMEF, and Bums Paiute wildlife personnel.